Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-10-27


lures:
RECORDING DEPARTMENT.
Number instruments recorded
from organization of county to
March, 1888 years. ..... 1914
Number instruments recorded
during term of Ex-Auditor
Jones in twenty-one months 7340
Number instruments recorded
in my term, in twenty-one
months ................ 79lU
Should above average during
present term be maintained
until JAM, 1898, total num-
Der recorded in my term will
be........................ 1924
RECEIPTS.
Recording fees and miscellane-
GUS fees. 1891 ). s 1895 70
Recording fees and miscellane-
GUS fees to Oct. LIST, 1892. 1868 70
Total receipts from Jan. 10,
'91, to Oct. 1, 1892. ...... .$11194 40
EXPENDITURES.
Half Of my salary from Jan. 10,
1891, to Oct. /, 1892. s 1851 90
balance of my salary is
auditors dep.]
Salary of deputy auditor and re-
corders, Jan. 10, 1891, to Oct.
], 1892 .............. ..... 5431 80
Total expenditures recording
dept. ................. Is 1888 "a
Excess Of receipts over expendi-
lures in recording department
81
This sum has been passed to the credit
of the salary fund and expended in pay
ment of salaries in the auditors depart
ment proper.
In the recording department one dep
uty has been continuously employed, and
at times three and four recording clerks.
The volume Of business varying greatly,
there having been as high as seventy-four
instruments filed in one day, and again
only two instruments in day. l have
entered into an agreement with the re-
cording clerks whereby they have contin-
uous employment if the volume Of bust
ness warrants their retention, if not they
are relieved from duty for few days I'M
til their services are again required. Un-
der this arrangement the county does not
pay out one cent more than is required
for services of clerks.
To nearly every official act required of
this branch of the auditors Office there is
a fee attached, still there is large
amount of work performed for which no
fee is received, the value of which it is
difficult to even approximate. refer to
services in handling records, looking up
information for inquirers, certified copies
for county in connection with roads, an
swering during the past twenty-one
months 2132 letters, and sending out by
mail about $500 instruments after record
ing them.
Upon assuming the duties Of auditor
found that the indexes of articles of in
corporation, liens and judgments had not
been kept by prior auditors as required by
law. l Immediately prepared these in
dexes from date of first instrument re-
corded in the county down to the begin
ming of present term, and have since kept
them up. The oversight of my predeces-
sors forced little extra expense on my
term in the preparation of these indexes,
but aside from the law being complied
with, the ready reference to records that
these indexes furnish compensate for the
slight expense incurred.
The financial statement and present
condition of records in the recording de-
partment of the auditors Office cannot be
other than satisfactory to the citizens of
the county.
Before entering upon an exhibit Of the
auditors department proper, it may be
well TO explain that the county auditors
office under the laws of this state is an
Office upon which devolves the duties
that in many states comprises two separ-
ate and distinct offices, l. e.: recorder,
called in some states register of deeds ;
and county auditor, the accounting officer
Of the county having in charge the ex-
tending Of tax levies, county book-keep-
ing, auditing, etc. In fact there are duties
placed upon the county auditor under our
statutes, as clerk of the commissioners
court, that in some states devolve upon q
third officer, the county clerk.
Under the fee system of territorial days