The record-union., 1893-05-10
GLENN COUNTY'S CLASS.
1t Seriously Affects the Salaries of
County Officials.
They Must be Rated According to the
Forty-First, and Not the
Thirty-Seyenth Class.

The Supreme Court filed its decision in
Deputy Clerk Govan's Office yesterday in
the case of II. B. Sanders lappellanD
against A. w. Sehorn, from Glenn
County. 1t was an application for writ
OF mandate, brought by appellant, Re-
corder of the county of Glenn, against
Sehorn, the Auditor of said county, to
compel the latter to draw his warrant in
appellants favor for the sum of Sl0S 30,
as salary for the month of January, 1892.
The merits of the litigation sre fully
disposed of by determination of the
class of counties to which Glenn County
belonged in January, 1892. The Act of
March II, 1891, conditionally creating the
county of Glenn, provided in Section IA,
Statutes 1891, p. 10l: THE officers
elected and appointed under the pro-
visions of this Act shall each perform the
duties and receive the compensation now
provided by general laws for the office TO
which he has been elected or appointed,
in the counties of the class to which the
said county of Glenn belongs. under the
general classification OF counties in this
State; and, until otherwise provided by
law, said county shall be classified as a
county of the thirty class"
The decision says: The power of the
Legislature to classify counties for the
purpose of regulating the compensation
of county officers is limited by Section )
of Article XI. of the Constitution, which
section requires such classification to be
made according to the population of the
various counties. 1t is apparent that the
Legislature has no power to arbitrarily
place any particular county in any par
ucular class. Glasses Of counties are ar
ranged according TO a graduated scale of
population, and when the population of a
county is determined by the Legislature
its classification is arrived at without
trouble.
''It was but a declaration that Glenn
County had a population over $500 and
under 6,COO, for at that time counties
OF the thirty-seventh class were counties
having population within those limits.
According to the County Government
Act, the population of the various couu-
ties, for the purposes ofthe Act, is to be de-
termined from the last preceding Federal
census; but in the case of newly-organ-
lied counties, especially where the bound
airy lines of the new county do not follow
township lines. such census would not
furnish the data contemplated, and for
that reason the eglslature-for the pur-
poses Of classlhcation-could well declare
the population of Glenn County to be
information for such declaration from
Whatever source il saw fit.
1t would have been the better course
tor the Legislature 20 have directly de-
termlned the population of Glenn County
rather than have enacted that it should
belong to the thirty-seventh class. I'm
der such circumstances it would clearly
have stood forth in company with its
sister counties, having its numbers set
lied and ascertained for all the purposes
OF the County Government Act.
1t certainly was not contemplated by
the Legislature that when it declared
Glenn County county of the thirty
seventh class, it should remain county
Of that class, regardless of any future
changes in the law whereby the thirty
seventh class might be composed of coun-
ties having populations greatly larger or
greatly smaller than when Glenn County
was placed therein.
III the Act of the Legislature is to be
regarded as fixing the class to which
Glenn County should belong. when or
ganized, rather than determining its
population, then it would require spe-
cial Act OF the Legislature TO take it
from the thirty y-seveuth class. Undoubt-
edly such results were never contem-
plated or intended.
THE elect OF Section IA of the Glenn
County Act was TO fix its population and
by operation of law 1t would have become
county OF the thirty-seventh class by
virtue of that fact upon May II, 1891, the
date Of final organization OF the county,
and would have been such when this pro-
ceeding was inaugurated.
section 235 OF the County Government
Act OF 1891, among other things, provides:
That in all newly created counties, for
the purpose of fixing the salaries and fees
OF county and township officers, the
Board OF Commissioners appointed to or
ganize said new county must clas-
SHY it according to the population classi-
tication of this Act BY virtue of this
under the Glenn County Act on the date
of its organization declared Glenn Comfy
TO be county OF the forJy-first class.
1T is not necessary to enter into a dis
cussion OF the constitutionaIity of this
provision of the County Government A ct
as being delegation of power to Board
OF commissioners or Supervisors, for
concedlng the declaration of such Board
OF Commissioners in declaring Glenn
County TO be county of the forty-first
class 10 be void, as ultra CiTcS (which
We do not decidej, still the final result of
the litigation will not be changed.
March 81, 1891, a County Government
Act was passed, providing that counties
having population OF over 400 and un-
der 1000 shall belong to and be known
as counties of the forty-first class. Glenn
County came into existence as a county
fully organized and equipped May Ii,
1891; at that time, under the terms of the
Act creating it, as we have construed the
Act, it had population of more than
6.5O0, and less than $500, and conse-
quenuy came within the limits prescri bed
tor counties of the forty-first class"
In conclusion the decision says: "In
adopting this construction of the forepo-
ing provisions of the various statutes, il is
not necessary to hold that the Act of
March 81, 1891. repealed the Act of March
Il, 1891, as to the classification of Glenn
County-the Acts are not even inconsist-
ent.
"Construing Section ii of the Glenn
County Act as simply fixing the popula-
ton OF the county, we find nothing in the
County Government Act of March 3lst in
any way touching upon the question OF
its population. We conclude that Glenn
County is a county of the forty-1irst
class, and for that reason the Judgment is
affirmed
The decision is by Garoutte, and con-
CURED in by Judges Patterson and Har-
rison.
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