The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-05-03

Gorde. Explains sAs wsrkinx - . VS.
itiDg CsD0iet0e.
Tho Chamber Of Commsrcs committee.
consisting Of Judge J. J. McGilvra and
John 81. Elder, Who were invited by
County Clerk Gordon TO inspect the work
ings OF his Office. paid him visit yesfer-
day. NJ. Gordon explained the system to
them.
81 want to expisin 10 VOC" said Mr..
Gordon, ..that some very silly statements
have been made about this once. have
nothing to do with disbursements coli
lect the fees a. required BY law and turn
them over to the treasurer intact All SAL
aries are audited by the county commits
sioners and payment 10 made by warrant
issued by the county auditor"
Mr.. Gordon then made mp . memoran-
dunn for the committss and handed It to
them, ~ foIiows:
..Bes,des doing all the criminal. county
and state work. for which nothing - paid,
collected and turned over 20 the trsSs-
urer cash this year: January. =. 73Al5
S., i069a Salaries for January, February
and March, s.. go: net rrofit in three
months to the county, &, 1855. or $sSf95
per month. Figuring the whole OF
the year by the FIRST three months.
the amount turned over to the treasurer
for the year will be So. "A 20; and the sal
aries IS they have been for the last three
months and a they are now hzed will
amount for the whole year. to So. Sc;
making a net profit in this ofiics for tine
year 1894 of $l1. 544 20.
During The last year under the old fee
system when the clerk was entitled to ali
the fees collected. the countv paid the
.. e. - q -
work has greatly increased. and this office
is paid nothing Tor IL. During the isst year
there were nied In this office 22i cases
more than ever we're filed in any perced ng
year. Figuring the Is hole year by the first
three months of this year. We will Me
S.2s4, or $50 cases moro than were nied IN
any one year prior to my taking the Office.
The total salaries in my predecessors last
year were $2a. SIS. IS; my salaries as they
are now fxed, $au. 100: yearly saving in
salaries of "a, ass S."
In further explanation Mr.. Gordon said
that u 800 cases have been dOcketed since
the state was admitted intoths Union in
November, 1859; being moro by one-half
than the number docksted from the organ
ixation of the territory in 1854 mp to that
data. "Whsu the state was admitted there
were only eight appearance docketa Now
We have forty. From the time the state
Was admitted to the present time We have
filled fifty journals with 600 pages each.
The last year under the fee system, when
the clerk paid his own help. he had six
teen employees. and in the probate depart
mens there were employed Eve clerks,
making in all twenty-one employees. BE-
sides the clerk. and when he retired from
Office he had over 5000 of uncollectsd fees
on his books"
Since then oil the probate work has been
thrown into this Office, and in addition to
this the new law takes the matter Of es-
tablishing new roads out of the auditors
Office AMI has placed it in this Office. and,
as the Law il very cumbersome. il has ma
terially increased the work of this Office,
with only eighteen employees, including
County Clerk Gordon, to do the work.
His predecessor had twenty employees. in
Guiding himself in the Office.
''From this statement it will be OBJ
served. said Mr.. Gordon, "that while the
work in this Office has been increasing at q
rapid rate, the expense of the Office has
been decreased and the number of en-
pIoyes lsssened."
The committee intimated that It would
make report in . few days.