Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-10-05
Delusive Figures.

Inc county COMMISSIONERS lolIo"
ing up their partisan showing OF re-
trenchment, have deemed it necessary
to issue bulletin, which apparently
shows that several OF the county Of
fees have been selfsupporting the
past month. This is the way it &C
composites the feat: In the office OF
the Auditor the cash receipts are
placed at $l77.G0 and County work"
at so 40, making an aggregate OF
$4,000, while the salaries (notwith-
standing the Commissioners gave or
ders that the Auditor should receive
only his own salary Of $3.50 and $50 for
clerk, amounting to $2lO) cost the
people 1870. Now it will be observed
that the little joker is in that mysteri-
Gus unknown quantity" county work"
which, like the Congressman's sun
dries" may be made To include any
thing, and much or little of it, as the
emergency requires. County work"
may of necessity be made to cover
time spent in the primaries, the
: county convention, or in talking poll
tics on the street corner, so it is skill
fully hid from the eyes of the tax
payer and voter. Take the Clerk for
another example: His cash receipts
and county work" are placed at
$294.1O in the official bulleting and
the amount accruing for salaries is
given at $233.33, an apparent excess
OF earnings of $69.7O. The Commits
sioners do not deem it even necessary,
in this statement to segregate the
items, which are dumped in as cash
receipts and county work." 1t would
be interesting to the taxpayer, who
will soon be called upon to pass his
verdict upon official acts, to be in
formed on what basis county work"
is based. Is it five or ten dollars per
day, or is the time spent in sucking
the ends of lead-pencils or yowing"
over the party mistakes, Jumped off
as "job lott? 1t would have been
an easy matter 10 have shown how
many days have been devoted exclu-
sively to "county work." if the SER
vice has been performed. And another
item of some interest to the public is,
when were the Auditor and Clerk au-
thorized by the Commissioners to
employ an extra clerk each, after the
Commissioners had so boldly declared
that they should have but one each
and no more?
The partisanship of the manifesto
is shown by the returns made for the
Sheriff. His cash receipts are placed
at $50. 10 and county work" at 1886,
q total of $l39.79, while he draws on
salary account $222.5O. 1t will be
seen that juggle of figures is not
made to show that he earns his sala-
ries to himself and deputy, but on the
contrary that he has cost the county
$S2.74 more than his excepting"
His "county work." or sundries,"
could just as easily have been made
to cover an amount that would show
. saving, as of the Auditor and Clerk
but he does not belong to the party
ct the helm, and must paddle his own
canoe.
If the action of the Com missioners
in reducing salaries and incumbents
just before their party convention
assembled, was regarded so plainly as
o party expedient at that time, how
much more 80 is the present attempt
to whitewash" the insubordination
of the Auditor and Clerk in employ
ing more aid than is authorized by
these same Commissioners, who have
full authority to control the number
and compensation OF subordinate Of
ficers.
If the extra clerks are employed by
their sanction, why was not the fact
made as apparent in their proceedings
as was the reduction in force? If they
are employed with their consent, as
the statement they publish in the
court Journal, amply shows, why was
not some reason given for the sudden
abandonment of the policy of retrench-
ment they made the basis of so much
party capital, as we'll as a comprehen-
sive statement of what duties are en-
braced in and the hours the a." super
numaries" are employed in county
work." The campaign is yet young
and they have ample time to explain.
ANOTHER charge brought against Judge dor
don 10 that he is alien and has not taken out his
papers emitting him to citizenship. That charge
Is easily answered, however. by record evidence