The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-12-27
COUNTY CLERKS OF KANSAS.

A Republican farmer friend had his
say on county clerks in yesterdays
Eagle. While it is proper and right TO
give every class and interest a hearing
to the end that all possible abuses may
be corrected and progress maintained,
it very often happens that for the
want of information or in the absence
of the necessary expert knowledge a
criticism proves extremely one-sided
and even unjust The editor of the
Eagle filed the position once himself
and knows of the great responsibilities
of the Office, Of its honerous duties and
hard work. With a competent and
honest county clerk the taxpayers in
terests are comparatively safe. The
county clerk not only keeps all the pub
lie accounts and whose books stand as
a check to the county treasurer and to
every official who handles public
monies, but as clerk Of the board of
county commissioners, in nine cases
out of ten, where he is a competent
man, through his extra knowledge of
the official and business affairs of the
public, he very largely controls the
terests. Their meetings with each
other, therefore, to compare notes and
to impart their own experience of the
best methods of county administration
for their own better enlightment and
for the more recently elected among
their number, is of value to the tax
payer who pays the bills. AS for cOun-
ty clerks appearing before the legisla-
ture, no set of officials are so we'll pre-
pared to tell members of the legislature
what laws for the government of coun-
ties ought to be amended and how;
where the laws for the assessment and
collection of taxes are unequal in their
workings and in what respects they
should be amended. how the public
monies can be made more secure, and
so forth, than these same county
clerks? Take, for instance, the clerks
Of Sedgwick county for the past
twenty years, and what other office has
been filled with such benefit to the tax
payer? And what is true of Sedgwick
Is true of many counties in Southwest
that we could name. These |
clerks have not only been found COM
petent and faithful in the discharge of |
the immediate duties of their own Of |
fees, but have kept tab On all the pub |
lie business of the counties, whether |
transacted by the commissioners, by |
the treasurerS, or by whom not
As for a further criticism of our |
farmer friend, it is not the fault of the
county clerks that all property is not |
uniformly assessed at its real value.
For years these county clerks have
been trying to pound it into the heads
If succeeding legislatures that the
Kansas law for the assessment and
collection of taxes is in many respects
IN unequal and burthersome enact
nent.
We can name at least four Sedgwick
county clerks, including the present
the value Of whose services
o the county was worth far more to
he taxpayer than the salaries they
we're paid even if they had been twice
II thrice as much. The very position
# county clerk with reference to the
'ther officers Of the county, inculcates
J watchful disposition which grows
lpon him until he performs much SER
ice from pride and patriotic motives.
Under our Kansas laws the county
Jerk is not only the responsible ac-
ountant and an ex-officio member of
be board of commissioners,-wh is
be legislative and administrative
ower of the county--but the real or
efacto auditor of all the bills against
he public treasury.
In short our farmer friends crit
isms to the contrary Notwithstanding,
here is no more important county po- !
ition for the taxpayer than that of
ounty clerk, and our experience and
is that nine out of ten of
hem are not only competent but faith
I'll to their trusts.