The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1895-05-10

state for what month or year 1t was
claimed and OF course the presumption
is that it was for that year. Tne stat
ute fixes the salary of the Office at $1,000
On Feb. 8, 1894 he filed bills amounting
to s5l2.l5 as the proceeds of his Office for
the month of January which were al
lowed. After these bills had been al
lowed and he had received the money,
the commissioners came to tho conclu-
sion that they had made mistake in al-
lowing him more than one-twelfth of
his yearly salary for any one month and
asked him to turn the balance above one
months salary back intJ the treasury.
We will say that, according TO very re-
cent decision Of the supreme court, the
commissioners were mistaken in their
position on this question. At Robinson's
urgent request, they did not make an or
der at that time for the return OF the
money. Still further investigation con-
yinced them that only small part of
the S5i2.i5 allowed him as tho proceeds
OF his office for tho month OF January
had been earned In that month, but
most OF it had in fact been earned by the
oilico DUNG The yebr 1883, which
should, according to the advice OF their
legal advisor, after paying his salary for
that year, have been turned into the
treasury by Robinson as the excess pro-
ceeds of the Office for that year They
called his attention to this matter and
he at once took issue with them on that
construction OF the law, claiming that he
could pay his salary out Of the fees earn
cd in any previous year Of his term OF OF
flee. Not being able to ascertain from
his monthly reports the earnings OF the
Office for my year, they asked him TO
furnish them nn i,imized statement OF
tho esrpisgs Of the office at the next
meeting OF the board to aid them in max
ing settlement with him. When the
board met, they found that he had not
only disregarded their request Us to tho
report, but that he, instead Of appearing
before them for the p urpose OF arriving
at n settlement, had absenlcd himself
IRON the county, showing, ms they
thought, his determination to make no
effort to adjust the matter. Then It was
that the commissioners entered ON order
Of record for the district attorney to
proceed to onforco the law by securing
n settlement of this matter. The com
missiouers have not acted blindly in
tins matter Luf, IN addition to the al-
vice of the county attorney, they took
counsel with one Of the ablGst attorneys
OF Denver, and took tho position they
have in this matter simply and solely
because they believed 1t to DO their duty
to io so The question rests, as we have
always claimed, upon the construction
that will br placed upon the statutes by
the conrts. Some time after the action
was brought against Robinson, he filed
somo very peculiar claims against the
county. lie nskod the commissioners
to allow him t92J.75 for what he caimed
was due him on his salary % county
judge and probate judge from Nov. II,
1892 TO Dec. n. 1898. He claimed $40 {.
10 Of this amount as a balance due him
ss probate salary aud lac filed this claim
in the face Of tho fact thnt when he was
county attorney ho Ind advised tho com.
missionera that they could not according
10 law nllow a similar bill filed by Judge
Brannon. lie VIA asking them to allow
u claim which he had ndvired them
could not be allowed and now he calls
them "boodlers' because they have done,
aa he claims, precisely what ho asked
lhcm TO do In his case. Consistency
mny bc jewel, but II is not one OF Rob-
inson's iewels. This liz the kind OF n
reformor that In now arroga.ing 10 him
self the guardianship OF tho county. lie
asked the commissioners to allow him
for the year isoJ, s20iI.i0 when the stat
u'ea limit tho salary TO sigt0. The com
missioners refused 10 allow his claims
and then he proceeded 10 bring action
against them aud con nohcss nn attack
upon them through tho Mail denoune-
Ing them M "boodlof." Tor allowing cor
tain claims against the county. II is
somewhat rem,irkhblo also that hc should
have delayed bringing action against the
commissioners IN after they refused 10
allow bia bills when, as far bnck IN 1899,