People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-12-05
The DOubledau Law.

James Lawrence,in the fee and salary
case, makes so many good points
that we quote below an extract from
it:
"The court will take judicial notice
that this act went into effect on the
10Th of April, 1893, and that this de-
PENDANT, as register Of deeds, was
elected in November, 1893, and took
his Office under such election in the
month of January, 1894, long after the
act went into effect. In view OF the
fact that special acts have been before
the court recently, in the case Of
Miami county, chapter 50 Of the SEES
sion laws of 1893, and chapter 95 of the
session laws of 1898, relating to CherO-
kee and Crawford counties, and which
special acts have been held by this
court unconstitutional, there can be
but little said on the subject. This
court in the case of the commissioners
Of Cherokee county VS.. Chew, A X.
1853, held a similar act to the one in
question constitutional, and we can
not improve upon the language used
in that case nor make any stronger
argument in favor Of this case than
was made in that case by the court,
and we now call the courts attention
to the language used in that opinion,
on page 166: "This act settles the
question OF power in the legislature
to require an officer to turn the fees
Of his Office in excess of a certain
amount into the treasury. 1t may
also be said that as the county furn-
ishes these officers with offices in
which to do their business, and at
great expense, with material used in
connection with their business, and
with fuel and lights to heat and light
them, it is entirely fair to the officer
that he should be required to turn
over to the county in compensation
therefor portion of his fees. The
fees of these officers are created by
the legislature, and that body may
increase or diminish them; and if it
sees fit to regulate them in the way
pointed out in this statute, we do not
think the officers can complain, so
long as the act does not seek to curtail
the fees of any officer elected before
the passage and taking effect Of the
act. Those elected afterward take
the Office with full notice and under
standing as to what the basis Of their
compensation is" The court will
notice that section s, chapter 159, OF
the laws of 1887, reads as follows;
"Sec. s. This act shall take effect
and be In force from and after its
publication in the statute book, and
after the present term Of the officers
hereinbefore named shall have ex.
PRED" and was held constitutional
in the Chew case, while section II of
the Sumner county act reads as fol.
lows; ''Sec. II. This act shall take
effect and be in force from and after
its publication in the official state
paper" Section 10, however, Of the
Sumner county act, which will be
found in the body of the act, provides
that it shall not effect the fees and
salaries Of any Of the ther present
officers, naming each Of them, except.
ing the county surveyor. And we
submit that the language used in said
section 10, as follows, "but shall be in
full force and effect as to county sur
Veyor, is surplusage. With or with
out this language the act would have
effected him at once, but would not
have effected the other officers during
their term Of office; but nevertheless
the act would be in force and would
be constitutional law.
The defendant in this case accepted
his nomination and election and took
the office with full notice and under
standing as to what the basis Of his
compensation was and what he was t
do, and we submit to the court that
the act in question clearly come:
within the decision of the court rend
cred in the case above mentioned. L
there are any Objectionable feature!
IN this law, they are in the body O,
the act and are not in the sectionwhicl
provides when the act shall take
effect, and if we are correct in thii
conclusion then it necessarily follows
that the trial court committed al
error in sustaining the motion t
quash. and the decision should be re
verSed.