St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-28
OTHER SERVANTS OF THE COUNTY
WHO HANDLE MUCH MONEY IN
A YEAR.
COURT REPORTERS CINcH
CLAIMED AS A STATE OFFICE. HE
MAKE NO REPORT OF RE-
CEIPTS.
BILIOUS SUMS SUGGESTED
AS Reasonable Estimates of thu
Moneys That Annually Burden
His Finger Tips.

There is some inquiry among those
county officials whose reports to the
county auditor were commented upon
in the G b e OF Sunday morning as
TO why all the other county officials are
not also required TO make reports. The
law eXempts no one, providing that ''all
county officials" must report receipts of
all kinds for the year. OF course but
little is to be gained by compelling
the county attorney assessor. surveyor,
probate judge and clerk of the probate
court TO make reports, because those
officials receive straight salaries, and
everybody knows. or ought to know,
what these salaries are. Yet it might
be We'll to have them report just for
the satisfaction of knowing how much
1t cost to conduct each office during the
year. The surveyor has just made
such. report for his office. The as
SCISSOR employs a number of clerks, as
does also the clerk of probate and it
might be well to show just how much
the county had to pay for their serv-
ices
But anybody can secure this Informal
ton from the county auditor, as re-
CARDS any one of the offices enumerat-
ed. The object of the law probably
was to compel those holding offices
supported by fees to make reports so
that the people could keep posted as to
the amount of their income. 1t is also
probable that the person who framed
the law contemplated making them re-
port expenditures as well as receipts,
but failed to word his bill definitely
enough to compel this Now, there
af or
from which no reports have been made,
the district court reporter and coroner
George n. Hillman, court reporter, says
he is not county officer but a part
Of the court, which is a state office,
and therefore he is not required to re-
port.
Some attorneys spoken to about the
matter gave 1t as their opinion that this
is the correct view of the matter. New
efthelesS the people of Ramsey county,
or at least those having litigation here,
bear the expense of supporting the
court reporters office, and it should not
be considered indelicate on their part
to ask few questions regarding the
receipts and disbursements thereof A
special law relating to the court report
er of this county fixes his salary at
$4,000 and allows him to charge a fee
of 10 cents per folio Of 100 words for
every original transcript made and 8
cents per folio for duplicates.
Mr.. Hillman has five court stenogra-
piers in addition to himself and the
lady typewriter, part of the time two
in his office. He pays the highest sala-
ries of any official in the court house.
Call 1t six employees at $40 a month
each and the aggregate for a year is a
little less than $4,000, leaving Mr.. Hill
man net Of $4,000 year for himself.
and all the fees of his office besides.
OF course, no adequate estimate can be
made regarding these fees, but they
must be enormous, considering the
large amount of transcribing that is
constantly being done. 1t is claimed
by some that the fees more than equal
the salary. However this may be, Mr..
Hillman is probably holding the second
best paying Office in the court house,
and he don't have to put up anything
for campaign expenses either. But this
must be said, that if faithful service
and industry cannot be too highly re-
Warded, Mr.. Hillman certainly merits
a handsome income.
AS for the coroner, there is no means
of making any estimate at all of his re-
ceipts. But should he not report them
to the auditor?
According to the report of County
Surveyor Gates A. Johnson, just hand
ed in to the county auditor. The receipts
of his office for the year aggregated
$3,552.32 and the expenditures 1888,
leaving Mr.. Johnson net income Of
1853. OF the 3,552.32 the office cost the
county, 81, ,108.50 has been charged up
against property owners, and will be
paid back by them, for the sub-dividing
of various miscellaneous tracts. This
leaves the net cost of the office 81, 1882.