The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-03-13
JUDGES SALARIES SAVED.
A Move to Reduce Them to $4,000
Defeated.

In Senator Hugh Farrelly of Necsho
county the district and appellate judges
of this state have a champion who, by
stubborn work on the floor of the senate
last night. succeeded in saving for each
of them the sum of $500 a year. 1t was
wholly through the efforts of Senator
Farrelly that the salaries of district and
$500 a year in the executive and judicial
appropriation bill, which was agreed upon
last night by both houses of the legiSla-
ture. and is now in the hands of the gov
The bill originated in the house and
when messaged to the senate was referr-
ed to the ways and means committee.
That committee recommended a number
OF amendments, among others that the
salaries of all district and appellate
Judges should be reduced TO 5000 a year.
with the exception of the district judge
or Shawnee county, whose salary was
Wl1en the amendments were read Sem
ator Farrelly at once objected to what
he termed discrimination in favor of the
Judge Of Shawnee county. and asked that
the salaries of all district and appellate
judges be left at $500. He was answered
by Senator Sterne, who is a member of
the ways and means committee and
through whose efforts the salary of Judge
Hazen was left unchanged. who stated
that the district judge of Shawnee county
was practically doing the work of two
er compen SatiOn than any other district
judge in the state.
The latter statement Senator Farrelly
resented I desire to say" said he.
that the district judge of the Seventh
district which is the district in which I
reside, has more people in his district
and as much. if not more. business to at
tend TO than the judge of the Third jul
dicial district. He is compelled to travel
about while holding court, and bear the
expense of hotel fare and railroad fare.
while the judge of the district court in
Shawnee county can remain at home and
travels more than to and from the
court room and his residence l say that
it is not just that one man should be
made pet, and that in his fixing his sal
airy a discrimination should be made
against the other members of the judi
cial department. | move that the salaries
of all of the district and appellate judges
be raised to $500 a year"
This motion was lost. and the bill as
amended by the ways and means commits
tee. referred to a conference COMMITTEES
for the purpose Of adjusting the differs
enceS between the salaries fixed by the
house and amendments adopted by the
senate.
The report of this committee however.
made no change in the judicial appropria-
ton as amended by the senate. Senator
Farrelly again objected and requested an
other conference committee. Several 9TH
other portions of the bill, made the same
request. and second committee ap-
pointed by the chair On this second COM
mittee Senator Farrelly was appointed.
Before taking charge of the bill, Senator
Farrelly announced that he would make
every effort possible to make the salaries
of district and appellate judges uniform
and that he wished the senate to dis
tinctly understand that he went on the
committee with that purpose. The sec
and when the report was read it was
found that the salaries of all district and
appellate judges had been placed at s.. 800
No other changes were made in the report
of the first committee, and this report was
adopted by both houses.
The salaries in the bill finally passed
house ways and means committee. and
but few remain at the reduced amounts
fixed in the senate fee and salary bill Al
though number of attempts were made
to reduce the salaries of the judges of
the supreme court, $1,000 is allowed to each
per ahnum in the bill that was passed
last night.