The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-04
IS THE LAW VALID
COUNTY OFFICERS SALARY BILL
OF 1898 IS CALLED INTO
QUESTION.
NORTH Helm Is iNSISTEMT
THAT THE SALARY SYSTEM ALONE
CAN PROTECT THE TAX
PAYERS.
ATTORNEY GENERALS VIEWS
As to- the Laws Involved viii No
Doubt Be Sought by the
County Fathers.

Attorney Moritz Helm appeared be-
fore the committee on ways and means
of the county commissioners last even
ing and argued in support of the reso-
luton submitted to the county board at
it's last meeting. Mr.. Helm requests the
board to submit to the attorney gen
eral for an opinion as to its validity
chapter 301 of the special laws of 1895.
Under this law the county commission
ers, in December, 1895, fixed the sal
aries of certain of the county officials
at sums not to exceed 1900, and under
the same law these officials were plac-
ed on a salaried basis, and all fees
were to be turned into the county treas
ury. The exceptions under the law are
the clerk of the district court, the
judges and the court stenographer The
contention of Mr.. Helm is that the text
of the law has nothing to do with the
title of the act. The title, the attorney
claims, is all right, but the law itself
fails to carry out the points mentioned
No provision of the law compels the
sheriff or register of deeds to turn over
the fees of the office to the county,
III dll Tic Id w Calls Luz Is lIldI Tie Ol-
fcers shall be paid $4,000 for services
rendered to the county. The sheriff
Mr.. Helm contends, can, after he has
completed his term of Office, under the
law bring action and recover for all
the fees collected and turned into the
county with interest. Commissioner
MoritZ was of the opinion that the law
was a good one until the courts had
decided otherwise, and, if the sheriff
and register of deeds were acting I'M
der it and the resolutions passed by
the county commissioners they could
not recover the fees. Mr.. Helm said
there was nothing in the law which
would prevent the county commission
ers from fixing the salaries Of each
member of that body. at $4,000 per year.
He did not want to go into a law suit
or make the county any expense, and
for this reason asked the board to sub
NIT the question as to the validity Of
the law to the attorney general for an
opinion. He had no doubt. that the
law as now on the books was invalid
from the fact that the title was a
fraud on the text. Commissioner Nor
itz asked Mr.. Helm if the county COM
miSSionerS had carried out the fraud
when the taxpayers were saved money
by the placing of the officials on a sal
aried basis. Mr.. Helm thought the
commissioners had been the victims of
fraudulent legislation. The opinion of
the most prominent members of the bar
was to the effect that the law was not
worth the paper it was written on.
Senator Stevens, he said, who had in
Two hn lori
able to identify but two sections after
it had been passed. When introduced
a section of the law provided that
neither the sheriff nor register of deeds
should handle any of the fees received,
but this and other meritorious provi-
sions had been stricken out. Commits
sioner Moritz raised the point that, if
the law should be declared invalid.
there would be nothing to fall back on,
as the fee laws had been repealed. Mr..
Helm Informed the committee that, if
the law was a bad one, the repeating
clause would also be knocked out. Com
missioner Hardck called attention to
the fact that the Hennepin officials
were working under the law of 1895
very satisfactorily.
Mr. Helm thought the condition of
affairs and particularly the position
assumed by the public officials in Hen
nepin county when it came to q mat
ter of finance did not speak we'll for
the neighboring county. The Ramsey
county board had done the best it
could, but there was nothing in the act
to prevent the commissioners from fix
ing their own salaries at $4,000 per
year. Mr.. Helm said his clients who
were working for an opinion from the
attorney general ON the validity of the
law were tax payers. This, Commits
sioner Moritz said, he doubted as, if
the law was declared invalid, it would
result in a big loss to the taxpayers of
the county, as the officers would go
back to the fee system. Mr. Helm
said after the present officials had fin
ished their terms the commissioners
would find that suits would be COM
menced for all the fees collected, with
interest, and this was where the loss
to the county would come in. Commits
sioner Moritz had an idea that Mr..
Helm was working in the interest of
the county officials Who so far as he
could learn. were the only ones oD-
posed to the salary basis. Mr.. Helm
Indignantly denied this. Commission
| er Hardick said the resolutions passed
| by the commissioners fixing the sal
| then county attorney, Pierce Butler,
| and he relied a great deal on IIr. But
| ler's ability as a lawyer.
| Mr.. Helm attempted to show what
he meant by calling the law a fraud
and explained how things were carried
through Tic legislature. In 81 a bill
! was passed which made it the duty IF
| the county officials to turn into the
| county treasury a certain per cent IF
| the fees collected. In round figures
! this law, which was TO take effect two
years after it's passage, would have in
creased the revenue Of the county
about $25, 600, at least On the last day
| of the legislature of 1893 a bill was
rushed through repeating the law of
1891 In the hurry to repeal the pei
| centage law the friends of the bill hot
| only did what they were after, but also
| repealed the salary of the assessor OF
| Ramsey county and also abolished the
| office of abstract clerk. In his opinion
neither of the officials mentioned were
under any law, entitled to salary ex-
| cept under the law which he now
| claimed was invalid This, he said
| showed that the lobby was stronger
| than the people and explained why the
| law now under consideration was
| passed.
| Commissioner Moritz said he had
heard no tax payer kicking on the law.