The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-05-23
TESTING The FEES
Register Clarke Will Take
the New Salary Act to
Court.
BUT HOW TO DO IT?
Dugan Refuses to Fine Him
500 and No Freeholder
Will Urge It.

The constitutionality of the act of 1885
abolishing the fee system in the offices OF
the Register, County Clerk and Surrogate
in counties of the first class and making
them salaried offices is to be tested. Reg
ister James C. Clark will take the initia-
tive County Clery Maurice ]. Stack
will take no part / the contest as ne Is
satisfied with the salary system, and
Surrogate James T. Lilis is not interested
as the provisions of the act do not apply
to his office until after the expiration OF
his present term
The act fixes salary of $500 for each
of these officials in lieu of fees. Surro-
gate Ellor of Essex County. where the
law has been in operation for some time.
began a contest about a year ago, but
dropped it at the instigation of the Re-
publican leaders who considered it bad
politics to question the acts of a Republic
can legislature.
1t is estimated that under the fee sys-
tenn the offices of County Clerk and
Register netted about S12 100 year an
nually and out of that the officials paid
their clerks. The clerks were not paid as
much salary as they will receive under
the system, but Register Clarke says
positively that il the act IS declared un-
constitutional the decision will not affect
tha eanpolyes in his office. He will re-
tain the same number of clerks and pay
them the same salaries. Just how the
contest is to be inaugurated has not yet
been determined.
In order to make the county take the
initiative Mr.. Clarke purposely re1ralneo
from turning over the receipts OF ms
Office to the County within the time pre-
scribed by the law, thereby making him
self. liable to a fine of 500. He turned
over the receipts on the da yafter the
time had epired and expected that Col
lector Dugan, acting for the Board OF
Freeholders, would institute proceedings
to recover the fine, but Mr.. Dugan has no
intention of doing anything of the kind.
If Mr.. Dugan should begin suit against
MIR. Clarke to recover the flne the
raised.
In view of the stand Mr.. Dugan takes
in the matter, however, some other
method of bringing the act before the up
per court will have to be devised. MI.
Clarke is of the opinion that the act
makes it manditory on the County Coilec-
tor TO sue for the fine. Counselor Joiih
Griffin prepared a resolution directing the
Collector to begin suit, and 1t was To
bava heen offered at the meeting of the
Board of Freeholders on Monday after-
moon but no Freeholder would offer it.
some other method of testing the act VIII
be found.
.srhe law is very crude and indefinite IN
its proyision." said Mr.. Clarke, TINS morn
ing. IF it is declared to be constitutional
we can abide by it and have the oelects
ramedied by future legislation, but II II Is
unconstitutional we should know II as
soon as possible The last paragraph Oh
the act reads:-
..said Surrogate, County Clerk ana
Register of Deeds shall select ana EN-
nloy the necessary deputies and assistants
for said offices, who shall receive such
compensation as shall be approved py the
Boards of Freeholders of their respective
counties and who shah be paid monthly
Inv the proper disbursing otacers OF the
eaid counties on warrants authorized py
tbe Boards of Freeholders of the respec-
tive counties.
.SThe Freeholders,'' continued MT.
Clarke. eare directed to pay the salaries
but are not directed to make any appro-
nriation for paying them. 1t does not say
presumed that it was the intention OF the
Legislature that these salaries should De
paid out of the fees, but there IS nothing
in the law which says that the fees shan
he used for that purpose. The Legislature
probably intended that the ofnces shouiu
he self sustaining, but this is only sur
mise and is another argument In laVor
of testing the constitutionality of the act.
.arhe law provides that the fees shall
he turned over to the County collector
hut does not specify what the collector
shall do with the money Many prom
inent lawyers agree with me taht the
law is very crude and should be tested
THE act of 1898 as fiffirst presented ap-
plied to all the counties in the State. Tne
south Jersey Republicans protested and
If was amended to apply to counties OF
the first class only. The Register Oh
Camden County is paid by fees and his in
come is greater than the salary pald 10
the Register of either Essex or HUDSON