The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-06

 salaries. There is . Judge of Probate, on account of the ministerial part of his duties, who Is placed upon fees. There are the clerks in the circuit Courts, who hold their term for six years. they are placed upon fees. There is a Register in Chancery who rec ceives fees and then the Clerk We ar'e now discussing is placed upon fees. and all the other inferior courts who're the clerks are appointed or qualified, you will find that all of them. Mt. Presi- dent, receive fees and not salary. Therefore l say 1t Is the policy of the State of Alabama to pay this character of officers fees and not put them upon a salary. Why should we depart from it in this instance. Why should 1t be changed from the old Consultation ? Why should the clerk of the Supreme Court be placed upon salary, when no other officer of like kind or charac- ter is paidl that way. The trouble rises in the minds of some of the dele gates because they believe that the clerk receives too much compensation for the service he renders. Rut tue rem edy is not to place him upon a salary. but to reduce the fees if they are too much. That is the way to reach 1t. oAAN ASt thC POiASy OL tic otdtC hts uiF- mon!ous in regard to all offices. Now [ myself have undertaken to ascertain by inquiry. but not by thorough in vestigation. how this office pays. and have only learned that 1t pays less than is the general belief of good many delegates and of a good many of the people of Alabama. It makes no difference on this question, the view take of it. If it be too much, reduce the fees and rates. and I am In favor of reducing the expenses of the liti. gants in the courts. not that the same fees should be collected. not that any part of 1t should go into the treasury. because I believe that is a departure from the policy of the State. I am in favor so far as I now know ~and f were in the Legislature upon this question I would vote for a reduction of the fees, but I never would vote there or here to put an officer of that character upon a salary. What would follow? You would place the cierk upon salary. and his subs in office would likewise be placed upon a salary. You could not pay them with fees If the clerk was not paid with fees, and the result would be that you would have three more salaried officers Adde,l to the officers in Alabama. Would the people of Alabama endorse that action I think not. They are not desiring any law by which the treasury Is to be called upon for the payment of the ot- ficers of the State of this character.
 Now. MT President. I think the mat ter has been discussed pretty thorough ly. and I move to lay the amendment or the substitute of the gentleman from Sumter. upon the table.
 Mir. Ashcraft desires to be heard in that connection and withdraw the motion with the understanding that he will renew 1t.
 CThere was objection)
 MT. Sanford (pike)--I object. I raise the point of order that whenever a motion is made before this house 1t be- longs to the house. and not to the gentleman who makes 1t.
 MT. Pettus-I rise to a point of order. Not until a motion is submitted to the house does 1t belong to the house. Until a motion has been submitted to the house by the Chair the gentleman has a right to withdraw it.
 Mir. Samford-The chair has sub mitted the question to the house.
 President protem-The gentleman from Pike Is mistaken. The chair had commenced to state the question. but had not stated 1t.
 MT. Smith (Mobile)-My recollection Is | was out there smoking when the Chair announced 1t. and broke and run to vote.
 MT. Ashcraft-Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention, was in favor of the Clerk of the Supreme Court being elected by the people. believe that if the people are capable of selecting the Chief Justices of this State by their suffrages that they are certainly capable of selecting the Clerk of the Supreme Court, but that question has been settled. I cannot conceive how any man can think that a merely clerical officer. charged with only min isterial duties, ought in common de- cency to be permitted to receive larger compensation from the people of this State than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, whom we are told 1t Is his duty to serve. But we are$ told that the fee system has been estab- lished. True, it has, and. Mir. Presi" dent and gentlemen of the Convention, you will understand that they never have wrested any office from the fee system except after a great struggle. We are here today to make that strug- gle. We are here to make an effort for economy, and that Is what the people want us to do. But they tell us we are not working for economy. am in- formed that about 450 to 470 cases come to the Supreme Court annually. The friends of this measure say that the average cost does not cogne below SIS. 50 a case. If he collects fees for 400 cases it makes the fees of this of- flee $z,400. Two thousand of that goes for library. which leaves s, 400 for the Clerk Suppose he has an assistant at $1,000, or gets $1,000 worth of assist ance. that would leave him $i.400 just $500 more than the Chief Justice of Alabama receives. Such a state of af- fairs. l submit, is against the common conception of what is right, and this Convention ought not to act against what is usually conceded to be right.
 Mir. Sanford (Montgomery)-Don you know that in many cases where there are reversals he gets nothing. and don't you know that oftentimes when the cases are affirmed he gets nothing because they are insolvent?
 Mir. Ashcraft-lt Is very signific mt that notwithstanding that one of the hardest fights has been made here that has been made upon this floor, not ne of the friends of this proposition brings us the figures here to show us what the truth is. If we are claiming they are too large they have got the re- cords. Why dor't they bring them here and show us what the figures are.
 MT. Sanford (Montgcmery)--They didn't know the question was coming up.
 MT. Ashcraft--Didn't know the ques-