The Ocala banner., 1906-11-02
Mr.. LIGHTS FIGURES ARE MIS-
LEADING.
To the Editor ocala Banner:


the Ocala Banner, dated the 18th of
October, which was SO full of errors
as to salaries and amounts paid by
the various states to appellate courts
that it necessarily must bemislead-
| ing. His first error is that the cler-
ical help of the supreme court of
Florida is paid by the state over
$4,000. This is incorrect. The clerk
of the supreme court receives from
the state $1,000 a year The type
writer, $1,000 a year. The janitor,
who acts as librarian, gets 5000.
The law provides for stenographer
at 5000 per year, but at present no
stenographer is employed.
Mr.. Light says North Carolina pays
the supreme court judges $4,000 each,
or $4,000. North Carolina has five
supreme court judges and at $4,000
year they would get $4,000. He
says that South Carolina pays her
chief justice $4,000 and associate JUS
tees $4,000 and clerical help $3,-
$4,000 South Carolina has four SUI
preme court judges who are paid $3,-
600 per annum. He says Texas pays
her three supreme court judges $4,-
900 a year and that the total appro-
priation for the court is $4,000, and
that four hundred cases are acted on.
He says that Florida judges get $3,-
900 each and $4,000 for clerical help,
making $4,000, and only two humid
dred cases acted upon. These states
ments are very misleading. Taking
the year 1904, the only one in which
the reports are accessible and the
Texas courts wrote opinions in
129 cases. If it acted in other cases
it was to refuse jurisdiction, and with
out opinions, in which comparatively
little labor is required. From June
term 1905 to June term 1906, the Flor
ida supreme court wrote 164 opinions.
Moreover the Florida supreme court
does not pay $4,000 for clerical help
and not much more than half that
sum.
In Texas there is a court of crimi-
nal appeals, whose three judges get
81, 900 a year and an intermediate
court of civil appeals consisting OF
five divisions of three judges each,
whose salary is $3,5OO per year. The
appropriations in 1905 for the two
courts. viz: Supreme court and court
of criminal appeals, six judges, was
1870 and for all the appellate courts
$105,520 p. 462, laws of 1905. The
total salaries of the appellate judges
in Texas is $76,500 per annum.
These figures are given to rebut
the inference of Mr.. Lights letter
that the appellate business of Texas
is done by a court of three judges at
cost of $4,000.
Two years ago the state Of Geor-
gia increased the salaries of her SUI
supreme court judges to $4,000 per
annum, and recently established an
intermediate court of appeals of three
| judges with salaries of $4,000 each.
Alabama pays her seven supreme
court judges salary of $500 per
annum. !,
! 1t costs more to live in Tallahassee
than it does in more northern states,
lperhaps 20 per cent. more than in
| North Carolina. The cost of living
has increased more than so per cent
since 1872, when the salaries of the
Florida supreme court judges were
fixed Six of the ablest of the Flor
ida supreme court judges have left
the court within ten years because
the salary was inadequate (viz: Ra-
ney, Liddon, Carter, Mabry, Maxwell
and GLENN. Such of them as had
families found themselves unable to
pay expenses and educate their child
rem. Those of tfSem who have gone
back to law practice are making
more than twice the salary of a SUI
preme court judge. A wise people
will not desire to have court of last
resort from which the best and most
active lawyers are to be excluded be-
cause of the inadeQuacy OF the sal
airy. A wise people will desire the
best lawyers on it's court Of last re-
sort, and so will every wise man. The
adoption of the salary amendment will
not add one iota to the present rate
lof direct taxation.
Supreme court judges by virtue of
their situation and duties are ex-
cluded from making money in busi-
ness pursuits. If they are not rich,
at the present salaries, they must ex-
Ipect to die paupers. This is not a
pheasant fate which Mr.. Light insists
shall be that of the judges of the SUI
Ipreme court who are not in independ-
ent circumstances.
The Florida supreme court is up
with it's docket and attending to all
the business that comes before it
What more can be demanded?
o. T. GREEN.
4 Come to our town, the metropolis
Inf the county and we'll show Won q