The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-03-19
TRUSTEES ALWAYS HAD SPECIAL
ATTORNEYS WHO WERE WELL PAID
H

Drew administration when Judge
George p. Raney was attorney gen.
eral and received $1,000 Of the
amount stated. Nor was any howl
raised during the Perry administers
ton when Fleming & Daniel were
paid $7,450. These transactions bear
the earmarks of political favoritism.
for the importance of the cases al
compared with the magnitude OF the
present was trivial. During his
service as attorney general from
1S71-S1 Judge Raney received in fees
and expense items $S,s75.SS. Later
he became chief justice of the SUI
preme court and subsequent to that
service he was retained again in 1894
during the Mitchell administration
under the following resolution:
June 1, 1894.
Resolved, That the Board of Trus-
tees of the Internal Improvement
Fund retain ex-Chief Justice George
p. Raney as general counsel of the
board during the present administra-
ton, and that the treasurer Of the
board is hereby instructed to pay
Judge Rapey the sum of one thou
sand dollars as general retainer
during that period"
Then such items in the minutes as
these following, indicating that the
sum of one thousand dollars q year
was paid as retainer and that when
any real service was performed extra
compensation was asked and given.
And all this happened in the Saturn
| ian times when the railroads were
getting all they wanted. Here fol-
lows the specimen entries:
July IL, 1851 have received from
the board $1,000. OF course my ser.
vices to the board in the. suits at
Jacksonville have been attended with
some expense. win be obliged il
the board will allow me some add
tional compensation and am willing
to render an account for services rem.
dered in such of the above matters
as have been concluded, or If this
board prefers they can make me a
general allowance on account and
postpone the final adjustment of &C.
counts till the other matters are con.
that the treasurer of the board pay
Judge George P. Raney one thousand
dollars on account"
Jan. 81, 1S96-Dear Governor: II
you and the other members of the
Board of Trustees /. 1. Fund think 1t
proper I will be obliged II you will
allow me $500 on fee account as at
torney for the board. have not men
toned the matter to any of them.
Very truly yours,
Geo. p. RANEY."
Aug. 20, 1861 would be very
much obliged IL the trustees would
allow me about $500 on fee account.
Would be glad to have it this week
If it can be so arranged convenient
ly."
The judge always got what he
asked for.
Compared With Former Boards.
These references are made with the
purpose of emphasizing the point that
IL the honesty of the present board
Of trustees is to be questioned 1t is
more reasonable and more just, cir
cumstances considered, TO question
the honesty of former boards-and it
is not recorded that this has ever
been the case. II 1t is not question
of integrity, then it is one of extrava-
gance-. II the present board is ex-
travagant, then former boards were
more extravagant.
The present board has something
real and tangible to show for the
money it has spent. The ocular DEM
onstration can be made, but former
boards haven't even left so much as
complete record OF their fransac-
tons, and it was left for the present
board to preserve the records and
make permanent those that they did
leave.
When viewed from distance OBJ.
jects, and facts as well, present diff.
ferent meaning TO the honest inyesti-
gator than when he is near.