Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1911-04-01
Wrong Use and Misrepresentation Of the
County's Money

Dear Editor:-W With me it has al
ways been an exquisite pleasure tc
help the distressed. / have a friend
possessed of this malady. Besides, all
the pain, suffering and anguish he
endures, he is at present struggling
with the serious problem: What
becomes of the County's money and
why are taxes increasing" l do not
wish to disturb my friend, the County
Clerk, but / must tell the PUBLIC
how he is progressing and prospering.
Should be found in error and any
statements l here make be incorrect,
my good friends, Messrs. Larabee and
Bingham, please correct.
The legislature that met in Janu-
airy 1897, passed general fee and
salary bill. This law remained in
force and effect for two years when
Section four was amended so that the
Board of County Commissioners could
allow 5000 instead of $3.50 under the
law of 1897, for clerk hire in addition
to the salary of 5000 per year. George
M. Ufford was county clerk at that
time. He asked no clerk hire: re-
ceived none, though ne did as much
county clefk work as any county
clerk Trego county has ever had
since, and he didn't write insurance
but attended strictly to the business
of his office. John Phares asked for
and received clerk hire, but the
County Commissioners cut it off, or
were about to discontinue it, so the
legislature of 1905, for some unac-
countable reason passed a special bill
for Trego county, compelling the
Board of County Commissioners to
allow the sum of two hundred dollars
per annum ror clerk hire for the
County Clerk, to be paid out of the
county treasury in quarterly INSTALL
ments. The County Clerk has been
receiving the benefit of 5000 per year
as clerk hire ever since, though the
Amendment to the State Constitu-
tion, adopted at the general election
in November 1906, was intended to
repeal this law and do away with all
special legislation. Remember, that
this is special act passed as such.
Or course, if this special act was an
nulled by the adoption of the Consti-
tutiOnal Amendment named. the
Roard of County Commissioners could
still allow clerk hire but was not
so to do. However, if al
lowed, the warrant must be made
direct to the clerk and only upon
itemized and verified voucher as pro-
vided by Chapter 225 of the Session
laws of 1905. And this law still re-
mains in full force and effect. though
the County Commissioners have not
required a compliance with it, and |
have been as derelict in this as in |
many other cases previously stated, I
that is, in former articles. The last I
law named has not been repealed, /
though the last legislature changed /
the law concerning the salary of our
County Clerk and in regard to clerk
hire. To these changes 1 wish to
call the attention of the County
Clerk, the County Commissioners and
the Taxpayers. Before l do this let
me say that owing to the County
Clerks rush of business, he failed to
give in his valuable tables a column
for clerk hire.
About the first of the year there
was a Convention of the County
Clerks of the state, held at Wichita
After four years experience, Mr.
Larabee certainly did not need the
benefit to be derived from that Con-