The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1912-10-17
Parks An Efficient County Clerk.

PARKS All ElIlCISllL LUunty ClClM.
When a man has plainly shown COM
petence for an Office, by his conduct of
it's affairs, it seems almost superf1uous
to sketch the details of the environ
ment and training which gave him that
competence. 1t may, however, serve
to illustrate the old saying, "as the
twig is bent the tree is Inclined to
mention that Earl K. Parks, our eff
Gent county clerk and candidate for re-
election, began the work of bookeeper
and accountant before he was out of
his teens.
While all his technical training has
been received in the daily grind of an
ofice-the best business college" in
the world-he received the sound and
practical education which laid the
groundwork for his technical training.
in the public schools of Saranac, Michi-
gan, (Which at that time ranked among
the best in the state), completing his
Grammar school course at the age of
thirteen, and graduating with honor
from High School at sixteen. At sew
teen became assistant bookkeeper for
R. Stafford Company, one of the larg-
est wholesale commission houses in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The training
received here was exceedingly valuable,
and he has continued to put it's prin-
ciples into almost constant practice
since that time, having held clerical
positions of trust both in Michigan and
| in this state.
When our new county was organized
he was appointed county clerk and his
record in that capacity deserves a par
agraph to itself. Mr.. Parks admits
himself that he nursed the prevailing
idea in regard to the job of county
clerk-that it consisted simply of a
special system of bookkeeping, and
that when one had mastered the de-
tails of that system there was nothing
more to do but to make the proper en-
tries and see that the books were safely
and neatly kept. His first surprise was
his appointment as court commissioner,
and the subsequent discovery that as
such he was expected to decide disput-
ed points of probate law. Forks is no
gutter, so he borrowed countless law
books and burned the midnight ''juice"
| IN
ATOMS of the Code. AS a matter of
fact every detail of the office is regu-
lated by some section of the Code
and sometimes by two or three con-
fiicting sections, in which event the
clerk is obliged to look up supreme
court decisions on the subject and en-
deavor to adjust such decisions to the
circumstances of his particular problem.
1t is generally understood that the
Office of county clerk" is very COM
prehensive term, including the Office of
"clerk of the Superior Court" and
often Gas in this CASEY the office of court
commissioner. AS clerk of the court
Mr.. Parks has shown himself to be
possessed of the qualities which are so
valuable to both judge and attorneys in
the conduct of quickness of per-
ception, presence of mind and rapidity
and accuracy in transcribing the min
utes of the court. Now, the moral of
this would seem to be that our new
fedged and struggling county needs the
service of man like this. In company
with our other new officials, Mr.. Parks
has helped to pull the county through
the most trying period of it's develop
ment. He has spainfully and conscien-
ciously acquired a practical working
knowledge of all the thousand and one
details of his office; he has, by the help
of good memory, gained familiarity
with the various cases pending in the
Superior Court, and he is no longer
obliged to keep people waiting while he
looks up some point of law in con-
nection with his work-as new man
must necessarily do. In other words,
the taxpayers of this county have paid
for his education as county clerk; they
have trained him to give them full value
for their money, and it would seem
good business economy to take advan-
tage of the technical ability which they
have so created.