The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-09-14

relative to the method by which
County officials are compensated for
their services. Up to the present time
these officials have derived their re-
Enumeration by the retention Of all
fees and commissions exaeted on the
business that goes through their Of
hce. There is a decided movement
on foot to change this antiquated sys-
tenn, by putting all County officers up
on a salary basis. So important an
issue has this become, that many of
the most influential citizens of the
State of Florida, have deemed it nee
essary to have an extra session of the
legislature convened for the purpose
Of enacting remedial legislation along
this line. In discussing this matter
with Hon. F. A. Wood, of ST. Peters
burg, Florida, Member of the Legis-
lature for Pinellas County, he has this
to say, in part:
There are two things about repre-
sentative government which have
been known from the beginning.
These two are: that the business of
the people should be conducted eff
GENTLY and economically.
It is an aphorism that the peoples
servants are poorly paid This is so
because the public service carried
with it badge Of honor and distinc-
tion that. Is rightly considered part
Of the compensation Of those who de-
vote themselves to it. For many years
In the history of this country, off,
cial salaries were so small that pub
lie service was not only an honor, but
sacrifice, and a man who devoted
himself to it. at the same time devoted
himself to genteel poverty.
Conditions Years Ago
A generation or so ago, when Flor
Ida was sparsely settled, the job Of
being a County official went begging
The duties of the Sheriff, the Record
er, and all the other functions Of the
local government were so limited that
it scarcely was worth while for any
one able-bodied, competent man to de-
vote all of his time to the task. AS a
consequence the village blacksmith
or some other local citizen assumed
the Sheriff's duties and received as
his pay, fees for the actual service
he performed. Likewise, the mer-
chant who had spare time acted as
recorder of deeds. mortgages, ETC..
and was paid in fees.
For many years in this State, the
Governor of Florida received S3,500 90
and the administrative officers known
as the Cabinet and our Judges, ha6
to content themselves with a beggar
" S2,500.00 We are doing better by
these high public servants now, but
they are still poorly paid, considering
the value and Importance of the serv
| ice rendered.
When we first started out to pay
our County officials, the county bust
ness was SO small that it was found
lmpracticable to fix salaries common
surate with the service rendered; so
we adopted the expedient of allowing
| fees for actual service, so that oul
worthy sheriffs, Tax Collectors, Ia.
Assessors, etc, could make living
out of their chosen trades, business
or professions and when called upol
to perform public service, they receiv
ed compensation for the actual tim,
they devoted to it. The state mad,
these fees high, for the men who fille'
the Offices did their work largely a
an accommodation, and the few fee
which came their way had to be com
mensurate with the time and labo
they took away from their regula
business.
Times Have Changed
AS the business Of the county grey
with the increase of population, tn
revenue to these officials grew, and
soon came about that a man had t
devote all of his time to public serv
ice, but the fees that we're made hig
when the business was small, ha
I not been changed when the bushes
grew large, so that now the total c
fees received by County officials /
far in excess Of the value Of the SER
ice that they render, or the marke
price of this service as fixed by equs
service in other lines of business
We have changed the compensate
of our higher public officials, but "
have not changed that Of our Count
officials; SO that we are now col
frcnted with state Of things tbs
might be termed anomalous. whicl