The Holbrook news., 1917-02-16

By a decision of the state su-
 preme court announced a few
 days ago. the law of 1912 under
 which the salaries of county off cers have been paid during the past five years was declared un- constitutional. This decision af- fects every county officer who IS now holding office, or who held office during that period. In some counties officials will be compelled to reimburse their counties for excess salaries re- ceived. while in other counties the officials will demand and re- ceiYe back salaries to a consider able amount. The supreme court held that the law of 1901 is the one that should govern the off cial salaries, and not the law of 1912.
 The constitution provides that no county officers. including justices of the peace In precincts containing a city, shall obtain fees. It is held, however, that this provision is not self-execut- ing. and that in the absence of a l legislative enactment, it cannot be enforced. Should it be found | necessary to turn back to the salary system of 1901, the const- itutlonal provision prohibiting changing the remuneration of an official during bis term in office, will likely be encountered.
 In view of these things. there fore, it is believed more than likely that the legislature will take cognizance of the situation and pass law. classifying the counties according to some stan- dard that will meet the approval of the highest court.
 It was because the classified ton act of 1912, in which the counties of the State are divided into IA classes, is so framed as to make it impossible for it to oper- ate upon counties according to their population and because it searches out and legislates for the counties in effect by name, rather than by difference of population, the Supreme court held that the act is special and local legislation and therefore unconstitutional.
 Under the classification act of 1912, county officers in all of the IA counties of the State have been drawing salaries, which may prove to be unprovlded for by the law. Many of them may be forced to pay back money drawn for salaries, and others may be entitled to more money than they have drawn.
 An act of the territorial legis- lature of 1901, fixed the salaries of all county officials, and the Supreme court is of the opinion that the law of 1901 should be the statute under which county officials are paid.
 The case was brought to the Supreme court by Frank L. Hunt, former county assessor of Mo- have county, who sued the coun- ty for his salary under the law of 1901, claiming that the 1912 law was class legislation, inas- much as it classified the counties arbitrarily.
 The court finds that the most serious objection to the act is that it fails to provide any way by which one county may pass from one class to another. A county assigned to a class must always, regardless of any change of population, remain in that class. While the act in form is general in substance, 1t is special and local. Stripped of circumlocu- tion, it is in effect IA special acts, one for each county. The court infers that the act might just as we'll have named the county out right and omitted all classified tions.
 The court finds that the act takes the present population of the different counties as a basis of it's pretended classification and makes that population the per manent standard of fixing the|