The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1921-12-15
PARLOR DEPUTIES.

PARLOR DEPUTIES.
With one deputy sheriff in Jail charged with
murder and another charged with being beer
runner one can not help but sympathize with
the sheriff in the embarrassment that these
men bring to his department Of course the
sheriff is not to blame for the derelictions of
any of the men who may have commission
under him and custom is largely to be blamed
for the appointment of such men to places
where they are enabled to sport around with
star on their chest and no desire to serve the
public in their hearts and no nerve to serve the
public in their heads.
The deputy sheriff is rapidly becoming
sinecure under the present law and it is time
that the law should be changed so that man
who wears deputy star on his vest WIN have
something to bind him to at least decent COM
pliance with the law even if he does nothing
to enforce it. It is entirely too easy to become a
deputy sheriff and the appointment is handed
out entirely too freely. A score OF deputy
yheriffs would handle all the business to be
handled in Kenosha county and undoubtedly
any man elected as sheriff would be glad to see
a law passed which would limit his appointing
power to this number.
1t isn't new thing to have "parlor deputies. !"
Every sheriff, who has served Kenosha county
in the history has had men on the roll as depu-
lies who contributed nothing but looking wise
and wearing star. These men are not only OF
nd value to the official register of the county
but many times they are reproach upon it.
The appointment of deputy consists in
wheedling the sheriff into signing an appoint
nent, taking an oath and buying star. This
A Tn1ry CHI hn
passed which would demand that every man
who files an appointment as deputy sheriff be
forced to- file with it a good and sufficient bond
for $500 to insure the people of the county
that he will keep his oath of Office. This would
not be barring anyone who is tit to be deputy
sheriff but it would pull the tin stars off lot
of fellows who seek them only as the reward
for political activity. The sheriff would be
freed from lot of embarrassments and lot
Of complications He could issue appointments
which could be of the ''parlor nature" but with
the assurance that these men would not be
wearing stars until such a time as they had
been properly bonded to the county. large
number of the deputies now on the force would
be reegated to the rear and be told to don the
fatigue uniform if this course was followed.
The authority of deputy sheriff is just as
great as that of the sheriff in lot of cases and
the people do not want this power delegated to-
lot of men who have no consideration for the
law and no appreciation of what an official po-
sition means.
AS we have said before the present sheriff
Is no more to blame for the conditions which
exist now that men who have held office before
him have been to blame. He has simply fol-
lowed custom and the desirable thing is to
have this custom changed even if it takes law
or a county ordinance to change it.
The parlor deputies are of no value to the
county, to the sheriff or to themselves and the
sooner all of them are off the official roster the
better it will be for all.