Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1925-12-25
SALARIES PAID
VIRGINIA OFFICERS
amounts Expended For Office Hold
ers As Compared to Other States

The business of inquiring into the
salaries Of state officials under usua
conditions might be thankless one
and fraught with dangers of criti
cism as to meddlesomeness. But thS
conditions in Virginia are not usua
ones. The Commonwealth is a large
and wealthy one. and the volume OF
it5 public business is vast and vital
ly important to the welfare of al
of its citizenship. That not a single
one OF the Virginia officials in the
list published by the Federal Gov
eminent for all of the states is over
paid must be apparent to even the
casual reader upon comparison
with what ether states are doing for
their similar officials.
Salaries of Governors
Twenty-seyen states pay their
Governors a greater salary than does
Virginia Illinois is most gracious
in this respect, rewarding its chief
executive with salary of $4,000
year, or as much as a cabinet Of
ficer gets for his portfolio in the ma
tional administration Seven states
pay their Governors $4,000 a year
These are California, Massachusetts.
New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Penn
sylvania. and West Virginia Rhode
Island and Indiana stand third with
$4,000, and Nebraska, Georgia, Ala
bama. Mississippi, Louisiana, Mon
tana, and Oregon, are fourth with a
salary of 81 500 for their Governors
Minnesota and Nevada each pay ST.
600; North Carolina, Kentucky and
Arizona, $500; Iowa, $4,000; and
Florida. Wyoming, Utah and Wash
ington have $4,000 as the salary
scale for the office in those states.
The salary of the Governor of Vir-
ginia is $1,000. the same amount as
is paid the chief executive in Maine,
Connecticut, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Missouri. North Dakota, Kansas,
South Carolina, Idaho. Colorado, and
New Mexieo-eleven other states in
all
In &c of the As States the salary
of the Governor exceeds that of any
other official; in States his salary
is equaled by that of one or more
OF the officials; and in 3 States his
salary is exceeded by the salary of
one or more of the officials. In Vir-
ginia the salaries of the Auditor,
the Treasurer and the Commissioner
of Insurance equal that of the Gov
ernor; no officer receives more than
the Governor
What Legislators Receive
Twenty-one States pay the mem
bers OF the House of Representatives
on the basis of a flat amount per
session or per annum. OF these
twenty-one. twelve do better by their
legislators than does Virginia. This
state pays member of the House
$500 per biennial session. Illinois
with a compensation of $4,000 per
biennial session heads the list; Penn
sylvania coming second with $4,000.
New Hampshire with $500 per bien-
NAL session is the most parsimonious
Twenty-seven States handle the mat
ter on a per diem basis, the highest
being s12 a day in Wyoming, and
the lowest So in Kansas and Oregon
The salary of the Speaker of the
House in Virginia. is 1920 per BIZ
ennial session Twenty States pay
their similar officers in a lump sum,
and of these, fifteen states allow
more than does this state, Penn
sylvania and Illinois have salary of
$4,000 per biennial session for this
position. massachusetts, pays $4,000
per annum, and Iowa, $4,000 per BIZ
ennial session.
Virginia pays the members of its
Senate $500 per biennial session.
Twenty-one States allot lump sum
for this office, and of these, twelve
give more than does Virginia. In
every instance, except one, the sal
airy of the State Senator is the same
as that Of the Member of the House.
In Minnesota, he receives $4,000 per
biennial session and the House Mem
Der $1,000, or half as much.
The constitutions of 35 States con-
tain provisions for Lieutenant Gov
ernor, who succeeds to the governor
ship in case that office becomes va
cant. In each of these states, ex-
cepting Massachusetts,, the Lieuten'
ant Governor is the presiding Off
Ger in the Senate. Twenty eight oil
these states provide salary for the
office. but in the other Z states ht
receives pay only as the presiding OF
ficer during sessions of the Senate
This latter is the case in Virginia
where the Lieutenant Governor pre-
sides in the Senate and receives thu
same salary as the Speaker of tn
House of Delegate. New York ant
Pennsylvania pay their Lieutenan
Governors $4,000 or, half the amour
received by their governors.
Secretaries of State
Every State in the Union has tn
office of Secretary of State. In Viz
ginia the salary attached to this Of
flee Is $4,000. Eighteen States pa
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