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Show FEES ABE HEED IIP B! immm Question That Affects Every County in Utah May Go to Courts. WHERE DO FEES FOR NATURALIZATION BELONG? Laws of Utah Say All Fees Belong Be-long to County; No Requirements Require-ments for Clerk. Now that it has become public that County Clerk 321drcdge has been slated for tho position of assa3'or in charge of the new assay office of the United States in Salt Lake and that when tho appointment is made that his resignation resigna-tion as clerk mast, follow, a question comes up which affects every count' clerk in Utah. Section 2, article 21 J of tho constitution of Utah provides: Sec. 2. Legislature to provide fees. . Accounting. The legislature shall provide pro-vide by law the fees which shall be collected by all officers within the state. Notaries public, boards of arbitration, court commissioners, Justices of tho peace, and constables, paid by fees, shall j accept said fees as their full compensu-' compensu-' tlon. But all other state, district, county, coun-ty, city, town and school officers, shall 1 be required by law to keep a true and 1 uorrcct account of all fees collected by them and to pay the same Into the ' proper treasury, and the officer whose i duty It Is to collect such fees shall bo held responsible under his bond for the j same. What the Statutes Provide. I The constitution, it will be seen, is I very plain. All fees collected .by the 1 officers named must be paid into the proper treasury and the officer is responsible re-sponsible under his bond for the snmo. Under this provision of the constitution constitu-tion the legislature enacted a law fixing fix-ing the salaries of county officers. This act will bo found under title 70, ro- garding salaries, in section 2057, Kg-vised Kg-vised Statutes of Utah. It follows; Sec. 2057. Annual salaries of county officers. The salaries of tho officers of , nil counties In the state shall be fixed I by the respective boards of county com-i com-i mlssloners at not to exceed the follow-( follow-( Ing maximum amounts; provided, that j snould tne respective boards of county ! commissioners, or any of them, fall to fix tho salary of any of the county ofll- ' cers, as provided for In this chapter, : the salary of the predecessor of said of- j fleer or officers whoso salary has been j fixed shall apply. i Commissioners, each $1500 .Sheriff S000 Assessor 1S00 I Clerk 2400 I Recorder 2000 , Treasurer 2500 Attorney 2500 1 Superintendent of schools 1C00 , Surveyor 1200 Auditor 1800 Tho above salaries are full compensation compensa-tion for all services of every kind and description, according to section 2002 of the Eevised Statutes, Fees for Naturalization. On June 29, 00G, the President of tho United States approved an act which among other things provided a uniform rule for the naturalization of i aliens throughout the United States. Under this act the clerk of each and every court exercising jurisdiction in naturalization cases is entitled to re- ceivc a fee all told of $5. one-half of I which goes to tho United States, the other half retained by tho clerk. This half, in a number of instances, has been claimed and retained by tho clerks of several of the counties in Utah as a perquisite for themselves. 1 AVhen tho law of 1906 nerLaining to uat-i uat-i uralization became effective the clerks , of Box Elder and Juab counties called ' Attorney-General Breeden by telephone , and asked whether the half of the fee received was to go to them individually or bo reported to the county as fees ! received. These officers wore advised by phone by tho Attorney-General that i they "had no right to retain any fees except tho salary coming under the ' duties of tho clerk." Must Bo Paid Over. Under this opinion of the legal officer of tho Stato tho fees received by tho several clerks of tho several counties of Utah must be reported to tho county and paid into the treasury and not retained re-tained as a personal perquisito of the clerk. Tn Salt Lako county Clerk Eldrcdgo requested the county attorney for an opinion on the matter uud that official informod him that ho could retain the fees and ho has dono so. Tims far theso fees amount to a largo sum. Prominent attorneys in Salt Lake City, whon the matter was presented to them by Tho Tribune, declare that tho clerks have no right under tho statute to retain theso feep. They citg tho constitution con-stitution and tho statute regarding fees and salaries and maintain that tho clerk if merely custodian of these fees, as of all others, aud therefore must, account ac-count frtr them in llm same way by pjiying them over to the proper officer. They also maintain that there can bo no perquisites to a countv clerk, but that, the salary covers everything. JL may be that an action will b.' instituted in-stituted to test the matter and bavo I the courts rule upon the question. |
