King County Commissioners Slash Pay Instead of Staff

The county commissioners have made the threatened cut in salaries, and have scaled down the pay of every deputy clerk in the offices of the clerk, treasurer, auditor and prosecuting attorney. The reduction has been applied even to the janitors and gardener. All the offices are affected except those of surveyor and assessor; the latter, it is said, will receive early attention. The reduction ranges from $5 to $30, and according to Commissioner Heaton’s figures will lower the salary list for June as compared with April, due principally to the fact that in April the expenses of the treasurer’s office were $1,?51, whereas in June the total cannot exceed $1,146. The cut affects the stenographers most seriously, as their salary has been dropped from $70 to $40. The chief deputy in the treasurer’s office is scaled down from $130 to $100, and the prosecuting attorney’s two deputies each have been reduced from $125 to $100. Only one salary was cut in the sheriff’s office, for the reason that Mr. Van de Vanter had already made a radical retrenchment.

By adopting the new schedules the commissioners side-tracked the propositions of Mr. Reman and Mr. Gordon to reduce expenses by inaugurating a “phalanx,” or alternate reduction of force, by giving employees successively a week’s vacation without pay. The commissioners preferred that the officers retain their entire working force at reduced pay, and by their action they ignored Reman’s offer to contribute personally to the savings. All the heads of the county will therefore draw the pay awarded them by law, and the voluntary reduction will not be considered.

Treasurer Maple was extremely anxious that his force should not be reduced, as he was afraid it would cripple him seriously. He was perfectly willing to talk about the cut, and when seen about the matter the following conversation ensued:

“How was the reduction of expenses brought about in your department?”

“By an order of the board of commissioners reducing salaries, thereby accomplishing the same reduction as would have been made had the number of clerks in my office been reduced.”

“Did the board ask you to reduce the number of clerks in your office?”

“Yes, but upon my earnest solicitation the commissioners granted my request that I be permitted to retain twelve clerks. I based my request upon the ground that the recent change in the revenue law had entailed extra work upon my force of clerks. Heretofore taxes came delinquent April 1st, but by the new law November 1st.”