CHAPTER VII.

THE COUNTY.

New counties.-New counties are established by the General Assembly in laws defining the boundaries providing for the election of officers, fixing tempora rily the county seat, etc.

Elective county officers.-The elective county officers are:-three or five commissioners, a clerk, sheriff, treasurer, assessor, coroner, surveyor, superintend ent of schools and county judge.*

Qualifications.-To be eligible to a county office a person must be a voter and a resident of the county for the year preceding election.

Term. The county commissioners and county judge hold office four years; the others two years. Ali are elected in even numbered years.

County seat. The town in which the county and district courts are held and the county officers have their offices is called the county seat. The location. of the county seat is determined by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the county.

Offices at the county seat. The county clerk sheriff, treasurer, and superintendent of schools and the clerks of the county and district courts have offices at the county seat.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

Election.-Counties of less than seventy thousand inhabitants have three commissioners, two elected in the even numbered years beginning with 1904, and every fourth year thereafter, one elected in 1906 and every fourth year thereafter.

*For duties of county judge see chapter VI.

Counties having more than seventy thousand inhabitants may have five commissioners, three elected in 1904 and every fourth year thereafter, and two elected in 1906 and every fourth year thereafter.

Commissioners' districts. Each county is divided into as many commissioners' districts as it has commissioners. Each district is entitled to one commissioner, who must be a resident therein. Commissioners are elected by the voters of the whole county from the districts in rotation.

Chairman.—At the first meeting of the board of county commissioners after the annual election, one of the members is chosen chairman. He presides at meetings of the board, has power to administer oaths, signs all county warrants and bonds and is superintendent of the poor.

Meetings of board.-There are four regular meetings of the board of county commissioners every year. These are held at the county seat on the first Mondays of January, April, July and October. When necessary there are special meetings. All meetings of the board are open to the public.

Powers and duties. The principal powers and duties of the board of county commissioners are: 1. To care for county property,

2. To levy taxes,

3. To examine all claims and accounts against the county, allow such as are just and issue warrants on the county treasurer for their payment,

4. To divide the county into election and justices' precincts, road and commissioners' districts,

5. To designate voting places and appoint judges. of election,

6. To appoint a general road overseer, a county attorney and certain other minor officers,

7. To appoint persons to fill vacancies in county and precinct offices except that of county commissioner,

8. To lay out roads and alter or discontinue them upon petition,

9. To care for county paupers,

10. To hear and decide challenges to the registration of voters.

Vacancy. When a vacancy occurs in the office of county commissioner, the Governor appoints a person to fill it.

Pay. The pay of county commissioners is five dollars a day for time actually employed, and mileage. The chairman of the board receives pay at the same rate for his services as superintendent of the poor.

are:

COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER.

Duties. The principal duties of the county clerk

1. To act as clerk of the board of county commissioners,

2. With two justices of the peace to open and canvass the returns of elections,

3. To issue certificates of election to county and precinct officers and to send to the Secretary of State a statement of the votes cast for state and national officers,

4. To furnish all voting places in the county with voting booths and ballot boxes, and to print and distribute the tickets for general elections.

5. To record deeds, mortgages, medical certificates, United States land patents, school district bonds and all instruments and writings, authorized by law to be recorded in his office.”

6. To issue marriage licenses and keep a record of marriages,

7. To have the custody of the official registry book and make additions to and changes in it as provided by law.

SHERIFF.

Duties. Some of the important duties of the sheriff are:

1. To have the custody of the county jail and prisoners,

2. To act as the executive officer of the courts of record of the county,

3. To preserve the peace, pursue felons, make arrests and take convicts to the penitentiary

Posse. To aid him the sheriff may, when necessary, call on such persons as he sees fit.

Persons summoned to assist the sheriff are called a posse. Any male over eighteen years of age who refuses or neglects to assist the sheriff when summoned is liable to a heavy fine. In case of a mob or riot the sheriff may call out the militia.

Deputies. The sheriff appoints an under-sheriff, or general deputy, and as many deputies as necessary, for whose acts he and his bondsmen are responsible.

TREASURER.

Duties. The principal duties of the county treas

urer are:

1. To receive and keep all money belonging to the county, and pay it out on order of the county commissioners or otherwise as directed by law,

2. To collect the taxes,

3. To make a monthly payment to the State Treasurer of all money due the State.

ASSESSOR.

Duties. The principal duties of the assessor are:

1. For the purposes of taxation, annually to assess, or fix a value upon all the taxable property in the county except such as the law requires the owner or State Board of Equalization to assess,

2. To compute all taxes.

3. To make and deliver to the county clerk lists of persons in the county liable to militia service.

CORONER.

Duties.-1. The coroner with the aid of a jury of six, enquires into the cause of the death of any person dying within the county by unlawful means or the cause of whose death is unknown and orders or issues warrants for the arrest of any person suspected of being criminally connected with such death.

2. He acts as sheriff when there is no sheriff, when the sheriff is a party to a suit and in certain other

cases.

SURVEYOR.

The duty of the county surveyor is to execute surveys within the county when called upon and to keep a record of them.

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.

Duties. The most important duties of the county superintendent of schools are:

1 To apportion the general county school fund among the districts of the county,

2. To visit each school in the county at least once during each quarter that it is in session, and to see that teachers and school officers obey the law,

3. To make an annual report of the condition of the schools of the county to the State Superintendent,