The Barre Daily Times

OFFICERS MAY GO ON STRIKE,

Fees Seem to Be Lost by Change in Law
—May Be an Error.

Brattleboro, March 15.—An apparent change in one of the statutes was discovered yesterday which will seriously interfere with the executive branch of the state government, unless it proves to have been a harmless omission in preparing the transcript of the laws for the newspaper supplements authorized by the state.
The change was discovered by Lewis H. Lynde of Dummerston, a farmer, who spends his spare time reading the statutes and informing himself concerning current affairs. He sought out the Brattleboro deputy sheriffs and showed them how their official services would not gain for them a livelihood under the new law as printed. The deputies consulted lawyers and the Brattleboro members of the legislature, but got no satisfaction, whereupon they all determined positively to resign their positions unless it could be shown that an error had been made. The Brattleboro deputies are A. W. J. Wilkins, Chauncey I. Knapp, Myron P. Davis and Dan P. Thompson.
They never before were worked up to such a pitch as they were yesterday.
The old law, section 6210, provided that sheriffs and deputies should be paid 10 cents a mile for travel in serving writs and be allowed 6 cents for reading a writ and 10 cents the 100 words for serving copies. On that basis they made about 75 cents for each justice writ and $1 for each county court writ.
The amended statute as printed cuts out all fees except the 10 cents a mile for travel, which in no instance reimburses the officer for his time or expense. The law went into effect March 1. It imposes a penalty upon an officer of 10 times the amount of the excess where an excessive fee is charged.
Senator E. W. Gibson and Representative H. G. Barber of this town say the original bill was amended many times, but they do not remember its form as it finally passed.