Perkins claims this amount under Section 11786, Revised Statutes 1929, by which salaries of circuit clerks are fixed upon a scale purporting to be based upon the population of the counties in which they serve, but which provides that: "For the purpose of this section the population of any county shall be determined by multiplying by five the total number of votes cast in such county at the last presidential election prior to the time of such determination." The population of McDonald County calculated by this method would be 28,880. This section provides that circuit clerks "shall receive for their services annually . . . in counties having a population of 25,000 persons and less than 30,000 persons, the sum of $2,000." It is pointed out by appellants that there is another section (11811, R.S. 1929) which provides for the salaries of both circuit clerks and county clerks, likewise purporting to fix salaries upon the basis of population, which states that: "For the purpose of Articles 2 and 3 of this chapter, the population of any county shall be determined by multiplying by three and one-half the total number of votes cast in such county at the last presidential election prior to the time of such determination." This section originally provided for determining the population by multiplying the presidential vote by five (Sec. 11019, R.S. 1919), but was amended in 1921 to provide for multiplying the presidential vote by three and one-half instead of five. [Laws 1921, p. 608.] Both Sections 11786 and 11811 are part of Article 2 of Chapter 84, Revised Statutes 1929, and were part of Article 2 of Chapter 100 of Revised Statutes 1919. A similar amendment was made in 1921, of what it is now Section 11786, Revised Statutes 1929, then Section 10995, so that it would also provide for determining the population by presidential vote by three and one-half. [Laws 1921, 606.] This amendment was held void for uncertainty because it referred to this section as being a part of Chapter 123, Revised Statutes 1919, referring to state depositories, instead of Chapter 100, covering salaries and fees. [State ex rel. Summers v. Hamilton, 312 Mo. 157, 279 S.W. 33.] However, if the population of McDonald County is determined by the method prescribed by Section 11811, Revised Statutes 1929 (three and one-half times the vote) it would be 20,216; and under both 11811 and 11786 clerks are allowed $1,950, in all counties having a population of 20,000 and less than 25,000 persons. Therefore, the difference in the method of computation under these *Page 252
methods could only make a difference of fifty dollars in Perkins' annual salary.