The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1858-08-25
Review of tiae Report of the
Committee appointed to in
tl-< yestigate the affairs OF
.- the County Treasure
cr'S Office.

cr'S office.
"+Some,hiRg is rotten in the State of Dem
mark. "--Narcdius.
put mon in thy purse, therefore D; money
In tiny purse. '-Lago.
-"Foul deeds will rise.
Though all the earth oerwhelms them, to mems
eyes. ''-Hdmiet
The state ofaffairs in the County Treas
ury has led many to make the remark
first quoted, the late Treasurer seems to
have followed the advice of [aeo, and
the report Of the Committee, with its
startling disclosures, is forcble common
tary on the truth so stoutlv asserted by
the Danish Prince.
The report of the Commttee has been
published in pamphlet form, aud will
soon be distributed throughout the Coun-
ay. 1t IS plain, candid, eloquent docu-
ment; plain in its presentation of facts
i'll its exposure of fraud; candid in its
treatment of the late Treasurer; and ell
oquont in the moral it contains.
10 show the manner in which Mr..
Ayres conducted his business, we give an
extract found on page 5 Of the Report.
When the acting Treasurer entered
,pDn the duties of the office, there were
but q few days Intervening before the an
nual sale of lands for delinquent taxes,
and it was necessary to clear the office
of this business before proceeding with
the general settlement,
1t was apparent at the outset, that al
asnost everything done by Mr.. Ayrcs had
to be done over again to insure correct
moss. Accordingly the advertised lists of
lands were compared with the ISIS retur-
ned by the several tcwns, and some ten
thousand acres were found to be not adj
vertised. Among these were about five
thousand acres belonging TO wealthy
speculat, r ut st. Paul, who made an ar
,angement with Mr.. Ayres to neither adj
vertise nor sell them; taking receipt in
full for the taxes and giving therefor due
bill. After the day Of sale had passed,
this receipt was given up to Mr.. Ayres,
Rs we have learned from good authority,
and the duebill returne to the SPECTATOR:
thus in effect postponing the payment OF
the taxes till the September sac, and de
traud:ng the COUNTY of the twenty fi.e
per cent interest that would have accrued
All the same had the lanls been sold, or
the use of the money had the taxes been
paid.
Whether the remaining five tlolSand
-:cres which Mr.. Ayrcs omitted to II liver
t'se were omitted by arrangement with
ahe owners, or for the purpose of receiv
ing tho taxes when paid into his own
hands. docs not appear"
The Committee called Oh Mr.. Ayres
and requested him to explain the account
between himself and the County which he
had handed in. He Immediately began
to make erasures ard alterations and fl
nally made out new account differing
materially from the first one; in the item
ef State receipts alone, there being diff
e.enco of s2O7,3i.
1t seems .kat at first view, the accounts
OF the late Treasurer were all properly al
justed, since the footing for he several
years on debt an credit pages, would ex
actly correspond. But upon examination
of items, it was found to be impracticabie
to interpret them, and many things seem
ed, for while, to be cnshrouded in per-
feet mystery. 1t was the policy of Mr..
Ayres to ale low and keep dark" hence
weeks were spent in unavailing attempts
10 unravel the mystery. At length, how
ever, Mr.. Ayres concluded to present seer
,ifcates," and claim protection under them
These certificates, by the way, are curl
esities of their kind, and should be pre-
served. Below we give copy of them,
as found on page 10 of the Report, to-
gether with comments by Committee.
PIERCE COUNTY,
WIscoNSIN
ON settlement with the County Board March
5th. 1856, the above account examined and
settled. leasing a balance IN the treasury of
Ere hundred and fprty-three dollars and thirty
enc cents. -.
GEO. " OAKLEY. Chm. Board Sups
Ii. TFAcHoCT, Clerk Of Board SuPs