, 1872-08-22
County Finances.


Mr. Gardner Kellogg, for many years
County Auditor of King County, was
some months since questioned through
the public prints in regard to tie finan-
cial affairs of the county, of which no
definite or consistent report had ever
been made during his term of Office.
The officer, from long use, had come to
regard the Office as belonging to him
self and not to the people, deemed all
such questions impertinent and insult
ing, and refused to answer or give any
explanation of his official acts. Subse-
9uently Mr.. Kellogg resigned tae office
and candidacy for another term to which
he had been nominated, and now he
comes out in his personal and party CT
gan with o communication pretending
to give the information sought, and ex-
planning the reasons for not giving it be-
fore, promising his explanation with the
statement that 60 for doing small part
of the labor asked of me, our County
Sheriff paid an accountant the modest
sum of S145, and in the petition they
made no provision for necessary COM
pensation.
What Mr. Kellogg's motive was for
making this last communication we will
not pretend to fathom. What purpose
ne has served by it, we are not able to
discover. He has not accounted for a
single discrepancy between the receipts
and expenditures of the County as be-
fore reported. He has not given a sim
gle new fact of the least practical use in
arriving at any conclusion as to whether
the financial affairs of the county are
>;udiciously managed or otherwise. The
expense of making a statement of the
financial affairs of the county is no ex-
euse for neglecting a manifest duty
The Auditor is the accounting officer OF
the county, and nothing is more clearly
within the line of his duty than to pre-
sent, at stated periods, an intelliSlbie
i,alarce sheet OF its financial transac-
sions and condition. If the Auditors ;
official report. or his valetlietory address
give any adequate idea of the literal
transactions of our county officials, then
the whole batch are grossly incompetent
or viciously corrupt. We find, and have
Heretofore shown from the Auditors re-
port, balances struck which do not cor
respond by thousands of dollars with
the detailed statements of receipts and
expenditures: gross amounts appropriat-
ed for interest which do not correspond
with the principal of the outstanding
Indebtedness; conversion of securities
without authority Of law with no ex-
planation of the amount, kind or nature
Of such securities; appropriations made
and put upon interest in advance OF the
work or considerations which said ap-
preparations were calculated to meet
e-haye no explanation of any OF these
discrepancies, but an elaborate state
ment to show that the discrepancies III
the report of the road fund are chiefly
attributable to the neglect of snpposa-
BILE road supervisors. not one of whom
has ever been called to account accord
ing to law, and that no settlement has
ever been made between the county and
city, the collector for both being the
same identical officer. This is upon the
hypothesis that L. V. Wyckof, the City
Marshal, has made no settlement with
L. V. Wyckoff, the Sheriff of the coun-
ty; that the Marshal returns the taxes
collected in the city to the city treasurer,
and returns the same to himself as Sher-
if as delinquent on the county books.
1t was the loose, improvident, not to
say dishonest manner, In which our
county affairs were conducted to which
we called public attention. and it has on
ly been made personal matter by the as
sumption of Mr.. Gardner Kellogg that he
was the sole responsible public officer of
the county, the regent and head centre
Of the ring. exercising prerogatives "
which belong only to sovereignty; and
in his valedictory address to his subjects
be evidently thinks that the whole mat
ter is settled by resigning his clerkship.
We propose to look after these matters
hereafter just the same as if the light of
Gardner Kellogg's genius had never
been reflected upon them, and there are
people in this county who are clearly of
the opinion that the affairs OF the coun-
ty can be managed BY an honest and in
telligent Board of Commissioners with
o good clerk quite as well as when they
Lad the benefit of Mr.. Kellogg's great
executive ability.
What Has He Done?
The above question is frequently ask