The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1876-01-27
PEDDLING IN STATE WARRANTS.

The Auditor Of Public Accounts in LOUISE
ana is an officer corresponding in functions
with the controllers in other States. The
Auditor is not the custodian of the funds Of
the State. He is virtually and chiefly the
keeper of accounts between the State and
the State Treasurer. Without his warrant
the Treasurer can pay no money to any
claimant. He is the custodian Of the States
accounts. II is upon him that the Executive
and the Legislature call for information as to
what the ate owes, the nature. form and de-
tails Of such debts, for estimates Of revenue
and expenditure, and for all other facts or
estimates pertaining to the past, present or
future financial condition of the State. But
the most important duty assigned by custom
and law to the Auditor is that Of adjusting
and settling all claims against the State which
are payable out Of the State Treasury.
When creditor of the Safe
desires to collect claim he first |
presents it to the Auditor, whose duty, |
under present laws is to examine into the
claim at once, to see whether it is valid or
not, to ascertain precisely what is due to the
claimant and for what services to learn out Of
what Legislative appropriation the claim is to
be paid, and then to give to such claimant a
warrant which is not only certificate Of the
amount due, of the fact of the appropriation
and of the title Of the holder under such ap-
but it is also an order to the
State Treasurer to pay the sum named out of
The appropriation designated, according to the
particular act of the General Assembly under
which the claim is made and which is always
designated in the warrant.
As the law now stands the Auditor is not
obliged or competent to inquire whether
moneys appropriated are or are not in the trea-
Jury. He is an adjuster OF claims against the
State under legislative appropriations and he
las now no authority for Withholding from a
reditor or claimant a certificate of the {
mount due to him. His warrant is to all in c
ents the States due bill or order on the I
reasury, an evidence of an adjusted claim, :
ertifcate of indebtedness, and necessary e
Prerequisite to the collection of the amount !
ue. a
Much and very serious abuse has grown out
this method Of adjusting claims All q
reditors have a right to transfer their claims,
I'D under this right creditors of the State a
ave in countless instances transferred and u
I'D their claims, as represented by warrants. II
hen there was no money in the treasury to 81
" them. Appropriations have been made
most wanton disregard Of the fact that
ere neither was nor could be money in the
easury to meet them. Yet Auditors war q
nts were demanded under these spurious a,
and these fictitious claims, .,
presented by warrants, have been bought h,
, by spectators to the extent of many mil A,
,ns Of dollars. az
In view of the utter impossibility of paying so
ese warrants laws have been made from an
ne to time to give State bonds ia exchange ~
+ them. The bonded debt Of the State has, 70
this means, been increased to the extent of ~;
my millions of dollars. Fictitious appro- ss
4 into warrants; these warrants have been If
ught at twenty. forty or sixty cents in the ia,
liar; and then, as constituents of the float liz
debt, they have been converted into the +h,
ads which now represent the interest bear 20
debt of the State. 90
This General Assembly ought to find some b0,
ans of putting stop to this most per- 7
ious practice. Whether the remedy shall lin
in the form of a prohibition to the Audi sve
preventing him from warranting against var
empty fund, or whether the payment Of I
nsferred claims shall be forbidden, or f-o,
ether there shall be some other stringent r
hibitory enactment aimed against this soo
, something adequate to the demand must nit,
done. Warrantpeddling. false estimates I
fictitious appropriations ought all to be kee
and forever ended. The nuisance is one viii
CHI the General Assembly ought to abate vic
1out hesitation or delay. Il
0TTSH TIE RETITPNTNG RnARD