Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-05-26


paid Us election ,xpensss IN October
snd November, 1850. the sum 81
81 ,I36 30. and Il the bilisp had been pro-
petly examined and paid according 70
the election law Of the State the amount
would not have exceeded tS48 %, thereby
showing that the 1851. % was more than
the proper amount to the officers and
clerks conducting the election.
We find that one merchant has been
Maid the same bill twice. The amount
Is 81. 5S, having been paid in April, 1879,
and again In May, 1879. We filed bill
with the proper committee against the
said merchant, so that il will probably
he deducted from his next bill against
the county.
The Sheriff, in order TO get proper
credit on his account for the amount
paid by him for the county. presents
Commissioners warrants and an item
lied statement Of the amount of such
variants and the interests paid upon
them. The interest statements is made
no from pencil memoranda made upon
the warrants by the Sheriff and his dep
uties. We would
SUGGEST THAT DIFFERENT METHOD
for the payment of interest be adopted
by your committee. Under the present
method, one that has prevailed for years
past, the county has no check upon the
payment OF interest Through some
mistake or otherwise the county may
often have been compelled to pay in.
terest when it should not be charged
more and less paid. We have fully ex.
planned TO your committee the reason
FOR this suggestion.
PAYING THE JUSTICES.
We wish 10 call your attention to the
following: "All fines which accrue TO
the State assessed by Justices must De
Immediately paid to the sheriff OF the
county. The sheriff shall enter the
same paid TO him 10 the credit OF an ac-
count TO be kept by him under the head
ing of General School Fund. All claims
by justices, constables, jailers and
others for fees due them in like pro-
ceedlngs in the county, when the ac'
cused is acquitted, or when sue fees
could not be collected on execution, or
fee bills by the exercise OF proper dili'
gence, shall be audited and examined by
the County Court, and If found correct
the court shall cause an order to be ls-
sued therefor on the sheriff to be PAID
out OF such fund, II sufficient, and
charged to the said account. The sherln
during the month of January or Febrn-
ary annually shall render under oath
TO the auditors true statements OF the
said account, and pay into the treasury
of the State the net proceeds OF the said
fines as exhibited by the said account to
be appropriated as directed by the first
section OF article u OF tee Constitution.
He shall render such account to
the County Court at every
annual settlement that he makes with
the same.-Acts, 1928, page 7O',
chap. 226, sec. l65.
Ii will be seen, gentlemen, from an
examination of the law that the county
has no claim in or to this fund, and that
the balance, il any, goes into the state
Treasury. Nor yet is the county liable
for the payment OF any person for fees
due in like proceedings. But the Board
of Commissioners in this county is the
proper place for these claims to be au'
dited.
IRREGULARITIES.
In our investigation We find that this
class Of bills calls for more thorough
examination and investigation by the
Board, through their proper commit
tees, than they have received in times
past. There have been Commissioners
warrants issued 10 various parties Tor
payments by the county, out OF county
fund, when there should have been only
orders on the Sheriff issued 10 pay out
OF this General School Fund. This has
been done in some cases with some bills
when the Prosecuting Attorney certi-
fed il correctly.
During the year 1880 and the part OF
1881 that we have examined, we find
that the county has paid to Justices and
Constables out OF county funds tn"
following amounts, which should have
been paid out of the general school
fund:
VIM. Lauchin, constable, S. so; W.
A. Love, S97 %; Henry Schnltze, A.lO;
Elwood Martin, S64 80; Chas Exley,
1915; VIM. Coombs, 81 90; total SlS2.9o.
W. w. Miller, POP 20; j. w. Schultze,
IS so; l.. Mix, 81 90; VIM. Philips,
Sl27 65; Jas. Wheeler, Sc 90; total 1916 50.
And we further find in some cases when
the Board has audited these bills and
paid the proper orders on the Sheriff TO
paw out of this school fund using for
that purpose the usual commissioners
warrants and the Sheriff, after paying
the same, has presented them to the
Board along with the commissioners
warrants, no doubt in error, so as to be
| credited to his account.
And IL the committee on Finance and
Accounts fail to notice the mistake as
we know they have done, they are
ordered to be credited TO his account by
order OF the Board and
THE COUNTY Is OUT
lust the amount of those orders. We
would recommend that in order to
avoid such mistakes, either OF the
| Commissioners or the Sherlf on
such orders, that hereafter no orders on
the General School Fund be issued on
the Commissioners warrant blanks,
but that a new and different kind OF an
order be used. In conclusion We desire
to say that there are other matters
awaiting investigation, but we cannot
say anything until we have made a more
tnOTOuSQ 6xhullnhkiOu VI tuVh'
Mr.. Mathews did not stop here, but
picking up another paper proceeded to
read
THIRD REPORT,
which was as follows, opening with the
same trouble and showing:
MORE OVER PAID CONTRACTORS.
WHEELING, May IL, 1881.
Since our last report OF April 9th, We
have finished checking of all OF the re.
ceipted bills, with the Stubs OF the
order book for 1889; but the receipted
bills before March, 1873, cannot be
found by us, with the exception OF q few
bills for December, 1877.
We find upon continuing our exami-
nation OF the contractors payments and
receipts, that one contractor, Joseph
Marshall, under contract dated May
l2, 1879, for work done on the G. G. 4 P.
road, has been paid exclusive OF the dis
count on the commissioners warrant,
SIG, when, by the final estimate of the
county engineer, for all the work done,
he should only have been paid S639.44,
showing that an over payment has been
made on his account OF SlS6.67.
George Arkle. another contractor, for
work done on the river road, &c, dur