The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1884-04-30

m me lUJbOf SbobIJ " ~ 49,
tGe Hird judicial District OF the Ter
G.3oru of Montana, in and for the County
Of Choted"'
GENrLEMEN-In submitting our re-
,ort of the Financial affairs ofthe county,
which in our opinion have been con
sci4ntionsly administered, we take
.bo liberty of making the following
comments as to the in which
tha accounts have been kept, resulting
=, octs Of omission and commission in
4. management, of which we have
abundant evidence.
The general books ofthe Treasurer are
,,odeIs of neatness, and reflect great
credit upon him, but from the manner
in which they are kept, errors are liable
70 occur, as we shall proceed to show.
His report of moneys on hand and his
snttlement with the County Commits
Sinnprs at the end OF each quarter, as
nrovided by law, is in the following
manner, to wit:
A petty journal or record kept by the
Treasurer accompanies the report filed
in the County Clerks office at the end
If each quarter. This book is checked
mn bv the Commissioners at their quar-
terlv meeting, and exhibits the amount
of Taxes, Licenses, Fines and all other
meneys received during the quarter;
as also the distribution OF the moneys to
the respective funds, as for instance, on
a basis of Is mills total yearly taxation,
mill. or one-sixteenth, goes to the ter
~ritorial fund; 3 mills, or three-six-
teenths, goes to the general fund, etc,
ETC.. as shown in exhibits |, 2, 3 and 4,
accompanying this report. After this
comes the enumeration of the warrants
Maid bv him out of each fund, etc, as is
also shown in accompanying exhibits i,
2, 3and 4.
The commissioners, after checking up
and comparing the warrants paid n
finding them to agree with the Journal
and report, append the name of the
chairman to the journal of the treasurer,
which is his voucher that his quarterly
statement is correct and approved. This
journal is subsequently transferred to
the general books in a somewhat differ
ent form, but arriving at the same re-
suit as in the original journal.
The chief objection to the treasurer's
present system Of keeping his accounts
is an almost absolute omission OF dates,
all entries being, as it Were, made by the
month, and these again, when trans
ferred to the general books, condensed
into a series of quarter-yearly dates, ana
rendering it difficult to determine from
them when the actual date OF the receipt
or disbursement of moneys occurred, ex-
cept by reference to some auxiliary
book, and these auxiliary books not at
al %.~,nn W., tho dnuTIad InfQr-
nation. For instance, and as an ex-
ample, in the matter Of fines from
JUSTICES court, which seem to
be paid over to the treasurer by the JUS
tice as they are imposed and paid, and
without any regard to the time, during
the quarter. We can find no original
cash book entry on the treasurer's books
lin fact we have seen nc cash book but
merely find that at the end Of the quar-
ter SO much was received for fines from
Justices court, etc., during the quarter,
and the entire amount entered up at one
time. See Exhibit A hereto attached.
This gives rise to opportunities for the
omission of the receipt Of moneys, as
before stated, and we think it could be
remedied by the treasurer providing
himself with a petty cash book, to be
kept in daily use, SO that when moneys
are paid in the amount could be entered
up Immediately, and no chance for
omissions.
In the matter Of a book for the regis
tration of unpaid warrants, as provided
by Revised Statutes, page 542, section
635, we find the one in use totally unfit
ted for the purpose, and would recon-
mend that a suitable one be procured,
and when procured that it be kept, not
as at present (by entering the name OF
the original payee) but by entering the
name Of the owner, as required by said
section 635.
In the matter of paying warrants we
find they are drawn similar in form to
a bank draft, to-wit PAY to the order
Of" Sometimes cor bearer" is inserted,
but whether ''bearern is inserted or not,
they are paid by the treasurer without
any endorsement, and when SO paid lt
is contrary to the intent and purpose OF
'haVlng the warrants printed IN that
form it is also contrary to mercantile
or banking usage, and the treasurer 50
paying a warrant is not surrounding
himself with the proper safeguards.
We think, too, that in the payment
OF warrants, some attention should be
paid 10 the date of registration. and the
hoIder Of the warrant having the oldest
Gate of registration should be paid first;
our examination leads us to believe that
tihls has not been the practice, and that
IN many instances great injustice has
been done. See Exhibit G Of clerks re-
port, warrants No. 185, 232, BIG, 800 and
90 In the matter of registration or
warrants w would suggest that more
care be observed.
We find from our examination that
lne book Of registration in treasurer's
ONCE does not tally with the warrant
register in the county clerks office, in
some instances marked differences oc-