The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-01-22

The Richmond correspondent of the
Norfolk Ledger refers to the investigation
now going on in the Auditors office as
follows
A full meeting of the committee inyes-
tigating the Auditors office will be held
Friday next. 1t is expected that some
matters of Importance will be considered
by the committee at this meeting. A gen.
tleman connected with the investigation
yesterday expressed it as his opinion that
the losses will certainly reach one hundred
and fifty thousand, and may. he thong ht,
go as high as two hundred thousand,
Seventy-iive thousand of this amount, or
thereabout, seem to be on account of taxes
paid i'll the Office by court clerks. The
balance, so far as the evidence now shows,
is traceable to taxes paid in by banks and
insurance companies and some few mis-
cellaneOus accounts. That these irregu-
larities could exist for so many years with
out detection is the subject of much COM
ment in business circles here. 1t is no
doubt largely due to the old fogy system of
bookkeeping that has existed for SO many
years in the basement of the Capitol. 1t
is one that no enterprising business house
would have permitted in the conduct of
their affairs for q moment. The commit
OCC Will lIittAC Clllo OuUJSCU ~ IllctIUGI vi
special consideration, and no doubt in
their report recommend some radical
changes. Mr.. Moons committee Will
probably be engaged in this investigation
for several months. Itinvolves some very
lahorious and careful work. which they are
determined to give to get at the bottom of
the losses sustained in the Auditors
office. Mr.. w. r.. Smith, the late auditing
clerk in that office, is still in Jail, awaiting
an investigation Of his case by the grand
jury of the Hastings court. He is said by
those who have seen him lately to be look
ing somewhat thinner than he did before
his arrest. He is represented by ex-,Iudge
w. w. Crump and other able counsel, As
| have said before in this correspondence,
one OF the most interesting questions in
volved in this case is, Who is to sustain
the loss that may be ascertained to have
been caused by the diversion Of these funds?
In nearly every instance the money unac-
counted for was paid into the Auditors
office without warrant of law-not only
that, but in direct violation OF the law.
The taxpayer will claim that he turned
his money over to the Auditors office, as
has been the custom for many years past
and as he supposed the COMMONWEALTH
received the benefits of it, Certainly 1t
is so he will assert that no complaint was
made to him that he was in default in his
taxes. Under these circumstances it will
be right hard to find jury of tax payers
who will give a verdict against the man
whose money found its way into the Au-
ditor's office, and is now among the sums
nnaccounted for. 1t now looks as if the
trial of Mr.. Smith will bring up some
mighty knotty legal points. The only
thing that now seems perfectly clear is
that large sums Of money, at varibTg
times during thepast ten Yeas, were paid
into the office by tax payers, which are now
hnacGouptea for. This case promises to
be quite q long one. and it is not unlikely
that considerable time will elapse before
it is finally disposed of by the courts ana
the legislature.