The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1891-04-11
Publishing School Statements.

Editor Copeland, of the Washburn Lead.
or. tades exceptions at our Interpretation
of the school law requiring School Treas.
urers to publish their financial statements
in the newspapers. If we remember right
the law says that Statements must be
published" Is that not sufficient, could
any newspaper man put another construc-
tion on the law. We can not be induced
to believe that a notice stuck on the side
of school house or the inside of barn
door is in compliance with the law. Now
Bro. Copeland, we have not the time or
space to give legal opinion, but will sail
down to your city as soon as the ice breaks
and argue the question ordinally. Should
you desire further information step over
to neighbor Britton's and get full inter-
probation of the law.-Stanton Pilot.
Every newspaper should act as conser
vator of the people, and instead of advocat-
ing lavish expenditure of money, because
a portion of it will fall into the proprietor's
pocket, it should discourage extravaganza
with the peoples money in every in
stance where necessity does not compel an
expense. Sometime ago the Leader aired
this question pretty thoroughly, but some
how there are newspaper men who, when
ever their eagle eyes fall upon the word
publish" smack their lips over the pros
pect of another "yob" of advertising.
Why the Pilot should be so anxious to
have the school boards of Mercer county
print their statements in newspaper is
more than we can divine, when Bro. Walker
knows that the school districts of his coun-
tv are so deplorably beyond their debt
limit that not another dollar in warrants
can be issued. But the Pilot is not alone
in this error. The Dickinson Press, the
New Rockford Transcript, the Minot pa
pers, and few Others, have jumped at the
conclusion that nothing can he published
except by printing in newspaper. Now.
for the benefit of our brethren of the press,
we will reproduce what the LEADER has
heretofore said upon the subject, accom-
panied by the opinion of the highest legal
authority in the state. Please read it:
There seems to be some misunderstand-
ing among the officers of the several school
districts in regard to the manner in which
they shall publish the itemized statement
of the receipts and expenditures. The
portion of the law referring to this subject
will be found in section 81 of the school
law, which says:
X X X At the annual meeting
of the school board on the second Tuesday
of January in each year, the school board
shall make settlement with the district
treasurer, who shall at that meeting make
his annual report in triplicate, one copy to
be preserved in the treasurers Office, one
to be filed with the clerk of the school
board, and one to be transmitted to the
county superintendent, and the baard shall
cause to be published an itemized state
ment of the receipts and expenditures of
the preceding year.
The above does not say that the state
ment shall be published in a newspaper,
neither is it intended to be construed that
wayr but it means that the statement shall
be published by posting the same. In
every instance where the law requires any
notice to be made public by publication
in newspaper it specifically says so, but
in this ease it merely says "the board shall
cause to be published etc., without speci-
flying in what manner. Inasmuch as the
law does not authorize the publication of
said statement in a newspaper, the posting
of it on the schoolhouse door, ETC., (which
should be done by the school clerk,) is a
sufficient publication.
That our readers may be satisfied that
the position taken by the LEADER in re-
gard to the publication of the itemized
statements of school districts Is correct,
we give below the opinions of two of the
leading attorneys of the state. States At
torney Rose, of Cass county, says:
With regard to the publishing of school
treasurer's statements required by the new
law, told the county superintendent the
other day, that as there was no particular
mode of publication prescribed that the
board could use its own judgment as to
which mode would be most likely to reach
the greatest number of voters, and so that,
if they thought it best, they could publish