Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-24
Many Books Not to BE Foun


In many instances it was not possible to
find any account books whatever, and in a
few cases the auditors were able to find clews
which enabled them to trace items which
should have been included in regular ac-
count books and in almost every instance
found that the city had been defrauded.
This was notably the case in the efforts to
trace the accounts of the water department.
The question arises, how was it possible
for such shameful record OF dishonesty
and delinquency to be made? How was it
possible that such inefficiency, disregard of
duty and dishonesty OH the part of city
officers, and large and continual delin-
quency on the part of corporations and
other debtors to the city as shown by the re-
ports of the auditors could exist?
There is only one possible explanation.
and that is that the officer who should be
TIE watchdog of the city treasury and the
guardian of all the financial interests of the
city has been utterly and entirely inefficient.
1t can be justly charged that he has been
either grossly incompetent to perform the
duties of his office or criminally neglieent in
the performance of these duties. The du-
and are clearly defined by law, ordinance
and precedence. They are similar to the
duties OF all controllers. Webster defines
the duties of controller to be to examine,
to certify, to check, to restrain, to oversee.
Duties of the Controller.
The office of Controller in the various
States and cities of this country was copied
after that of the United States, which was
established in 1888 at the instance of Alex
ander Hamilton. The United States Con-
troller is an officer of the Treasury Depart
ment, and his duty is the adjustment and
preservation of all public accounts, counter
signing all warrants, to superintend the re-
coverv OF sums certified by hirp to be due to
the United States to direct all suits and
legal proceedings to enforce the payment of
the same and to make annual reports of
such officers as make annual settlements
and of those who rail to make such reports
The law creating the office in Allegheny
and the ordinance defining the duties gives
the Controller control and supervision of all
the financial affairs of the city and control
and supervision of all officers who receive
or pay ont public money, and also makes it
form and manner of keeping all books and
papers in such offices. The Controller did
not supervise the keeping OF the accounts
of the Market Clerk, and reasonably low
estimate would place the loss to the CITY on
this account. through this long continual
direliction of his duty, at not less than
S50, COO.
An audit of the Market Clerks accounts
for six years. about one-third of the time of
the incumbent showed the loss to the city
to be over $4,000, and might have shown
still greater loss if it had been possible to
trace all his accounts for that time, and it is
probable that the total loss in the full period
of the incumbent was much more than
S5G,000.
Most Astounding Condition.
The condition of affairs found in the Mar
ket Clerks office was simply astounding.
There was no proper and regularly kept ac-
count with the tenants in the market house.
The stubs of the receipt books were very
irregularly filled out, and many of them
were missing. The cash book or blotter was
in,
entries when compared with the stubs of the
receipt books. Ifa little, only a little, super
vision once or twice q year had been exer-
ciscd by the Controller over the Market
Clerks accounts, it would have been iinoos-
SiDle for this condition to have existed con-
tinuously, and the Market Clerk might have
remained an honored and respected member
of our community If the Controller had not
been extraordinarily negligent in the dis
charge of his duties, he would have ascer-
tanned why the receipts from the market
house were decreasing continuously when
he must have known that they should have
been increasing.
The Market Clerk made his sworn reports
TO the Controller each month, and certainly
it was the Controllers bounded duty to eI-
anime into and report to Council the cause
of this continuously increasing loss to the
city. The failure to discharge his duties in
n capab Bile and faithful manner in this matter
alone is sufficient reason for the removal of
the Controller from Office, and the holding
of his bondsmen responsible for the loss oc-
casioned by his unfaithfulness and inefi-
cheney.
Only One of Many Derelictions.
But this is only one of many instances
where the city has failed to receive money
due, and the Controller has made no effort
to protect the interests of the city. Previous
TO the Auditors report there was no effort
made to collect the railroad switch license.
Bills for the same were sent to
faw nf ha dali na
bills were sent to many Others
and no proper and complete account was
kept of the same. The amount due the city
on this account including Pittsburg and
Western rental, was allowed to accumulate
to the amount of Sc. i15, and nearly all of that
amount due from solvent firms at the rate
OF twenty-five ($25) dollars per year. The
amount due from license permits was al
lowed to accumulate to the amount of s. go,
and no account kept of the same and no eff
fort made to collect it. The amounts due
from natural gas companies were allow.d
to accumulate to the amount of s49,3l0 81,
without any effort to collect more than the
sending of Il few bills for part of the claims
when forced to do so by the resolution OF in
struction from the natural gas committee.
The taxes on street car companies, exclu-
sive of tax on stock dividends, have accu-
mulated to the amount OF S40,37S 2S, and in
cluding the just tax on stock dividends
s225 379 81.
Many sums due the city from switch license
and other accounts which could have been
collected. if payment when due had been in
sisted upon by the Controller, will now
probably be lost entirely on account of after
occurring insolvency or for other reasons.
citing for the Debtors
In some instances the Controller, instead
of being Jealous and persistent in uphold
lug the interests of the city, has seemed to
be acting in the interests of the city's debt
ors. For instance, the street car ordinances
require that the Presidents of the street car