Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-01-23

! It is to be decided according to what
shall appear to be the better reason 1t
4 does not eem that public policy shall APP
pear TO be the better reason. It does not
seem that public policy shall require
state treasurer who Keeps the public
/ funds faithfully in the place designated by
/ law. to be held liable for public money
| lost. without bis fault by the act Of God
I OF the public enemy; for example, by an
earthquake, which should fnguif The cap.
7 itol, or by an invading army which should
capture it, But there are many decided
[ cases in which the judges assume and say
/ that the treasurer Is an absolute debtor,
and, as a corrollary, that the money is his
I own. This conclusion does not seem TO be
a necessary inference from the premises,
and is denied in some Of the cases where
( the absolute liability is assumed, as in
/ County Hennepin VS. Jones, Is MINI, l82,
+ out these are cases mostly, if not all, invoiy-
ing the liability of town, county, or lo-
cal treasurers or collectors Of public money,
and for that reason are not strictly IN
roint in this case For ordinarily the
statutes relating to the management and
| preservation of the public funds by the
state treasurers and the local treasurers
are different Usually in the case of the
local treasurers nothing is designated
with respect to the mode or place of keep
ing the funds. So that if he accounts
fairly and meets all obligations as pre-
scented there Is usually no occasion or dis
position to enquire further as to the dis
position or management of the funds.
While in the case of the state treasurers
the statutes are more explicit. 1t is con-
templated that all public funds Of the
state shall remain specifically IN the vaults
of the treasury, 80 that they can be counted
quarter yearly
So, the treasurer does not stand on the
same footing as the local treasurer. In
the case of the Local treasurer, iuasmuch
as the law does not direct the mode aud
place of keeping the funds, the treasurer.
IT is assumed, may keep them where and
very much as he pledses Ii Is very much
the same as if the funds were his own.
But IN the case of the state treasurer, the
statutes provide industrlously for the lfe
keeping of the funds in a designated
place, where they are to some extent under
the supervision of other officers chan him
self.
The recent case Of Commonwealth vs..
G0dshaw, II S. A. Reporter, 737, de-
cided 10y the court of appeals of Ken.
lucky, goes upon this distinction. This
case holds that a local collector called
the trustee Of the jury fund, whose duty
it was to collect fines and forfeltures and
other sources Of revenue to be applied to
the payment Of the jurors, was the owner
of the money he collected, upon the ground
that no law directed A place for deposit
ing or a mode of keeping it. IL was held
that the interest paid to him by bank
where ne deposited the funds could not be
recovered from him by the state. But the
court says that this would not be so if the
law prescribed mode of keeping or a place
of depositing it. The court say Nothing
is prescribed as to tine mode OF keeping
il or the place of depositing it. Money
paid into the treasury becomes the money
of the state because it Is required to be
paid into the treasury as such; and, the
Law requiring the money to be paid into
certain banks, when the treasurer does
this and the money is lost he is not ac-
c0untable unless by his neglect The
court cites Ferley W. MuskegOn % Mich
l32. as an authority to the same effect.
So if it shall be found on examination
of the statutes that by law, the state
treasurer il required to keep the stale
money in the vaults which the state has
provided tor that purpose at the capitol,
where it can be counted periO icaliy ard
has forbidden hum to loan IT, then these
cases are au hority that the money is not
the treasurer S owE money, but that it is
the states own money; and that the
treasurer relation TO it is strictly that of
ballee End that if h. obeys the law re
iating to his custody and it becomes lost
without his fault he Is not liable.
The condition Of the treasurer bond Is
for the faithful discharge of the duties
of his Office The general duties of his
Office are defined by section 1872 Of the re-
vlsed statutes: The treasurer shall keep
his office at the capitol, shall receive and
haze charge of all moneys paid into the
stale treasurer and pay out the same as
directed by law The language Is PLAN
and uaamblguous. II does NOS admir- IN
r4rpretauon Ogden Vs.. Glddeu, 8 Wis,
A. 1t is to be understood according to
the common and approved usage Of the
language. 479l r. S. He shall have
charge Of the moneys seems equivalent TO
say he shall have custody of the moneys
The governor and attorney general are re-
qulred at least once in each quarter year
TO examine and see that all the money
appearing by the books of the secretary
ana state treasurer as belonging to tire
several funds is In the vaults of the treas
ury lfit is not found to be there it must
oe put there within ten days, or the at
torney general must bring an ac-
ton to recoverit Section 1853 This also .
/, pimn and unambiguous n is obja .
ed that the word treasury may be
ambiguous that il does not always
mean be place where the money Is kept /.
bot that 10 sometimes signifies merely
size custody of the ofh,er But the
phrase vaults Of the treasury" is not
obnoxious to thai objection. 1t is re- /.
quired that they examine and see that .
'ail the money which ought to be thora .
is there in the wants of toe treasury 4.
S me times the term money is ambig-
nous In some connections 1t Is held 10
iucsde some things which, strictly. are
not money But, as used in this statute,
it will hardly be claimed that lis mean
iuEis doubtful IL will moi be held that
in this statute the word money in
Guides promissory notes, checks or Ger