Omaha daily bee., 1895-06-22
IS WAITING NOW ON BOLLN
City Comptroller Completes Checking Up
Books and Prepared to Report
WISHES TREAS SURER'S STATEMENT FIRST
Many Who We're Advanced Cash Have
frld II In -Bondsmen Secured by
Transfer OF Realty Rush Seeks
to set Olsen Right.

To sol olscn Right
The investigation of City Treasurer Bolln's
official status is still on and 1t is now claimed
that another day will be required to reach any
thing like an accurate estimate of the short
age in the public fund. The comptroller with
three or four assistants has spent four days
in going over the accounts and comparing
entries with the corresponding receipts and
warrants and he is now waiting on his oars
while Mr.. Bolln is preparing a statement
of his liabilities When this Is completed the
comptroller will compare that with his own
figures as indicated by the duplicate receipts
in the comptrollers office and then the short
age will be reached.
One result of the prolonged investigation
will be a decrease in the shortage of several
thousand dollars The city employees who had
been advanced money by Mr.. Bolln have been
hustling to square their accounts and the
aggregate amount that has been paid into
the treasury in this way will materially swell
the cash balance One member OF the city
council had drawn 81 1926, which would be
equal to his pay for twenty-five months or
for sixteen months after his term of office
had expired. He paid $1,000 of this amount
the day after the shortage was discovered
and yesterday he paid the balance and the
memorandum was destroyed Other city Of
fcas had drawn amounts ranging from SO
to $500, which have also been repaid. In
these cases no record is left to show that the
money has ever been missing, so each
days delay is in the favor of the city trea-
surer
BONDSMEN ARE SECURED.
Mr.. Bolln has secured his bondsmen for
Whatever amount they may be required to
make up by deciding them all his Omaha
property with the exception of the house
ana lot in Kountze Place where he resides.
These include lots II, Is 10 and "A in Wa
verify addition, lots s and . in Ludwig Place,
lots s, and 10, block 33, Amber Place lot
4 block 3, Walnut Hill, lot o. block IL,
Kitchen Whites subdivision, west one
half of lot SO in Burr Oak addition, lots IA,
10 and Is, Walnut Hin and the lot on the
southwest corner of Ninth and Leavenworth
streets. The total consideration is $25 OOO
and the deeds are made out to W. A. Pax
| ton, as trustee for the bondsmen
Some surprise has been expressed that
| the investigation of the accounts should oc-
| cupy such length of time. The checking up
! process is not a complicated one. The re-
| cepts are checked up by comparing the
| duplicate receipts with the entries in the
| books and the expenditures are verified by
| simply comparing The warrants with the
| corresponding entries. 1t was positively an
nounCed when the investigation was begun
| that it would be completed in less than
| twelve hours. Instead nearly week has
passed and the same prediction Is still made.
| The opinion is freely expressed that the in
vestigaton has been purposely delayed in
| order to afford time to round up the en-
| pOyes, contractors and friends who have
been advanced municipal cash, and reduce
| the shortage to a mOdicum by inducing them
| to pay up. This is emphatically denied by
| Comptroller Olsen, who says that he is push
! ing the work rapidly as possible. He
| thought 1t would only be proper courtesy to
| allow Mr.. Bolln time to make statement
| OF his own before he made any estimate OF
| the shortage, anl he is now waiting for Mr..
| Bolln to complete his figures.
RUSH CORRECTS OLSEN.
In an interview published Thursday, Comp
| tiOler Olsen asserted that when John Rusl
was city treasurer he had refused to allow
| the comptroller to check up his cash and
| that John l.. Webster, who was then city
| attorney, had rendered an opinion which was
| to the effect that the treasurer was right.
| Mr. Rush says that Mr.. Olsen was certainly
! mistaken. 81 am surprised" he continued.
| that Mr.. Olsen should have made such a
| statement. There was no inquiry made of
! Mr.. Webster for opinion relative to an
| examination of the cash accounts during my
| term of office, or If there l never
| notified OF 1t. AS matter Of fact, If the
| comptroller or the finance committee of the
| city council had at any time asked to be
! allowed to check up cash balances they
! would have been allowed to do so without
| hesitation. My check books were lying on
| the counter during every working day in
| the year and still have them in my possess
sion with every check that was drawn by me
! while | city treasurer pasted in. OF
| course since then the law has been changed
| When | in the Office the treasurer was
| the absolute custodian and l have no doubt
that If the city attorney had been asked for
| an opinion at that time he would have
| given II as Mr. Olsen says.
Nov, l want to say with reference to
| payments Of cash without warrants. The
! Bee is quite correct when 1t says that no
money should be paid out except by warrants
| Of the mayor and city council. But there
are times wheI :: would work q great hard
ship to hold this rule infexibly For in
stance. the fire and police commissioners
want a span of horses. They have exactly
the right thing in prospect. but the owner
wants his cash. Some member of the board
goes to the treasurer and explains the stua-
tion, assuring him that the warrant for the
amount will be ir the next appropriation
sheet, and the treasurer advances the money
on this representation. The same justiica-
tion may occur in case where an en-
ploye Of the city is suddenly called out of
town and needs money, or when his wife or
child is sick or dead. Under such conditions
red tape should be ignored But otherwise
and under all other conditions the treasurer
should insist on warrant before paying out
| cash"