The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1897-05-29

In response to inquiries propounded
in last weeks TRIBUNE information
has been elected which clears away all
the mystery connected with the recent
County exporting business in respect
of certain matters, but leaves some
other things unexplained. Commits
sioner Peterson was interviewed this
week and stated frankly that at last
the seal of secrecy had been removed
from his lips and now he proposed to
make clean breast of the whole bust
ness, as far as his own knowledge went.
In answer to the query, "Why the re-.
port of ex-Assessor Horn and Clerk
Dunbar was substituted for the report
of the investigating committee en-
ployed by the County" Commissioner
Peterson made substantially the fol
lowing statement: The first report
made by the Investigating committee
indicated that Mr.. Horn was short
some $1,000. Mr.. Horn contended that
the amount was too much and asked
permission to make another investiga.
tion, in which he was joined by Clerk
Dunbar. When the Commissioners
met in April, Horn and Dunbar pre-
sented report which they were salts
fed was correct which showed Mr..
Horn to be short some $24O. Upon
re-examination OF the original report
made by the County's investigating
committee all error was found which
occurred through a displacement Of
figures. The exact error was this:
The paper upon which the committees
report was made up had columns for
figures, IN transcribing the reports the
figures 1419 had been placed in the
wrong columns, making fourteen
hundred and nineteen dollars instead
of fourteen dollars and nineteen cents.
When this error, together with some
other miscalculatiOns, was discovered,
it was seen that the whole work would
have to be gone over, and in the judg-
pent Of the investigating committee,
the result would be substantially the
same as that found by Messrs Horn
and Dunbar. In any event, there
would not be a sufficient disCrep-
ancy to warrant the additional work
Besides, it was now evident that the
books and reports were so mixed and
conflicting that no definite result could
be obtained from them. This will APP
pear when it is recalled, that i'll the
first place final settlement had pre-
viously been made between the Audi
tor and Assessor, but on the subse-
quent examination of the same books
by the same officers, an error amounting
To $24l was, discovered. Whether this
error occurred in. the Assessors books or
the Auditors books has not been shown.
However, three results, all different,
had been secured from the same books. |
The first result was the one obtained
upon the final settlement between the
Auditor and Assessor; the second, was
obtained by the investigating commit
tee, which upon its face showed error;
and the third result, proved that the
first and second were incorrect. Com, |
missioner Peterson says that he is ad-
Yised that Mr.. Dunbar charges that |
Mr.. Horn made entries upon the assess
ment roll, after it was checked up,
in violation of law, and reasons there
from that the discrepancy between the
Auditors first and last figures may
grow out of that fact. He says that
the so called secret session was not
secret session, strictly speaking, but
after it was discovered that the report
of the County's investigating commit
tee contained serious mistakes, the
commissioners simply met to consider
what would better be done in the
premises. Mr.. Horn was willing to
settle on the basis of his and Mr.. Dun.
bars TepOrt and the indications were