The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-04-13
BOTHER
Many Mistakes Make
MuddIes.
Careless Copying Creating Criticism.
Authorized Agents APP
prove Accounts.

AS announced in yesterdays Adver-
tiser, all bills incurred by the various
agents of the Board OF Health under the
suppression of bubonic plague appro-
priation," which have been approved
by the Minister OF the Interior, have
been published in the columns of this
paper. All the bills have by no means
been printed, but, since the accounts
still unpublished have yet to be ap-
proved, and as none of them have been
signed by the Minister of the Interior.
they are not ready to be given out
1t is expected that in day or two an
other instalment Of the bills bubonic
will be ready for the public.
The gentlemen in the Interior Office
have their hands full at present, and
in fact have been unusually busy ever
since the plague bills began TO sweep
upon them in the manner of tidal
wave. Not only have they to attend
| to the routine business of the office
| but a great part OF their time is de-
voted exclusively to the handling of the
plague accounts. In order to properly
handle all the claims labelled "appro-
priation bubonic plague" several of the
accountants have worked long hours,
| knowing no rest on Saturday after
moons and sometimes even finding 1t
| necessary to put in several hours OF
hard business grind on Sunday.
| There is considerable complaint in
the Interior Office concerning the man
ner in which the bubonic bills are serv-
ed up to that department by the FL
nance Committee of the Board OF
Health Mistakes in the accounts are
said to be only too common and ii very
often happens that bill after having
been signed by the Minister of the In
| terror and submitted to the Auditor
General, is sent back to be corrected
before payment.
| Most of these mistakes are made in
the copying process in the Office of the
Finance Committee before the duplicate
bills are sent to the Interior Depart
ment. No original bill leaves the hands
Of the Finance Committee; upon the re-
ceipt OF a bill il is copied and the copy
sent to the Interior Office. Some of the
accounts are exceedingly long, and
while the total on the copy may almost
always agree with that on the original
bill, items in the original statement are
inadvertently left out of the duplicate
or are perhaps written twice over;
amounts are incorrectly transferred,
| figures misplaced and numerous other
mistakes made.
1t Is supposed in the Interior Office
that the bills are examined and correct
ed before they are approved by the
Finance Committee. consequently Ii
has been taken for granted up till re-
Gently that all accounts handed in by
the Finance Committee were neces-
sarily correct.
When the duplicate bills leave the
Finance Committees Office, they do not
bear the signatures appearing on the
original staten ents, of the persons act
ually mourning the expenses, but in
stead, they are signed in token of ap-
prevail by one of the members of the
Finance Committee. Neither the Inter-
Tor Department nor the public has any
knowledge then of who really Is re-
sponsible for the bills incurred. AS far
as the paying of the bills is concerned
this makes no difference, for as long as
responsible men such as the members
of the Finance Committee and the
Board of Health are willing to approve
the accounts, there can be little doubt
of the bills being all right.
AS an instance of the thoroughness
with which the Advertisers daily in
stalments of plague bills are read by
the public, the appended communica-
ton will speak for itself The reporter
remarked the item in the plague bills,
mentioned in the letter following, and
wondered what the Census Bureau
could want with towels, especially
| towels at 81 dozen. AS a matter of
fact, however, it is not recorded in the
Advertiser that the Census Bureau used
the towels in question, or ever used
any towels. The bill was copied word
for word and towels at 81 a dozen sent
to the Census Bureau" does not in any
way prove that department bought
them, accepted them or used them. The
following is the letter in full:
Honolulu, April 18th. 1900.
Editor Advertiser: In your publica-
ton of the bills incurred while the
Board of Health was fighting the plague
you have an item, towels at 81 dozen
sent to the Census Bureau"
or course the Census Bureau never
received any towels or anything else
from the Board of Health, but the Cen
sus Bureau gave up its rooms to the
Board of Health and the towels no
doubt were sent there during that oc-
cupancy. The room at that time was
not the Census Bureau, but a sub-ofice
of the Board of Health.
1t was bad enough to have to give up
our room without being charged with
getting goods from the Board of Health.
The Federal Government supplies all
the Office Is entitled to.
III you will kindly call attention to
the item in some form where it will
catch the public eye | shall feel much
obliged.
ALATAU T. ATKINSON.
Special Agent in Chief of Census for
Hawaiian Islands.