The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-11
DID KIRKE STUMP I'm
TERMINATING IN THEIR
WORKe
SOME QUESTIONS IN THE AIR

Markham and His staff Can Grind
Out an Opinion Almost Any Time,
but SIX Months Have Elapsed
Since an Opinion Was Asked on
McCardy's Action In Drawing a
City Warrant for $110,OO7.12.
| Comptroller McCardy, on the strength
| Of an opinion which he requested from
the legal department Of the city. has re-
fused to pay the bill Of Public Exam
liner Pope for examining and checking
up the several departments Of the city
government The position taken by the
comptroller, as told in the G o b e yes
terday, Is that Public Examiner Pope
| and his assistants examined the books,
records and figures Of 1898 in the several
| departments and that this work had al
ready been done by his predecessor, M.
| D. Kenyon, and his assistants in De-
cember, 1893. AS the work had been paid
| for once there was no need of going ovel
the ground again and the claim could
not be allowed.
The bill of Examiner Kenyon, paid in
March, 1898. shows that eighty-five days
were put in during January and Febru>
airy of that year for examining the &C.
counts Of the city at Sc per day. AS the
examination was made in the first part
Of 1898 the examination must have been
Of the records and books for 1887. In
| December of 1893 Examiner Kenyon made
another examination, occupying fifteen
days in doing the work. For this he
charged the regulation price of Sc per day,
and these last fifteen days made up the
100 days which Is allowed in any one
year under the law providing for the
examination. 1t Is contended that
eighty-:ive days was necessary for Ex-
aminer Kenyon to properly examine the
accounts for 1897 he certainly could not
have properly examined the accounts OF
the several departments for 1898 in flf-
teen days. The result proved this. 1t
Is likely that this was the view taken
by Public Examiner Pope, and he cons
cluded that the superficial examination
made by Examiner Kenyon and his as
sistants in December, 1898, was made
more for the purpose of making up the
100 days at Sc per day allowed under the
law each year than anything else
The alacrity with which the opinion
from the legal department to Comptroi-
Ter McCardy on the bill of Examiner Pope
was given stands out boldly when con-
sidered with other matters on which the
legal department has been asked for an
opinion. On July last a resolution was
introduced In the assembly by Assembly
man Kirke requesting the legal depart
ment to investigate and report to the
council as to the legality Of certain
act Of the comptroller. The comptroller
drew city warrant for Sis, 007.12. which,
after being signed by the city clerk,
mayor and comptroller, was used in the
payment of a bond purchase made by
the comptroller while he was on visit
/ to New York. The resolution asking the
legal department to investigate and re-
port on the legality of the action of the
comptroller stated that the warrant Was
drawn without the consent or authority
of the common council and that the ac-i
ton of the comptroller was loop
hole for the disbursement of city funds
without proper warrant or check. Six
months have passed since the resolution
was sent by the council to the legal de-
partment, but as yet no investigation has
been made or If any has been, no report
has been forwarded to the council from
the legal department. The comptroller,
however, in his report to the conference
committee in December last, announced
that there would be no need of providing
for judgment fund this year owing to
the able manner in which the legal de-
partment has been conducted. Whether
this boost" was intended for the pur-
pose of having the report on the legality
of the drawing of the city warrant for
$4,000 pigeon-holed cannot be proven.
but there are those who claim to see
connection between the compliment given
the legal department by the comptroller
and the delay in making an investigation
and report by the legal department on the
question asked by the resolution of the
council.