The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1901-08-09

in conclusion we, the committee. would
respectfully request rev system of book
Keeping be adopted. "a II j. impossible to tell
anything about them under the present sys-
tenn"
DO you really believe tbatl Read the sec
Ond Paragraph of your report. on page one.
AUD see now that and the last consist. 10
you believe that for the past eight years the
Board consisting of - men. landowners IN
the district. has gone on and built over ST.
10000 worth of levee without knowing any
thing about its hoOksl Examine the annual
reports OF the Secretary tor the past eight
years and see the array of figures given in
them showing the receipts nd disbursements
of the Board for the preceding year arranged
in convenient and tabular form. ard then
ask yourself IL you do really believe that
they we're but ngment Of his own brain.
Examine the published annual reports.
! or If you have not them all come to this
Office and see them; read the names of
the gentlemen composing the Finance
Committee of the Board in each year.
whose duty it was TO audit the accounts,
books and vouchers or but one year. ill.,
stead Of eight. and reflect upon the ques
ton that must arise in your brain, to-wit:
lis it not possible that have been mis-
taken in saying that 1t IS impossible to
tell anything about the books under the
present system?''
| believe that when you shall have read
far short the committee has fallen of Civ
ing the people information other than
your opinion of me. Do you not think
upon the whole that they would have
preferred to know the net amount of taxes
the Board has received since its organiZa-
ton? Or, the net amount we have de-
rived from land sales? Then. too. inter
esting as you may deem the report. do you
not, or will you not, upon calm reflection,
feel that the taxpayers of the district
would have preferred to know Just how
much has been expended for levee con-
struction, for salaries of officers, for per
diem of directors, for right of way and
damages to crops, costs paid in Ievee tax
suits, etc, etc? All these items of nfor-
nation were right at your hands, and it is
BY my system of bookkeeping that they
can be so readily ascertained.
You may ask why | write to you instead
of the other members OF the committee.
will tell you. The report is yours. you
dictated it to the stenographer The other
members of the committee relied upon
you for the truth of your statements. Let
US see. Mr.. Smiley served II days, as
you did. He came announcing that he
knew nothing of bookkeeping, and you
know as we'll as | that he took little in
terest, or no interest. in the work Mr.
Duncan served eight days. He, too. an
nounced that he knew nothing of book
keeping. and you know that he sat there
the whole time, intensely bored by the
whole business, but from sense of duty
intending to stick it out Capt. G.. A.
Fogeman served but six days. The cap
tain has large farming and sawmill inter-
ests, and they occupied bis mind and time
to large extent. He does not claim to
be an accountant. Mr.. Holmes was here
On the day your committee effected its or.
ganization; he was here again on July
18th and staid about ten minutes. You
will remember that you expressed grave
doubts of his right TO 81 for this hurried
call, but later resolved the doubt in his
favor and certified the day to him. He
was here on the last day, when the inYes-
tigatlon had ended, and signed the report
He, too, said that he was not book
keeper. Taking all these facts into con-
sideratiOn, | think it but right that |
should make my complaint to you. True.
you told me that one of the committee de-
sired to say worse things of me than YOU
did, but | am inclined to think that If he
so desired, it was before he had read the
remarkable report ~ that you had drawn
In conclusion, let me remind you that dur.
ing all the T. days that your committee was
in session | treated each and every member
of IL present with the utmost courtesy: that
placed every book in my office at the dispo.
sal of the committee and that during all that
time you, Mr.. Rhodes, had 1t in your heart TO
make this unjust attack upon me; to tell the
Board, and those whose servant il is-the tax
payers-that am incompetent, unworthy of
their confidence and that my books were in
such shape that they could be made moth.
ing of.
! leave you to answer TO your conscience
now you nave requited man who never in
act, word, thought or deed did YOU an injury
unless 1t be in not supporting you in your re-
cent aspirations for office IN the county of
which we are both citizens.
(Signed) HUGH r. MCVFrCH