The news & observer., 1901-03-15
ANOTHER REMINDER
Of THE DAYS OF '68
A Radical official Pockets
Public Funds.
MAI. MAR TIN NOW IN JAIL
He Was Clerk in the Office of the
State Treasurer.
CONFEssEs TO MIsAPPRoPRlATING SO, 800
The FUNDS Taken Belonged to the Pentenliary
and Treasurer Worth'S Bond is Liable
For Them How The Shortage
Was Discovered.

TOR mem. now Inc Shortage
Was Discovered.
The following special message was
yesterday sent by Gov. Aycock to the
General Assembly, norlfying that body
of the embezzlement OF some $4,000 of
penitentiary funds by one of the clerks
in the State Treasurer office during
the Russell administrations
To the Honorable the General Assem-
bly,:
1t becomes my painful duty to COM
municate to your Honorable Body the
fact that a deficit has ben found in the
account of the States prison in the
Treasury Department. / am Informed
by the Treasurer, who has been investi-
eating for the past two or three days,
that the deficit amounts to about four
thousand $4,000, so far as has been
ascertained to the present time. The
deficit appears to have begun early in
the year 1900 or possibly before then and
continued until about the last of No
vember of said year. The books have
been changed so as to force balances.
This morning Honorable B. r. Lacy,
State Treasurer, sent for Maj. Martin,
who has for several years been a clerk
in the office until the 10th of March,
1901 and confganted him with the,
changes in the books Maj Martin adj
mits the changes in the books and con-
fesseS that he took the money covered
by the changes amounting, according
to his statement, to thrry-eight hun
dred $3S00) 1 deem it my duty to lay
these matters before your Honorable
Body to the end that a committee may
oe appointed with authority to send for
persons and papers and make a thor
ough and complete examination. The
committee should, of course, be author
lied to sit during the recess of the
Legislature.
Very respectfully,
BY the Governor: C. 3. AYCOCK.
p. M PEARSAIL,
Private Secretary
This shortage in the pententiary fund
was discovered last week, when Treas
urer Lacy, who recently came into of
flee, ordered the clerk who succeeded
Maj. Martin to check up the peniten-
tiary accounts. 1t was found that the
Treasurer's books showed that the pen
itentiary had only about $500 to it's
credit, whereas the penitentiary books
showed over $4,000
An investigation was at once begun.
ednesday afternoon it was known posi-
lively that the accounts in the State
Treasurer's office had been tampered 4
with, and eXTreasurer Worth, under
whom Martin was employed, was sent
for. Further investigation Wednesday
night revealed the character of the
fraudulent entries on the books and
showed the shortage to be near $4,000
in the penitentiary account alone.
The other accounts-asylums and the
like-that Martin had charge of have
not yet been checked over.
Yesterday morning Treasurer Lacy,
as stated in the Governors message,
sent for Maj. Martin and confronted
him with the charge of having embez-
zled the States funds and falsified the
books. He confessed that he had done
so. His peculations, he said, were sole
ly from the penitentiary fund and
amounted to $4,000. This amount, he
stated, had been taken at various times
from March 1st to Nocember goth, 1900 |
and that he had secured it by falsifying
books and raising vouchers and then |
drawing check for the difference. He |
added:
Nothing wrong has been done during |
the time [ was in the office under YOU. |
Mr. Lacy. All the money was aiken |
between March and November of last |
year, when Mr.. Worth was Treasurer. |
Since you have been in office / have |
drawn one check for about 81, 200 but it |
was to cover an amount taken before |
you came in"
Asked as to what he had done with |
the money, Maj. Martin said he had |
given it to the poor-widows and or.
phans-and to the church. He declared |
that he had not used it in personal ex-
penses. but that he ha.3 been giving in
charity until he found he was behind
and he took the money to tide over his
embarra assment. he added:
Il expected at first to be able to cover
it back into the Treasury, and l expect
no wifi 7 can ever do SO to pay back the
last cent. 1t was not my intention to
do otherwise than borrow it."
He said the books were not changed
until after the legislative committee had
made IFS examination in December
Then he began, he says, making the
chanpes necessary to cover the amounts
he had taken.
Early yesterday afternoon Maj. Mar
FIN uae arrested and taken before JUS
tice of the Peace Maroon, where he was
arraignad on a warrant sworn out by
Tobn p Arlington his successor in the