The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-02
HOW AUSTIN
MET CHARGES
Continued from Yesterday

Q. We are not talking about cash,
we are talking about the auditing of
books. Now for instance, take the De-
partment of Public Instruction, how
often have you audited those books?
A They have not been audited since
have been in the Department, ex-
cepting as 1 sent Mr. King there with |
the view of auditing them one time.
That is about eight months ago. The
receipts are very simple anyway
Mr.. McCandless: Q. They receive |
and expend money, don't they?
A. They cannot expend money ex-
,cept through bills passed through the
Auditors Department, and when war
rants are issued. They have an Incl
dental fund but they. have to draw on
the Auditor to pay them. There can
not be policy to charge up for in
cidentals in any department unless they
produce their vouchers. A bill must be
accompanied by the voucher when it is
being paid, and the stub receipts are
attached.
Q. Don't they sell books over there?
| A. Yes, and they turn in the amount
to the book fund.
The Chairman: @. Have you ever
audited the Judiciary Department
books?
A. 1 have, outside of Honolulu; the
!
| books of the police magistrate of Ho-
nolulu and almost all the District
Judges on the other Islands have been
the Judiciary Department here proper.
1 considered that there We're some funds
| for which he is responsible to the
! judges, which should be audited and
it was my purpose to audit them up
! for the whole time for his~receipts of
fines and costs paid into the Govern
| dred dollars month.
Q. Is it not fact that on the Island
of Kauai a man was sent there three
or four or five weeks ago to audit the
books; that never a man has been
there before? A. That is true.
Q. Well, you say that the outside
courts have been audited?
A. Well, one District Magistrate,
they had him bring his books to Homo
lulu and they audited them here; two
of the District Magistrates. We nave
almost a positive check on Kauai in
the Auditing Department. Each depu-
| ty sheriff makes a report to the Audit
ing Department of the total amount of
fines and costs for the month received;
] Nya Wi ha it1dc
port of the amount he turns into the
| Treasury. The only other Department
that receives any large amounts of
money is the Tax Department, for
! which, in great measure, the head as
SCISSOR of the island is responsible. 1
audited the tax books on the Islands of
| Hawaii and Maui, but didn't get around
to Kauai. One thing interfered mater
tally with going to the other islands
was, during the time of the plague.
! When l started to make complete
tour of the other Islands 1 had to stop
after finishing Maui.
AUDIT OF OTHER ISLANDS.
Mr.. McCandless: @. How long would
1t take you to make, a tour of the ISL
and of Hawaii and audit all the books =?
A. 1t would take about four weeks
to go completely around it, and I do
not know but it would take a little
longer if we included all the tax books.
@. How long would it take to tour
Maui and audit all the books?
A. l think it could be done in three
weeks
] .. How long would you think it
would take to audit Kauai?
a. l suppose it could be done in ten
! days, perhaps a little more than that.
Q. Then you could do tour of the
| outside Islands in about two months?
A. Well, two and a half months, in
Guiding the travelling.
| Q. Don't you think, since the plague,
you could have had ten days to spare
to have gone to the Island of Kauai?
A. Yes.
Mr.. Isenberg: @. Mr. Austin, don't
you think that this defalcation in one
of the departments of the Government
| is due great deal to the neglectful
way that the auditing has been done?
A. l do not think so. These books
have been audited regularly every
| quarter by competent accountant,
and compared with the sworn state
rnents of the returns in that Depart
ment.
Mr.. McCandless: Q. Do you think it
would have been possible for those peo-
pie to have got away with funds in
these different departments if you had
| looked after them about the cash?
A. Do you mean if I had counted the
cash every month?
Q. Yes, every thirty days?
A 1t would have been possible for
an accountant to get away with the
cash if you had that amount on hand.
q. Would it have been possible for
| the Public Works to have gone crooked
/ if the departments had been audited
/ every thirty days, and would it have
/ been possible for check like the Elec-
/ trio Light Company's check to have
/ gone astray?
| A. AS 1 understand that check was
net entered on the books; it would have
! to go out at the very next checking,
which would have been at the end of
! that quarter; it would not have been
| discovered that that amount was not
/ collected because the collection comes
1 but once year.
1t was discovered by the Deputy Aud
/ itor.