The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-18
WON'T PAY The BILL
COMMISSIONERS SURE TO TURN
THE GRAND JURY DOWN.
NO EXPERTS FOR THEM,
UNLESS GRAND JURY ITSELF WILL
DEFRAY THE EXPENSE.

Commissioner steadfastly Refuse to
Discuss the Matter, but There's No
Doubt They Are Not Going to Pay
for the Examination, by an Expert
Accountant, of the Books of County
Oficers-BeIieved That County At
tOrncy Cam Has Already Express
ed an Informal Opinion That the
Commissioners Are Not Liable.
Last Law Leaves Grand Jury Out.
Although the County Commissioners
consistently refuse to discuss the pro-
posed employment by the grand jury
of an expert accountant, to examine
the books of the county officers, one
thing in connection with the matter is
reasonably certain. That is that the
commissioners will not honor the BILL
and if they finally pay it, it will be
after a legal fight.
This is as certain as if the commits
sioners had announced it from the
housetops, instead of observing the ut
most reticence on the subject, as they
have been doing From a perfectly
authoritative source it is learned that
this is their purpose and that they will
follow it out to the end nobody famil
lar with the subject for d single in
slant doubts Although County At
torney Cam also refuses to discuss the
the subject there is every good reason
to believe that he has already infor-
mally expressed the opinion that the
commissioners will not be required
either to honor or pay such a bill.
A law passed at the last session of
the general assembly permits the coun-
ty commissioners ito employ an expert
accountant to examine and report on
the books, vouchers and accounts of
any county officers whose duty it is I'M
der the law to handle county funds"
but nothing in this law has any refer
ence to the grand jury.
1t would seem to be probable that d
very pretty fight will soon be on.
Judge Barrow charged the grand jury
that it had right to employ such an
expert and the grand jury has already
decided to engage him. When it comes
to collecting his fee, however, it will
be horse of a different color, for the
commissioners are certainly not going
to pay it without a highland good,
long, hard one, if necessary, at that.
1t occasionally happens that a grand
jury fails to make any very close ex-
animation of books and accounts of
the county officers, but the last three
grand juries before the present one
did make such examinations, and at
their close marked the books exam
ined and found correct" The reports
of the committees by which the exam
nations were conducted have been
made parts of the general present.
ments of the respective grand juries.
When the commiss toner's are asked
to consider the payment of the fees
of an expert for examining the books
of county officers they feel they have
kick coming, and will be sure
| to make it. There are three terms
| of court a year and three grand
| juries; to pay for an expert for each
of them would mean an expenditure of
| the county's money ranging from ST.
600 to $4,000 year. With the prece-
dent once established, the COM
missioners believe it is not likely
that many grand juries would feel suf-
ficiently public-spirited and self-sacri-
ficing to do themselves what they can
have done at the expense of the
county.