The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-02-09
MAlTOON COOL UNDER FIRE
ALLEGED SHORTAGES UP AT
 TOWN MEETING.

Watertown's Former Treasurer Un- able, However, to Explain Certain pcstts-AIso Una ble to Explain Errors in Day Book and Disposition of Mon- eys He Is supposed so Have Collected.
 Watertown, Feb. S.-Alleged short ages in the accounts of the town treas urer, Burton H. Mattoon, were consid- cred this afternoon at the town meet ing, which was attended by about four hundred citizens. There was much dis cussion of the report submitted by w. J. Munson, chairman of the special in- vestigating committee. and it was not accepted until after all it's phases had been pretty thoroughly aired. MT. Mattcon was asked many questions and replied eoolly to all. He declared that many of the alleged shortages mention ed as having existed in the treasurer's books during the last ten years had been cleared up, and he was confident that the examination by an expert whom he had engaged would clear up other so-called shortages.
 Horace D. Taft presided as chairman of the meeting. The report of the com mittee was practically the same as that of the experts whose findings were pre- sented at the special town meeting sev- eral weeks ago. The aggregate defi- ciency in the town books was said to be about $2300O. On October 1, 1893, there was found to be no deficiency, but a surplus of St, 6,191.09 in the treasury, with few outstanding debts. On October 1, 1894, the report found that there was a deficiency of s4,500; an additional def- ciency of s6,074 on October 1, 1895; $2,- 91S.o7 additional in October, 1896; $S,oOO additional in 1897, and $4000 additional in 1901.
 The committee found that false en- tries had been made to cover nearly all the alleged shortage, and that several notes were given to savings banks of which no entry appeared in the town books.
 In reply to questions by c. D. Atwood and others number of the former se- lectmen admitted that there had not been very thorough examination of the books when they entered upon their duties. They added that they had in tended to look more closely into the towns affairs. but that when they ask ed Treasurer Mattoon to assist them he put them off from time to time. It was declared that the system of re- viewing the accounts had been very slack.
 1 A vote to levy fifteen-n1ill tax was passed after some opposition from citi- zens who thought the tax should be sixteen mills.
 The meeting was still in progress at 3 o'clock,
 Swamped with questions and sugges- tions that he had been dishonest in handling the towns funds, and that he had misappropriated to his own use thousands of dollars, former Treasurer Mattoon gave no sign of f1inching dur ing the trying ordeal, and as clerk of the meeting took the minutes, display ing a coolness that was surprising. He answered all questions put to him as
 best he could, but on several occasions he was unable to give any account of moneys that he was supposed to have collected
 One of the surprising things of the meeting was the fact that MT. Mattoon
 was unable to tell to what banks cer-. tain notes had been given. At the bot tom of several pages in the day book
 were records of entries. such as Wat. Say. Blk note $2,000." He was asked to tell the meeting to what bank he re- ferred in making the entry, and three times he was unable to recall whether it was to the Watertown Savings bank or the Waterbury Savings bank. Again there were entries made as follows:
 "W S Bk,' which further complicated
 the situation, as the initials might mean either of the two mentioned
 banks or the West Side Savings bank of Waterbury. MT. Mattoon could not state what the entries meant. Do you consider those entries fair entries?" asked MT. Atwood. "Yes,' replied MT. Mattoon. If but one of these entries was made in a year they were fair and would have been all right, as no one expected ten year investigation.
 MT. Mattoon was asked to explain other errors discovered in the day book, but replied that he was not prepared to do so.