Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-10-07
BELL CHARGES REFUTE0
JOINT COMMITTEE MAKES PLAIN
STATEMENT OF FACTS.

Democratic Members Condemn Audi
tors Methods - Lyndonville Bank
CIosed-Man Torn by Ensilase Gut
ter-Belrs Official Plurality.
The Joint report of the Bell investi-.
eating committee was given out NJ
Montpelier Friday afternoon, sept
80, and accompanying II We're tne
supplementary reports issued by po'n
sides. -. ,,o
The Joint report states that the
charges against Mr.. Bell were thal
during the fiscal years ending June
30, 1901, and June 80, 1902, when ne
was secretary of the board OF asricui-
ture he had charged the state Tor ser
vices he did not render ana hau re-
ceived from the state money TO Wnlen
no was NOT entitled. The charges
were based on figures on pages Ito
and ZIG of the biennial report OF the
auditor of accounts Of Vermont Tor
the wears 1912. These tables OF hg-
ures showing the specific charges are
given. also an enumeration OF the va
rious vouchers covering Mr.. Bells per-
sonal account and office expenses, ar
ter which the report makes this state
ment: -.
n is shown by these tables that
Mr.. Bell received $1,059 from the state
per diem In 1900-01 or for 264A days
at 81 per day; and s1,l66 for per diem
| in 190l-O2, or for 291h days at "a
per day and that he received for total
expenses in 10000 S1,1O6.11 and III
1912 S1,163.70. ~
AS may be seen by the above tables
we find that the state paid Charles
| IF garNippg and eX-
nenses during the two years mem
| toned the total sum of $4,494.S1. The
summaries on pages lis and 116 OF the
auditors report In question indicate
that the state paid Mr.. Bell on account
of services and expenses during these
years the total sum of s3,6SS.19, show
| ing n difference of $S06,62 as COM
pared with what he actually received
and a difference of Sl230.l5 as COM
nared with the total of the aforemen-
| toned auditors vouchers.
THE examination of the vouchers
and the auditors ledger, accounts Tor
this as follows: Ledger entry proven
| by vouchers but omitted from the
printed summary, $3.50; items trans
ferred from Bells account 10 generai
lexpense account, SCI; vouchers NO;
4OS2 omitted from both ledger and
printed summary, Foio'p-' 50 v
vouchers were also found to cover
the amount of s423.53 paid out to 9th.
ers through Mr.. Bell, making a total
of s1,23015 exactly accounting Tor
the difference.
THE report further says:
We find that payment on TWO
vouchers in the cattle commission ac-
count aggregating s4l2.s9, though APP
proved by the governor as required by
law. were made on vouchers not
sworn to as explicitly required by act
No. 1913 of the Acts of 1896.
The democratic supplemental re-
port calls attention to the fact that
the most material and important
point in the charge was that which IS
omitted from the above statement
namely that the list of payments
SAILS, payments to Bell, every one
reads, &C. J. Bell services and ex
penses.' T" so that the suggestion OF
typographical error was refuted py
the simplest bookkeeping methods
which showed s1,972.S2 remaining for
Expenses" and accounted for no.
where else except in the item of test
ing cattle" etc, wherein Mr.. Belrs
chief duties as cattle commissioner
Law. The report admits that the
charge against Mr.. Bell was wrong
and deeply to be regretted but IN
sists that 1t was only due to the seven
distinct errors in the auditors re-
mort It expresses regret that the
democrats we're not allowed to make
with the republicans a joint examina-
ton of the vouchers before the cleo
ton, as the former desired. 1t de-
clares that the truth rs found is far
from the showing of the auditors re-
port or any other statement ever pub
lished.
The democrats fuSther say that the
most serious thing which they nave
found is that certain of the accounts
of Mr. Bell are not supported by
vouchers of any kind as required by
law but are governed by oath only.
They do not question the honesty or
the accounts but maintain that, not
being supported by vouchers, they are
CLEARLY illegal" and indicate a way
of doing business that cannot be too
severely condemned.
In answer to this, the republican
members of the committee declare
that they did not consider it their
business to deal with the legal aspects
of the case or with the question of the
state system of audit, but merely to
report "a simple statement OF our
findings, based upon an examination
of the vouchers and papers on hle:
Every one of the five men who signed
the report has said that the charge
against Mr.. Bell is proved to pc
wrong. We leave it there but will
now add this much, that he is not
only entitled to an absolute and un-
eouivocal generation as regards that
charge but also entitled to credit from
the fact that his vouchers prove q
certain kind of rugged, old-fashloned
economy and care in the discharge Oh
his public duties which entities him
to approval rather than the reverse,
and we are of the opinion also that
this credit should be accorded with
out regard to either personal or po-
litical exigencies.'
The Central Vermont railway COM
pany will run regular session trains
between Burlington and Montpelier
during the legislature and also run
in north and south bound morning
locals arriving in Montpelier about
800 a. m.
The recent official visit to the state
institutions showed the present num-
Der of state charges to be as follows:
States prison, 161, of whom Z are
females; house of correction, 2l5, OF
whom 10 are females; state Industrial
school, 1923, of whom rs are girls;
state insane hospital 504 of whom
246 are women; Brattleboro retreat,
3S1, of whom 223 are state patients.
James Martin. who disappeared
from his Rutland home ten years ago,
was drowned in Lake Michigan last
..o,x T. S,l;aoao he u,ac fapoilia rIy