The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1905-11-02
DR.. R0BERTS0NIS
Methodist Conference Approves Of His management Of Finances
II the Red River Valley University.

At the session of the North Dakota
Methodist conference the special com
mittee appointed to investigate the
report of the auditing committee on
the Red River Valley university sub
mitted the following report, which was
unanimously adopted by the confer
ence:.
To the Members of the North Dakota
Conference:
Your committee does not deem itself
to be an auditing committee, and has
not assumed to do the technical work
of such committee. We have, however,
carefully considered the pamphlet put
out by Messrs. Carter and Baker on
corning the business management of
the R. R. v. u.
We find that the principal charges
are as follows:
/. Large sums of money have been
paid by the treasurer without warrants
signed by the secretary of the corpor-
alton, upon checks or orders signed by
DR.. Robertson alone, and that the treas
urer has nothing to indicate for what
it has been spent.
2. OF the $4,000 already received
from the trustees of the science school,
$4,000 has not been turned over to the
treasurer and no account has been rem
dered to him concerning it.
8. The accounts of the Red River
Valley university have never been
properly audited.
In regard to the first charge: A
large part of the money paid by DR..
Robertson's order, without the warrant
of the secretary signed by the presi-
dent Of the board, was for bills in.
Cured in repairing and finishing the
building.
Messrs. Wallace, Robertson and Car
ter were appointed a committee to at
tend to this work. They left DR.. Rob
ertson to attend to the details and set
tie for materials and with the work
men. These bills were numerous and
amounted to from 80 cents to several
hundred dollars each. 1t would evil
IDENTIFY been in%convenient to require
every person having a bill of so cents
to secure an order from the secretary,
have it O. KID. by the proper person,
send it to Mr.. Lynch, president of the
board, at C%asselton, for his signature,
and then present to the treasurer for
payment. The usual way might be to
set aside a sum of money by vote for
this purpose; the way actually chosen
was by tacit consent to allow DR.. Rob
ertson to pay them by checks, which
: the treasurer honored. Of all these
bills DR.. Robertson has an itemized &C
count.
A further complication arose from
the fact that after the secretary, Mr.
Wallace, resigned last May from tho
board, he refused to surrender to his
. successor the warrant book until the
book should be officially audited.
Concerning the second account
namely, that money has been received
and expended without passing through
, the t~reasurer's hands, we find that Ger
tain parties in Wahpeton have declared
that they would apply to the courts fol
a receiver and thus hold a subscription
list of $4,000 while they attempted tc
prevent the removal of the school by
legal means. The board of trustees
therefore, appointed DR.. Robertson
Frank Lynch and Mr.. Robinson a com
mittee to receive and disburse money
thus superseding any action taken by
the executive committee as to method
of procedure in paying bills. More
than this, the newly elected treasurer
Mr.. Robinson, elected upon resignation
of Mr.. Carter in May, was within q
very few days after election taken into
very serious operation, which kept him
confined until after the close of the
school term, at which time it was nee
{ essary that the teachers be paid. II
was impossible, therefore, for him tt
receive the money which DR.. Robert
son had collected, and DR.. Robertson
therefore, paid the bills from money in
his hands, taking in each case proper
receipts therefor, which had been al
the disposal of the auditing committee
at any time. 1t was evidently impos
sible for MI. Robinson to attend to this
business.
We find also that up to May 4, 1905
Dr.. Robertson has Treasurer William
Carriers signature to his memoranda
Of all moneys collected and disbursed
by him, Mr.. Carter thus becoming
Jointly responsible for the same.
Concerning the third account:
We have. reason to believe that the
accounts of the corporation have never
been properly audited, though a com
petent committee has each year salts
fed itself that everything was properly
and honorably administered and has sc
reported to this conference. Inasmuch
as in the past there has not been sutfi,
cient care in examining the accounts
OF the university, we recommend that
in the future a competent accountant
be employed by the auditing commit
tee to examine all accounts before
making a written report to the confer.
HustIing the Clergy.
A Western newspaper man, one
connected with a journal in Denver
,uoc 49,, =. oo,Horcotiop with hi