The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-07
FINDS FEW BILLS.
MANY VOUCHERS
Legislative Committee Resumes In
vestigation of Fair Expenses.
RECEIPTS ARE LACKING
JUNkETERS WILL TELL TO-DAY
ABOUT "RAKEOFF."

seph, Stookey and Gundry, COM
Prising the special committee APP
pointed TO visit St Louis to
| investigate the workings of the
commission in that city during the
| fair, viii go on the stand and will relate
IN detaif what they found in the
Mound City. They went to ascertain if
any rake-offs We're received, and it is
sad the trip was fruitful.
The special committee returned at s
clock yesterday morning and was
| present when the investigation was re-
sumed in Judge G. w. Morse's court
| room Only few spectators were on
hand during the session, vet it proved
10 De one of the most interesting meet
ings since the investigation began
l.. w. Shurtliff Of ogden. one of the
members of the Utah commissioner
| tact. the dean of that body-told how
" was charged him for his room in
/ the hotel at St Louis for one day
while Senator Willis Johnson. another
member. had been charged only $40 for
a room for three days, this same mem
Der, by the way, bunking in with Mr.
| Sburtlln on the day when the latter
was charged the s.. AS a matter of
! Tact, 1t was shown that the members
Z OF the commission had to pay all sorts
/ OF prices for living expenses while at
the talr, yet in the majority of cases
they had not obtained receipts for the
money expended.
1
| iii was the payment of $3.50 for a
sleeping car berth from Chicago to Salt
| Lake at a time when, by previous tes-
| 1mony, he said he was a guest at the
1eIerson hotel in St. Louis. Under a
ilIIle prompting, later. the witness said
lhat he thought he had made a mistake
4 as TO the date when he was in Chicago
| and purchased the ticket.
Inc general trend of all the testimony
offered during the two sittings of the
I foo sg.l,-,
hey n. A. Smith as demOnstrat ting alb
! solute carelessness and Indifference as
! 10 the manner of disbursing the state S
| funds"
Smith Opens With Explanation.
Attorney H. A. Smith opened the
| morning session with a brief address
| 10. the committee in which he said:
| Whlle the figures on the abstract
! prepared by the expert boOkkeepers
| practically balance, the method adopted
10 arrive at that conclusion is very un-
satisfactory. Two sets of books were
| Kept. The first is in q badly mutilated
| condition, and the second contains en-
/ tries not found in the first. There are
| vouchers without bills. and bills with
/ out vouchers. In conclusion. / will saw
| mat after thorough search we find il
| utterly impossible to make any salts
factory Roadway from the books and
papers that would explain away the nu-
]
! we nave found We will have to de-
| pend largely on the evidence obtaina BILE
| from such witnesses as we NAV call
l VIII therefore call as the first wit
[ ness of this session L. w. Shurtliff. a
| member of the Utah commission of the
| Louisiana Purchase exposition
| Mr.. Shurtlifr. though venera BILE
| walked with brisk step to the stand.
and his attention was called to voucher
I Nc. 9.
Did DID You receive and receipt for
| this he was asked.
| don't know; I cannot tell YOU"
| Please notice that the blank for the
| amount is not filed out. It totals $50 So.
Can you explain it. or why it was
| signed in that shape?''
| Il have private notes of all the mon
! eys / expended. and L think this item
can De explained by those notes"
Mr.. Smith then called hh attention
10 numerous vouchers for various sums
al Oh winch were practically in the
/ same condition as voucher No. g. To
] some of them Mr.. Shurtliff replied that
! ne thought there were receipts among
] the commissions papers, but Mr.. Smith
said that if there ever had been they
! could not be found. Touching on vOuch-
| er No. 1S9. the attorney said:
This purports to be for SIS for per
! sonal expenses. VIII you please ex-
plain this?"
Got Money From Mr.. Whitaker.
| I received $50 from Mr.. Whitaker
| and spent it for my expenses in st.
| Louis. l took a memo of the various
/ items included in this amount, but |
| haven't got il now. Altogether. l got
800 from Mr. Whitaker for my person
at expresses, and that sum of SO is in
| clUded in it,
Referring to voucher No 211. ! no.
! tice an item of 81 for one day for one
room. At what hotel were you
| charged that?"
| AT the Jefferson
And they charged you 81 for one
| room one day."
wen. Mr.. Whitaker secured the
| room in advance and L supposed il
was all right
| Il notice on the same voucher an
| item for $1,000 for Mr.. Johnson of the
| commission for three days at the same
| hotel. How do you account for the diff
! ference?'
Il don't know. You viii have to ask
/ Mr.. Whitaker. 1 remember though.
! that Mr. Johnson and 1 occupied a room
| together for one day. It was when the
| commission first got there. Mr.. Whit
| aker can explain it."
! To many of the succeeding questions
/ the witness said he didn't remember
| much about them, but that Mr. Whita-
/ ker could explain all of them. He was
! positive, though. that he had received
/ only 800 from Mr.. Whitaker for per
! SOnal expenses. that sum being in two
/ amounts, but he could not explain why
there were duplicate vouchers pre-
| scented.
| Can you tell how much money you
! received in ALP
! Il cannot, except bv reference TO
| such private papers as | may have -
| You realize it was large amount ?
| Why didn't YOU keep set OF books
| You knew you were handling large
sums of the states moneys?" he was
| asked.
well, I-well-I don't know except
that kept record of many items. but
not all of them"
We viii now take up voucher No.
/ ll5. II purpOrts to be for S25 for five
| days board at the hotel i'm ST. Louis
| from Feb. 20 to "A inclusive Ie that
| correct"
It's not in NV handwriting. but I
| suppose it's all right
| We'll. then. among other items of ex-
| pense | find you have made a charge
| on Feb. % of $3.50 for a sleeper from
| Chicago TO Ogden and Salt Lake. You
have stated that you were in St Louis
4 from Feb. 20 TO % inclusive. yet here
/ IS charge of a sleeper. having been
| purchased by you in Chicago on the
23d How do you explain the discrep-
| ancy2"
The witness said nothing. and after
waiting a moment Mr. Smith passed
along to voucher No. 3o4.
An Error of One Days Charge.
This voucher" he said. calls for an
expenditure of SO for six days board