The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-05
State Securities in Treasury Are
Counted Today.
There Are Eleven Million Doll
lars Worth in Treasury.
OVER A WAGON LOAD.
They Are Kept Secure in State
Strong Box.
Work Was Delayed by the
Treasury Investigation.

Ine immense job of counting and re-
checking about 81, 100000 in bopds will
be completed this afternoon in the Office
OF State Treasurer Kelly. These bonds
are the property of the Kansas schools,
ana The interest, amounting to about
S500,0O0 year, is used for the benefit of
the public schools, the state university,
state normal and state agricultural col
lege, and according to law, they must
be checked over once a year by the
state auditor. The work of counting
the bonds, and verifying their presence
in the treasurer's vaults has been con-
Quoted this year by Chief Clerk Rogers
of Auditor Wells Office.
Whenever in the course of business
any of the bonds in the school fund fall
due are paid off, the treasurer reports
this fact to the auditor, and a record
is made in the Office of the auditor. The
money received is credited back to the
fund at the disposal of the school fund
commissioners for reinvestment. When
new bonds are purchased, the treasurer
is required to report the transaction to
the auditor. Then once year the aud
the treaSurer'S valuts, take out all the
bonds, check them over, and see If
there is actually no hand the amount of
bonds which is supposed to be there.
IL.
cation would Immediately result.
Until the work is all completed and
the summaries made. it will not be
known whether the accounts kept by
the auditor balance with the amount of
bonds which are on hand.
Some of the bonds on hand are very
old, and have been bearing interest for
long time. The auditor is not re-
quired to check up the coupons on the
bonds; if he was. it would take much
longer to make the examination than
1t does. And even under present con-
ditions, it took Mr.. Rogers and his as
s1stantS about four days to complete
the work, which is faster time than
ever made before with the same un-
dertaking. Under the new law, how
ever, the auditor will have to check
coupons as well. Bonds which have
been purchased since the new law went
into effect, have to be thus checked.
The ordinary citizen who does not
| have to spend his time counting bonds
might have some difficulty to compre-
! hend the magnitude of the job OF
checking over $11,00O,OOO worth of
bonds. If these bonds were all
| stacked up in a pile, there would be
| several wagon loads of them. They
are kept in specially constructed
| cases in a huge vault, of which the
| door is guarded by steel gates, steel
doors, and massive front door of
n1ckeled steel, briStling with huge
bolts, time locks and all the other de-
vices for protection against theft and
fire. 1t would be quite an undertake
ing to break into the state treasury
and get away with any of that Sill
100000 in bonds. All the bonds are
issued by the counties, cities, town
ships or school districts of the state
of Kansas Under the new law, all
bonds issued in the state have to be
first offered to the school fund COM
missioners at par, before being sold
any place else.
The work of counting over the bonds
was delayed somewhat this year by the
fact that Accountant Morris, represent
ing the firm of Haskins & Sells. was
also making an examination of Treas
urer Kelly's office, and was using a
good deal of the material and some of
| the records needed by the auditor for
the bond examination. It was necessary
the particular line of investigation then
under wav