Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-24
MUST MAKE GOOD
MAG ROWAN THEFT
STATE UNIVERSITY REGENTS
RESPONSIBLE
SPECIAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Total Amount Taken by the Former
Secretary Is $5t,47s,76-Change
In Financial System Is
Advocated
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
SACRAMENTO, Feb. 23.-The re-
gents of the state university are held
accountable for the defalcation of For
mer Secretary w. A. MacKowan of
the university in the report of the
special committee to investigate the
financial system of the institution filed
with the senate this morning. The re-
port recommends that the regents be
compelled to reimburse the $51 ,47s.76
stolen by MacKowan.
A complete change in the financial
system of the university is recon-
products should be used as far as possi-
BILE in the construction of buildings on
the Berkeley campus
The report is in part as follows:
The said secretary kept the books
Nof the said board of regents. and, so
far as the evidence discloses. there was
no supervision exercised over the sec
retary by the board of regents or the
president of the university with refer
ence to Keeping the accounts and the
receipts of money collected for the
university, except that the said board
of regents employed John j. Herr to
make an occasional examination of the
books The testimony of Mr.. Herr on
this subject was that he never ex-
amined the books except when asked
to do so by the secretary himself: that
he was often delayed and put off in the
examination by the said secretary, on
his excuse that the books were not
posted up and ready to be audited.
Found Books Correct
after each examination of the books
made by said auditor he gave to the
board of regents a certificate of his
examination, naming therein the books
that he examined, which, in all cases,
he reported he found correct The
books included all of the books show
ing the financial transactions of the
regents OF the university except, In
some cases, the minute book of the
regents and the books of the treasurer
and the books of the medical depart
ment of the university. Auditor Herr
made no report of shortage or defalca-
ton by the secretary.
Your committee further finds that
the finance committee of the board
of regents, since 1900, gave no time at
all to a personal examination of the
accounts or personal supervision of
the books; that they gave no instruc-
tions whatever to said auditor as to
the manner or how the books should
be audited and took no steps to as
certain whether or not the system of
keeping the accounts was efficient for
the purpose.
The recommendations of the commit
tee are:
First. That the board of regents i'm
mediately provide a system for eXami-
nation and auditing of the books of the
treasurer, and the medical department
of the university and provide for sys-
tenn of triplicate receipts, to be given
by the treasurer and persons receiving
fees for medical department and for
any other Officer or department of the
university receiving money for the
said institution, similar to the plan
now adopted for the secretary. and that
books relating to fiscal transactions be
exported at least semi annually.
Second. Your committee, while fully
appreciating the fact that the regents
of the university are serving the state
without pay and purely out of feel
ing of patriotic duty to the university
yet recognize that, while doing so, the
regents have assumed an important
trust-one that when once undertaken
should be executed with care and dill
igence; the loss sustained being one
that could have been avoided by the
ordinary care and diligence that the
regents would have exercised in their
own business, leads the committee to
the conclusion that the regents are ur-
der obligations to reimburse the funds
the defalcation by MacKowan.
"We therefore recommend that
proper proceedings be taken to obtain
reimbursement of the said losses"
The exact amount of money taken
by MacKowan is made public for the
first time by the committee. The total
is $51. .47S,76, divided as follows:
Students fees, $15,SO71S.
Wilmerding school fund, $34932.
Levi Strauss scholarships, $1750SO.
d. o. Mills Lick observatory fund,
$4,000.
Emanuel fellowship, $500.
Martha A. Halldie fund, $500.
Alumni hall fund.- $1,000.
Glass of 'S6. loan fund. $153.
Glass of 93. loan fund. $1S0,15.
Medical funds, $97O3.3S.
Contingent fund, 1910.
Hearst scholarships. $1,000.
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