The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1906-10-12

ury Department of the National Gov.
eminent, and still prevails there being
one officer-the Comptroller-who must
pass upon the legal sufficiency of all
bills, and another officer-an Auditor
who must pass upon their clerical ac-
curacy.
In this state both duties fall upon
the State Auditor. The practice has
grown up of electing a lawyer as State
Auditor, and that course is practically
necessary as a man not of the legal
profession could hardly pass upon the
| legal sufficiency of particular items of
expense. While the legal side of the
Auditors Office has been we'll admin
| istered, such is the extent and detail of
the states business and so meagre have
been the appropriations for the Audi
tors office that it has been difficult to
keep the bookkeeping or clerical side
up to the same high standard. This is
not the fault of the several incumbents
of that office but is due to the fact that
both sides of the work in all it's detail
is more than one man with the assist
ance now provided by law can possibly
do.
The auditing work proper as dis
tinguished from it's legal aspect is i'm
portant, not only as a check upon
wrong-doing and the prevention of
mistakes, but in the interest of an in
telligent understandipg- of the affairs
of the state by all our people. There
should be a we'll considered, simple
and uniform plan of keeping all of
the accounts of the state and such
work should be so ketp up that at all
times exact and concise information
will always be available with respect
to the public business. 1t is desirable
that the people of the state should be
ccustomed to the consideration of these
exact figures. The business of the state
does not require that we should have
both a comptroller and an auditor,
but both lines of work can properly
be done under one official. If such
official be a lawyer, as has been the
custom, he is able to pass upon the
legal questions involved; but he
should have a deputy at sufficient
salary to secure the services of a skilled
accountant who, under the general di-
rection of the auditor, could give his
attention to the purely auditing side.
He should also have such clerical as
sistance as is necessary to keep the
whole of such clerical work in first
class shape.
1 recommend that in conjunction
with the efficient present State Auditor
this matter be given a thorough inves-
tigation during the present session,
that the system prevailing in other
states about our size be considered,
that, if necessary, expert accountants
be employed to advise with respect to
a uniform system of bookkeeping and
returns for the state and that the
whole clerical side of the Auditors Of
fee be put upon the best up-to-date
business principles. Some uniform
system of municipal accounting should
also be worked out in the same connec-
ton. 1 would go no farther nor make
any greater expense than any private
bushes concern would incur doing as
large a business as the state of Yer
mont scattered over so much territory
and transacted through so many in
dividuals and institutions; but 1 do
not believe that the state can afford to
do less. The money which business
corporations spend for this purpose is
not spent for the sake of spending
but for the sake of saving. The small
increase in expense to the state would
be more than saved by the results.
The recommendations of the State
Auditor to my predecessor regarding
the details of his department and the
administration of justice deserve your
careful attention.
SPECIAL LEGISLATION.
There is always a tendency on the
part of many people to seek special
legislation to enable them to do some
special thing or to protect them from
some real or fancied wrong when in
reality such relief, if needed, could be
obtained under the general law. This
kind of legislation is wrong in prin-
clple and always dangerous 1t unnec-
essarily takes the time of the Legisla-
ture, encumbers our statutes, and is
more likely to do real injustice than
to be of any actual benefit You
should, therefore, scrutinize most