Omaha daily bee., 1906-07-11
EXPOSE OF CRlER'S RECORD
Full Investigation Will Be Ordered by
Mayor of the Council.
DAHLWAN WANTS The LIGHTS TURNED ON
Chief Executive Asks that Inquiry
Into Records OF Police Court
Clerk for Entire Term
he Made.

In connection with the investigation being
made into the records of former Police Court
Clerk Lee Grier, Mayor Dahlman said Tues
day morning: MY first step in the mat
ter will be to call on the city council this
evening and request that body to appoint
an accountant to examine Grier's recol DIS
for the entire term of his office as clerk Of
the police court, which, 1 understand, was
six and a half years. Further than that
l am not in position just now to say
anything more on the subject" The mayor
intimated he would recommend the APP
pointment of an expert accountant so the
records may be examined carefully.
Aside from the proposed examination at
the instigation OF the mayor and council,
City Comptroller Lobeck started his deputy,
Fred Cosgrove. and Clerk Frank Plank
checking over Grier's records Tuesday
morning. Cosgrove and Plank began with
the time Grier left the office, June 10, and
will go back month by month.
The first work Cosgrove and Plank are
doing is to enter on the clerks daily docket
book the disposition of every prisoner com
mitted from the police court to the city
Jail after each days session OF the police,
the ''city mittimus" in each case showing
this information. With a record OF fines
paid to the clerk during sessions of police
court already on the docket and the mtti-
mus information added by the comptroller S
clerks, the next step will be to check back
on the docket the tripllcate fine receipts
held by the comptroller. The work is
proving to be a slow Job and will take
some time for the two clerks to check it
all up.
Take Judge and Clerks o. KS.
In regard TO previous checks made by the
oity comptroller at the police court clerk $
office. Mr.. Lobeck explained Tuesday
morning that his office relied on the daily
20. X" of the police judge on the clerk s
docket. the custom not being to go back
Of the judges approval in the auditing
check An examination of the clerks
records since January, when Judge Craw-
ford came into office. shows that Judge
Crawford did not 20. X" and sign the
docket, for the reason, as be explained
that he wanted to make sure the system
in vogue was reliable before attaching his
signature to the records. The refusal OF
Judge Crawford to Rffx his signature to
the clerks books aroused the comptroller s
Office and later caused the judge to make
an investigation on his own, account.
Realizing that his 0. X. to the clerk s
records means something, Judge Craw-
ford began 10 stir things up, the result
being that he and the comptroller's Office
have devised a system which will show a
complete record of every person arraigned
in the police court. To determine whether
prisoners shown on the records to have
been committed to the county jail we're
actually sent there, the police Judge will
hereafter receive each day a report from
the county Jail showing an abstract OF all
prisoners received from the city jail. These
reorts may be checked back to the clerk =
docket at the police court by the police
judge. -r
City Comptroller Lobeck expressed him
self Tuesday morning as pleased with The
Bees exclusive exposure of the whole az
fair and believed much good will result
therefrom, not only in the police court
but will also have good effect in the
various departments of the city administra-
tlon.