The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-07-04
COLE REPORTS ON CITY BOOKS Mayor Teague Gives Them to Public. MANY ERRORS WERE MADE Auditor Points Out Remedies for
 Carelessness. Treasurer Williams is Highly Commend cd for Efficiency Hut New sys-
 tems Are Advocated for
 the Departments.

ing gave out for publication reports Of Clarke F. Cole, the special accountant from Atlanta, on the result of his in- vestigation into the books and accounts of the various city officials of Mont- gomery.
 The reports If Mir. Cole are volumin- ous and cover the accounts of the City Treasurer, the City Clerk. the Market Clerk. the City Sexton. the Chief of Police, the Superintendent of Water Works and the Superintendent of Pub lic Schools. All of the accounts were found to be correct except those of City Clerk Corbin P. Hardaway. who was found to be short in his account with the city $4,355.23. As has been stated by The Advertiser, Mir. Harda- way paid this amount into the City Treasury as soon as his attention was directed to the shortage. Notwithstanding the reort of MT. Cole was made to the Finance Commit tee of the City Council, the committee adopted the unusual procedure of trans | hitting 1t to the Mayor instead of to the Council .tself. In giving out the reports yesterday Mayor Teague said that they would be kept on file in his office for inspection at any time by the tax payers of Montgomery. 'T. Is not my purpose" said Mir. Teague, ''to conceal anything from the public. These are all of the original reports made by Auditor Cole that have been transmitted to me by the commit tee and so far as I know they include every report made by the auditor" Explanation of Reports. In transmitting his reports to the Finance Committee, Mir. Cole wrote the following summary of their contents:
 Montgomery. Ala, June 15, 1906. Hon. N. Lobman.
 Chairman of the Finance Commit tee, City,
 "Gentlemen:
 q have the honor to hand you here with report of audit of the several de- partments of the city government for the eight months of the present fiscal year from October 1, 1905 to June 1, 1906.
 "In making a financial statement in the middle of a fiscal year, you can readily appreciate I have diff ficult task to make a technically cor rect report showing balance and at the same time giving exact information as to the assets and liabilities. In making my report I have necessarily conformed to the technical in order to make a balance. I have attempted. however, to explain such accounts as show assets and liabilities where the liabilities are not real.
 Exhibit "A with its subdivisions, gives you complete report of the treasurer's affairs together with fin anciaI statement of the city's affairs up to June 1, 1906 Exhibit E. report on the clerks department; Exhibit e. Market clerk; Exhibit D,' Sexton; Exhibit 'E.' Police; Exhibit F. Water works; Exhibit e. Superintendent of Public Schools.
 "I have inaugurated and installed system of keeping municipal accounts in the office of the treasurer and clerk I find the system in the waterworks department to be practically the nec- essary waterworks system.
 In Exhibit H, I am making sugges- tions and Recommendations as to the several departments.
 Respectfully submitted
 "Clarke P. Cole"
 The exhibits referred to by MT. Cole consist of tabulated statements show ing the condition of the funds of the various departments of the city gov ernment.
 Accounts of City Clerk.
 Three reports were made by MT. Cole on The accounts of City Clerk | Hardaway. The first report. which | he calls a preliminary report, was submitted on June 1 and showed that MT. Hardaway was due the city $S226.- 3s on account of errors. This report | covered the fiscal year 1905-O6. on | June 2l, MT. Cole sent to Mayor Teague | a report on the City Clerk covering a | period of three years from october l, l 1901, to October 1, 1904, on license | account, and going back two years further on sale of cemetery lots In | this report MT. Cole says:
 There is a shortage of Sl,i$o.25' put the clerk is entitled to credit of $4o | by reason of the following errors | against himself. Then follows a de- tailed statement of the errors.
 The third report on the City Clerk | cover the fiscal year 1904-O5. From | this report it appears that, during thls period, the City Clerk made errors against himself amounting to $69.9S. It | Is interesting to observe In this con n.r.I)l the "t 'tion of MT. Cole In the | report covering this period as follows;
 '.The following erors were over looked by your last auditor: error Tn | addition against the clerk. $so
 In transmitting his preliminary re- port" on the city clerk under date or | June 1. MT. Cole says:
 'The clerk requested me to hold up l this report assuring me he would pay | all shortage in full. This was done, | having paid the last of 1t, little more l than $1 900 today.
 "I feel it my duty as your auditor | to place the report in your hands in | order that you may decide for your selves the safety of the city's funds i2 | I utter disregard of Section 214, of the | city code. which requires the payment | daily of all moneys collected.
 Further along in this report on the | city clerk, Mir Cole says
 Tn examining the books of the clerk | from October l. 1905. to date. I find such glaring errors and evident short age that l deem 1t advisable to make a separate report of affairs as I find at this time"
 Errors Against Himself.
 In his detailed report of errors found in the cash book of the city clerk, MT. Cole reports two separate errors in addition of $1,OO0 each against the city and one error in addition. of $1.- 900 against the city clerk
 Under the head of Sales reported on cash book" MT. Cole charged the city clerk with S675,25. as received by him and not entered on his ledger. In ref erence to this matter. MT. Cole says
 'I get the dates of payment from the register kept by the clerk and dates paid are made by himself, though. in f some instances. the years of payment nave been recently changed the change being clear and acknowledged by the clerk
 In his report on the books of the city clerk, covering the fiscal year l9O4-O5. MT Cole says
 q would call attention to licenses .aken from the back of the license book with no explanation on the stub When numbered receipts are removed rom stub book. the stub should show clearly for what purpose the receipt was removed. If. to replace a mutt