The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1906-04-27
GOVERNOR SARLES REFORMS
s. 4 THE SYSTEM


THE SYSTEM
Fargo Forum: The people OF
the state donot hear directly from
tae big building on the hill quite
as much as they should. 1t may
not be the fault of the Tribune, and
it may not be the officials that are
to blame, but they have gotten in
to a rut of telling the newspaper
boys that there is nothing special
doing. They are SO busy looking
after the routine business that
daily pours into the various offices
that they do not sense the fact
that there is vast amount occur
ring that would be of interest to
the taxpayers Of the state if prop
.erly disseminated.
The business men who visited
the offices at the capital two or
three years ago, and again inspect
ed the same today, would find that
Governor Sarles has inaugurated
some very important changes
which mark his administration as
business one in every respect.
One of many incidents will illus
trate this fact. The annual report
of the state treasurer was brought
to the governor, and the law says
that he shall approve and audit it.
Governor Sarles did not propose to
perform the duty in perfunctory
manner. He called in the public
examiner for him to audit the ac-
count. After a thorough examin-
alton he reported to the executive
that it was absolutely correct as
far as the treasurer's books were
concerned. The governor said
rs it all right?" The examiner
replied that he thought it was, but
that the treasurer's books did not
agree with the land commissioners
records as they had different
system of bookkeeping and the two
could not be harmonized. The
governor then sent to st. Paul and
secured the services of an expert
bookkeeper, one of the best in the
country, and he had system of
bookkeeping put in all offices at
the capitol throughly up to modern
methods. It was not the fault #
the present occupants of the state
Offices that these discrepancies ex-
listed; the system of bookkeeping
]. had been kept the same from terri
/. torial days, and it was was ante
quated. It made much work. and
then did not fully tell the the story
that it should. The recognized
system makes it SO that each de-
partment shows the business of
any other department with which
it has business, and each day the
record is complete and the situa-
ton can be told at a glance. Be-
fore this all the business was
shown, buff any special informa-
tion was wanted it has to be Labor
ously dug out. This is what the
ejecting of a little har2 -headed
business sense has done Tor the
various departments. #
Another change will soon be
made, and the sub-voucher system
will soon be in working order. In
the old days voucher simply stat
ed that so much had been expend-
ed for expenses. The bills were
approved in that way, but Govern
or Sarles did not doubt that the
bills were right, but felt that the
state had right to know just what
the expense was, and made the in
diyidual itemize the amounts for
each purpose before the bills were
approved. Now he proposes 10
introduce the same system ls| as is
pursued in most Of the best gov
!; erned states, and have subyouchers
,att .ched to the original for all the
items Of expense. The details
have been worked out so that this
system will evidence that he in
tends to have thorough business
administratio
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