Omaha daily bee., 1907-03-01
How 1t Was worked.


How IL Was worked.
The graft which the auditor and the
claims committees have cut out OF the
Douglas county sheriffs bills. amount to
nearly a third of the total The reason for
the reduction of the padding is explained
by Deputy Auditor Cook in this way
I'VE have cut out of the bills presented
by Douglas county sheriff's rs cents day
on each prisoner charged to the state and
ali of the railroad fare OF the sheriff and
his deputies. The law reads that the sheriff
shall deliver prisoners at the penitentiary
within thirty days after sentence and that
during the time they are in his custody he
may receive for feeding them 75 cents
day or $3.50 week. The $3.50 a week is 80
cents day and the intention clearly is to
allow 50 cents a day when the prisoner is
kept more than six days before being de-
livered to the penitentiary or reformatory.
We took this matter up TO the supreme
court and got decision some months ago
uphoIding this contention of the law and
began at once reducing the bills filed by
sheriffs to the 50 cent basis
SHERIFF Mcdonald had a few bills cut
down and then held out all the rest OF
them. presumably preferring to get the
thing about this is that in Douglas county,
alone of all the counties, 1t is the regular
practice of the sheriff TO hold on to every
sentenced prisoner for almost the entire
thirty days apparently in order to get the
maximum allowance for feeding. In other
counties prisoners are brought to the peni-
tentiary with few exceptions, within three
or four days after sentence and are seldom
fau do bIIf Is he rar re
exception when any prisoner from Douglas
county is so delivered short OF at least
twenty-five days.
Charges Mileage for Free Rides.
"As to the rejected items for railroad
fare they were cut out on Sheriff Nc
Donald's own admission that he and all
his deputies who convey prisoners rode
constantly on passes on all the railroads
aud that no money had been expended by
them for railroad fare. Mr.. Mcdonald
tried to Justify his attempt TO collect mile
age from the state for trips made on free
passes on the ground that he performed
numerous services in his ofHcial capacity
for the railroad companies for which he
never charged them anything. regarding
the sesvices as being paid for by these
passes, and that under the circumstances
state Just the same. to make good the fees
he did not collect from the railroads. We,
OF course, refused to recognize this as any
proper justification.
Another very peculiar thing about these
sheriff's claims from Douglas county is that
they represent with few exceptions, special
trips made to bring prisoners to lincoln or
10 Geneva or to Kearney, one at time.
BY making special trips the sherin has
been able to put in expense accounts for
each one. thus multiplying the mileage
and per diem. Sherifs in other counties.
where they have several prisoners under
sentence, bring them to Lincoln. as a rule.
all at one time, and put in only one bill"
Details of the Claims.
+ The itemized claims presented by ex-
/ Sheriff John Power. showing in tahulation
form the number and amount asked for
/ and the amount allowed and the amount
cut out is as follows:
JOHN POWER-KEEPING AND CON-
! VEYING STATE PRISONERS.