The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-08-27
Plans to Have Uniform County
Accounting in Kansas.
Tax Commission Will Probably
Adopt System.
FAVOR CATON,S BOOKS.
Author Already Has Contracts
in Fifty Counties.
New Plan Will Not BE in Effect
Till Next Year.

County officials are awaiting with
much interest the outcome of the de-
| alterations of the state tax commits
sion in relation to the establishment
of a uniform system of bookkeeping
for the county clerks and county
rreasurers of Kansas. And whatever
the tax commission does there is
pretty certain to be good deal of dis
satisfaction, for it will unavoidably
mean that many counties in the state
Will have to get their accounting de-
partments on new basis.
The tax commission law, however,
gives to the commission the right to
decide upon system of uniform
bookkeeping, because 1t is necessary
that the commissioners be enabled to
go to the records of any county and
ascertain facts without going through
the trouble of digging out the book
keeping peculiaritieS of each county.
There have been<a number of cOun-
ty officials before the tax commission
to urge the adoption of special sys-
TENS. Montgomery county has sys-
tenn which it thinks is little the best
there is, ard it wants all the other
counties in the state to follow its foot
steps Shawnee county also has some
ideas which it believes to be better
than systems used elsewhere. Wyan-
dotte county also has a strong desire
Will not have to make any changes.
The chances are, however, that the
board will adopt a system known
among the counties of the state as the
Cation system. This system was de-
vised by J. E. Cation, a well known ex-
pert accountant and is already in use
in about 40 counties of the state. The
fact that the Cation system is now
used by 40 counties is one of the
strongest arguments in favor of it's
ada nv adn
the tax commission is certain to
please nearly half of the counties of
the state. Ten other counties are I'M
der contract with Mr.. Cation for the
installation of this system. so that
practically half the counties of Kan
sas are already on the uniform basis.
Mr. Caton's system of bookkeeping
is copyrighted system. and the own
er of the copyright makes a charge of
$500 for installing the system and fur
nishing books which will last for 10
years But in order to have his sys-
tenn retained in Kansas, Mr.. Cation
will doubtless have to sacrifice all
hope of getting any further pay bust
ness in Kansas. The new tax COM
mission law caught him between two
fires; either his system would be en-
tirely abolished from the state, and
counties which had invested in it
would lose their money, or else Mr..
Cation would have to allow his system
to become the property of the Kansas
tax commission for use in Kansas
and go out of business for profit in
this state. Even the 10 contracts
which Mr.. Cation had made and not
carried out would have to be sacri-
feed.
The only thing that Mr.. Cation
would get out of the transaction
would be the prestige of having his
system adopted for the whole state of
Kansas, which might enable him to
get business more readily in other
states However. it is a bad PROPOSE
ton for Mr.. Cation at best, for had the
tax commission and state uniformity
law not been passed, Mr.. Cation would
probably have been able to sell his
system of bookkeeping to rs per cent
of the counties of Kansas.
The Cation system meets with gen.
eral approval. and is thought to be
one of the most perfect and least
complex of all the county bookkeep-
ing systems there are. The books
and blanks used in the system are all
copyrighted, but If the system is en-
dorsed by the Kansas commission, the
copyright will be transferred to the
commission and counties will be al
lowed to have their books made
wherever they see fit. At least that
is the way the tax commission thinks
the thing should be arranged.
The new system will not go into eff
feet till next year. but the tax COM
mission will very soon decide on the
system of uniformity to be adopted