Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-08-28
CITY GOVERNMENTS
VIOLATE STATUTES
Municipal Accounting Laws Re
suit in Changes in Methods
OF City Councils
MUCH GOOD is ACCOMPLISHED
Majority Of Towns Where Irregular
tiles Disclosed Set About to REM
edy Defects-county Inspection Has
Same Beneficial Effects = News of
the State Capital.
ecial to Times Republican.

Des Moines. Aug. 2S.-From various
pal accounts department of the state
auditors office and the county ac-
counts department of the same office
are already accomplishing much sood.
The municipal accounts department IS
only now under good headway. having
completed the examination of the
larger cities with the exception of SIX
or seven and is about ready to start
in on the second years work Whlch
will undoubtedly be Of greater beneh.
than the first years work.
Unconsciously and without knowl-
edge of having copied the ldea the
state Of Iowa is putting to the test
the statistical method advocated by
William H. Allen, whom the civic
league of Des Moines is to bring to
this city for a free lecture on MS
ideas of efficient democracy. And
the benefits are already apparenti TO
the several cities. 1t has been learned
from various sources that many OF
the cities of the state have hung on
the ragged edge when it became known
that the municipal accounts inspector
was about to visit the city. This was
true of those cities where the ac-
counts were later shown to be in ex-
cellent condition as well as of those
where the inspection later disclosed
gross irregularities.
The fact is that the city governments
of Iowa as of other states have been
running on for years with more or less
disregard Of the statutes without any
one ever knowing just how close to
the statutes they were keeping In
those cities that have hewed close to
the line there was sigh of relief when
they discovered that they were al
right" and with feeling of pride the
city officials have started in again
with determination to correct the
few small errors and do still better
Job of governing the city. This was
the case in Mason City and in other
places.
Some others, like Creston. for ex-
ample, when gross Irregularities were
disclosed, started in to abuse the mu-
nicipal inspector and the auditors Of
flee Others like LeMars where irreg-
ularities were disclosed, have set about
it to correct the evils in business
like manner.
The Iowa League 1of Municipalities
was the instigator of the idea of hav-
ing uniform, blanks and methods of
keeping city accounts and at the last
session of the legislature got thru
an amendment that broadened the
scope of the work and made it a dig
nified department with sufficient in
spectors to do the work. 1t is con-
f1dently believed that this department
of the state auditors office will in
time be proven one of the most useful
in the state. With the knowledge that
their accounts are to be inspected by a
state officer every city official takes
little greater care in keeping his
books right and every city council is
less likely to disregard the provisions
of the law in the expenditure Of the
peoples money
The county uniform accounts COM
mission has completed a very large
part of its work and the state printer is
now at work turning out the blanks
that have been agreed upon thus far.
The commission adjourned a week ago
for month, and when it meets again
will probably complete the work of
dsvising the systems of accounts. In
its work this commission has had be-
fore 1t all the blanks that have been
in use in all the counties of the
state. Practically none Of them
have been adopted without some slight
change, but the commission has adopt
ed the main ideas from those in use
now for all but a few. Some few have
been entirely rearranged and rewrit-
ten.
The law relating to the uniform
county accounts passed by the last
legislature provides only for the uni
form accounts and required that they
must be used by county officials. 1t
is proposed that the next legislature
shall provide for broadening the work
and requiring for regular and rigid
accountant from the auditors office
so as to do with the county accounts
just what is now being done with the
city accounts.
The next step in the work Of insur-
lIS tlliNlCIl deIllOSIdSy 10 lOIt SetCu
city and each county to take up thpu
patriotic citizens a further system for
more minute inspection of the city
and county expenditure of money
While the state department in the au-
ditor's office makes an inspection once
year it is for the citizens Of each To-
cality to make continued Inspections
The books of every city and county
are now recognized as public property
and every citizen should have access to
them at all times. The city of Des
Moines is attempting to do something
along that line thru the Civic League.
New York is doing it thoroughly thru
society organized there for that pur-
pose. The state inspeots the accounts.
the local society inspeets accounts and
men alike, and does 1t frequently and