Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-01-02
CITY OFFICIALS LAX
State Examiner Severely Criti-
cises Council and Clerk
Of Oelwein
LITTLE ACCOUNT OF FUNDS
Former Clerk Convicted Of Embezzle-
ment and Successor Makes No I'M
provement in System of eookkeep
ina-counciI Asked to Return saIar-
les illegally Drawn.
speclar 10 rimes-RepuDllcan.l


Des Moines, Jan. 2.--The strongest.
criticism called forth by the state eX-
aminer of the books of municipalities
of Iowa has been made against the
officials of the town of Oelwein. EN-
aminer George z. Pencil of the state
auditors office has unearthed start
ling condition of municipal anairS
there. He declares in his report, the
city officials have been at liberty to
help themselves to public funds WITH
out any restraint or accounting. Prior
to April of this year the city Of
ficials of Oelwein seem to have kept
little or no account Of their funds.
When the state examiner came to
that many receipt stub books had
either been lost or destroyed and no
evidence left of the moneys received
by the city clerk, who is collector for
the municipal water works.
Enough evidence was secured
against former City Clerk Whips be-
fore Examiner Pencil began his
work on the Oelwein municipal ac-
counts to secure Whips conviction
for embezzlement for over $1,uuv
water rentals. Whips had kept a
lone cash book, which proved his un-
doing, but none of his receipt stubs
could be found. The experience with
Whips did not awaken Oelwein to
the necessity of chanf in its mu-
nicipal accounting syst,..l, however,
for Examiner Pencils report says:
The present clerk, who succeeded
Mr.. Whips, made single change in
the manner Of conducting his office.
He dispensed with the cash book, and
as not single stub of single re-
ceipt during the years 1905-06 could
be found in his office we could only
take the report of the. committee who
made the settlement with him on
April /, 1906 as to the receipts for
that period. They say the clerk re-
ceived for the water fund, per re-
ceipt stubs, $4.392.S4. and have no
occasion to doubt the correctness of
their findings, but when we asked
the clerk to produce the stubs for us
he says he does not know where they
are and that after the committee set
tied with him he had no particular
interest in them.
"On April 1, 1906, the city Off
Gals provided a set of books, and
since that date conditions are better,
tho much is left for the future. Con-
ditions prevailing prior to April 1,
1906, were but an invitation to all con-
nected Herewith to help themselves,
and that the city did not suffer any
worse is due to the natural honesty
of it's officials and to good luck, rather
than to any care that had been exer-
cised by the city"
The state examiner also discovered
that the Oelwein city council in 1903
raised its salary from $12 year to
81 meeting, with a maximum OF
$50 year. The aldermen who voted
for this increase at once began to
draw the higher salary without watt
ing for their terms to expire Ex-
aminer Pencil reports that the al
the city treasurer the following
sums thus Illegally drawn as salary:
Paign, SGT; Kent, $3S; Bentley,
$3s; Read, $3s; O'Brien, $3s; Willing,
$3s; Neumaker, $3s; Reedy, SIC.
The city council has never approv-
ed the bond Of it's city clerk, accord
ing to the Pencil report.
Objection is also made by the stata
examiner to the Oelwein custom of
permitting its city clerk to draw war
rants on the city treasury by it's own
signature, without that Of the mayor
or any other city official. Nothing
could prevent the clerk from issuing
warrants and pocketing the proceeds
under this system" says Examiner
Pencil, in his report to the state
auditor. All the other Iowa cities
examined thus far require both the
mayor and clerk to sign all warrants.
Bank Change at Collins.
Special to imes-Republican.
Nevada, Jan. 2.-The first of the
year marked an important change in
the management of the Exchange