The morning journal-courier., 1908-10-10
THE MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTS.


 THE MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTS.
 The suggestion that expert account ants be put to work upon the books of the city to discover and report up- on whatever they may find amiss, is being met with the favor of serious minded citizens all over the city to a far greater extent than may be generally realized. By doing So New Haven would be but falling In linn with scores and scores of other municipalities Says Frederick A. Cleveland, an authority on civic af- fairs "A better system of municipal accounts is the first step in municipal refofm. To-day upwards of twenty five Organizations have committeas for the consideration of uniform municipal accounts The aim Is to devise methods for checking the financial waste and lnstltuting econ omies which will result in an estl- matel saving of fully 15 per cent. to the taxpayers,
 New Haven or any city has nothing to lose and all to gain by institutlng sacE an investigation. Our city of- ficials may tell us that their admlnis- tration is not only entirely above board, but thoroughly economical. They may explain that their system Of accounts is an advisable one. We have no reason to doubt but that they are able to satisfy their consciences on any of these scores. In case every Mining is satisfactory. that fact will not only redound to their personal credit but to the credit of the party at pres en: in power after an investigation of this nature. The only way things are constituted to-day in New Haven, and in most cities, the citizens have no sat- isfactory way of finding out just what the actual results of the municipal business administrations are, what the actual cost, the actual saving or the actual extravagance, except in very rare instances. It is perfectly ap- parent, as some one has said, that ''good administration demands an in- telligent municipal sentiment" but the latter cannot be had without the necessary information to found 1t up- subject: "When municipal accounting Is perfected so that the taxpayer, who IS 8 stockholder in the municipality, can get an intelligent idea of the cost and product of administration, a long step will have been gained toward placing the public service upon an honest business basis Then that perfection should be sought.
 ANO biit HftI siiSDttI llldl bIldI IlPIp has been any fault in the prese nt municipal administration in New Ha ven because of faulty bookkeeping. In fact there is evidence at hand to show that the city's books have been well attended to. But very probably the system upon which the city's books are kept is not such as tends to make the citizen-body most con. city government. We say probably inasmuch as investigations in othe, cities, similar to that proposed to New Haven, have almost invariably brought about such discoveries. Wher the citizen body takes only passing interest In the city's finances, 1t | generally because those finances art accounted in such an intricate way that they are difficult to understand
 The statement just made by Mayor Hubbard of Boston, namely that dur ing the nine months of his admins tration total of $736,000 has beer saved in the total of the city's ex penses and $400,000 more on con tracts, is suggestive. At least Nev Haven should join with the ever growing movement for a uniform sys tenn of municipal accounting through out the country, suoh that comparl sons, favorable or unfavorable, cal be more easily made. Says Don. F Mowry, close student of this move ment:
 'rhey are doing things in Ohi1 Wyoming, Iowa, Massachusetts an Minnesota. Public funds are bein, looked after True accounts and de tailed statements are demanded. Pc 1itcians are praisins the law in thcs several states, A prominent politl clan in Ohio, who does not wish to b quoted over his name, writes me tha he opposed the bill to establish tn