The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-02-13
Audit System Shown to Be
Expensive Luxury.
PROBABLE PAY OF employees
Vice President RaynOF Probably
Had M Complaint tO Make of
Amount Received-Treasurer Handy
Said to Have Been Unwilling Wit
ness Before Printing Committee.

me compensation Tor services OF
doubtful value amounted 10 about Sl0,-
| 0O0 The sum of Sl60 was paid TO the
| system" weekly. There Is no record Of
the salaries paid by the system 10 its
employees. Vice President Raynor head
and front OF the concern in Washington.
| who, with his assistants, kept elaborate
quarters at the governments expense,
probably drew a good salary, Treasurer
Handy, financial hacker of the system,
told the Printing Committee Of Congress
he did not know what compensation Vice
President Raynor received.
Ia fact, Treasurer Handy was a most
unwilling and reluctant witness as 10 the
business of The Audit System. He pro-
fessed to know little about il in detail
Knew He Paid the Bills.
He only knew that he paid the bills.
sending a weekly check TO Washington
TO meet the pay roll. Il has been stated
that some Of the men on the systems
pay roll who were exercising a most
potent influence In the G. p. O. received
fat salaries, but as a matter Of fact
nobody knows.
Mr.. Raynor. it is to be assumed, was
we'll paid. perhaps receiving as much as
500 a week but the subordnates may
have been paid s25 week and less for
/ their services. The interest in all this
resolves about the profitable profit OF The
Audit System upon its contract proper
apart from It's supplies business on the
side.
The fact that W. A. Root the Washing
ton agent of The Audit System. with Of
fees in the MuHsey Building. recently
saw fit I'm an interview 20 disclaim all
connection with 10, has caused no little
comment. Mr.. Root said he knew no
more about The audit System than about
any other concern in Washington, that
he represented The Audit System Supplies
Company. yet il is well known that The
Audit System Supplies Company was but
recently organized. and Mr. Root has been
the recognized agent Of The Audit Sys-
TEN itself for months past as is shown
by the telephone directory In fact. not
until the recent disclosures resulting IN
the ousting or The Audit System from its
TAT job. was MIR. Roots connection with
il concealed or questioned.
ProbIemnticnI auestion.
Whether The Audit System is liable. UNI
der the statutes, is problematicaL En-
ploycs Of the government cannot be in
terested IN government contracts. without
rendering themselves criminally liable
This fact was emphasized in a most
wholesome way tn connection with the
Post-offiCe Department scandals "A few
years ago, But the men who operated
The Audit System were not employees Of
the government in the literal sense as
they were not on the government pay
roll
But IL is held by some lawyers that i'm
engaging 10 render a SPECIFIC service Tor
the government, and becoming installed
in government quarters. these mon, in
fact il not technically. did become en-
ployes Of the government and should
have been stopped from taking hand IN
furnishing supplies to the government
especially supplies rot entering into the
work of The Audit System The facts
brought out before the Printing Commit
tee show clearly that The Audit System
Tie Audit System Supplies Company. and
the Suffolk Distributing Company were
practically one and the same concern. Of /
fcered by the same men and having one
and the same obicct-that Of getting all
the contracts possible with the govern
ment
Thus far in the investigation, which
Mr.. Rossiter and a capable corps Of eX-
pcIts are yigilantly conducting nothing
has developed tending to affect the in
tegrity of the late Public Printer. Charles
A. Stillings But the investigation has dis
closed a condition Of affairs showing a
want Of executive ability on his part In
stead of being thoroughly systematized /
al
tematized-ff the work of The Audit Sys-
TEN may be properly 50 termed-that il
is more difficult to-day to get at the facts
in any given direction ttRn IL was months
ago, when the printing commission took
the initial steps 70 put the Printing Of
fee on a businesslike basis.
Government Not MuIcted.
That there have been extravaganza
unnecessary purchases, amounting 10
many thousands OF dollars-is unques-
toned While these purchases were I'M
necessary, however. it has not been dis
closed. save i'm few instances, that the
government was mulcted in them
The most serious reflection upon Mr. |
Stillings' administration is found in the
fact that he chose The Audit System, OF /
s. Duane street. New YoTk-a concern Of |
no established reputation: one practically |
unknown in such line OF woFk-for so i'm |
pOrtant an undertaking. The Audit Sys-
tenn could not point TO any big business !
that it had systematized.
Mr.. Raynor was not known for any
marked achievement in that line. The /
men he brought with him had no standing /
as experts, yet Mr.. Stilhngs put these /
men into the Government Printing Office /
and in a little while they became more |
powerful than was he himself As al /
ready stated, they practically ran the es- !
adjustment The Audit Systems word /
was law. Employees stood in fear of The /
Audit System. To question its methods /
or cTitiCise it's work was to jeopardize /
position. This phase of Mr.. Stillings re- /
gime for the past few months is inexplic- |
able.
Why, even his friends are asking. did /
he intrust the Printing Office to sucn |
concern? Why did he select The Audit /
System-this audit system-in the first /
place? Why did he not inquire as 10 its /
antecedents? Originally. when asked as to /
the probable cost Of installing an audit /
ing system, Mr.. Stillings roughly esti- |
mated it might be $4,000 or $4,000 1t |
proved TO be 100000, and after it had cost |
the government 100000 Vice President |
Raynor told a reporter It ought to have |
at least five years more to complete its
work.
Well OuI of the Way.
With the suspension Of Mr.. Stillings,
however, and the advent of Mr.. Rossiter
and the corps of governmental experts,
it was found The Audit System is we'll /
out of the way, and that the work It has
S1O0 ooo MD 50. q