The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-13
RossoN's REPORT
DESCRIBES SHORTAGES OF CITY
 CLERK OWEN.
Good Government Club of Mobile Makes Public Expert Accountants Flndlnws--How Shortage
 Was Discovered.

Mobile. May 1s.-(speciaI )-The re- port of Mir. George Rosson. the ac" countant. to the Good Government Club, which was first spoken of by The Ad- vertiser, was made public in it's en- tirety today.
 The following paragraphs are taken from this report:
 which antedates the reproduced books twenty days, asked for the old books which were. upon my second request. iatiy refused. As the details regafda Ing the refusal have already been re- ported to you. 1t is unnecessary for me to repeat them.
 "As soon as secured possession of the old cash book last Tuesday. May 5, 1908, I began to trace several sus- picious entries which had already seen on the ledger, and 1t resulted in my locating a shortage. of the former clerk, R. B. owen, Jr.. amounting to S29,S 300. all of which occurred between January 24. 1905, and March 20, 1906. I invited Messrs. Lyon, Bruce and Vid- mer to join me in the investigation. which they did; and as soon as we se- cured the proof of shortage, we imme- dIateIy reported the fact to the Mayor, and reported to. your committee as soon thereafter as possible.
 
 criminal prosecutions have been begun in the matter, I do not deem it proper to describe in this report the methods used in abstracting the funds, but will say that the peculations were conceal ed by charging transfers of funds which were taken out of some banks and placed in others at various tin1es) to bills payable and interest accounts: when In fact no. such notes or inter est were actually paid. We have in our possession the necessary evidence the financial statement reveals the fact that instead of the deficit having been largely reduced during the past two years, 1t has been increased, unless the city succeeds in collecting from the county the entire amount of their claim, which Is extremely improbable.
 An examination of the financial statement of income and exDense re- veals the further fact that the rum ming expenses of the city have in- creased out of proportion to its in- come, the increase in regular income having been S4o,3SS.4s to which may be added the balance of the reported shortage which did not appear on the cash book, amounting to $l,125.66, mak- ing a total of $41,5l4.15. while the run- ming expenses have increased $54,9S0.23, an increase Of $l3.4S6oS within the year"
 "The following is description of the fraudulent entries which were made to conceal the shortages:
 April 24, 1905. Charged on cash
 book to loan account Bank of
 Mobile .................. $l0,000 The entry on the stub on the
 Bank of Mobile check book
 reads. Loan account Blk. of
 Mobile .........'s '.'.'... Slo,oOO
 The records of the Central Trust Company show that this check was deposited to the credit of the city's general account on April 24 1905, and the records of the Bank of Mobile show that 1t was charged on their books to the city's general account.
 There was a note of the city for s1o.000 which had been discounted by the Bank of Mobile In February, 1905, and which was still unpaid April 24, 1905. and this note was actually paid by them the following September. The result was that $20,oOn went out of the city's funds. ostensibly to nay notes due to the Bank of Mobile and only one note of $l0,o0O was really paid ."