The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1909-09-27
SYSTEM OF ACCLsNS
HIGHLY COA$, lMEhTED
e
Report Covers Entire 'TiOd
Of Administration SinCS
Statehood

State Examiner Charles A. Taylor
today submit ted to Governor Haskell
his report on the examination of the
records and accounts of the school
land department, covering the period
from November 16, 1907, the advent
of statehood up to and including June
S0th. 1909, which covers both the ad.
ministratiOns of Secre airy l.. ID. Mari
and E. o. Cassidy the present secre'
tary.
State Examiner Taylor personally
investigated the investments of the
s5,000,0O0 school fund viz: farm loans
state bonds formerly helG, county
bonds purchased and all interest mon
eys collected by the depar ment from
these investments.
Deputy ENiminers c. j. Alexander
and r. A Edmondson submit other in
formation as to the examination OF
the records of the leasing and loan
divisions on which they have been
at work the past three months.
The repOrt covers ninety typcwrlt
ten sheets and shows the transactions
of the school land department in de-
tail complimenting very highly the
systems of accounts as follows.
in the leasing division we found
an excellent system of accounting an
bookkeeping. neatly and accurately
kept, wi h but fe8 errors which were
promptly corrected by the assistants
when the same We're pOinte out
In the loan department e found
the same neatness and accuracy as in
the leasing department
I'm the report at ention is called to
the following Irregularities:
First Guaranty bank, WeWoka pa
pers on bonds relating TO these de-.
posits a Elm the name Of the First
National bank of WeWOka' same Is
tue as to First State Bank of Tonkc
wa.
The supposi ion in connection with
these Irregularities is that the banks
have converted to state banks ami
the securities given had not been
transferred in the name of the new in
stitution. The report continuesh
"Ardmore S ate bank, Of Ardmore,
deposit il $500 in excess of security.
CITY State Bank Of Hobart, deDos
It s6.400: no security; bond expired.
Columbia Bank and Trust com
pany Oklahoma City, deposit $165,000
has as part of its securities $4,60414
of school district warrants, which are
illegal for this purpose; also $3,5S479
in Greek county warrants which ap-
pear o be drawn in excess of the
legal limit deducting either OF the
above amounts there IS not sufficient
security to coye- deposit
The records Of the department show
according to Page SG of the itemized
repor-, that the item, Total due to all
school and public building funds to
the amount of $2O5,92060 has been
charged against said funds, as eXpens-
es for maintaining the department We
found no constitutional authority
whereby the commission can use the
school and public building funds for
the purpose of paying expenses of the
depar ment But we do find specific
provisions in the constitution where
by public funds shall not be spent eX-
cept in pursuance of an appropria-
tion by low
The total amount loaned out of the
five million dollar school fund dur
ing the period covered by the report
is given at s2,532O95, of which 500
$50 les been paid and cancelled.
Comanche county heads the list, re-
celving $l03,G50 in loans; Kiowa is
second wi h si0S.200. Caddo county
third with Si04,900, Lincoln county
fourth with $96O75, Washita is next
with SS2.g50; Logan is sixth with $Sl,-
eco. other loans range from $500 TO
$4,000 per county, while Usage and
pushmataha counties got none, owing
to the fact that the lands have not
been proven up and allotments taken.
The loan department during the
period covered by the report loaned TO
the fortyfiYe new counties in the east
ern part of the ate and the new
counties in Northwestern Oklahoma
which were created by the constitu
tional convention, si,09450 on bonds
voted by those counties to enable
them to start off with statehood on a
cash basis.
Muskogee, Pttsburg and Garter
coun les, three of the largest and
wealthiest counties in the state. head
the list with $4,000 each: Tulsa eoun
ty Is next with $4,000; Garvin coun
tv h1s $4,000 while Pontotoc and Ls
Flore counties are next with s35. .00t
each. Harper county which received
$4,000 ge the smallest loan of am
county.
Examiner Taylor in his report OF