The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-07-07
COurier-Journal.

Among the timely and notable adj
dresses at the Kentucky Press asso-
citation was one by NJ. II. Thatcher,
state inspector and examiner, on the
necessity of uniform inspection and
accounting laws for Kentucky. This
is a matter to which the state news
papers might profitably devote some
Kentucky has suffered
from the lack of such a comprehen-
sive system and Mr. Thatcher ex-
presses IL well when he says:
''If it is necessary for any private
business enterprise to have a thor
ough system of accounts. and regular
audits and inspections, how much
greater is the necessity for each pub
lie business enterprise, whether the
central government or any depart
ment thereof, or the local govern
ment. or any department thereof, to
be governed by similar strict business
methods.
ION these points all must agree,
though here and there the designing
the corrupt, or the misinformed. may
object II our people were interested
in but one county, one city, one town,
or one district in the state, there
would be no need for what is termed
Uniform Accounting though there
would yet remain the need for intelli-
gently-kept accounts for the partlcu-
lar community"
The state is a vast machine and in
that machine are many complexities.
Any system that tends to uniformity
or to greater simplicity in methods
must needs be an improvement II II
is intelligently administered. The re-
suits of haphazard accounting have
been shown in the frequent reports
of Irregularities in the Offices of
clerks and other officials. Occasional
reports of Inspector Thatcher have
been illuminative in this respect as
showing the laxness prevailing in
some quarters. Shortage of varying
amounts have been found in some
Offices which from their location and
Importance might naturally be sup
posed TO be well regulated and care
fully conducted.
A former county clerk Is now In
Jail in Paducah because of a shortage
of several thousand dollars I'm his
Office, due principally to padding
claims. The case OF Judge Booze, who
filched thousands by the same method
while a clerk in the state auditor !
ONCE, is still fresh in the publSc
mind. There is hardly a doubt that
petty grating" OF this kind has
been prevalent in various localities.
Overcharges OF more than 1000 in
two counties have been exposed re-
Gently by Mr.. Thatcher's investiga-
tons. Instances where the shortages
have been comparatively small are
too numerous to mention. but in the
aggregate these will amount to a
large sum. Much OF this Is due to
ignorance. Some of ii is graft
pure and simple. Whatever the cause
there should be less of il and with
the proper scheme of accounting in
force 1t would be eliminated or re-
duced to Insignificant proportions.
What Is aimed at by those who are
urging the movement for uniform in
spection is admirably summarized by
Mr.. Thatcher in his Estill Springs ad-
dress:
inspection. in its full sense. and
as We hope by law to apply II in Ken
lucky. means that the accounts of
every public Office and department in
the state, whether of state, county,
city, town or school district or other
taxing subdivision or unit shall be
rigidly and in a strictly non-partisan
way examined under the supervision
of a state bureau of inspection at
timely intervals. usually once a year,
but without notice and due report
thereof made, published and disemi-
mated for public Information and ad-
vantage. The requirements as to
classification and uniformity or all
public accounts .tt .t,.t