Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1909-05-13
Waste MILITIA Cash
FROM LARGE SURPLUS IN 1904
TO Big Debt now.
State rlilitia Funds Melt AWAY Under
the Poor Guardianship of Mead,
ClauSOn and Hamilton. A $780,
900 Surplus Changed to a DefiCit
$II7,662 at Pre- sent.

priatiOn and expenditure of the mon-
eys belonging to the state military
fund during the last four years have
reduced that fund from condition in
which 1t had a cash balance of moro
than 100000 in 1904 to a point
where 1t is now overdrawn by more
than that amount, despite tho fact
that the income of the fund from
taxes duilng tina period announced to
$218,21S.
With cash income of $4,000
for 1904, increasing annually to
$97,500 in 1908, the expenditures
from it have increased from $40,-
900 year four years ago to more
than $15O,O0O for 1908.
1t is now estimated as result
of the Hamilton disclosures alone
that some $4,000 of this amount has
been misappropriated.
September 80, 1902, the fund had
accumulated cash surplus of $685.
151, which by September 80, 1904
had further increased to $1OS,149,
although the annual tax levy had
meanwhile been decreased to one
tenth mill,
In 1903 the legislature enacted a
law appropriating $4,000 for ar
mories, 100000 for Seattle and $780,
90 each for Tacoma and Spokane.
This act proved to be defective,
and in 1905 another one was drawn
appropriating a similar amount.
This one also failed to stand the
test of the courts and in 1907
third one was drawn the appropria-
tion being increased to $4,000,
$4,000 for Seattle and $4,000 for
each of the other two cities, less
the amount already expended in
Spokane out of the previous invalid
appropriations. This appropriation
is practically all expended, and while
this accounts for a good deal of the
reduction of the surplus of four
years ago, the waste in other quar-
ters, together with the recent en-
bezzlement, may be blamed for much
of the deficit. The armories should
show substantial results.
The 1909 legislature made a fur
ther appropriation of $4,000 for an
armory at Bellingham in addition to
appropriating $61,O00 to cover de-
ficiences in maintenance, and COM
plete and furnish the armories al
ready authorized, and $4,000 for
maintenance for the next two years.
OF the $61,000 deficiency appro-
priation some $4,000 has already
been paid out in warrants, though
the warrants, when issued and pre-
sented are marked by the state treas
urer, mot paid for want of funds"
At the close of business Saturday
the amount of military fund war;
rants outstanding for this reason was
$117,632 and the date of the last
warrant called was January 2, 1909.
These warrants bear per cent.
The cash income Of the fund for
the current biennium will be ap-
proximately 100000. so there is
every prospect that the coming two
years will see the warrant indebt-
edness of the increase rather than
dimish.
This tendency will be counteract-
ed to that extent by whatever sum
the state is able to recover from
the bondsmen of General Hamilton,
and the introduction of business
like administration and economy un-
der Governor Hay should accom-
plish wonders in keeping down cur
rent maintenance expenditures.
The complete failure of the old
military auditing board consisting Of
Governor Mead, Auditor Clausen and
Adjutant General Hamilton, to per-
form it's legal duty of closely
scrutinizing military warrants has.
in addition to opening wide the door
for actual embezzlement on large
scale, apparently encouraged a care
lessness on the part of others hav-
ing occasion to present claims to the
fund. as a result of which many eX-
travagances have developed which
closer scrutiny will be able to ELI
inmate.
One of the abuses of the Hamil-
ton system which the new auditing