The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-01-28
SHARP CRITICISM.
Continued from Page L. J

Treasurer should be custodian Of al
funds which belong to the STATE
, either direct or in trust.
1T appears that some of the Stat.
institutions do not report their carr
| ings to the State Treasurer. Thii
should be done and a statute passet
TO this effect"
Treating the conditions as thu
committee found them in the Office
of the State Auditor, the record,
are declared to be accurately and
neatly kept and the work OF the de
partment Endorsed except In thai
We recommend that more attention
be given the Law under which claims
are filed against the state before the
| Auditor allows warrant on the
treasury for the same. This we thf1E
will be done in future" Then fol
| lows list of vouchers issued by the
Auditor, and the committee claims
| without authority, and paid by the
State Treasurer that committee can.
not approve. They follow:
Voucher No. 5332, draws s39.S
payable to n. A. Watson, she if
This seems to be for the expense OF
bringing a fugitive from justice back
to this State, who had fed theretro;n
and the bill filed and which was
sworn to allows bim ten cents per
mile actual expenses. whereas, sec
ton 1889. under which the warrant
was draw in our opinion, does not
warrant or justify the payment Of
an amount greater than his a'tnal
mileage. In this connection W. de-
sire to say that there have been a
great many vouchers issued under
section 1888, Revisal, which has refer
ence to the arrest of fugitives from
justice. We feel that the State i'm a
great many of these cases has been
imposed upon. In none of these
cases has the law been complied
with, in that it does not appear that
any proclamation has been filed, in
some cases no record that proclama-
tons were ever published or rewards
offered, and we think that before
any further amount is paid ont I'M
der this section, it should be absol-
utely complied with in every res
pect. We also desire to say that in
our opinion in the bringing Of con-
victs to the penitentiary from the
various counties of the State. the
sheriffs should be required to come
the nearest route. We find that in
some cases this has not been done,
AID before issuing warrant for ,he
payment of this expense, the auditor
should ascertain that the statute re-
quiring this has been complied with
Governors "House Rent
I'VE find that in 1885 the legis-
laiure passed an act which was in
Communication of rent, by which the
governor was allowed $50 per month
so long as the executive mansion
WAS unfit for occupancy and no
longer. We ascertain that the va
rious governors of the State from
that period to this, without excep-
ton, have been collecting this
amount. The form in which it is
now paid is in the shape of a bill
made out by the keeper of the Capt.
toll in the following words aud
figures:
state of North Carolina to Gov
ernor, Debtor. To servant hire in
the executive mansion during the
month of .........., 800
f'Wn cannot annrnuo IF fhooc
vouchers in that we do not think
there is any law which justices the
issuance thereof, and even If there
were, the whole matter has been IL
regular in that the keeper Of the
Capitol informs your committee that
within the executive mansion, that
he does not know whether or not
anyone is employed or even has
Teen, and that he has no knowledge
as to the wages paid any domestic
servant employed therein. FIe fur
Their states that he collects this
amount himself from the State
Treasurer each month, receipting
the bill himself and pays same over
to the Governor, for which he asks
no receipt and takes none. We feel
that this Is unwarranted and that il
such a course can be followed be-
cause Of the necessities of proper
entertainments made because of the
high position he occupies, there
would be nothing to prevent the
payment each month to the Cover
nor of such an amount as might be
proper and which his peculiar posi-
ton might require.
1--WE further find that during the
past two years the keeper of the
Capitol has employed five more per-
sons upon his weekly payroll than
allowed by the act of 1907.
Rented Boat and Office From Him.
self.
eve also report that the exami-
nation of his accounts disclose the
fact that T. S. Meekins, Fish Com
missioner of the State, is a member
of the firm of Evans & Meekins
Manteo, N. c., and that in the dis
charge of his duties he is required
to rent a boat and patrol the waters
of North Carolina and see that the
law in regard to the fishing indus
try is properly enforced and thai
he is given authority, under saiG
act, to purchase supplies for sai6
boat and crew, and that in pursu