The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-03-13

| Treasurer Christensen came to be. dis
| covered. He gives the credit of finding
| investigations to l.. G. Kelly. his book
| keeper, and Charles Hiner- formerly
| bookkeeper for j. A. Edwards, former
state auditor. He told about the matter
when | first took up the work of the
office there was some discussion as TO
whether ! should continue on with the
same ledgers and journals which had
been used by Mr.. Edwards, or procure
an entirely new set for use during my
| administration. I consulted some or the
/ other state officials and finally DECIDED
\ to open up new set of books. Purely as
| a business matter. to be certain that all
! accounts were correct before transferring
/ Mr. Edwards balances to the new DOCKS
a trial balance sheet was made out ana
was found to be correct, that IS the
| debts and credits balanced. Then, when
/ the entries of balances were ready 10
| spread upon the new books, which were
| delayed I'm being furnished, another trial
| balance, as an extra precaution. was
made. Ny bookkeeper. Mr. Kelly. ana
Mr. Hiner. Mr.. Edwards bookkeeper,
| were engaged in the work OF making up
this trial balance sheet, and on the day
when I was absent on the excursion with
| the state officials to WeudOveT, on March
/ 3. they struck the balance and discovered
/ shortage Of $4,000 The credits exceed
ed the debts to that amount
| In searching for the error Mr.. Hiner
| discovered the interlined, dittoed entry
/ under date of Dec 81. crediting the Coun-
/ tx of Salt Lake with the payment OF Sbl.-
600 but no entry on the debit side was
/ made to make the fOOtugs correspond.
/ Instead the footing figures had been
/ changed TO read Sl6S. p, instead Of
/ S1OS. 165 81. the o. having been changed 10
/ a s. and the erasJre Of the cipher shows
/ quite plainly on the books. Mr. HtneT
| declared Immediately that the dittOed en-
| try had been inserted since the balance
was struck In fact. the figures had
/ been changed and the insertion of the
] credit Of $4,000 had been made since the
/ first trial balance had been taken off
/ With the false entry was given the jour
i nal page and the receipt number, and
| references to the journal and receipt book
| showed no corresponding entries tnere-
although blank stub in the receipt book
( showed where A receipt had been torn
| from the back of the treasurer's book
| Mr.. Jewkes stated that his first thought
! was that some attempt was being made
| on the part of former employees in the Of
l flee to confuse the books to harress him.
| hut he could not long entertain that 1dea,
/ as there was no standardization tor II.
/ That the books had been tempered with
1 by Mr.. Christensen never occurred TO me.
] I had every confidence in Mr.. Christian
I SEN" he said. land I want to say that il
| was a long time before suspected him.
and that did not believe him guilty until
| the evidence was so conclusive that
| could not believe otherwise
Further Investigations.
called TO the irregUlarity. Proceeded slow
/ ". He said that he was resolved to trace
/ the matter TO the bottom and kept his
own counsel while making the prelim-
mary examinations. He called in the
I county treasureris office and was shown
! the receipt given by Christensen to the
county treasurer for the $4,000 paid over
to Christensen as Salt Lake county taxes.
/ thus proving that the amount had been
paid from that office. Then he consulted
the former auditor. Mr.. Edwards, and
discovered that no duplicate receipt had
been turned in to him by the former treas
/ urer; also he ascertained that Mr.. Chris
tiansen had turned over TO the county au-
| ditor no duplicate receipt. He now had
the evidence that the money had been
| turned over to Mr.. Christensen by the
county treasurer; that it had never been
| accounted for on the state treasurer's
| books, and that the auditors office had
no record of the payment except the en-
| try found on the books of Mr. Edwards.
| which Mr.. Edwards former bookkeeper
| claimed and which evidences showed had
been placed on the books after the bal
| ances had been recorded and taken off.
It was then that Mr.. Jewkes called the
attention of the members of the state
board of examiners to the matter and
that a close investigation of the books
Search for Stubs.
During the investigation by the state
Board of examiners it was desired to
examine the receipt stubs used by Mr.
Christensen during his term Of office,
and they called upon Mrs Alice Ne
Laughlin in the state treasurer's office to
produce them. She stated that Mr.
Christensen. when quitting the office
packed them all in a suit case and took
them aUav. saving he was going to de-
Of state. Inquiry at the secTeary's office
developed the fact that Christensen had
never taken them there. 1t was then that
the guilt of Mr. Christensen became fully
established in the minds Of the members
of the examining board. and the former
treasurer's bondsmen were notified. A
meeting was held between the bondsmen
and the examining board and the evi-
dences of his guilt thus far collected were
placed before them. When informed that
they would be called upon to make up the
shortage. the bondsmen asked for a short
time to investigate the matter.
Bondsmen Act.
Several of the bondsmen took the mat
ter in hand, and took steps toward the
apprehension Of Mr.. Christensen, who
was then at Chafey. and Sheriff Sharp,
accompanied by two of the sureties, j.
e. Lynch and Frank Knox. left for Cha
few to get Christensen. Before they ar
rived Mr.. Christensen had been notified
by telegram that shortage had been
found in his accounts, and he took the
next train voluntarily to this city. arriy-
ing here Wednesday evening. On Thurs
day he met the members Of the exam
ming board and the bondsmen and con-
fessed his guilt. made plea Tor ieniency
and expressed his desire. If possible. to
make up the defalcation from his own
resources. He gave the bondsmen list
of all his properties. Mrs. Christensen
was then informed of the state of af-
fairs and. the home being in her name.
she consented to mortgage it at once to
the full amount possible 70 secure and
consent to immediate foreclosure. II was
considered that this. with the property
turned over by Christensen. all that he
had, would cover the defalcatiOn. When
these arrangements had been made the
bondsmen at once deposited in the w. S.
Mccormick bank the amount which Chris
II Hansen confessed to have taken, to secure
the state the reimbursement.
Labor of Love-
THE statement which has gone out
that Afr. Christensen was employed for q
short time in my office as a deputy stats
auditor after stepping out of his office
as state treasurer is not exactly correct
said Auditor Jewkes. As matter OF
fact he was not employed in this offics
at all The work he did here was en-
| tirely voluntary on his part. He Offered
to come in here and help me out a few
davs for friendships sake. l didn't even
ask him TO come in He worked here
or1x- mart 7f daE and that was