The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-05-18

COMPETENT MEN ARE
ONES TO GET CALL
One Member to Be Familiar
With Banking, One an Ex-
County Official and One an
Ex-city Official.
fsoecial corre.pondent.>


that Governor Marshall will this
week announce the names OF the men
whom he will appoint as members OF
the public accounting board. He has
not. vet made up his mind who he will
appoint, but it is believed he has mar
,rowed down the list to few names
from which to make the selection 1t
Is known that he has had several con-
ferences with prominent business men
from out in the state and that he has
received their recommendations OF DIFF
ferent men, and that he has ellminat-
ed many of the applicants.
The governor has decided that one
OF the appointees shall be former
county official. one former city Of
fetal and one man with good know
ledge of the banking business. He be-
|lieyes that three men of these qualifi-
cations will be able to put the law into
force and make it produce good re
suits. The law creating this depart
ment was passed by the last legisla-
ture and is now in, force, but It pro-
vides that within sixty days after its
passage the governor shall appoint the
chief accountant and the two deputy
accountants, and that they shall pre-
pare and put into use In every public
office in the state by the first OF next
January a system of public account
ing.
Get Good Saiariss-
The chief and the two deputies shall
appoint a clerk and whatever number
of field deputies they shall require
to do the outside work. The salary
of the chief accountant is fixed by the
law at $4,000 a year and the salaries
Of the deputies at $1,000. The field
deputies will receive SO day for
their services and will have to pay
their own expenses with the exception
of railroad fares.
Governor Marshall has had his chief
difficulty in finding man to take the
position of chief accountant. who will
long time it was feared that he would
have to look outside the state of In
diana for man to take this position,
because it was feared that man
could not be found in Indiana who
would possess the necessary exper-
fence in the practical workings OF
such . system to enable him to take
up the work and go right ahead with
it. The public accounting department
Is brand new proposition in Indiana,
and 1t was believed for long time
that 1t would be necessary to import
a man to take charge of it. How
ever, 1t is said now. that this will not
|be necessary and that the chief, as
well q the deputies will all be Indiana
men. Whether the chief will be a
democrat or republican is not yet
known, but it would not be at all q
surprise II the governor were to pick
Ia republican for that place.
10 Non-Partisan.
It Is the purpose Of the law creating
the department to make it a non-parti-
san affair so that the inspection Of
public offices and accounts may be
done without the slightest influence
from politicians or from political quar-
fers. Unless the public accounting de-
partment is conducted on q strict nom
partisan basis, eliminating everything
that looks like partasanship the law
will be q failure, for 1t is politics and
political pull that causes 80 percent
OF the crookedness and corruption In
public office which calls for the state
Inspection. Whenever you find pub
lie official Of high or low degree who
has Incorporated public funds or
who has allowed his accounts and
books to become tangled you will gen
orally find that that man is a poll
tician. elected on strict partisan
basis because he belongs to a certain
party rather than because he is COM
petsnt to fill the office. It 10 to weed
out such officials and make the Off
ces unattractive to them that the pub
lie accounting law was passed. When
an 0ffictal knows that his affairs are
open to inspection at all times BY the
state inspection department and that
IN inspector Is likely to drop in at any
time Of the day he will be very care
fnl to keep his accounts straight.