The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1909-03-04
A State Free From Graft or Dis.
honesty.

news ana ODseTVeT.
In December the Examining Com
mittee from the General Assembly,
composed of members of both politi-
cal parties, came to Raleigh to make
the examination required by law OF
the books and accounts of State Of
ficials. They did not content them
selves with a cursory examination
but went to the bottom. In every
case OF doubt about the authority
for the expenditure the committee
gave the benefit of the doubt to pub
Lefty. Ii any payments, however
wise and just, seemed to the com
mittee to lack express authorization,
it criticized the action Or brought it
to the attention OF the Legislature.
More than that the committee, when
it felt that the bookkeeping methods
were not such as should be used by
any State Department., critized the
lack of method and did so plainly.
Nothing was concealed, nothing was
kept back and every irregularity or
lack OF proper method was set out in
their report. The fact that the COM
mittee had found a number of mat
tiers that it deemed unauthorized was
widely talked and for few days
there gained currency report that
sensation would be exploded when
their report appeared. The report
appeared and no sensation followed.
Why? Because the committee, Dem
ocrat and Republican alike, while
criticing certain methods and certain
vouchers declared that no evidence
of any character of any dishonesty
had been disclosed, and there has
been no suggestion of such.
As soon as the report OF the Elk
amining Committee was read i'll the
Legislature, Joint Select Committee
was named to consider their report.
This Select Committee has been care
ful and thorough in the work as
signed. 1t has examined every criti-
cism made, gone into the whole mat
ter fully, quoted the law applicable
and given the reasons that governed
in each case. Having published in
full the report OF the Examining Com
mittee containing the criticisms we
publish elsewhere in full the report OF
the Select Committee that went into
the examination of all the matters
touched upon. Those who read the
original report containing criticisms
should read hereport printed today.
When the Examining Committee
made its report and It's criticisms,
this paper stated that it was most
ifyyin hnf r tan hot hoI
given the closest scrutiny to every
expenditure had found no trace of
dishonesty and that the matter crit
icized involved nothing worse than
few technical violations and crit
icism of the lack of proper boOk-keep-
ing methods i'll one department of
government, and it demanded that
the matters criticised should be fully
gone into to the end that the truth
might be established and that errors
should be corrected and the best
methods introduced The Select Com
mittee has been diligent and thor
ough. 1t has shown mistakes made
by the Examining Committee; it has
gone into every transaction, it has
secured needed reforms; and it makes
certain recommendations that will
make clear what has heretofore
lacked clearness and defniteness.
The total result is that North Caro-
lima people are established and con-
tirmed in their faith that they havea
clean, economical and honest State
Government, which is free from graft,
from dishonesty, from cOncealment.
The report OF the Examining Com
mittee was signed by the members of
both the Democratic and Republican
parties, showing that the criticisms
were not made in any partisan spirit
but with view of making even the
slightest transaction conform to the
letter OF the law and to require pub
lie officials to live in the calcium light
The report of the Select Joint Com
mittee is likewise free from partisan
bias. 1t goes fully into every matter
and, while giving explanations for
the course pursued in every matter,
does not seek to deny the few de-
partures from the strict letter of the
law that examination disclosed had
been Internationally taken. The
report is signed by both the Republi-
can as we'll as all the Democratic
members of the committee. 1t is a
matter for qualification that there is
no graft or dishonesty in our State
administration and also a matter
for congratulation that this fact is
attested by representative men of