Weekly journal-miner., 1909-02-17

the legislature. It read:
 Phoenix, February I5. 1909 To the Council of the Twenty-fifth Legislative Assembly of the Territory of AriOzna:
 Being unable to approve the bill numbered IT. originating in your house, and entitled E'An Act to Abol- ish the Office of Public Examiner, ]" which has been passed by the Legisla- ture, return it herewith to your house without my approval, and here state my objections to it as follows:
 l know of no law ever enacted by the Legislature of this or any other Commonwealth better adapted to se- cure the regular, safe, economical and prompt administration of various local offices charged with the fiscal affairs of the several counties or other like subdivisions of any State or Territory.
 This law, enacted four years ago, has won the commendation not only of our best citizens at home, but the admiration of many abroad.
 It would be almost impossible to enumerate the evils that its admins tration mas corrected, the good that it has accomplished and the losses that it has recovered or prevented. To do this would require review in detail of the work done by that office.
 In dozens of instances that officer has found worthless official bonds, ap- proved by local authorities, negligent ly or ignorantly; bonds deficient in form, inadequate in amount or worth less because of the insolvency of the sureties; and in some instances he has found no bond at all where one was required by law. These irregularities have been corrected.
 In instances without number he has found the practice to have grown up of the allowance of claims that are not legal county charges, and has correct ed that evil, saving to the counties many thousands of dollars.
 There have been many instances of improper charges for fees by various officers, most if not all of which have been corrected.
 He has found loose, inaccurate, con fusing and negligent forms and meth Ods of keeping accounts in various county offices throughout the Terri tory, which have been changed to uni form, accurate and clear systems of bookkeeping.
 The losses alone from misaPprOpria- tfon and improper disbursement of public funds, which he has recovered into the Treasury, have amounted to nearly forty thousand dollars
 He mas found property omitted from tax rolls amounting to thousands of dollars. which omission he has requir- cd to be supplied, thereby recovering to the public large sums of money.
 He has found assessment rolls, lists, duplicates and back tax books so ne gligently, imperfeetIy and inaeurately made up- that the enforcement of the payment of taxes would have been i'm possible. Under his direction careful ly prepared tax rolls are now fur nished.
 He has found the public moneys de- posted Tn banks without the security | required by law having been given, and upon which interest has not been paid as the law provides, and has in many instances compelled the reetifca- | tion of these conditions, and his ser vices are required to further correct l this evil.
 He has detected defalcations and | transportation of public monies and has compelled their restitution to the extsat of many times the wnole ex- pense incident to the administration of his office He has dielOsed and correct l ed many instances of neglect of of | feial duty.
 Notwithstanding this the very of- fcers who are themselves honest, whose duties are within his supervi- sion. are those who most earnestly | commend the office and the incumbent | wnO has discharged its functions for the past four years.
 No honest official can, nor do Ii know of any who does object to visita- ton by the Public Examiner, or the scrutiny he gives to the manner in which they discharge their official du- ties. That some ex-Offieials and their friends who were detected in defalea- tions and compelled to restore their shortages of public monies are and have been here favOring the abolition of the office of Public Examiner, IS a part of the history of this legislation. I know of no other Objeetors to the office, except of course the Legislature itself, as evidenced by the fact of the passage of the this bin.
 No one can truthfully question the the ability, the faithfulness, the energy and the impartiality of w. c. Foster, who has filed that office for four years with such distinguished honor to himself and to such advan tage to the welfare of the people of ,his Territory.
 The reports of this officer are on file and furnish ineOntestable proof of the need of this office, of the good it has and the necessity for its There can be no adequate for the office.
 The Representatives of the Boards ,f Supervisors of every county in the Territory in a convention held by them just before this bill passed by he Legislature, unanimously declared by resolution that this office is "one ,f the strongest safeguards to the in .erest of the counties and the Terri .ory at large" Twenty-Five supervis- DTS of the thirty-nine of the supervis- DTS in all the counties were present