Arizona republican., 1910-09-28

erence is here made to that section of the enabling act which says that the secretary of the territory shall pay all the expenses of the election of dele gates to the constitutional convention and the expenses of the election when the constitution is submitted to the people for ratification. That looked very easv on the face of it. It was supposed by most people that the county boards of supervisors would merely conduct the election and sub init the bill for it to the territorial secretary. who would write little check on the United States treasurer and return it with his respects.
 But that was an unwarranted con clusion. What congress had in mind was that the secretary's office should receive all bills from each individual, audit and pay them, and the interior department has provided all the blanks and instructions necessary to that end' together with advices as to how to accomplish it, or rather, what will be demanded before the money from the strong box is forthcoming.
 Instead of the various counties pay ing the bills and asking for reimburse ment. everything is passed up to the secretary. There are, according to estimate. between 5000 and 5000 vouch- CTS, each representing the work of some man as a registering officer Tn some county, member of an election board or other employed official, or some supplies necessary to the election. l These vouchers have to be passed back and forth until completed in due form and then an individual check has to | be drawn in payment Of each one. It amounts in substance to the secre- | tarys office doing the aggregate work | necessary in all of the thirteen coun- | ties on the occasion of an election and | the settlement of it's cost, and even more than that because it must all be transacted by correspondence. The men who are to file the vouchers do not come in person as they might to
 county seat.
 The process is about as follows: Ev- cry election or registering officer ap- | pears before his local board Of super | visors and files his claim. These must all be audited by the board, as must also the claims the board has for eX- penses in furnishing election supplies | printing, publishing, etc. These claims are then forwarded to the territorial
 secretary, who must make out Vouch-
 CT for each one of them. The voucher
 is a four-page blank containing no'
 only the items of expense but there are | blank lines which-must be filled ou' ttelling under what law payment IS au- | thorized, whether the price IS correc' and was secured by advertising, D> contract or whether tht claimant was employed in accordance with an advls-
 ory letter or circular letter and If SC
 from what source. That the secretary
 can fill out these blanks properly h'
 must have on file copies of all print
 ing, publishing and other contracts
 held by the respective boards of su pervisors of the territory, under whicI
 the service was rendered The secre
 try must then compare them to se'
 that the claim is in accordance witt
 the particular contract or authority in
 Voved
 After the secretary has made out tn
 vouchers and properly audited them they must then be sent to the respect [ i've counties in which the service wa
 rendered, and be approved by tn