The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1910-10-28
The CELINA DEMOCRAT
An Unbiased VieuU of
Treas. CreGmer's Record

vile, o., for Is years, financial head
OF that institution and secretary OF
the state normal school commission,
voluntarily published the following
communication over his signature In
the Newark Advocate of Oct ~, 1910,
commencing State Treasurer Cream
er's official record:
state Treasurer creamer's Splendid
Business Methods.
To the Editor OF the Advocate:
have been asked by a number OF
Licking county voters what l think OF
the candidacy Of David Staley
Creamer for the office of state treas.
urer have no hesitancy In saying
what l think II at any time in the
future the treasury OF Ohio gets into
the hands OF men dishonest enough
to use It for filling their private pock-
cts and those of their friends, as 1t
was habitually used for years prev
ious to the election Of 1908, the first
thing the grafters will have to do
will be TO remove from the Office
every trace of the clear, complete
and honest system Of accounting In
troduced into that Office by Creamer
Immediately after his accession. The
dishonest Juggling with the funds Of
Ohio taxpayers in the state treasury
during past administrations, which
Governor Harmon has so thoroughly
exposed, is simply impossible under
Creamers method Of conducting that
office. | do not say this on the
authority of others. AZ a citizen and
taxpayer l went into that office and
spent nearly half a business day
there to satisfy myself as to the
facts. Treasurer Creamer did not
know that l was coming or who l
was. did not let him direct my in-
vestigations, but took up various
branches of the treasury accounts
and asked him and his assistants such
questions as were necessary to find
out what l wanted to know In
every case the proper books would be
brought forth and the detailed ac-
counts placed before my eyes with
out a moments hesitation. l also
took pains to look into certain branch
es OF these accounts as they had been
turned over to Treasurer Creamer
when he came into office, and
the difference is simply the diff
ference between darkness and light,
between a method of keeping ac-
counts (or rather of not keeping
them) fitted to perfection to cover up
grating, and a method expressly in
tended to eliminate it. With this
method Of accounting for the con-
duct of his office, there was no reason
why the state should not get such
profit out of its surplus funds as they
were worth in the open market, and
Treasurer Creamer voluntarily start
ed a system of competitive bidding
for the use of this surplus Under
this, the banks in which it is now de-
posted are now paying to the peo-
lie of Ohio about a thousand dol |
lars a week more than was earned !
for the state from a much larger !
amount by former treasurers, whose |
lax methods of accounting made it |
easy for them to pretend to keep |
large amounts in the vaults of the |
treasury, while in reality they were |
lending 1t out privately and putting |
the interest into their own pockets. |
This, in a general way, is what |
David Staley Creamer has done for
the taxpayers of Ohio by reforming |
the administration of the state treas
urership. Now what is said against
him? That some years ago, while
state fire marshal, he charged up to
the state certain personal expenses
to somewhere in the
neighborhood of 5000. These ex-
penses had been expressly ruled to
be legal by the attorney general Of
Ohio. At the same time, Mr. Cream
er, as fire marshal, made the best
record for efficiency that had ever
been made in that office, and turned
back into the treasury a large pOr-
ton of the money at his disposal,
which none of his predecessors had
zone. 1t was his conspicuous
and economy in this Office
that caused his election as state
treasurer, although all the rest of the
ticket, except Harmon, were defeat
ed. When later on the ruling that the
personal expenses referred to above
we're legal was reversed, Mr.. Creamer
promptly repaid to the state the en-
tire amount collected, an obviously
honest course which ex-Fire Mar
5hals Davis and Rogers, his predeces-
5ors, refused and still refuse to fol-
ow. l can readily understand that
one class of men feel that Treasurer
Creamer ought not to be reelected.
These are the men whose hands are
stained with the dishonest private
profit out Of state funds, a source of
gain closed up by Creamer's meth
DDS Knowing the facts as l do,
'efuse to class myself along with
hem and shall vote for David Staley
Jreamer, in order to do what can
o perpetuate the honesty, efficiency
Ind economy which he has intro
luced into the Office where dishon-
,sty, ineficiency and wastefulness
lad reigned supreme.
TnITATonN