Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1911-05-26
A Word With Accountant Moore.

by Accountant Moore to eX-GOv.
Vardaman relative to certain Of
his contingent fund disbursement,
the following is quoted:
Please explain the following
items that were drawn from the
executive contingent fund at the
Mississippi Bank x Trust Co. as
per annOtatiOnS Of President Jones
of that Institution:
Warrant 200. March 3, 1906, $1,000
($9O6 to your personal account March,
1861! 90.
Warrant pol, March 5, 1906, So, 93l, O5
(all deposited to personal account
Warrant POS, March 27, 1906, $40
(alI deposited to personal account
March q, 1867
Warrant 228, July 26, 1906, 800 (all
deposited to personal account July 70,
Warrant 239 September 4, 1906.
1928. 35 Call deposited to personal ac-
count September H. 1906
Warrant 276. January 9, 1907, $500
(all deposited to personal account Jan
uary 10, 1900
If you have no data from which
you can explain these items will
YOU kindly request the Miss. B. &
T. Co. to give me such informa-
tiOn as their books may show rela-
tive to the expenditure OF these
funds?
Merely as an act of courtesy it
may have been well for Mr.. Moore
to ask the ex governor to request
r Uh
ening information from their books
on this curious transaction; eX
planatOrY of the Nardaman habit
of drawing from u public fund and
depOsiting it to his ''persOnal ac-
count But no act of consent is
necessary to enable the account
ant to take up these particular
sums deposited and trace them to
their actual expenditure. 1T is
shown by the testimony ofeN-Gov.
Vardaman and both of his private
secretaries, that it was his GUS
tom to mix up public funds with
his personal bank account. But
when such public sums as the
above are deposited in bank,
Vardaman personally or not, 1T
nevertheless remained the money
of the state and was trust fund
for the benefit of the people of
Mississippi. And they are, of
course, entitled to know what was
done with it without regard to
whether or not Accountant Moore
had authority to compel an an
Swer to the matters covered by his
other questions.
Section 34S5 Of the Mississippi
code Of 1909 is cited in support of
this proposition as follows:
34S5 (307O Public Moneys Are
Trust Funds. All money deposit
ed in bank, or with any other de
pOSitOry, by or for a tax collector,
or other officer having the custody
of public funds, state, county,
municipal or lcvee board, whether
the same be deposited in the name
of the officer as an individual or
as an officer, or in the name of any
other person, is prima facie pub
lie money and trust fund, and is
not liable to be taken by the gen
eral creditors of the officer or by
the creditors of the depository.
1t is perfectly clear under this,
we think, that any one acting un
der the authority of the legiSla
ture, the governor or other public
. officer, has the right to compel,
not only Mr.. Nardaman, but the
bank in which the money was de
posted to disclose what was done
with it. BY the terms of the stat
ute, it remained trust fund, and
the beneficiary of that trust, that
is to say, the state of Mississippi,
is certainly entitled to know was
done with it. Mr.. Moore seems to
have proceeded upon the theory
that because Mr.. Nardaman says
the money was mingled with his
private funds the bank was not
authorized to make any disclosures
concerning it without his consent.
The section of the code above
quoted shows clearly that he is
mistaken III this, and that the
bank can be required to disclose
the disposition made of this
money, whether eX-GOV. Narda-
man gives his consent or not. The
people of Mississippi are entitled
to this information, and it is the
duty of their officers to see that it
is Forthcoming, and that to the eX
tent of these funds, at least, the
truth be clearly and precisely run
dOwn.-Nicksburg Herald.