Evening journal., 1911-06-24


charges against the city auditor are
found true and sustained and that the
city auditor be deprived of all further
salary in connection with said office
and that he be forthwith suspended
from all further duties in connection
herewith"
Mr.. Kane moved that II be adopted
and the motion was carried by a vote
of Z ayes, Democrats. and nays, Re
publicans President Banning asked
to be excused from voting and Mr..
McGovern made a motion to this ef-
feet which was seconded on the Dem
ocratic side Mr. Rash, of the Second
ward, objected and with the Republi-
can members together with some one
on the Democratic side voted no. Mr.
Rash then called for a aye and nay
vote, but IL was not taken.
Auditor Kurtz's Position.
City Auditor Kurtz's reply to the
charges made against him follows:
To the President and Members of
Council:
Gentlemen:-Your resolution passed
at a meeting on the 22d inst, re-
questing me to show cause why PEN
alties should not be imposed upon me
for alleged derelictions of duty spec
ihed in preamble of said resolution,
was duly received.
To the second preamble of the re-
solution passed by Council, the Audi
tor makes the following reply:
Section 81 OF the city charter, page
SO, as amended by Act of March 25,
1907 reads as follows:
First. The Council shall have the
power and it shall be its duty, on or
before the first day of June in each
and every year. to appropriate to and
for the departments hereinafter NAM
ed. sums of money to whatever
amounts the Council may deem pro-
per, provided that the minimum
amount for the departments respec-
lively shall not be less than the fol-
lowing:
Board Of Water Commissioners, one
hundred and twenty thousand dol
lars per annum: Such appropriations
shall be paid to the respective de-
partments in quarterly portions
thereof during the months of August,
November, February and May.
In consequence of not having re-
ceived the funds to which It was en-
titled, at a regular meeting Of the
Board of Water Commissioners. held
May sth 1911, Mr.. Poole offered the
following preamble and resolution,
which was unanimously adopted on
his motion:
Whereas. City Council having fail
ed to provide funds for the operation
OF this department, Notwithstanding
the request of this department that
the balance, $4,000. of its appropria-
tion for the current, quarter be paid
IL, therefore be Il
Resolved. That $4,000 of the coll
lections now remaining I'm the hands
Of this department be transferred to
Appropriation Account to be used for
its operating expenses. the balance,
S1S6S60 be transferred to the Mayor
and City Council, and the secretary
Of this boad he instructed to send a
copy of this preamble and resolution
to that body"
The Water Department Is a co-or-
Sinate branch Of the city government.
and it's official acts are as binding as
the acts OF Council.
When the official action of the
Board of Water Commissioners was
taken transferring a portion Of its
receipts for use as current funds. the
Auditor recognized the transfer in
precisely the same way that he has
to recognize the recent transfer Of
park funds to the current fund Of
a fact accomplished by
a superior agency, and If any wrong
has been done, the wrong has been
done by the agency that made the
and not by the Auditor, who
has only the power to object and is
subject to being overruled as has
been shown in a number of instances
before Council.
Needed the Funds.
If the Water Department had not
used the funds at its command. it
would have been compelled to pro-
vide for the needs of the department
through the private resources Of its
Board of Directors. or it would have
been compelled to suspend operations;
the former is an intoierable condition
with money available in the City
Treasury. and the latter might have
brought suffering TO many innocent
persons. and all for the gratification
of-what? Every right minded citizen
will find the answer to this question
without difficulty. Rather than ham,
per the Water DEPARTMENT with oh