Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1912-11-01
AudittheBOOkS
at Charleston
OFFICIALS CLAIM THERE ARE
ABOUT TWO MILLION DOL
LARS IN PUBLIC
TREASURY,
BUT STATE HAS TO PROMISE
LARGER DEPOSITS TO GET
LOANS FROM BANKS.

Why not audit, the books at the
State House?
The State officials are claiming to
have in the treasury almost two mil
lions of dollars and yet if reports
are true they have borrowed two hun
bred thousand dollars to pay the eX-
pense of keeping the National Guard
at the mines on Paint Cleek, where
strike is in progress.
Does this look like there should
be an auditing of the books?
What business man with two mil
lion dollars on deposit in bank would
go out and borrow money from the
banks in which he is a depositor, TO
pay an expense of two hundred thou
sand dollars?
And why should not the affairs of.
the state be run on business-like prin-
ciples as well as those of a mer-
tchant? If the state has on deposit
1.-TWO million dollars, or approximately
that amount, and if the accounts are
as they are reported to be, a vertical
ton by an auditing concern would do
| no harm, but would satisfy a great
many tax players in the state, who
are wondering what becomes of all
the money that is paid in taxes into
the state treasury.
| When the state officials undertook
| to raise the necessary money for the
payment of the expenses of the troops
iby borrowing from the banks, they
| were met on several occasions with
| the response that the state was a
| comparatively small depositor, but
THAT the banks preferred 10 loan their
money to depositors with large &C
ceountsy rather than to those with
small ones. st'iiv 81 jQ
May Be Other Fidelity Cases.
The Very fact that these banlss
which were called upon for the loans
are not holding large deposits Of
| state funds, and that banks could not
| be found to make the loans which
lare large repositories of state funds,
iwouId suggest the thought that pos
lsfbly the state deposits do not
lamount to as much as the officials at
| charleston are claiming and that If
| they do they may be deposited ia
some institution which are in such
condition that the state deposits can
mot be used by the stat either to
| be checked out or to be loaned.
There may be other Fidelity Bank
| cases in the state
| If the state has two million dollars
on deposit in the banks of West Viz
| ginia, it ought to be an easy matter
| for it to borrow two hundred thou
sand dollars from the banks which
have these deposits without having to
call upon others to come to their as
sistance
1t sounds well for the state Off
| cials to say that there is almost or
| quite two million dollars on deposit
to the credit of the state, but that is
of little importance to the taxpayers
| If the money is not available and If
| funds have 10 be borrowed for extra
Ordinary calls upon the treasury.
Cannot Loan Ten Per Cent.
| The queerest pc of the business Is
that with so much money deposited
| in a comparatively few banks which
are state repositories, these banks
could not loan the tate ten per cent
of its own de osits. but that other
| banks hal to be called upon to get
the money.
Then why not audit the books at
| the State House?
The Democrats have promised
full accounting and a complete audit
ing Of all official records if they are
elected. They do not understand
why the state should go into the diff
| ferent counties and audit the &C
counts Of county officials and let
their own books go without verified
ton
Are you satisfied to let these con
ditions of affairs continue or do you
desire some light thrown upon the
books of Charleston? Al present the
actual condition Of the state treasury
and the condition as stated by the Of
ficials does not seem 10 correspond.
There may be a reason.