Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-08-29
GEORGE SHOWS HIS RECORD
Accounted for All Interest as Treas
urer Of Custer County.
REPLIES TO CAMPAIGN STORY
First official to Give surety Bond
shows How Conditions Differed
Ten Years Ago from Those
Now Prevailing,
(From a staff Correspondent, !,

LINCOLN, Aug. 2S.-(Special Estate
Treasurer w. A. George has issued the
following statement regarding the charge
that he did not turn over interest money
during his term OF office as county treas
urer Of Custer county:
MY attention has been called to an
article appearing In one OF the democratic
papers Of August n, regarding my admin
istratlon as county treasurer of Custer
county. The article In question is mislead-
inE, IL EtRteBa that 4 ertired from the
office In 1910. The facts are that l served
from January, 1909, to January. 1905,
sWnlrh waH zen years ago. sl
Il gAA indirect charge Ii made that / did
mot account In full for interest received
| from the banks from county deposits.
That charge Is not true. Barring the years
OF my administration and years preceding
county funds for deposit under the law
then in force TO file with the county
board a bid for specified amounts and
with such bid q bond to protect same,
and such banks designated by the county
board as county depositaries. During my
administration the bids and bonds as
filed were not sufficient to cover more
than q minor portion fthe funds on
hand, ana In the office, and the balance
OF funds were left In the treasurers
hands, for which he was personally re-
sponsble. Numerous requests were made
by me to the county board TO relieve the
situation by furnishing additional legal
repositories or providing q burglar-proof
safe and put on night watch, but with
out success.
All interest received from the legally
constituted repositories has been ac-
counted for and no interest was received
that was not accounted for other than
the legal deposits. l do not owe Custer
county one cent for interest.
/ was the first county treasurer OF
Custer county to give surety bond, which
was given at q cost Of $685., and by so
doing relieved myself from obligation to
any Individual or banks, such as would
have arisen through my request as sign
ers as security on my bond
The legislature, session OF 1905, amended
depository law so as to provide for the
safe keeping Of all county and state
funds, relieving the treasurer from per-
sonal liability. The law was again
amended in 1907 and again In 1909 and
this leaves conditions entirely radically
different from what they were ten years
ago Another noticeable change In con-
ditions as to what they We're ten years
ago, the county treasurer received a
salary OF 5000, provided the fees Of the
office were sufficient to pay the same.
and the provisions for clerk hire We're not
work days, nights and Sundays to keep
up the work. whilencw the treasurer re-
ceives a straight salary Of sa,1sDo with no
restrictions and Ia allowed all clerical
help needed to perform this work.
Under the law onw In force all counties
receive not less than per cent on their
daily balances and the state treasurer
gets 3 per cent on such daily balances.
Under the guarantee law AL state hanks
may be made county or state faepositorfes
without the necessity of giving bond.
The examiner who checked up the rec.
ords of Custer county for the last six
teen years states IN his report to the
county beard that my accounts are alb
solutely correct. that he found no altera-
tlons or errors therein, and In said re-
port Is embodied as | take II strong
compliment for efficiency with which the
work In the office was done during my
four years as county treasurer.
WALTER a. GEORGE.