Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-03-07
His Communication Dispe|s
Many Misleading State
meDls Of House Report
Exposition and immigration
Funds Used With Approval
of Auditing Board

Hon. j.. H.. Frame, Speaker or tn
: Souse: I have no intention Of c~riticiz
ing or censuring the report of the com
mittee whom you appointed to exam
inc. the department over which l hav'
the honor to preside, but wish to cal
attention to a few erroneous deduction!
made by others to the committee. ant
at the same time, offer a few explana'
tons. ,
| When u committee formulated it:
report, it based 1t in part upon the find
ingsH of the deputy examiner, who doubt
less failed to famfiliarize himself with al
the facts relating to this department
Taking up the Charges Of this repor
seriatim. I desire to call your attention
to Section 2 Of the law which appropri
ated the sum Of SIS, 900 for the promo
ton of immigration, which reads as fol
lows:
-'"Al plans and expenditures by thu
commissioner of agriculture and labor
for carrying out the provisions of law
for which this appropriation is made
shall first he approved by the governor
auditor and attorhey general. or Il major.
: ity Of the state auditing board, Of which
the foregoing named officials arc mem.
bers." ., TSsE1'
! | wish to emphasize the fact hat un-
der this law the commissioner of agri.
culture and labor is only the executive
agent Of a majority of the state audit.
ing board. He has the privilege of de.
vising plans, making suggestions ant
performing the labor, which those plans
dema nd, but he cannot dictate what
; shall be. done, what exhibits shall be
made, or what expenses shall be in.
Cured until he secures instructions from
that body. ~ -..a. 49,, .....,,
The governor and not myself. executed
a lease Of the Northern Pacific railroad
building for exposition purposes. and the
auditing board authorized the holding OF
the expositions during the years 1911
and 1912, which acts were performed
in pursuance Of, resolutions adopted by
said board. IT,
! 5tThe committee calls attention to two
items of premiums awarded and says: .
&'"As' the report was printed 1t shows
the excess of disbursements over receipts
OF $13. $50. $3.50. Adding to receipts the
amount of the value Of the premiums
shown to nave been disbursed to balance
those items in disbursements the over
draft would be $5S7.2S instead of $1S,-
800. 98."s - ~. &c.. .
This is simply a question of bookkeep-
ing, and the amount Of the credit was
omitted to give emphasis to those do
nations, because they were presented by
business firms as articles and also be-
cause they were not cash transactions, as
all the other items were that received
credit under the head Of receipts"
Had the report stopped at that point.
it might have been technically correct
from its standpoint, although there is
even a difference Of opinion regarding
that conclusion, but it unfortunately
adds: f Z
W find also that an item of $453.00,
which was shown as q liability in the
report, has been, included in the total
Of the disbursements; this should be
subtracted from that item"
If the deputy examiner can do what
he suggests, it might relieve the exposi-
ton o. III Indebtedness aggregating
$4,000, but unfortunately the creditors
refuse to have their accounts %liquidated
in this. summary manner, therefore the
s453.Oo will have to stand in accordance
with the, wishes of those whose claims
are still unpaid, which for convenience
at time was listed under the head Of
liabilities to w, G. Gilbreath, because
vouchers had not been rendered when
the report was made in November, and
some Of them ere not on file at the
present time, although bills are in my
possession.
The report states that the commits
stoner fiedsta voucher with the auditor
for $1,0Oe.oo,, and that warrant No. $3.50
ifor that: amount was issued. while the
s~ub-vouchcrs attached aggregated,
s1.07S.s6s and the commissioner took
credit for s74.sO, being the amount Of