The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-08-22
DUNN CHARGES
 PETTY CRAFTS
Claims Former c ComptroIIers Took Fees Which Should Go In- to State Treasury--Saved
 $11 ,OOO This Year


 New Haven, Aug 22-That preced- | ing state comptroIlers have. received fees amounting to- over $400 8 year
 personally which, he claims, should have gone to the state treasury, was
 the declaration made by State Comp trol1er Daniel P. Dunn of Willfmantic, I who spoke at a banquet of the new
 Twelfth Senatorial District Democratic club at the Momauguin last night | Comptroller Dunn told, of several claimed petty "grafts'' of former legis- latures and former administrations and | in an interview after the banquet charged that it had been the practice up to the present Democratic state ad- m1niStra ton for office holders and clerks of the state capitol to carry
 away with them a large part of capi- to1 furniture at the end of each term. Comptroller Dunn and Governor Sd-
 neon B. Baldwin were the only speak CTS at the banquet and both urged that
 the Democrats organize and improve the advantages they have already gained. The banquet was attended by
 over 100 Democrats from the several
 towns in the 12th senatorial district
 and after the banquet a business meet
 ing was held and the Democratic club
 was formally organized. J. Frederick
 Jackson, former assistant city engin-
 ger of New Haven, presided as toast
 master.
 ComptroIler Dunn devoted most of
 his address to a, recounting of the sew
 eraI so-called petty ttgrafts'' which the
 present Democratic state administra-
 tfon has abolished. Among others he eueok of the newspaper gratuities and
 the numerous other gratuities to leg islative atten dants By stopping these gratuities he said the state has saved over $11, GOO In his discussion of these matters he spoke of the practice of former comptro1lers of pocketing fees paid to them for the signing of bonds According to the statutes, bonds issued by railroads and other business enter prises Of this character must be signed by the state comptroller and dor the signing of each one of these bonds the comptroller may demand thirty-f1ve cents These fees amount in a year, Comptroller Dunn says. to over $4o0 and sometimes go as high as $500. For mer comptrol1ers have made prac- tfce of keeping these fees, he says Comp ptroller Dunn stated that he had an opinion from the attorney general that these fees belong to the state treasury and not to the comptroller personally.
 s'rhe books of the comptroIIer's of flee clearly show" said MT. Dunn af- ter the banquet, that former comp trollers have pocketed the money Tn my opinionssthessstate could sue them and force them to refund. According to law, the salary of the comptroller is fixed and he is not permitted to ac- cept any other money and by taking these fees former conptrollers navel made themselves liable for either a fine of $1,oO0 or Imprisonment of one year,
 MT. Dunn explained that since his of the office of comptroller all these fees have been turned into the state tEeasaryt To show how much l these fees sometimes amount to he 1 sand that the fees for the signing of | the bonds recently issued by the New Haven road amounted to nearly $250