The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-12-20

Sheriff A. Cary Ellis denies the
padding of cost bills submitted to
the county for payment in the sum-
moning of jurors. The sheriff yester-
day issued a statement, in which he
tells how he arrived at what was due
him and says the testimony as pub
lished contained many inaccuracies.
His statement, as handed The Jour
nal, follows:
while shall. after have had an
opportunity to fully investigate the
so-called charges that seem to have
been preferred against me reply there
to in detail, the public statements as
to the evidence before the county
commissioners at their meeting held
Wednesday are so unfair and mislead-
ing. that in justice to myself and to
my supporters I feel at this time L
should at least call attention to some
of the inaccuracies therein.
''I was in attendance at the meeting
of the board of county commissioners
on Wednesday with my attorneys, and
at the conclusion of the evidence, by
apparently unanimous consent, Of all
present it was understood that a re-
port as to the substance of the testi-
Inony was TO be made by the auditor
and submitted to my attorneys, and
an opportunity given me to reply to
same Much to my surprise learned
the next morning, that e45er the mat
ter had been apparently disposed of
in this way. that the board passed
resolution that the testimony be re-
ferred to the Governor without recon-
mendation, without giving me an OPP
portunity to make any statement.
do not believe any member of the
board intended to treat me unfairly,
nor do l know what induced them TO
pursue this course. I have no objec-
tion to interpose to the testimony go
ing to the Governor, and IN fact more
than a week ago requested the Gov
ernor to send the state auditor to my
Office for a full investigation, and my
understanding is that this will be done
as soon as the previous engagements
of the auditor will permit.
"4As to the so-called charges with
reference to mileage for serving jurors,
the facts are as follows; Ever since
my term of office commenced the bills
for service of jurors have been made
in the aggregate without being ite-
nized, and this has been the practice,
7 am informed, for many years pre-
vious to the time that I became sher-
if. The bills have been audited and
approved without any itemized state
ment of the mileage Travelled being
furnished. The way in which these
bills are made out, as was shown by
the evidence yesterday, is that the
deputy sheriffs report to the office |
deputy the aggregate or total mileage |
travelled; the Office deputy renders |
Dill 10 the county lOE LDO IOIdl I4-
Ieage. When bills were made out and |
presented at the last regular meetihe |
Of the board the clerk, I am informed |
for the first time declined to approve |
these bills unless they could be ite- |
mized, and when the demand was /
I memorandum to the clerk which did |
not purport to be an accurate state
ment of the mileage. For instance, /
lake the bill rendered for the fourth /
week of the circuit court was for two /
hundred and sixty miles in serving Ju- /
to the clerk for this week |
s as follows: 3. E. Reed, No. 9, about /
80 miles; A. NJ. Powell. Cramer's Gin, /
L20 miles; r. B. Eddins, near Klon-
like. about 20 miles; also for c. c. /
Parsons and w J. Lee, about 80 |
a1tra travel from house to house"
NOT ITEMIZED STATEMENTS.
"a simple matter of addition win
show that this statement for the
ourth week does not purport to be an
temized statement of the two hun
ired and sixty miles charged By ad-
ling the amounts mentioned, the to-
al mileage runs up to something like
hree hundred and thirty miles. while
he only mileage charged to the county
S two hundred and forty miles.
This statement of Mr. Hartsf1eld's
however, is the only basis that the
,lerk. or anyone else, has for the state
nent that charged eighty miles for
ervice of jurors by subpoena on c. c. II
Parsons. This IS the only foundation II
or the statement made in the Journal Il
Thursday morning, in the printed Ia
lie, to the effect that I charged the II
,ounty eighty miles for serving c. G. II
Parsons when only two miles were III
.ctually Travelled. If the statement II
hat was furnished to the clerk by II
Ir. Hartsf1eld constituted an itemized II
.ccount of the mileage, the eighty II
niles was for serving c. G. Parsons n
nd W. J. Lee, but It does not purport II
o be a statement of account, but only II
rough memorandum.
The reason why these matters have II
lot been itemized was because the au-
itor Of the board had been approving II
nd the board paying, bills for months II
nd. as I am informed, for years, with
ut requiring any itemized statement II
nd my office had accordingly been
citing only statements in the aggre-
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