Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-12-23
McVey Takes Issue With
Statement of Atty. Gen. Miller
Does Not Agree That the Board Of Trustees Is a Mere Auditing
Board to Approve Bills After the Money Has Been Spent;
Explains 4Bpdget. System Of the Institution. ,,g

kept from January TO January Wnlle
the official year for the state institu-
lions is from July to July. Still again,
the, accounts kept at the capital are
on a receipt and payment basis and
the distinction between capital in
vestments and current expense is not
made. Neither, for that matter, is it
made by the different institutions.
another difficulty is that the people
CT the state have not been called upon
to make a distinction between these
two points of view. 1t is essential,
however, that what goes into building
Of plant should be. markedly .separat-
ed from the current cost of continu,
ing the operation Of the plants. In,
the expenditure for buildings the
state is adding to it's assets, but un-
der the present system of accounting,
it is marked down as maintenance
cost. Nor has there been a distinc-
ton made between the monies paid
to the University and the .Agricultur-
al College, in particular, for the con
duct of various enterprises that are
distinctly not educational. Hence a
great deal of confusion arises in
bringing out clearly what the actual
cost of education is and what is be-
ing expended for experimental sta
tons, agricultural stations, ETC., and
other activities imposed by legislative
act.
Report is Being Written.
"The University Board of Trustees
engaged the Temple, Webb Company
of st. Paul, the same firm that did the
accounting work at the capital, to 60
over the whole accounting system of
the University for the past five years.
to audit all accounts, bills and items
of expense. and to draw up asgeneral
balance sheet, to make a statement of
the receipts and expenditures during
these five years, and to submit such
tplan for the reorganization of the &C
counts and methods of expenditure as
they saw fit to recommend. This re-
port will be ready about the 9Th or
9Th of January and will be at the dis
posal of the legislature if It desires
to use it.
Where is the Test.
when it comes to the question of
spending money for education need
lessly," who is to establish the meas
ure by which the conclusion is to be
reached? Is it to be tested by what
was done twenty years ago or by the
standards of today? Is it to be done
from the point of view of the exper.
fence of older states and nations? Is
it to be done in a spirit Of tolerance
and wide knowledge Of state needs?
Have not the people of North Dakota
answered these questions in their
constitution and in the laws passed
fer the last thirty years. What they,
want and what they r entitled to
have is efficiency in their govern
ment, in their education Institutions
and in. the public schools. But we are
not going to get it If we emphasize
economy as the sole question at Is
sue.
No Desires to Escape.
II have written this utter for the
purpose of bringing out clearly the
point that the educational institutions
and in particular the University, have
no desire to. escape any responsible
ity or to avoid any criticism or inves-
tigation that may be for the purpose
Of really getting at better results; but
what they do object to is criticism
not founded upon a knowledge OF the
facts and Of the conditions.
"Nor do 1pelieve that the people of
i AL,so c<o%n xr,h oryor toinnn forrifnriq1