South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-01-20
Rep. Hiram Foster, Author of
Measure, Only Speaker to
Stand by Act Proposing That
Judges Name Examiners.
I MDlAMA'S SO TR
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FROM THE NEWS-TIMES
INDIANAPOLIS BUREAU

INDIANAPOLIS. Jan. 2O-Rep.
Hiram Foster of jefferson county was
the only speaker before the house
committee on judiciary A, who stood
by his own bill, which seeks to abolish
| the state board of accounts and sub
! stltute therefor a system of inspection
or public offices by examiners appoint
ed by circuit judges. James W. Noel.
republican attorney. who was one of
the trainers of the state accounting
law, Harry l.. Arnold, actuary in the
state insurance department, and john
r. Reed, an indianapolis banker,
spoke in favor of the accounting law
ana against the Foster bill, as did
Gilbert II. Hendren, head of the state
board of accounts.
Rep. Foster first a dressed the COM
mittee, declaring his bill was not the
result of the feeling of any dissatis-
| ned official, but was. he declared the
result of public feeling in his own
cOmmunity-and throughout the state,
ne said he believed-that the purpose
OF the public accounting law has been
served and a needless expense now
was being borne by the taxpayers in
maintaining the board. He argued,
! how ever in favor of keeping in force
the system OF uniform accounting
| board Of accounts has taken such
pains 10 install and maintain at
high standard. He declared his bill
would leave the money paid out for
examinations in the counties where
the examinations were made and con-
tended that there was too much state
supervision of local communities now
He declared that persons in counties
cannot now build a school house or
/ ri faq nj inc K1-ft R,~sf
pealing to state officials for advice
or suffering embarrassment at the
hands OF some state official.
Admits Bill May BE Imperfect
Rep. Lyday. a member of the COM
mittee, asked how the Foster bill
would provide for the examination of
school cities and Foster replied that
the bill might be imperfect and might
need remedying in several particulars
before it would be model in form.
Foster said he merely was cOntending
for the principles involved in his bill
and that the bill might be imperfect.
Foster is a republican
Gilbert H Hendren next introduced
James w. Noel, who related the his
tory of the development of the state
accounting law. He declared that
persons familiar with public account
ing contend the Indiana law is the
best ever passed. he told how the
fact that the Pennsylvania railroad
/ had seen fit, for econOmy's sake, to
install and maintain an auditing de-
partment had strengthened the belief
of the trainers of the accounting law
and its friends that il would be econ
omy for Indiana to introduce sim
liar system. He emphasized the point
that all great corporations have some
such system installed and permanent
ly maintained for eCOnOmy'S sake. He
related conditions in Indiana coCn-
. ties prior to the passage of the ac
counting law. saying that one could
not pick up newspaper in those
days without reading of a scandal in
office in some county-the scandals
not always being the fault of the Off
cials. but sometimes resulting from
ignorance of the law or of book
keeping methods.
Says Uniformity is Desirable.
The uniform construction of Indi-
ana's laws, made possible by the state
board of accounts, was a feature that
should receive consideration, he said.
He showed that in the first year Of the
operation of the state board $525, 600
was saved the counties of the state
in the purchase of school supplies
alone He pointed out that the United
States government sees fit to maintain
similar examination systems for na-
tiOnal h90Fe and pOstOthceS. Noel Is
a republican.
ham 4 Arnold. who, with John
e Reed. conducted a special eXami
nation of the state board Of accounts
last summer, was the next speaker
introduced by Mr.. Hendren. Arnold
told Of the good bookkeeping and
methods he said the special examiners
had found in the state department,
said the examiners believed the de-
partment could be run with 40 field
examiners in 1915 and said he felt that
the pay of the field examiners now is
too low Rep. Foster asked Arnold
TO explain TO the committee why there
should exist a need TOr increasing the
field examiners pay when the work
admitted by opposition and friends
OF the board alike" mad been efficient
under the present pay Arnold an
swered that the raise in pay was his
own personal belief in the matter.