The Dermott news. (Dermott, Ark.) 1910-1977, 1915-07-22
INADEQUATE RECORDS
OF MONEY RECEIVED
Accountants Report Shows There Is
Balance Due on Delinquent Fran.
chise Taxes For the Years of 1918
and 1914 Amounting to Ss,3e5.21.
Little Rock

Little ROCK
Attorney General William L. Moose
is severely criticised by the legisla-
tive investigating committee in its re-
port on his office filed with Governor
Hays. The committee concludes its
report with the following summary Of
its criticisms:
THAT the attorney general has
kept very inadequate records of
money received and paid into the
treasury.
That he used the Southern Trust
Company as a subtreasury or deposi,
tory for most of the funds that have
come into his possession and checked
them out indiscriminately with bank
checks in face of the statute against
him depositing the money or the
bank receiving it.
THAT he has dealt in state war.
rants.
That he has employed special
counsel at a cost of more than $1,000
in one instance, when he could have
done the work himself in less than
stNcA uOulS anu SiNSu lIlIS dlIIpulIl X
the taxpayers.
THAT while he was employing spc.
cial counsel he was doing private
practice.
THAT he failed to comply with the
law in not itemizing his inheritance
q tax collections in his biennial re.
n
The Report.
The remainder of the report fol
lows:
Hon. George W Hays, Governor.
Estate of Arkansas.
I'VE hand you herewith the report
OF the accountants on the office If
the attorney general, covering the en-
tire administration of the present In
cumbent, Hon. William l.. Moose. We
find in this department, as in some
of the others, lack of method and
system in handling the records of the
Department. fact, there is no meth
cd or system whatever and practically
no records are kept in the depart
ment
" IAi' ehAAcbl NY STll'l oil - 'lN'L
a bonded officer, yet he collects from
$4,000 to 100000 annually, and in
stead of RENTING this direct to the
treasurer, as he is commanded by the
law to do. it has been his custom to
deposit the greater portion OF these
collections in the Southern Trust
Company, a banking corporation of the
city of Little Rock. and keep it there
for many, many months, dribbling in
to the treasury what he has not check
ed to other sources on various and
sundry personal checks. The greater
portion of this money is collected on
inheritance and franchise taxes
Keeping no record of the money.
when he receives it, or the names of
the individuals by whom it is paid
and waiting so long to pay it into the
treasury, the result has been that he
forgets the names OF many OF the es-
tates from which he has collected IL
heritance taxes and our accountants
found In their effort to balance his ac-
counts that he had S223696 In the
Southern Trust Company more than he
could account for. When this fact was
discovered. the attorney general came
to this committee and suggested that
as he had more money than he knew
what to do with. he felt that he ought
not to be criticised for the fact, be-
cause 1t showed. he thought, that he
had not used any OF the states money
for his own personal benefit
$s,365.2t Due the State.
1T is the duty of the attorney gen
erL to collect all delinquent franchise
taxes as certified to him. We find
from the accountants report that there
is balance due on delinquent fran
chise taxes for the years 1918 and
1914 of SS,36521. Just why this
,,mount has not been collected we are
po,. satisfactorily advised by the at