The Prescott daily news., 1915-08-06
INVESTIGATING CON-
 MITTEE FINISHES WORK
Last Report Submitted Thurs day Afternoon on Office Clerk Supreme COurt-Many Errors Omissions and Mistakes.

OitiISSloIlS ana MlStdkeS.
 Little Rock, Aug. 6.-Today is the last of the Special Investigating Com mittee, which has been in intermit- tent session since SC verdi weeks be- fore the adjournment of the Legisla- ture which created it. The accoun- tants have been discharged, and the final report submitted. The Committee will later submit genera, report sum- ming up all the results of their vari- ous investigations, and making rec concentrations for the remedying of faults that have been found. But there will be no expense to the state after, today:
 The last report, submitted Thur sday afternoon, is that on the office .of the Clerk of the Supreme Court Col. P. D. English from the beginning showed a willingness to make good any shortage that might be founl due to errors in bookkeeping. On Aug. , he wrote Gov. Bays concern ing the work of the accountants, and said:
 "They found errors, omissions and mistakes in debits and some to my credit. 1 settled with the state July 2Oth by paying in abont $721, all Mr. Russell had found to that date. 1 settled by his figures. The largest Wa a mistake in addition, one whole page of my fee-book and report to Auditor being omitted or skipped. That was corrected and paid into the Treasury.
 They also found some serious CT TOTS in my library account, the larg- est of which was an oversight in charging or failure to charge the Lib rary tax of $1.50 for a whole year, amounting to some $700 or $500. This l desire to make good at once and deposit it to the credit of the Supreme Court Library. I desire to settle in full before the report is published in the papers. l will make good all CT ros, omissions and irregularities. do not desire to be published as a defaulter, until l am advised of what really owe and have chance to cor rect any errors of the Auditors"
 This was handed the Committee and acknowledged by them in the same friendly spirit. Since then MT. En- glish has gone over the reports and paid over $1,3S3.92, the amount he was shown to be short. It is recom- mended that the Legislature pass a law requiring that the Library fund, now held in bank, to be kept in the State Treasury. The report con- cludes:
 "This report is certainly not ac- credtable showing for the Supreme Court or its Clerk, but the Court, through Justice Kirby, has been so pleasant and reasonable in discussing the matter with the Committee and the Clerk has shown such a readiness to make good the shortage that we cannot refrain from saying that had some other departments shown the same spirit and the same readiness to pay into the Treasury the money due it. the state would be much better off financially and the work of this Com mittee would have been rendered much easier and more pleasant, and the public might not have been so confus- ed as it may have been by some in their denials and by their acts in an effort to protect their political in- terests by discrediting the findings of the Committee, or by refusing to al low the Committee to do the work that the Legislaturt directed it should do."