The Prescott daily news., 1915-07-16
MAKES SCATHING REPLY
 TO COMMITTEE REPORT
Attorney-General Moose Openly Challenges Committee to Take Evidence Before Grand Jury To Prove Statements.

made public scathing reply to the charges conteined in the report of the 1 Special Investigating Committee on 1 his office.
 He openly challenges the Committe to take whatever evidence they have before the Pulaski Grand jury, and if "half of the insinuations are true," have him indicted, and if they are not true, let them be indicted for slander.
 After reviewing the charges, Judge Moose concludes:
 "If the insinuations of this so-called committees report are true, the pres ent Atorney-general ought to be in- dicted by the Pulaski County Grand Jury, and punished for the felonies the committee inSinuates he is guilty of. l invite the gentlemen composing this committee to take their accountants, and such other proof as they may have available and go before the Pu- laski County Grand Jury and submit their proof to that body. It is body having adequate powers to in- vestigate and require the production of books, papers and other evidences. It has the power to indict, and the circuit court has the power to convict and punish. If these insinuations are half true, the Attorney general ought to be indicted. If they are false, and I charge that they are, maliciously, Ihypocritically, and slanderously false, the committee itself ought to be in dicted."
 Answering the charge that the At torney -general deposited public funds in the Southern Trust Company, Judge Moose says:
 "That charge is true, and funds were kept in the Trust Company until March, of the present year, since which time no funds have been deposited by the Attorney general in any bank ing institution. The reason for de- posting funGs in the Southern Trust Company is as follows: When l came Into office I 'ound the state on a scrip basis. The governor, and other ofii- cials of the state, could not succeed, at the end of the month in collecting | their salary warrants, unless someone provided the money in advance for that purpose. The same condition eX- isted under my predecessor, and when I came into office 1 followed the GUS tom. In the collection of the inheri- thee and franchise taxes l deposited | the collections in the Trust Company at the end of the month had accumu- | lated sufficient money to pay the sal aries of my own office force, those of the Governor and his office force, the Supreme Court Judges and their clerks. and the Supreme Court Librar- ian and others. Although this had been the custom in this office before l came into it, l discussed the matter with the Governor and with certain members of the Supreme Court and they all agreed that here was nothing
 
 wrong or improper in my so doing. During the session of the last Leglsla- ture, however. bill was passed which made it unlawful for any person ow- | ing money to the state to pay It to any officer except the State Treasurer. Since that law was approved by the Governor. have made no deposits of state funds in any bank, although l have good reason to believe that he law does not apply to the Attorney general. I thought it ought to ap- ply so I applied it."
 In explaining where there appears to be a balance of $S,365.21 on fran chise tax not paid into the Treasury, land for which no satisfactory ex- cuse is given" Judge Moose says:
 "The comr ittee and its accountnts know the reasons suits have not been brought on these uncollected claims This was fully explained to one of the accountnts. Most of them were in sums so small that the state could not have recovered enough to cover the ad- vance costs of the courts in which the recovery was had. Furthermore the constituionality of the franchise tax act was pending in the Supreme Court of the United States, which was set tied a few months ago, and this IS an- other good reason why suits had not f baen filed apainst delinouent corpora