The Mena weekly star., 1916-10-19

funds. We also checked the war rants outstanding on October l, lslo; and after dedueting the amount ol warrants redeemed by the CeuhtS Treasurer since the last annual set- tlenent, wesf0und that the outstaha- ing Warrantss or indebtedness. oi the eouIify on October 1 amounted tol S6, fl .id.
 ' We find that the books of the County Clerk and the County Treas urer are in entire harmony, ana tllat inc accounts kept by each with the various county. school and road dls-, tricts funds are correct and that all entries have been promptly anu properly made.
 We have carefully examined the annual tax settlement made ny the County Clerk with the Collector, ana have found no errors therein. ana We found that all monies due upon said settlement have been properly and promptly accounted for. !,
 We have examined the ltemlzed accounts of the various county olilc-. CTS of the fees and emolumenls ol their various offices. as well as the statements of expenditures or salu officers filled with said accounts. and find all of said statements to pc correct. with minor exceptions m some of them. which have been duly corrected, and that each Of sald or ficials has paid into the County Treasury the amounts shown there hy to he dne hv them to the county that proper vouchers so far as pos sible or practicable. have accom-. panied each of said statements oi expenditures. We find that some ot fhe expenditures for which credit was asked by said officials were not strictly legal. but some of these we have approved for the reason, that the services represented by sucn eX- penditures might easily have been omitted by the officers performing them, without liability or without subjecting them to censure. yet they were such services as the county could not well afford to disDense with, and were allowed therefore by us for expediency sake, and for the sake of insuring proper serVlce lh the future.
 We find that the Sheriff has ac- counted for all the fines that have been reported from any source as being chargeable to him either by receipts from the County Treasurer for navment or by orders of the Court remittine s'lch payment upon a proper showing made to said iconrt.
 At the request of Collector H. w. Finger we have carefully scrutini7ef the annual tax settlement made bv him with the County Clerk and which had been duly approved hv the County Court for the year 1914, and found that in said settlement there was an omission of charges against said collector amounting to Si6i .25. and upon our report thereof to Mir. Finger, the same was prompt lly paid by him to the County Treas urer and proper receipts filed with the County Clerk The items com Iposing this omission were of an ob- scure and elusive nature and of a character easily, innocn0'lv and naturally to be overlooked in a set I tlement of such mapnitude ar complication, and requiring as such a settlement does. so much time for it's statement and the scrutiny of so large a volume of clerical work and calculations
 We find that the receipts of the County Treasury for county general expenses for the year ending Sep tember 30. 1916. exceeded the ex- Ipenditures on the same account by I approximately sil ,000, and that If the same good business management lprevails for another year the county I finances should be on cash basis. We find that as yet no adequate or convenient system has been devised or adopted by the various county Ioflicials for making a record of the fees and emoluments of the several offices. and that under the present system and state of the law 1t is
 often difficult to ascertain whether or not an official should be charged with fees or services for which he , has apparently extended credit. This IS particularly true in the office of the Circuit Clerk We are aware , that neither Your Honor nor the Grand Jury can remedy this condi-
 ton. but inasmuch as this report is
 to be published, we feel that it is ] not improper to state that in our opinion it would be in the interest of the public good, and that the public service would be greatly improved Tiff statutes were enacted making changes as to how these records should be kept. and making some requirement as to the fees to be ad- Nanced bv litigants in the various courts, separating the offices of Isheriff and collector, placing the col lector on a salary somewhat smaller than that now allowed by law for the two offices combined. and plac- ing the sheriff back on the fee sys- tenn, and making a substantial raise in the salary of the County Judge.
 Respectfully submitted.
 MINOR pIPKIN, F. ]. SMITH.
 J. E. TAYLOR.
 Commissioners of Accounts. Mena, Ark, October i6. 1916.
 dv