The Mount Holly news., 1916-08-08
value to the county should include all
the offices and institutions without dis

/ -
the offices and institutions withoutdis
elimination.
The director and chairman of tn
finance committee who assumed charg
of the matter have stated the investi
cation was ordered in response to
recommendation of the grand jury
1t is a matter of record that the las
grand jury recommended an audit Of
the county offices and institutions anC
the previous grand jury in their rec.
ommendation specifically mentioned
another county Office Both recon-
mendations have been ignored with
the exception of the county collector
The so-called audit of the other Of
fees consisted merely in ascertaining
If the collector had accounted for all
funds remitted by those officials. If
a verification of all the accounts had
been made as was required in the col
lector's office more time would have
been consumed than in the latter's Of
fee.
The larger proportion of the errors
reported were for very small amounts.
While the larger amounts had been or
were In process of adjustment and
were explained to the auditor who
promised after the audit was completed
the matter of adjustment and correc-
tions would be taken up with the
county auditor and myself, which of
course he had no intention of doing.
The rules adopted by the board
authorizing the collector to advance
money on account has long been a
source of trouble and confusion. This
rule has been abolished this year,
which will eliminate considerable com
plication in auditing the accounts to
considerable extent.
noticed the special auditor utilized
the services of the janitor to a consid-
cradle extent during the progress of
his work without compensation to
the Janitor) | understand and severely
criticises the collector and auditor be-
cause he was informed it was the Gus
tom for the janitor to stamp the APP
proval Of the passage of bills, pinning
and dating checks, etc. The work
performed by the janitor in the col
lector's office is purely mechanical and
IS not incompatible with his duties as
janitor.
The special auditor emphasizes the
fact of his finding numerous checks
without stubs, stubs without checks,
checks taken from back of check
book, counter checks used, etc., which
were explained to him and l presume
the majority of the board are familiar
and realize the necessity for such con-
dition existing.
He finds the collector failed to
charge a check received from w. E.
Hires for $58.75, when as a matter of
fact it was not sent directly to me but
through another party and did not get
into my possession until the investiga-
ton was in progress. The check was
Immediately deposited. The matter
was mentioned to Mr.. Mead, but he
failed to give credit in his report. His
verlfication of accounts appears to
have been one-sided, as he ceuld cas-
lily have ascertained the facts of the
case by requesting Mr.. Hires to pro-
duce the cancelled check and noted the
endorsements.
Bank balances are rendered repu-
larly excepting during the interval of
about three months while the investi-
cation was in progress and we were
without access to the books.
When Mr.. Mead began his opera.
tions he was informed that the last
balance sheet was available for his
use if desired, but he replied that he
would attend to the matter of his bal
ances. His assistant later made a re-
guest for it, but it was not available
for use at that time.
l have requested a special audit bv
the auditor of the U. S. Fidelity and
Guaranty Company of Baltimore and
had intended supplementing the state
ment with copy of their report.
AS they are operating in a distant
section it was impossible to secure
their services.
The balance of the reply consisted
OF an examination of the accounts of
the office for the years 1912 and 1913
and Mr.. Pine revealed over his own
signature that several mistakes had
been made during those years in ad-
dltlon to the ones reported by the spe-
clal auditor for the years 1914 and
1915. This statement showed that all
OF the errors were against Mr.. Pine
and IN favor of the county, he having
discovered that during those two
years he was entitled to credits
amounting to $295.29, and then was
entitled to credit of $58.75 in 1915,
making a total of $354.04 From this
total there was a deduction of S9.12
which Mr.. Pine charged against him
self, leaving $345.92 as the amount
for which he claimed credit. He de-
Quoted from this the amount charged
against him according to the special
auditors report, $327.34, and then
claimed that the county actually owed
him S18.58.
Solicitor Davis asked if there had been
my explanation of the discrepancies
made public by the special auditor,
whether there had been any money re-
unded where shor tages had been men,
ioned. If not, he proposed, as solicitor,
o see that action was taken.
Mr.. Eshan, Of the finance committee.
aid he had tried to get explanations,
1ut he had not yet received anything
hat was at all satisfactory.
Mr.. Rogers offered a motion that the
Iolicitor be directed to collect all short
lges reported by the special auditor.
A vote was taken and there were some
negatives. One of them was Mr.. Russ,
md this caused solicitor Davis to ask
Russ why he voted that way, to which
he latter replied that Mr.. Pine knew
very dollar he has collected and paid
md all the transactions of the office
lave been explained.
To this solicitor Davis called attention
@ the statement of the county collector
published above, in which that official
certain statements made bv
he special auditor. II there is any dis
;repancy it should be set right and he
lid not feel that he was doing his duty
rs solicitor if he did not try to make
,he county good. He could not see why
Mr.. Russ should vote against a motion
hat was intended to be for the county's
benefit.
The motion was declared by the di-
rector to be adopted and the incident
was closed.
The contract for rebuilding the Mount
Holly and Jobstown road was awarded
TO Charles I. Eastburn Co., of Yardley,
Pa, for $50, ,SO1 20, and that for the
Mount Holly and Lumberton road was
given to the J. F. Shanley Company, OF
Philadelphia, at $15, ,038.55.
Mr.. Glasgow moved that specifications
for improving the county buildings be
and presented at the October
meeting.
Mr.. Glasgow also offered a motion
that the clerk communicate with the
trolley companies and ask them to give
especial attention to drainage along the
public highways, but when he was told
that the road committee is at work on
that line he withdrew the motion.
Director Davis said there were som,