Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-01-23
Defend regulations
OF COUNTY TREAsURERs
Senators and Delegates Make Sharp
Comment on Report OF Economy
and Efficiency Commission.
DREwRY WRITES HuDDLEsoN
Chairman OF Commission Says Re-
port Could Not Have Referred to
Present Treasurer, Who Took Or
fec Since State Audit.


Economy and Efficiency t the General
Assem- bly,. AZ a result of statements on
raEes 33 and -. which apparently in
cudc Warren ard Fairfax Counties
among those in which the STATE audit
rcvea.ed irregularities, came in for
sharp criticism and denial in the SEN
ate yesterday when Senator'S Thornton
and Downing earnestly commended that
the record OF those two counties was
clean. Senator Thornton stated that
the report and also bin proposing Il
state auditing ot city and county
frcasurcrs. If connected with or based
upon The report. cast reflections on the
trcasurers of the two counties men
TONED tfat were virtually slanderous
lie stated that the report in The
Times Dispatch b;s.'i on the report
ri the Commission on Economy and
Efficiency had conveyed the impression
To tho constituency o. Fairfax County
which had resulted in letters. tele-
grams. messages and messengers TO
Treasurer Huddleson and others that
we're overwhelming. aud he hoped the
impression would te corrected. The
various Irregularities are cited in
Paragraph of the report Of the Com
mission On Economy and Efficiency,
reading:
TIC cite a few instances Of what has
been revealed by State audit, in
Washington County. for example, n de-
fcit In the accounts OF the treasurer
was found amounting to $4,000: in
Fairfax County a balance due BY the
treasurer of s"3.3iI was found, with
overdrafts on certain county accounts
OF s1,24s: in Warren County the bal.
ance set up against the treasurer
amounted &c S:s.673: in Cumberland a
shortage in the trcasurcr'a account
amounted 10 $500: and in Snyth
County shoriaI" in TIE cash accom-:
OF the treasurer amounted TO s5n49.
An audi: made by the State Account
an, IN the ;rity o: Winchester cspoced
an cTbczzl:ment of license taxes by
IN" commissioner OF 'hc revenue. of
3l776' IN the City OF Bucna Vista a
deficiency In the ca sh Of the trca-urer's
once was :ourd amounting to scO6s
while the treasurer's accounts OF Farm.
ril:c for Tho year 1915 were found 10
be short sl,;6S."
SENATOR nREWRY WRITES
TO TREASURER HUDDLESoS
while the report by the co;nr,igs;on
attributes this sc-ious condition a, I,
calls IL. to inrfiricncy -athcr than
moral turpitude; yet Senator'S Thorn
ton. nowni1E and Robertson regard
any such statements az unworthy tn.
character and reputation OF T.. W. IIud
oleson. treasurer OF Fairfax, o. his nc
ldecessor. Robert Willy. tn. late treas
'rcr. y. Q. Burks. Of Buena Visit. or
We treasurer Of Warren County. Sena.
'"r Drcwry. chatham or the commits
sicn. admits that II was an error to in
cIuoc Fairfax and Warren among thc
counties named under a heading hat
would Indicate :. SHORTAGE and the Same
admission is made by those in the oince
n'o Auo!toF Moore. Senator
Drewry, chairman of the Commission
the fJllowii & letter TO T. w Huddlc
son. treasurer OF Fairfax County:
Dear Sir The report # The Com
mission on Economy and Efficiency ha.
ocen misconstrucd by certain parties
20 mean that the present treasurer o,
FAIRFAX County has been guilty OF /,
shortage" The present treasurer ~
FairtaN County went into Office on
January l, 1910. and the audit rc;or.
to the accounts OF the ONCE a. =, ~
1919: Consequently TIE -cp.rt could
not nave referred TO the picscnt t-e,.
urer.
The language used in the -enort.
W.: In Fairfax County "A balance I'm.
oy the treasurer Of s5o317 was fopnd
win oVcrdraf's on certain county ac
counts OF @l,2fS," was not cited by tho
commission as Shortage" II was
cIeo 10 illustrate inefficient methods
Yours truly,
=. II. DREwRY,
Chairman. Commission on ro,.
and Efficiency. "'hS
DELEGATE WILLIAMS
TO READ STATEMENT
Following the lead OF Senator Thorn
'oh' beleEate Williams OF k'airfa1 an
nounced last night that he wonId =,
.o-ua! session read into the House
fo.1'n the following statement:
"'sn to call your attention to an
NttiIle appcaring in The Times-Dis
patch of January II. headed N.m,,
i,easurcrs short in accounts, saw Com
n,tssioh' with caption or preface
otdIt!ihS Disclosures made in rcnort
on treasury or Efficiency of state
snertases variously referred to as
shortages, or cmbezzlements
IRE ciled In paragraphs of the renort !.
10 cite few instances Of yb,t 49,,
neen revealed by State Auditor ~
rairlaS County balance due nv ~
treasurer Of s5s.317 was found rhts
statement has also been made in ho,h
nouses OF the Legislature in the re-
port or the Drewry Commission whio,,
you VIII find recorded on pages "A ana
80 OF this report o
Ihis report is not only mis,.ad,p-
out casts unjust reflection on thu go,
name or the county. and more especiaI-
~ on inc treasurer of that county
"hen, as matter of fact, the records
OF the Office are perfectly clean and
ciear. and neither the present nor tho
retiring treasurer has been sher,
single cent in his accounts, and a mis-
Ieaoing statement OF this kind is an
outrage and travesty on Justice. The
audit above referred to has reference
10 the audit made by the State Ac-
countant on January I, 1915, and was
me auditing made OF the accounts of
the retiring treasurer, Robert wiley
whereby the auditing showed thai
there was at that time due the county
ny the retiring treasurer s5s3I7
which amount the retiring treasurer
turned over TO the present treasurer.
II; W: Huddleson. the same being bv
MN duly receipted for and passed to
the credit OF the proper accounts.
SAYS TRANSACTION GAVE M
JUST GROUND ron CRIT1c,au
Nothing Irregular, nothing I'm
proper, and certainly no grounds Tor
criticism. AT the end of the wear The
present treasurer made his reports In
Guiding the above amount OF s5eaI7
together with his collections obtained
from the unpaid tax bills turned over
10 him-all passed to the credit or tbe
proper accounts. Said accounts hoth