The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-17
CAN'T AGREE WITH GRAHAM.
Continued from Page IL


eral weeks and in which I had the as
sistanee of Mr.. Lorimer part of the time
and my clerk the balance of the time.
This examination disclosed the fact
| that there were orders drawn by ex-Au-
ditor Graham to himself during his
term of office amounting to ST., 9S0.4S
and there were two orders amounting
| to $4,000, the avails of which he had
charged in two different highway ac-
| counts for which no credit vouchers can
| be found. The first of the orders for
which there were no credit vouchers
were drawn during the years 1902, 1903
and 1904 and amounted to 81 100, and
the files of two of these items appear
to be missing. Orders were drawn by
him to himself during the term of Office
of my immediate predecessor to the
amount of $4,000 for which there are
not now vouchers or receipts. The bal
ance of the orders drawn to his order
for which there are no vouchers or
| receipts was during my term of office.
Previous to this examination | had
never checked up any of the auditor s
| books or accounts of business which
was transacted previous to my taking
Office. Auditor Gates was sick in bed
during portion of the time that | was
working in the auditor s office, and
| when he returned to the Office he made
an independent examination and found
number of unvouchered orders which
/ had not then found and called them
| TO my attention. After having notified
| the governor of the situation disclosed
| by my first two weeks work / notified
| the state treasurer and on April pa /
notified the attorney general of the
amount of unvouchered orders diseov
cred up to that time. On May |
notified him that the amount was much
| larger than stated in my former notice,
and on May 9 / asked him for con
ference with myself, the present au-
ditor and the state treasurer at Mont
pelier. / later learned that he was at
that time engaged in the trial of a state
case and could not come to Montpelier.
| Since that time he has called for an
itemized list of the unvouehered orders
land / am having such list made for
him.
| | found upon making the examination
of the vouchers on file that there were
| $S,0l7.7s which Auditor Graham pre-
sented to me as vouchers and receipts
for money paid out for extra clerical
work, salary of employees and money
disbursed by him for certain highway
work under the authority of the high
way commissioner which are not now
in the files of the auditors account.
Vouchers are on file in 1912 for $500
"a in one voucher, portion of which
should be applied upon the balances of
1909 and 1910. Ny records show that
when all the credits which were present
ed to me from 1909 to July /, 1914, were
applied in their proper places the bal
ance of the advances to the auditor at
that time was $102.75. The two orders
of 1920 and $500 respectively
charged in different highway accounts
in 1915, were checked in the regular
checking of the list of orders issued
but were carried in those accounts as
advances to the highway commissioner
and / supposed they were advances, as
the highway commissioner was in the
habit of drawing money from the treas
urv in anticipation of the needs of his
department and sometimes quite large
amounts, and ] never took those into
account in figuring the auditor ac
count
One of them now stands as n balance
brought forward in red ink and thu
/ other remains in the account as it wa
originally entered. None of the ac
counts in the auditors account previous
= to the time | took the office were
brought forward or red linked and the.
are not now brought forward or rec
mixed The balance of the auditor
account for the year 1909 was not ear
e ried forward to the next year or rec
e linked and is not now. The same i
, true of the account for the year endin!
5 June 80, 1910. On June 30, 1911, Their
; was a balance brought forward o
!, $20571 into the next year. The balanc
for June 30, 1912, was not carried for
t ward or red linked. There was a bal
e ance for the biennial term of 19l3-l9l
!, which was carried forward. When
= made the last previous examination 0
the auditor s books and papers, whic
was completed sometime after July
1916, I found balance charged agains
him of $2,659s3 which he had draw
to pay his clerk hire, expenses and sal
ary. and if the account had then stoo
: as / had a right to suppose it did, an
he had not drawn any more orders t
himself during the balance of his tern
there would have been no deficit.
In my report to the legislature i
u 1916 1 stated that the business of tn
= treasurer's Office and the auditor OF
fee had so greatly increased in numbe
. of transactions and volume of bushes
= that it was not possible for the ban
:. commissioner, without assistance, t
= properly examine these department
! and asked that the law be changed so
to require more frequent examination 9
: each of these departments, and tha
i competent assistance should be provide
y so that the supervision of these d.
: apartments might more nearly eonforl
:, to that of the banks, but no actio
was taken upon this recommendation
/ think the legislature should provid
for expert examination of the auditor
office and the treasurer's office; thi
these examinations should be once eae
Is quarter. instead of annually, and thu
the examination should extend to a
of the state Offices required to colle'
T. Ill 70 fofn