The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-06-24
Kosttzky,s Loud Claims
For Efficiency Challenged
By Lyngstad, Deputy Treasurer

Next they make the charge that in
the past thousands Of dollars have
been paid out Of the state treasury,
without having been appropriated or
without having been allowed by the
state auditing board. When Mr..
Steen assumed the Office Of state
treasurer, he refused to allow any
overdrafts on appropriation &C
counts and as that was two years be- |
fore Mr.. Kositzky. became state aud
itor he is certainly not entitled to
much credit for that. Mr.. steen also
refused to pay the 1925 in warrants
drawn by Mr.. Kositzky as state aud.
itor for the purpose of travelling ex-
penses for Mr.. Frazier's board CT
regents, appointed pursuant to an
opinion by Attorney General William
LANCER. The legality Of this board
was being tested in supreme court
which later found their appointment
illegal and it is certainly no fault Of
Hostility that the state isn't out 1925.
Mr.. Kositzky claims a great deal
Of credit for having collected taxes
on private car lines. which have been
in arrears for q number Of years.
The proceedings Of the board of
equalization for 1915 show that the
said board passed a resolution di-
recting the state tax commission to
place all private car lines on the tax
lists. Mr.. Kositzky was secretary
of the state tax commission at that
time but instead Of attending to this
taxation Of private car lines, as di- |
rected. he prefers to blame former
Auditor Carl >Jorgenson and claim
a great deal Of credit for himself for
doing as state auditor what he neg
lected to do as secretary Of the tax
commission.
He makes a great noise about coll |
lecttng over 100000 from the coun-
ties. Now it isn't a very difficult
task to collect from the county treas
urers the states portion of the taxes
collected by them. All the state aud
itor needs to do and does is to draw
a draft on them for the amount of
taxes they report, and hand these
drafts to the state treasurer, who
does all the collecting in every in
stance, except such cases where the
state auditor does not succeed In
getting the drafts drawn correctly, |
which has happened a number of
times since Kositzky became audi !
tor. ....-
Mr.. Kositzky asked the last legis-
lature for an appropriation for a |
special field clerk to check up back |
taxes, ETC., and in the bill there was
an appropriation for $500 for travelling
expenses. This bill passed both The
house and senate and afterwards 1t |
was found that ssome one by the
stroke OF q pencil had increased the !
appropriation for travelling from $500
to $1,000 and extended the time Tor
the appropriation to be available. No
record is found OF this increase in
either the house or senate journal. !
He also had a bill introduced, the
passage Of which would permit him
to use some S1,400 which Mr.. Jorgen-
son had saved out of his appropria-
ton for clerk hire, but this the Leg
islature refused to pass, but nothing |
daunted, Mr.. Kositzky took the mat |
ter up with the emergency board |
after the adjournment of the state
legislature and they passed a reso- /
luton which permitted Mr. Kositzky /
TO also spend this. Some efficiency /
is correct.
]. O. Lyngstad. Bismarck, N. D.
June %.
Buy w. s. S.