The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-06-17

PEOPLE FESTIVE
UNDER IMPUTATION
Want the Cases Brought to Trial-Gra-
ham Has Admitted He Did Wrong
and Should Be Called to Account -
Court May Not Reveal All.

BURLINGTON, June 1.-THE Burling-
ton Free Press in leading editorial says:
"A resident of Burlington yesterday
asked US to explain why the Graham case
has been held up SO long He said he felt
deeply Inundated as a citizen of Vermont
over this whole situation While he was
IN Florida, sneeringly or loosely as the
case might be, people from other states |
would say to him, oh, you are from Yer
mont are you. That is the state where
the governor made rather free with
things
Then our questioner remarked, What
could ! say? Absolutely nothing. | could
do nothing except feel that the people
Of our commonwealth including myself
| had been put in a wrong light before the
| whole world
SO long as the present situation contin
/ ucs all Vermont is IN a wrong light be-
| fore the public 1t may help us to I'M
! derstand the present status of the case,
| if we return to first developments 1t
viii be recalled that the Rutland Herald
| made an exposure OF the situation i'll
! the auditors office shortly before the gov
ernor primaries in 1918 1t was shown
| that the net amount not accounted for
was S20,9S04S. 1t also appeared that since
| Graham had been in the office of governor
| $4,000 had been returned More than
| one man must have known Of that resti-
| tuition. However Governor Graham was
moved to issue a public statement 1t
l'later transpred that this statement was
not written by the executive department
1 4 L L Al.
outside who had considerable to do with
the whole situation then and since as d
sort Of steering committee
Some OF our readers may have for
gotten Just what was said as well as the
promise made in that statement, addressed
| to The People of Vermont and signed
Horace. +. Graham The statement is
sued in August 1915 read rs follows:
- Inquiry having been made. concerning
my conduct of the office when auditor nf
accounts, I feel that | should say some
thing upon this subject ! realize that |
did wrong in the manner Of handling my
salary and official expenses, and for this
/ am extremely sorry.
1t has just come to my attention that
some OF the vouchers. and in two instanc-
cs the files themselves. have been taken
from the office | have never taken any
files or vouchers from the office Of the arl-
ditor of accounts and ! did not know I'm
I'll now that they were missing
The books in the auditcr,s office al
ways showed, and do now, Just how my
salary and expense account stand | have
never made any conceamcnt IN that re-
aspect. and thu books have always been
open 10 Che inspection Of the proper Off
cials
II have requested the Hon. @ VI
Barber OF bennington, a Judge Of thC
United states court Of custom appeals
end my predecessor IN the Office Of audi
tor OF accounts. to make a thorough cX
animation Of all books and papers in the
auditors Office and to report the exact
situation; and hunb.y ask the people o
the state to reserve their Judgment il
the matter until Judge Barber report,
/ his findings.
1t transpred that when State Banl
commissioner T. C. Williams discovered
the true situation he reported the cas-
to Attorney General Herbert c. Barrier
After IL most maccountabc delay the sit
uatien was put before The grand jury an1
Indictments were found not only agains
Williams. who took the initiative hu
also against Purchasing Agent IIanley,
former deputy Of Graham rs auditor
whose threatened exposure while consid
ering the possibility Of running for audi
toH against Auditor Gates. was the caus
Of bringing the whole matter, or wha
the public knows Of it. to light, an,
against Governor Graham himself.
by some strange freak Of procedure
tho man who took the initiative il seek
ng a remedy for the situation was hrough
to trial first, and convicted Of not discoy
ering and reporting what the figures ough
to show The trial Of the other cases wa
postponed, and the public was given t