The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1920-12-30

- We an idea as to how to cut
down s.are expenses. 1t has been
demonstrated by the manager of the
state mill at Drake that the records
of the office can be kept in suit case
and the business of that department
done while travelling from one place
to another as the occasion requires.
Why would it not be wise plan for
our legislature to pass bill requir-
ing that all our public business be
done by the suit case method, thus
abolishing lot of useless steno-
graphers, Office clerks, the paying of
rent for Office room, etc. They handle
the Drake mill business by this method
and we see no reason why the rest of
Grated the same way. If you want to
know about the Drake mill you are
told the records are en- route to Far
60 or going from Fargo to Bismarck,
just as the occasion requires when the
state auditing board wants to audit
the institution. It is method that
saves much embarrassment to the man.
agement because by keeping these re-
cords shooting" from one place to an
other the people know no more about
their own business than the fellows
handling the job want them to know.
After January first the records will
probably be returned to Bismarck so
that Mr.. Lemke and his board can
doctor them up to suit their own
sweet willard the people will be
none the wiser but much poorer, be-
cause they are paying additional bur-
dens of taxation to support govern
ment of the suit case.
We have heard much about cooper
alton and about how the nonpartisan
league managers wanted square deal
and all this kind of bunk, but some
how or other when the state auditing
committee wants to audit the books
of the state institution every obstacle
is placed in the way of the accountants
to stop them from doing the audit. The
very action Of the men in charge OF
the state bank, the Drake mill and
other institutions, who refuse to have
d clean and open audit of their insti-
tutions, indicate guilt or misconduct
in the conduct of these institutions.
The auditing board now making an ex-
animation Of the various state owned
industries have had to appeal to the
supreme court to get the records OF
the Drake mill which are being carted
around and hidden from public scrut-
my by those who are afraid OF the
light of day. The following headlines
in the Fargo Forum last night Will
give our readers an idea of what IS
happening in our state:
Darling, Employe of Thatcher Organ
ization, Quoted by Board of Audi
tors Investigator as Saying He
Only Has Access to Records
Consignment of $4,000 Worth of
Flcur to Consumers United Stores
Company at Issue-MeGovern
Says He Gave the Records
To Thatcher
Suit Instituted in Supreme Court
Against Industrial Commission to
Compel Production of Missing
Accounts of State Mill
at Drake
1t has been an uphill job trying to
get at the bottom Of these things and
the state administration has been put
ting every obstacle in the way of an
audit. It shows on the face of it that
something is so rotten in the admin
istration of affairs that they do not
want the public to know about it. The
present state board Of auditors. only
have two or three days left in which to
audit the books and it evidently is the
intention of those in power to do all
they can to prevent things coming to
light under this audit. hoping that
when Lemke and the other bunch get
in they can whitewash things over. 1t
is a nice state of affairs. How long
are the people of this state going to
stand for it.