The Alaska daily empire., 1921-05-04
HARVEST .REAPED
 IN FLU EPIDEMIC
 AT NOME, CHARGE
Territorial House lnevtsigat- ing Committee Reports
 on Expenditures. HUGE AMOUNTS PAID
Expenses Mounted Alter Con- gress Reported to Be Plan
 ming Appropriation.


 against the people of the Second Di- vision and declaring that Mayor homen and Supt. Dyfed Evans, of 1 the Federal Bureau of Education, should be censured for approving certain claims, the report of the House Committee Investigating flu" expenditures and those of the Ter ritorial Fish Commission, was made to the House by Chairman Ross this morning.
 The report says that while no adequate system of accounting was kept by the Fish Commission, from the vouchers kept and distribution sheet kept by Secretary Garfield, the accounts "are doubtless correct. /" The Committee finds that there were no irregularities and no showing of excessive charges in connection with the Commissions administration of the Territorial Hatchery.
 Charges Made High.
 The Committee, obtaining all vouchers in connection with the ex- penditures. of both the flu epidemic and the Fish Commission, employed anime them. Witnesses, including Gov. Riggs and Dr. D. s. Neuman were called in connection with the flu inquiry. Regarding the Nome epidemic, the Committee report stetes
 hA oh fnt, would appear that at the outbreak of the epidemic the work as to expenses was conducted in con- servative manner, but that the re- port was circulated at Nome that Congress would make an appropria- ton of $200.000 and that after that there was a great deal of expense connected with the work. Evidently ths accounts for the size of some of the bills and the evident care used in charging for everything that it was possible so to do. It would lGpDea rthat the Bureau of Educa- tioEfi through it's representative, E. D. Evans, was mostly responsible for the great expense. Many of the bills were undoubtedly just and reason able, but some of the accounts show evidence of an endeavor to obtain the greatest possible amount. How ever, the Board of Audit has reduced some of these bills, and in the Opin- ion of the Committee several more bills Nould have been materially reduced There was a moral obliga- tion upon the community in which the epidemic occurred to contribute their time and resources to the care of suffering humanity"
 Flay Telephone Company.
 The report fays the telephone company at Nome declaring. "It would appear from the bill of the Telephone Company that they took advantage of the opportunity to ex- tort all the money possible. having charged for all possible overtime on calls, and although their bill was approved by the Mayor of Nome and the representative of the Bureau of Education, on the face of it it ap- pears so exorbitant that in the op- inion of the Committee it should not have been paid until it had been materially reduced"
 Other Charges Scrutinized. Charges for services and supplies wore closely examined by the Com mittee and the report states that the ct arges for labor and particularly for nursing were conservative. The report continues: The expenditure for groceries and other foods aside from meat were $14.41598. Fresh meats were $3,SS7.33; clothing, dry goods, boots and shoes $3.669.01 All of these items appear to have been kept in huch a manner as to make the largest possible claim, and would bear out the statement first given that they had expected that the appropriation from Congress oi $2OO.OOO would be made and they would obtain all they could from that fund"
 Employees Enormous. ! Further evidence introduced in support of the Committees claim that expenses were allowed to run wild Is given in the statement con tained in the report that Accord ing to a statement of Dr. Neuman at one time they had IS employee, caring for six patients and when hS ordered this number reduced there