Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-12-23

courteous thing to grant such requests,
and / offered no objections" snid Dis
! trict Attorney Meyer.
Here is not the eternal but the extra
/ ordinary triangle in this remarkable
case:
State Treasurer Snyder, who insisted
on Keeping In his employ man who
Ultimately cmbeezzled .S701S of the
states money; II. l.. Brcndle the in
! divldual accused. ex-Judge Albert l.,
shay. an employe in the State Treasury
Department. who Is counsel for the man
Brendle.
Conditions Nearly FarcicaI
Treasurer Snyder, MS n State official,
is the prosecutor. II. l.. Brcndle. his
employe. retained after he had been
warned about Brendle's record in New
York. and ex-Judge Shay. a State en-
ploye In Mr.. Snyder Office. acting as
counsel for his fellow employe.
Were it not that the episode involves
Tragedy In one mans life. 1t would be
2 farce: As 1t Is. 1t ii a burlesque on
Pennsylvania politics, and its low grade
OF official life In certain circles, which
permits one department of the State
stealing from It. and then defends him
at the same time. in the same court.
In the general clamor rising from all
parts of the state over the millions of
dollars worth Of unpaid bills for the
support Of public schools and cbarit
able institutions hcaped up for lack of
money In the State Treasury, the start :
! ing point should not be overlooked.
it began at the last session Of the
legislature.
It's inception was detailed pre-
sentation to the legislature of the States
Income upon which all appropriations
for the ensuing two years were to be
based.
1t was prepared in the Office of Mr..
Snyder when he was Auditor General
Whether through ignorance or care
lessness, that statement to the legisla-
ture was misleading and is responsible
for present conditions.
False Idea was Conveyed
1t conveyed wholly false idea of
the revenues applicable to the general
expenses Of the Commonwealth.
! 1t Is well known fact about the
State Capitol that Mr.. Snyder leaves
ordinates. If anything goes wrong, he
has the convenient alibi, II leave all
those things to my subordinates.
The statement of cash receipts was
q jumbled array of items which in
cluded not only all money available for
the runnlr" expenses Of the State, but
all other income, such as the S4,GuJ,-
600 in the automobile license fund
which can only be used for certain pur-
poses under the law.
1t gave to Auditor General Snyder s
statement fictitious value. If he was
not aware of this fact. then his state
mcnt to the law making body for its
guidance was the result of an Ignorance
that was inexcusablc in the States
chief fiscal officer.
Members of the Legislature. as re =
suit Of this presentation of the Auditor
General ana spurred on by their con-
stituents and local charitable and other
institutions, started on n rampage OF
expenditure.
Everybody Got a Bit
1t was n saturnalia of appropriation,
and the spenders justified themselves by
quoting the Auditor Generals figures.
The estimate as prepared by Auditor
General Snyder covered. n sheet of
paper nearly two feet squarc.
On the face of it, it represented total
receipts for 1919 of $52,091 10000.
pre- -empted for special purposes; ear
Marked which cannot be used for any
purpose except that for which they have
been appropriated.
These should not have been included
in the receipts available for the general
fund from which the public schools,
charitable and penal institutions. and
general running expenses of the Gov
crnment are paid.
After the car marked funds hal
been deducted there remained actu-
ally only $43 1851 $500.
The report of total receipts for 1920
was given by Mr.. Snyder as $62,071. :
297 90, when the actual sum available
for running expenses was only $40, =
7S9. 253. 90.
For two years then Auditor General
Snyder's figures gave total receipts as
m. 163 ,O66.0O, when. with proper de-
ductons. the real figures were $50, .
426. 5000
Members of the Legislature. the Gov
ernor, State officials and others had rs
a basis for appropriation In the Legisla
ture this year S24. .73G, 230. 90 less than
had been represented to them.
New Auditor Exposed Facts
II was not until the certified public
accountants employed by the new Au
ditor General, 5. :. Lewis. got at the
books and segregated the various items
In this statement, weeks later, that the
statement was untanged.
Governor Sproul and every official Of
the Commonwealth, with the possible
exception of the Statistirians who made
UP this table could have no idrca just
whore they stood. The Governor owl
dcntly "caught on" while he was work =
ing over the appropriations. Then he
sIashed millions from tho inflated ap-
preparation bills before the last one left
his hands
1t was his belief that the new sources
Of revenue. the coal. the gasoline and
the increased collateral inheritance
taxes, would make up any deficit en- :
couragcd by the Auditor Generals S
statement.
Auditor General Lewis has rccog
nized and decried this haphazard
scatter Drained system. In an address
on State finances before the State
Chamber of Commerce on October II,
he placed the blame sQuarely, but dip
lomatically, where 1t belonged when he
said:
Definite Information Lacking
Lack of definite information from
the fiscal officers of the Commonwealth h
il one of the causes for the apprOpria- :
tion BY the last Legislature of money
in excess of the revenues Of the State. "
State Treasurer Snyder confcsses