Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-09-15
THE COUNTRY HOME
BY MRS. w. H. FELTON,

is always the same, so far as they are e1-,
posed and condemned by public opinion. i
Human nature is always the same, also.
and there will be bad men (and women)
until the millennium reaches us, bu& the come
back always gets the executive, sooner OF
later, when a needed piece of legislation IN
bartered off by the appointing power to- saS-
isfy political debts and obligations
The auditor bill was, and still is. crying
necessity. The tax collectors turn over the
millions of tax money to the comptroller
general and thai official gives a receipt.
The comptroller turns over the same tax
money to the state treasurer. The latter
also signs and delivers a receipt to the
comptroller. SO far good. You can tell
to dollar what has become of the states
money and who gets it. This money is safe
in the treasurers hands until II is drawn
out on the governors warrants. 1t is not
allowed to any other person to draw any
sort of a warrant on the treasury of the
state of Georgia Con this tax fund.-, or to
use dollar of it except as the governor
signs the warrant and as the treasurer hands
it out AS the matter now stands today,
the governors warrant gets the money ana
it is handed over to the various institutions
and the various persons designated by law
who are in position to go before the gover-
nor to receive it and disburse it, Then the
accounting stops. Right there the waste be-
gins. Just at this juncture we need first
class, well-trained accountant to write down
of every person who afterwards handles,
disburses or pays out any of this money,
and his office should not be a part of the
treasurers office for obvious reasons.
During the administration of Governor
James M. Smith, who succeeded Governor
Bullock after the Civil war the state OF
Georgia lost between two and three hundreQ
thousand dollars of tax money used by the
treasurer to pay off state bonds as they be-
came due. The records are still with US in
Fulton county courthouse and they will ex-
plain the entire deal, because the case was
tried before superior court judge, and
verdict given and the amount here noted
was never recovered. The same bonds were
in various instances paid for, or redeemed,
at least twice during that very slack era.
The matter was compromised with the treas
urers bondsmen, and the loss fell on the
state 1t was made possible by the negli-
gence of the executive and the lnefhc1ency or
the treasurer and for lack of an auditor.
With this exhibit furnished to those who
prosecuted Governor Bullock it was impossi-
BILE to recover the states money that disap-
peared with Bullock and Kimball. The me-
cessity for an auditor at that time is APP
parent. The money loss to the state would
have paid the expense of an auditor for
many long years. ~
There was a graft scheme, which was in
vestigated by the legislature in 1870, which
told story of such magnitude that United
States Senator Hill issued an Address to the
People of Georgia" which was notable and
in this address he rebuked the governor,
and although the legislature whitewashed
the whole business, it was plain to be seen
that the state capitol was itself tuliing
place at that time for political trading and
barter. I alIude to the money paid by the
Atlanta Rolling mill to secure the governors
Endorsement to the Northeastern railroad
bonds to influence a clerk in the COVER
nor's office, who could secure the executive
Endorsement. I hold a copy of the late SEN
ator Hills published address and the legis-
lative action is matter of official record.
The clerk received $4,000 to influence the
governor, and the clerk admitted he re-
ceived it, and Senator Hill excoriated the
governor in the public prints and before a
legislative committee. This is Georgia his
tory, written on the official ledgers of the
state ~ ,,