Lincoln County leader., January 13, 1911, SUPPLEMENT, Image 5

SUPPLEMENT LINCOLN COUNTY LEADER
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1911
EXPERT'S REPORT
The following is the report of Joseph H. Wilson, expert accountant, who has just completed auditing
the records of our County Officers.
Toledo, Oregon, January 6th, 1911.
To the Hon. County Court of Lincoln County, Oregon.
Gentlemen :-
As requested by you at the November term, 1910, I have made
an examination of the books, accounts and vouchers of the several officers
of Lincoln County, as- mentioned below, from the 15th day of November,
1907, date of List report by Mr. Moore, to January 1, 1911, and report
as follows:
School Superintendent.
From November 15th, 1907, to expiration of term.G. W. Bothers,
Superintendent, collected from certificates and permits the Hum
of S 71 50
R. P. Coin, Superintendent, to January 1, 1911, from same
source- collected 00
Total 400 .50
These amounts have been regularly deposited in the treasury as
collected.
The redeemed school orders have been tiled by the Ircasurer with
the county clerk. The law, however, provides that such redeemed school
orders shall be returned by the treasurer, as often as once a year, to the
school superintendent, and I have recommended the officers to observe
this law. Under the law the treasurer takes a receipt from the superin
tendent for the redeemed school orders, and files this receipt with the
clerk as his bas;s of credit for the money paid for tuch redemptions.
County Clerk.
The county clerk, Ira Wade, from November 15, 1907, to January,
1, 1911, has made collections, and earned, moneys belonging to Lincoln
County as follows:
From sale of property 8 823 10
Billiard licenses 25 00
Liquor licenses S00 00
Redemptions 235 21
Fines.. 1901 84
Other Collections and earnings of office . ... 8115 15
Total, 1 2200 30
He has deposited in the c unity treasury, regularly each month
OS collected, all the money coming into his hands, the
aggregate deposits Iwing, prior to Jan. 1, 1911, 612223 80
Leaving due him from Lincoln county, excess deposits, the
sum of ,. 23 56
Total, 812200 30
The clerk has fcntered all collections on what he calls a Reception
or Receiving Book. tJpon this book is listed the items making up all
collections, for recording papers, court fees, deposits of any kind of
county money- such as lines and redemptions coming into the clerk's
hand
l have
verified each of these items with the entry of the record
calling for the deposit, and this is a laborious and large under! king, I
foun 1 that che clerk had made errors in his additions both in his favor
and against himself. The net error in additions being S3 1.07 in favor of
the ci iuji ty. I found also that he had failed to place on the receiving books
trial fee -;2. Deficit i:i a redemption entry 1 ct. 1 marginal releases, 1 de
murer, and one petition to register a title. The record called for the
deposit, although at least two of .the items had not been paid to the
clerk, I charged the entire amount to him, thus reducing his net excess
of deposits over collections to ?23 50, the amount above mentioned.
It will be noticed that the clerk has placed all his collections of all
kinds ,(Jh the receiving hoofe. In depositing with the treasurer monthly
the treasurer has noted the deposits as clerk's deposits, and one would
naturally assume thai these deposits represented earnings of the office.
They have, in fact , repress used the entire receipts of county money com
ing into the clerk's hinds, and in any exhibit of county finances, based
upon the treasurer's statement, such items as fine collections, or licenses,
or sueh money simply passing through the clerk's hands on its way to the
treasury, do not appear in their real identity, but. seem to be clerk's
earnings. The clerk has been unmindful of the erroneous impression
this would naturally convey to persons interested in watching the pro
gress of county financial transactions, and I have thought it proper
to here make the suggestion that all deposits in the treasury should be
m.n'.e in their real name. While it is proper to enter such collections
on the Receiving hook, and thus preserve this important record, the de
posits made in the treasury ought to segregate the nature of the deposit,
giving the amount of fees, the amount of fines, of redemptions, licenses,
dr other items so that tho treasurer's exhibit will convey full and accurate
information,
In addition to the foregoing, the county clerk has collected 817.00
from D clafations of Intention and $108.00 from petitions and final or
ders in Naturalizations, which, under the regulations of the Department
of Commerce and Labor, page 10, L. 1908-1909-1910, go one-half to the
(". S. Government and one-half to the clerk. (This regulation is upheld
in the case of Kldrcdge vs. Salt Lake County, Supreme Court of Utah
January 17, 1910).
The county clerk has also taken homestead filings and proofs for
which he accounts to the United States LandofTices. No record is retained
in the clerks office of this work, the only evidence being the entries on the
receiving book where the clerk has deposited the fees for jurats where he
has affixe 1 the county seal. .Many clerks do not even deposit the jurats.
The custom, as I understand it, is that homestead filing and proof fees go
individually to the officer before whom such proceedings are had. It is
not a duty imposed by statute, he cannot be required to perform it, many
clerks decline to handle homestead business referring it to U. S. Commiss
ioners. I have examined the issue of county script comparing the war
rants, or the sfcubbs thereof, with the entries made in the county court
proceedings to verify the correctness of these warrants. They
seem to be correctly issued. I have noted a few small items
of difference between the recorded journal entry and the
stubb, which the court docket has usually furnished evidence of the-cor-rectness
of the issue. But there is one important duty the law requires
which has never been performed in Lincoln County. I have called atten
tion to this before in this county. And I urge upon the court and the
officers who issue county script, the necessity for making upon every jour
ij.tl entry allowing claim, and upev. vhich "",""nt 5 ijnorI n reonvd
of the nunider of the order, or warrant issued thereon. And this num
bering should also include numbering the claim with the same serial num
ber. The law requires this to be done. I adopted this system in Benton
County in the eighties', and shortly thereafter it became a law, because a
serious ovcr-issuo of county script was discovered in an eastern Oregon
county and the Legislature made it the duty of officers to number the
Bill, or claim, the Journal entry, and the warrant with tho same srial
number.
Mr. Wade has turned over to his successor in office the following
amounts, on deposit in court:
McFadden vs. Long (60 30
C. Johnson estate , 44 35
J. R. Puckering estate 97 15
J. Armantrout estate 5 00
These are private and not county funds, simply being on deposit
in the hands of the clerk pursuant to the law making the clerk the custo
dian of such funds. ,
I have examined the issue of Bounty warrants; and the record of
Hunting and anglers licenses, and find that the clerk has transacted this
state business correctly . For the licenses he has remitted the correct
amount- to the State treasurer, and J have examined these receipts, and
compared them with the licci.se record.
From the Scalp Bounty warrant issue there is now due Lincoln
County, on account of the one half tho State hears, from the Stale of Or
egon, the stun of $10(1.00 as duly reported to the Secretary of State by
County Clerk Wade.
Mr. Wade is retiring from office at this time, and I believe it. due
to him to say that his record in the clerks office, for the past three years,
will hear very favorable comparison with that of any clerk whoso ollico I
have ever examined, and that is not a few. While 1 do not like the fail
ure to place the numbers on his Journal entries and bills, to correspond
with the numbers on the warrants he has issued, otherwise, I cannot find
any place fm-.critteiam, and I have tried my best to find him in fault for
the reason that certain character assassins have repeatedly during the lime
i have been mak ing this examination insisted that he has been in default.
I attribute this to the activity of political enemies of the ex-clerk, and to
the opportunity such persons have had for obtaining temp irarily the at
tention of worthy citizens, owing to the fact that the treasury deposits
have all appeared to be clerks fees, instead of being segregated on the de
posit entries, to show the true nature of the money deposited, as men
tioned above.
Treasurer
On November lh, 1907, the report of Mr. Moore shows a
balance in the h.-ndflof the treasurer, (i.-li. McCluskey, bf.. $20562 00
I have, however, from the books, ascertained that this, in
fact, $22.32 loo much
1 therefore charge the treasurer with
ember I5th, 1907
lie has collected since that date the following amounts
alanco on hand Nov-
22 32
120539 88
rot n
71
Superinti ndent Bethcrs $
Superintendent Goin.. 835
Clerk Ira Wade 12223
50
00
86
Sheriff ). If. Boss.. 211877 88
185 00
2970 57
80 00
Institute funds from clerk---
Seo'yof State scalp bounty and timber rentals.
Misccllan "s fines (other clerk)..
School clerks; to pay coupon interest, (these ate
no longer carried in the treasury record) . . . 121 08
State school fund ,S200 87
SaloOn licenses (other than clerk's deposits) .... 200 00
Billiard licenses' (other than clerk's deposits).... 60 00
Stale library funds 10-15
Deficiency school funds (these were furnished by
the county from sale of a warrant, Issued to
help out the school fund distribution) 508 78
Total amount charged to treasurer, 1257874 77
He has paid out, redeemed orders, state taxes,
special road, school, dyke, city orders 241998 21
Balance in the treasury, Jan. 1st, 1911 8 1537(5 56
This balances with the treasurer's ledger, funds, within 70 cents.
It is an independent balance made up from the original documents
which the treasurer paid ofT, and from Independent investigations, as
above shown, of sources of deposit. On the following page I show tho
treasurer's fund balances, which aggregate 515,375.80, of date January
1, 191
Treasurers fund balances, Jan
uary 1, 1911, according to the treas
urer's ledger.
County Fund 37891 33
Deficiency Fund 1343 41
County School 101 74
County High School 203 95
Library 1493,
State Sch dm! 412 so
City Newport 104 8G
City Toledo 11G 91
Institute.... - - 135 50
County Road 003 13
Road District No. 6 80 45
Indemnity 9 15
Road District No. 8 (overdrawn
$140.08)
Koau uimnctiNo. 4 10
1 69 30
2 424 73
18 228 79
9 17 80
10 225 ft8
14 3 05
16 203 50
18 558 05
11 11 25
5 (overdrawn
$65 83)
13(verdrawn,
$54 99)
16 120 73
8 260 01
19(o verd raw n
S375 57)
Newport District 07 00
Ollala Dike District... 2 79
School District 1 4 91
2 179 30
3 427 43
4 29 94
r. ......
C.
7. .
8.
!.
10.
1 I
8 53
88
3 71
1 71
2 43
2 J 54
12 109 88
13 . . . 31 81
15 1 OS
16 2 01
14.'.... 110 87
17
M
90.
21
130 29
112 08
83
12 83
2 03
0 03
7 17
10 01
28 73
1 42
32 84
15 71
91 11
14 98
32 08
8 04
35 !0
I U
15 01
(i ! I
1 50
20 ?a
2 58
115 81
8 83
11 08
17 9(!
19 60
80 54 00
61 22 09
52 JO l0
Od ... 2o
28.
30. .
81
32.
33. .
34 .
35
30
37..
38 .
80 .
iO.
it..,
43
41.
45 .
48 .
49. .
64
50.
57.
63.
51).
60.
61,
63.
63.
64.
16 11
10 01
72
U0 32
5 G1U
14 95
13 05
1 89
4 08
07
73
School District 19 (overdrawn
$1.61)
State Treasurer- (Finos) 75 00
Total Funds pioio 94
Total Overdrafts 014 OS
Balance in Treasury . . 15375 80
(Concluded on next page)