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The State Board of Accounts

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THE STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

by LOUIS E. LAMBERT

Submitted to the Faculty o f the Graduate School in p a r tia l fu lfillm e n t of the requirem ents of th e degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in th e Department o f Government, Indiana U n iv ersity , January, 1950

ProQuest Number: 10295239

All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is d e p e n d e n t up o n th e quality o f th e c o p y subm itted. In th e unlikely e v e n t th a t th e author did n o t se n d a c o m p le te m anuscript a n d th e re a re missing p a g e s, th e s e will b e n o te d . Also, if m aterial h a d to b e rem o v ed , a n o te will in d icate th e deletion.

uest ProQ uest 10295239 Published by ProQ uest LLC (2016). Copyright o f th e Dissertation is held by th e Author. All rights reserved. This work is p ro te c te d a g a in st unauthorized copying u n d e r Title 17, United States C o d e Microform Edition © ProQ uest LLC. ProQ uest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346

PREFACE The id e a f o r t h i s study was g iv en th e w r ite r by Dean F re s s ly S. S ik e s, J u n io r D iv is io n , In d ian a U n iv e rs ity .

The

re g a rd in which he i s h e ld by numerous s t a t e o f f i c e r s smoothed th e way f o r one who ”was working under Dean S ik e s .rf

The a s s i s ­

ta n c e and encouragement given th e w r i te r by Dean Ford P. H a ll, Head o f th e Department o f Government, In d ian a U n iv e rs ity , was lik e w ise n o ta b le .

V aluable advice from P ro fe s s o rs O liv e r P.

F ie ld , Joseph B. K ingsbury, Roy V. P e e l, John E. S to n er, W. ,v**

R ichard Lomax, and Edwin B. McPheron was a p p re c ia te d . The men o f th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts, a c tiv e , r e t i r e d , and ”on l o a n ,” much to o la rg e a group to l i s t by name, who answered th e w r i t e r ’s q u e s tio n s and f re q u e n tly su g g ested (th e n answered) more p e r tin e n t and se arch in g o n es, su p p lie d th e raw m a te r ia l f o r t h i s stu d y .

They gave in fo rm a tio n f u l l y and

f r a n k ly , and, o c c a s io n a lly , re v e a le d in fo rm a tio n % o t f o r th e r e c o r d ,” so th a t th e w r i t e r ’ s background f o r i n t e r p r e t a t i v e purposes was e n ric h e d .

There has been no b e tr a y a l o f such con­

fid e n c e s , a t l e a s t not knowingly. The two men who d ir e c te d th e S ta te Board o f Accounts w hile th e study was being made, Otto E. Jensen and C larence E. H uston, gave th e w r ite r a d v ic e , a s s is ta n c e , and encouragem ent,

ii

iii and he w i l l f o re v e r be in d eb ted to them .

The d e p u tie s o f

th e p e rio d , Thomas M. Hindman, Edward A, Cooper, and Byron N ic k e ls , lik e w ise were in fo rm a tiv e and p a t i e n t .

Miss Kathryn

M ille r , c le r k , aid ed g r e a t ly . My w ife h elped in th e com putations and checked th e copy.

Any e r r o r s , o f c o u rse , a re a t t r i b u t a b l e to th e w r i t e r . Louis E. Lambert

Bloom ington, In d ian a

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER U ,

PAGS THE REFORM IN THE MAKING. . . .....................

. .

G eneral Background. . . . . . . . . . . . M arion County S c a n d a ls...................... The M a rsh a llin g o f P u b lic O pinion . . . . Sources and A n a ly sis o f th e B i l l . . . . .

1 1 11 22 42

--II.

THE BILL IN THE LEGISLATURE............................... .

49

III.

MR. DE HORITX’ S TERM.

66

IF .

MR. HENDRENf S TERM:

V,

MR. ESGHBACK’ S TERM:

.......................... 1913-1919. . . . . . . . 1919-1923 .

..................

Goal and Food Commission. . . . . . . . . V I.

MR. ORE’ S TERM:

1923-1933. . . . . . . . . .

100 131 153 160

L e g is la tiv e A c tio n ..................................................... 165 J u d ic ia r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

VII.

THE TEEMS OF WILLIAM P. COSGROVE, 1933-1939, AND EDWARD BRENNAN, 1939-1941 . . . . . . Floyd County. .

..............................

179 1B6

VIII.

MR. JENSEN’ S TERM:

1941-1945 . . . . . . . .

197

IX.

MR. RUSTON’ S TERM:

1945-1949

20?

iv

..................

V

PAGE

CHAPTER > X*

THE BOARD AND THE DEPARTMENT. . . . . . . . .

220

\ XI.

HEADQUARTERS;

227

THE STATE EXAMINER . . . . . .

- R e la tio n s w ith th e F ie ld E xam iners, • • . Assignment , , » , , » o o . e 9 © e o o « S u p erv isio n D is c ip lin e •M o r a l e - R egarding P u b lic O ff ic e r s N on-S upervisory R e la tio n s , O ther D u tie s o f th e S ta te E xam iner.

XII.

XIII.

244 » , « . 251 . , . 260

HEADQUARTERS; THE DEPUTY STATE EXAMINERS AND EMPLOYEES • • • • • • • • • • « • • • FIELD;

THE FIELD EXAMINERS

EVALUATION, BIBLIOGRAPHY,

264

........................... 276

C om petitive E xam ination System , . .• • . Pay and R etirem en t and Leave, • • • • . . « ^ The Examining P r o c e s s ..................... • . • . The F ie ld Examiners* A s s o c ia tio n , . . . . S ta te Board o f A ccounts and P o l i t i c s . . * - XIV,

232 233 23$ 241 242

279 2$7 293 300 303 30$

» • ©• •

330

APPENDIX A: A m plified P la tfo rm o f th e Mer­ chants* A s so c ia tio n

^34

APPENDIX B; Tho Exam iner.

339

APPENDIX C; Count o f U n its ,

342

APPENDIX D: A uditors* and T ru stee s* B u lle ­ tin s «» * « • * • « . .

3 53

vi CHAPTER

"

PAGE APPENDIX Es S t a t i s t i c a l Report*

357

APPENDIX F: A p p lic a tio n •

35$

APPENDIXGs R eport on O ffic e o f T ru ste e *

359

CHAPTER I THE REFORM IN TH E MAKING

GENERAL BACKGROUND The f i r s t decade o f th e p r e s e n t c e n tu ry was a p e rio d o f i n t e l l e c t u a l ferm ent*

S o c ia l, econom ic, and p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u ­

t i o n s th e n were examined and q u e s tio n e d as th e y had n ev er been b efo re*

T h is stu d y w i l l concern i t s e l f w ith o n ly th e p o l i t i c a l

and governm ental d is c u s s io n s and d ev elo p m en ts, though re c o g n iz ­ in g , o f c o u rs e , t h a t such n arro w in g o f th e s u b je c t can be ch arged w ith th e c r e a tio n o f a f a u l t y p ic tu re *

In j u s t th e p o l i t i c a l and

governm ental f i e l d , how ever, th e decade was r i c h w ith argum ent and in n o v a tio n .

The i n i t i a t i v e and referen d u m and th e r e c a l l ,

though f a i l i n g t o acco m p lish a l l t h a t t h e i r sp o n so rs claim ed f o r them , were d is c u s s e d f u l l y and a c c e p te d by a s iz e a b le p a r t o f th© e l e c t o r a t e .

The d i r e c t p rim a ry , f i r s t ad o p ted on a s t a t e

wide b a s is by W isconsin in 1905, became, b e fo re th e decade ended, th e common method f o r s e l e c t i n g c a n d id a te s f o r s t a t e and l o c a l o ffic e s .

Though o n ly one s t a t e (W ashington, 1910) g ra n te d women

th e r i g h t to v o te d u rin g th e d ecad e, th e new spapers d evoted con­ s id e r a b le space t o th e s u b je c t.

E n g lish s u f f r a g e t t e s , whose

t a c t i c s were much more v ig o ro u s th a n th o s e u sed in t h i s c o u n try , came t o th© U n ited S ta te s and spoke f o r women’ s r i g h t to v o te .

1

2 T h e ir sp e ech e s were r e p o r te d and d is c u s s e d in th e l i g h t of th e c la im s o f American women*

S e v e ra l w e ste rn s t a t e s g r a n te d eq u a l

s u f f r a g e b e fo re 1915* On th e l o c a l l e v e l o f governm ent s e v e r a l p la n s f o r im­ provem ent were in tr o d u c e d , d is c u s s e d , and, in some p la c e s , ac­ cepted*

The com mission form o f c i t y governm ent, though not

e x a c tly new when ad o p ted by G a lv e sto n , T exas, in 1901, can p ro p e rly be c o n s id e re d o f th e decade*

The Des Moines p la n

a t t r a c t e d c o n s id e r a b le a t t e n t i o n and was d is c u s s e d a t some le n g th in an I n d ia n a p o lis hews e d i t o r i a l of March 9 , 190$* The co u n c il-m an a g er ( c i t y m anager) p la n had been s t a r t e d in S ta u n to n , V ir g in ia , and th e I n d ia n a p o lis Mews r e p r i n t e d , on December 11 , 1905, an e d i t o r i a l from th e W ashington (D* G.) H erald on t h i s p la n o f l o c a l government*

The Mews lik e w is e

c a r r ie d s e v e r a l s t o r i e s in December, 190$, o f th e a c t i v i t i e s o f New Xork*s B ureau o f M u n icip al R e sea rc h , th e f i r s t o f such a g e n c ie s in t h i s country* lo c a l a p p lic a tio n *

I t s s u c c e s s , th e Mews f e l t , had a

The Mews s a id s

In a w ord, in th e s h o r t l i f e o f t h i s a s s o c ia tio n i t has accom plished a w o n d erfu l amount o f good. I t has done i t by h av in g a system i t s e l f * I t s work has been p r o g r e s s iv e , conducted in a b u s in e s s - lik e v;ay day a f t e r d a y .* .. T his sh o u ld be a le s s o n f o r In d ia n a ­ p o lis , A Chicago speech by W illiam H, A lle n , s e c r e ta r y o f th e Bureau o f M unicip al R e sea rc h , was covei'ed by th e Mews, and A lie n 9s s t a t e ­ ment t h a t f,th© b e s t s e r v ic e t h a t p u b l i c - s p i r i t e d c i t i z e n s could re n d e r was to se cu re e f f ic ie n c y in l o c a l governm entn was ag ree d w ith .

3 The p o s itiv e r e s u l t s o f th e 1900*1910 d ecade, however, a re j u s t one p a rt o f th e p o l i t i c a l and governm ental p ic tu r e , and probably n o t th e most t y p i c a l p a r t .

Tae m isgovernm ent,

th e sc a n d a ls o f ommission and commission probably were n o t any worse th a n th o se o f p rece d in g d ecad es.

But th e se sc a n d a ls o f

m u n icip al and s t a t e c o rru p tio n were in v e s tig a te d th o ro u g h ly , and th e r e s u l t s o f th e in v e s tig a tio n s were p u b lish e d in hard* h i t t i n g prose w ith documentary evid en ce in n a t io n a l ly c i r c u la te d magazines*

T his s e rv ic e was perform ed by a group o f w r ite r s

whom th e l i t e r a r y h i s t o r i a n s c a l l th e M uckrakers. Though n e g a tiv e on th e s u rfa c e , th© Muckraker movement made a v ery r e a l c o n tr ib u tio n tow ard th e improvement o f l o c a l government*

I t would be d i f f i c u l t to show c o n c re te r e s u l t s

stemming from th e s tu d ie s o f L in co ln S te ffe n s and h is fo llo w e rs , except f o r s p e c if ic and la r g e ly tem porary g a in s; but a g r e a t body o f m a te r ia l on th e f a i l u r e o f lo c a l government was made a v a ila b le to th e g e n e ra l p u b lic*

I n t e r e s t awakened, d is c u s s io n

developed, and in d ig n a tio n grew .

A s u s p ic io n o f p u b lic o f f i c e r s

was stre n g th e n e d by one f a c t u a l account a f t e r a n o th e r of t h e i r b e tr a y a l o f th e p u b lic i n t e r e s t . S t e f f e n s * a r t i c l e s on g r a f t and c o rru p tio n in c i t i e s and s t a t e s appeared In McClure *s 4%Kaaine from 1902 to 1905*

They

were packed w ith proven f a c t s o f th e b r ib e ry o f l e g i s l a t i v e b o d ie s , o f o r g ie s of crime by c rim in a ls a c tin g under th e sp o n so r­ sh ip and p r o te c tio n of p o lic e d ep a rtm en ts, o f w idespread b e tra y ­ a l o f th e p u b lic i n t e r e s t by e le c te d o f f i c i a l s .

S te f f e n s ’ t i t l e s

4 were i n th em selv es in d ic tm e n ts o f th e c i t i e s and s t a t e s being d is c u s s e d : "Tweed Days in St* L o u is ," "The Sham elessness o f M in n e a p o lis,* " P h ila d e lp h ia : C orrupt and C o n te n te d .”

In th e

in tr o d u c tio n t o The Shame o f th e C i t i e s , th e c o m p ila tio n s o f th e M cClureys Magazine a r t i c l e s , S te f fe n s sa y s: They $ he a r t i c l e s / were w r itte n w ith a pur­ pose . . . th e y a re r e p r in te d now to g e th e r t o f u r ­ t h e r t h a t same p u rp o se, which was and i s ——t o sound f o r th e c iv ic p rid e o f an a p p a re n tly shame­ le s s c itiz e n s h ip .! M cClureys in 1904 had a n a tio n a l c i r c u l a t i o n of more th a n o n e -h a lf m illio n , and th e In d ia n a d i s t r i b u t i o n could n o t have been n e g l i g i b l e .

The C osm opolitan. O u tlo o k . C o l l i e r s . E very­

body1s . and th e In d e p e n d e n t» a l l n a t io n a l ly d i s t r i b u t e d a ls o c a r r ie d m uckraking a r t i c l e s .

A fte r in v e s tig a tio n s o f S t. L o u is,

Chicago, M in n e ap o lis, New f o r k , P h ila d e lp h ia , C in c in n a ti, and C lev elan d , S te f fe n s found t h a t th e t r a i l o f m u n icip al c o rru p tio n le d t o th e s t a t e e a p ito ls *

But even when r e v e a lin g m isru le on

th e s t a t e l e v e l , S te f fe n s co n tin u ed h i s account o f lo c a l wrong doing* in f a c t , by b a r in g th e v e ry c lo s e in te x '- r e la tio n s h ip b tw een b o o d le rs and b r ib e r s on each le v e l of governm ent, he brought th e s i t u a t i o n o f m isgovernment home raore e f f e c t i 1 th e p u b lic .

The t i t l e o f th® a r t i c l e on I l l i n o i s re v e r I p o in t o f view ; "C hicago’ s Appeal to I l l i n o i s ——Show'

„ on S te f f e n s , .,T.-r^r ^ ...— ........... r._... ------------- —-— -akers (Chapel L in co ln S te f f e n s , The Shame o f th e C itie 1932); and McClure, P h i l l i p and C o ., 1904) V P» T*" Live r i g h t , 1932)*

4 were in them selves in d ic tm e n ts of th e c i t i e s and s t a t e s being discussed ? "Tweed Days in S t. L ouis/* "The Sham elessness o f M in n e ap o lis,” fTP h ila d e lp h ia : Corrupt and C o n te n te d .”

in th e

in tro d u c tio n to Th® Sham® of th e C i t i e s , the co m p ilatio n s of th e McClure1s Magazine a r t i c l e s , S te ffe n s says: They / t h e a r t i c l e s / were w ritte n w ith a pur­ pose . . . th ey are r e p r in te d now to g e th e r to f u r ­ th e r t h a t same purpose, which was and i s ——to sound f o r th© c iv ic p rid e o f an a p p a re n tly shame­ le s s c i t i z e n s h i p .i McClureys in 1904 had a n a tio n a l c ir c u la tio n of more th an o n e -h a lf m illio n , and th e Indiana d is t r ib u t io n could not have been n e g lig ib le .

The Cosm opolitan, O utlook, C o l l i e r s , Every­

b o d y ^ . and th e In dependent, a l l n a tio n a lly d is tr ib u te d a lso c a rr ie d muckraking a r t i c l e s .

A fter in v e s tig a tio n s of S t. L ouis,

Chicago, M inneapolis, Mew York, P h ila d e lp h ia , C in c in n a ti, and C leveland, S te ffe n s found th a t th e t r a i l o f m unicipal c o rru p tio n le d to th e s ta te c a p ito ls .

But even when re v e a lin g m isru le on

th e s ta te l e v e l , S te ffe n s continued h is account o f lo c a l wrong doing; in f a c t , by b a rin g th e very c lo se in te r - r e la tio n s h i p b tween b o o d lers and b r ib e r s on each le v e l of governm ent, he brought th e s itu a tio n of misgovernment home more e f f e c t! '’ th e p u b lic .

The t i t l e o f th e a r t i c l e on I l l i n o i s revor

po in t o f vietvs

"C hicagof s Appeal to I l l i n o i s — Show*

^“L incoln S te ffe n s , The Shame o f th e C itip McClure, P h illi p and C o., 19041', pT 3•

5 th e C o rru p tio n o f a S ta te and I t s C i t i e s I s A ll One System , M unicipal He form Must In clu d e S ta te R eform .tf A number o f c o n s c ie n tio u s and cap ab le w r i te r s fo llo w ed th e t r a i l t h a t S te ffe n s b la z e d .^

Rudolph B lankenburg, Owen

W is te r, and L ouis S eeber p u b lis h e d a r t i c l e s on P en n sy lv a n ia g r a f t#

George Kibbe T u rn er w rote o f v ic e c o n d itio n s in Chicago

under p o lic e and p o l i t i c a l p r o te c tio n .

W illiam A lle n White and

Jack London a ls o w rote muckraking a r t i c l e s .

The M uckraking Move­

ment o f co u rse had a more c a th o lic i n t e r e s t .

P o l i t i c a l co rru p ­

t i o n , b ig b u s in e s s p r a c t i c e s , r e s t r i c t i v e la b o r p r a c t i c e s , and u n f a ir n e s s tow ard m in o r itie s were j u s t a few o f th© th in g s s tu d ie d and c r i t i c i z e d .

I t was an a r t i c l e on th e U nited S ta te s

Senate by David Graham P h i l l i p s t h a t drew th e rem ark th a t fa s te n e d th e in v id io u s t i t l e to th e g ro u p .

In a d d itio n t o c r i t i c i z i n g th e

S enate a s a body, P h i l l i p s s in g le d out s p e c if ic S en ato rs and denounced t h e i r conduct s c a th in g ly .

A r e p o r t o f Theodore

R o o s e v e lt’ s r e p ly to P h i l l i p s ’ c r i t i c i s m c o n ta in s th® words in which th e P re s id e n t bestow ed th e u n p le a sa n t t i t l e on th e s e r e ­ form ing p u b l i c i s t s , f ln Bunyan’ s P ilgrim * s P ro g re ss you may r e c a l l th e d e s c r ip tio n o f th e Man w ith th e Muckrake, th e man who could look no way but downward w ith th e muckrake in h i s hands; who was o f f e r e d a c e l e s t i a l ■

''

2

............. '

1

..................









The m a te r ia l on m uckraking, e x c lu d in g t h a t on S te f f e n s , i s ta k e n from 0 . G. R e g ie r, The E ra o f th e M uckrakers (Chapel H i l l , E. C ,: U n iv e rs ity of N orth C a ro lin a P re s s , 1932); and John C ham berlin, F arew ell t o Reform (Mew York; L iv e r ig h t, 1 9 3 2),

6

crown f o r h is m uckrake, b u t who would n e i t h e r lo o k up n o r re g a rd th e crown he was o f f e r e d , b u t c o n tin u e d t o ra k e t o h im s e lf th e f i l t h of th e f l o o r * 1 He went on t o say t h a t t h i s f ig u r e t y p i f i e d some o f h i s c o n te m p o ra rie s , men who r e ­ fu s e d to see a n y th in g t h a t was l o f t y , p e r s i s t ­ e n t ly f ix in g t h e i r ey es on v i l e and d eb a sin g th in g s * T hat th e r e was f i l t h he a d m itte d , and he commended th e men who sc ra p e d i t u p , b u t he d e c la re d t h a t th e man who d id n o th in g e l s e was c e r t a i n t o become a f o r c e f o r e v i l . 3 M uckraking, how ever, had a t t a i n e d i t s f u l l s t a t u r e b e fo re th e P re s id e n t had g iv e n i t a name*

A fte r 190? th e q u a l ity and quan­

t i t y o f m uckraking a r t i c l e s became p r o g r e s s iv e ly le s s * T hat L in c o ln S t e f f e n s r a r t i c l e s made an im p re ssio n in In d ia n a i s a t t e s t e d by th e f a c t t h a t he a d d re sse d th® Contemp­ o ra ry Club of I n d ia n a p o lis , March 20, 190$.

Though th© In ­

d ia n a p o lis Mews in an e d i t o r i a l th e n ex t day d is a g re e d w ith S te ffe n s* somewhat s o p h is tic a te d a n a ly s is o f x^hat was wrong w ith American m u n icip al governm ent, i t acknowledged th e v a lu a b le con­ t r i b u t i o n he had made tow ard im proving l o c a l government*

W hether

o r not th e refo rm le a d e r s in th e I n d ia n a p o lis M erchants* A sso cia­ t i o n ag ree d w ith S te ffe n s* a n a ly s is o f m u n ic ip a l m isgovernm ent, th e y tu r n e d to him f o r p r a c t i c a l ad v ice on how to e lim in a te g r a f t in M arion County in 190$.^

In a d d itio n to S te f f e n s , Brand W hit­

lo c k , mayor o f T o led o , Chios W illiam A lle n W hite, th e g r e a t e d i t o r o f th© Emporia G a z e tte ; and W illiam T* Jerome o f Mew fo rk 3 H eg ie r, oja. c i t . , p . 1 . ^ I n d ia n a p o lis Mews. O ctober 1 6 , 190$*

7 were w r i t t e n t o th e I n d ia n a p o lis men,

Mr, Jerome was g iv en

c r e d i t f o r many o f th e id e a s t h a t were embodied in th e Mer­ chants* A s s o c ia tio n P la tfo rm ,

None o f t h i s c o rre sp o n d e n c e ,

how ever, h as been p re s e rv e d by th e Merchants® A s s o c ia tio n i so th e d e te rm in a tio n o f in d iv id u a l c o n tr ib u tio n s i s im p o s s ib le . The a r t i c l e s on g r a f t and c o r r u p tio n in Aaierican c i t i e s s e t many In d ia n a p eo p le t o w ondering about what was going on in t h e i r own c o u rt houses and c i t y h a l l s .

Too f r e q u e n tly o f

co u rse th e w e e k lie s and d a i ly new spapers of th e county s e a t s had mad© d e f i n i t e th e rum ors s t a r t e d by c o u r t house o r c i t y h a l l g o s s ip .

Som etim es, how ever, th e l o c a l new spapers had shown

l i t t l e i n t e r e s t o r energ y in s u p p ly in g t h e i r com m unities w ith m isdeeds o f l o c a l o f f i c i a l s .

And on a t l e a s t one v e r i f i e d o cca­

sio n n e i th e r o f two co u n ty s e a t new spapers p r in te d p u b lic and o f f i c i a l r e v e l a tio n s o f c o r r u p tio n and m isgovernm ent, even though an I n d ia n a p o lis new spaper c a r r ie d th e a c c o u n t.5

Occa­

s io n a lly a t r e a s u r e r would s l i p away one n i g h t , le a v in g a s i z e ­ a b le sh o rta g e b eh in d him; com m issioners and t r u s t e e s would be­ come p ro sp e ro u s, to o p ro sp e ro u s; o b v io u s m is c a r r ia g e s o f ju s ­ t i c e would o c c u r; b r id g e s and highw ays would be c o n s tr u c te d be­ low s p e c i f i c a t i o n and above a re a s o n a b le c o s t.

These th in g s

were known, r a t h e r w id ely known, b u t n o th in g was done ab o u t them . V oting th e Outs in and th© In s o u t was no s o lu t io n , tho u g h t h a t was Thomas M arshall® s s u g g e stio n in th e 1903 cam paign. inii„—hi

,t” i 'i

i

"

■.

,

■ 'In d ian a p o lis Hews, November 1 9 , 1903.

In Monroe —

-----------—

— — —

----— “

a County th® lo c a l r u lin g group was abov© th© tw o -p a rty mechanism* I t dom inated b o th p a r t i e s , s e le c te d c a n d id a te s and d eterm in ed which c a n d id a te should be e le c te d *

The ste n c h o f lo c a l p o l i t i c s

in Monroe County was so h ig h t h a t G overnor W in field T* D urbin (1901-5) had su g g e sted t h a t th© s t a t e u n iv e r s i ty be removed from B loom ington, th e county se a t* Even w ith o u t much energy b ein g shown by th e p r o s e c u to r s , o r p o s s ib ly l i t t l e

i n c l i n a t i o n , s h o rta g e s and s c a n d a ls o f pub­

l i c o f f i c e r s came to lig h t*

W* H* B lo d g e tt, a c ru sa d in g jo u r n a l­

i s t o f th e I n d ia n a p o lis Hews, i n 19Q$ v i s i t e d on© county a f t e r a n o th e r and gave lo c a l s c a n d a ls sta te w id e p u b lic ity *

Though he

made no o r i g i n a l I n v e s ti g a ti o n s h im s e lf , he perform ed a v a lu a b le s e rv ic e by making th e p eo p le o f th e s t a t e c o n sc io u s of th® p r e ­ v alen ce o f wrong doing by l o c a l o f f i c i a l s *

B lo d g e tt re p o rte d

t h a t in Wabash county th r e e county t r e a s u r e r s in su c c e s s io n de­ f a u l t e d , t h a t th e c i t y t r e a s u r e r , s h o rt # 1 3 ,0 0 0 , was in d ic te d bu t f re e d on a te c h n ic a li ty * * From E v a n s v ille B lo d g e tt w rote o f a county t r e a s u r e r who was $6$,000 s h o r t b u t who was a c q u itte d o f ch a rg e s o f em bezzlem ent•

B lo d g e tt s t a t e d t h a t th e o th e r county

o f f i c e r s were a ls o u n d er su sp icio n *

In T e rre Haute th e county

t r e a s u r e r was $7$»00G s h o r t , w h ile one c i t y t r e a s u r e r had been s h o rt $10,000 and a n o th e r $ 2 1 ,0 0 0 * j In th e d is p a tc h o f O ctober 2$, 190$, from T erre Haut© B lo d g e tt f i r s t used th e p h rase t h a t was t o be re p e a te d and re p e a te d in h is a r t i c l e s — ,TVigo County i s

9 lo u d in i t s demand f o r an op en in g of th e b o o k s." 6

The d is p a tc h

from N ew ca stle, r e p o r tin g th e a c q u i t t a l o f com m issioners who had been in d ic te d f o r th e i l l e g a l l e t t i n g of a c o n tr a c t t o con­ s t r u c t b r id g e s , c l o s e s , r’The p eople o f Henry County want th e county books opened, and th e y a re g o in g to have them opened some day In D ecatu r co u n ty , un d er a h e a d lin e o f "Good F ellow s and Bad Bookkeeping Produce th e F a m ilia r R e s u lts ,* B lo d g e tt t o l d o f a t r u s t e e who was #10,000 s h o r t , o f padded te a c h e r pay r o l l s , o f o f f ic e re c o rd s d is a p p e a rin g from th e county a u d i t o r ’ s o f f i c e . In M a r ti n s v ill e , a Board o f County Com m issioners was in d ic te d b u t a c q u itte d f o r buying poor farm s u p p lie s c o n s id e ra b ly in ex­ c e ss o f b id s .

In Gibson County B lo d g e tt found t h a t an In d ia n a p o l­

i s firm was g ra n te d a b rid g e c o n s tr u c tio n c o n t r a c t , even though i t s b id was th e h ig h e s t o f t h r e e .

The b rid g e t h i s firm th e n con­

s tr u c te d was so p o o rly b u i l t t h a t i t f e l l b e fo re i t was co m p leted . Monroe County drew c o n s id e ra b le a t t e n t i o n from B lo d g e tt, and he s t a t e d t h a t th e p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l c o n d itio n s in t h i s county were th e w orst he had seen in th e s t a t e .

A "R ing" domin­

a te d b o th p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , s e le c tin g c a n d id a te s o f b o th and d e c id in g which should be e l e c t e d .

The W h itecap s, a t e r r o r i s t i c

g ro u p , was th e d i s c i p l i n a r y a m o f th e R ing, r e p o r te d ly e n f o r c ­ in g i t s d e c is io n s .

B lo d g e tt r e p o r ts t h a t a man’ s p o l i t i c a l ,

econom ic, s o c i a l , and r e l i g i o u s p o s itio n depended upon h is s ta n d I t a l i c s a re th e p re s e n t w r i t e r ’ s .

10 la g in th e Bing o r h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p to it #

When th© Monroe

County books were au d ite d * by s p e c ia l a c c o u n ta n ts h ir e d f o r t h a t p u rp o se , t h r e e s h e r i f f s wex1© xound to be sh o rt* $22,000 had been im p ro p erly p a id o u t f o r r o a d s , and two new spapers had been o v e rp a id by th e co unty f o r le g a l p r in tin g *

The two ac c o u n t-

a n ts r e p o r te d t h a t th e County T re a s u re r and A u d ito r were no cheek on each o th e r a t a l l ; t h a t county t r e a s u r e r s had n o t, f o r te n y e a r s , r e p o r te d on th e co u n ty * s f in a n c e s to th e cQ m m issioners* The r e v e l a t i o n s o f g r a f t and c o r r u p tio n i n p u b lic o f f i c e , w r itte n by B lo d g e tt and publish© d in th e I n d ia n a p o lis hews th e l a s t q u a r te r o f 190$, allowed, v a r io u s peo p le in th e s t a t e to r e a l i s e t h a t t h e i r l o c a l p o l i t i c a l sc a n d a ls were n o t only o f lo c a l concern but were a ls o common th ro u g h o u t th e s ta te *

When

a su g g e s tio n was made t o use th e power of th e s t a t e to c o r r e c t th e e v i l , le a d e r s in lo c a l com m unities r a l l i e d to su p p o rt and encourage th e idea*

i f th e problem had n o t been made c l e a r f o r

them by n a t io n a l and l o c a l p u b lic a t io n s , t n o i r su p p o rt co u ld v ery w e ll have been la c k in g when i t was needed* *In f a c t , a b i l l t o e s t a b l i s h a s t a t e a u d itin g agency to examine th e books o f l o c a l o f f i c i a l s had been in tro d u c e d in th e G eneral Assembly in 1333, o n ly to d ie q u ie tly in co m m ittee.? • Between 1399 and 1909 a change o f o p in io n had o c c u rre d in In d ia n a .

The e a r l i e r a tte m p t

H* B. 553, I n d ia n a House o f B e p re se n ta t iv e s J o u rn a l * 1399, p* 935* b i l l f o r an a c t t o en ab le th e S ta te o f In d ia n a t o e x e r c is e a b e t t e r s u p e rv is io n in th e c o l l e c t i o n and management o f s t a t e , co u n ty , and to w n sh ip fu n d s and t o e s t a b l i s h a more p e r­ f e c t and uniform system o f k ee p in g a c c o u n ts in th e s e v e r a l coun­ t i e s o f th e s t a t e , p r e s c r ib in g p e n a l t i e s , e t c . ” In tro d u c e d by R e p re s e n ta tiv e A. M. G lo s sb re n n e r, F eb ru ary 13, 1399; r e f e r r e d to coram ittee on County and Township B u s in e ss .

11 t o se c u re a u d itin g o f a c c o u n ts o f p u b lic o f f i c i a l s had been k i l l e d v ery q u i e t l y and e a s ily *

In 1909 such a b i l l was

p a s s e d , n o t q u ie tly and e a s i l y i t i s t r u e , b u t fo rc e d th ro u g h a re lu c ta n t le g is la tu r e .

Many people o f p o l i t i c a l power in

th e s t a t e a g re e d in 1909 t h a t a check would have to be s e t on s t a t e and l o c a l o f f i c i a l s .

What th e s e p eople had re a d in na­

t i o n a l p u b lic a tio n s and l o c a l new spapers had h e lp e d to convince them in 1909 t h a t an improvement had to be made in s t a t e and lo c a l governm ent. MARION COUNTY SCANDALS The p a r t i c u l a r s e t of in c id e n t s t h a t a ro u se d p u b lic o p in io n in M arion County to th e s tr u g g le w hich cu lm in a ted i n th e c r e a tio n o f th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts broke in to th e new spapers in a u s p ic io u s ly *

The f i r s t acco u n t ap p eared in th e

I n d ia n a p o lis News. F eb ru ary 14, 1908, under th e h e a d lin e ”I r r e g u l a r i t i e s a t C o u rth o u se” , fo llo w ed by th e su b o rd in a te banks: ”Fiv@ W arrant Books C o n tain in g S tubs M issing from A u d ito r’ s o f f i c e ; £• S. Huggins Q u estio n ed ; A u d ito r Sahra T e ll s Coramiss io n e r s o f h is D is c o v e ry .” A lb e rt Sahra, newly e le c te d D em ocratic County A u d ito r, s e v e r a l days e a r l i e r had become s u s p ic io u s o f w a rra n ts t h a t had been is s u e d d u rin g th e te rm o f h is p r e d e c e s s o r.

Two o u ts ta n d in g

w a rra n ts were w ith o u t any b i l l o r e n tr y to acco u n t f o r them on th e cla im s d o c k e t.

The A u d ito r i n s t r u c t e d h is o f f i c e f o rc e t h a t

a p p ro v a l f o r payment be re fu s e d on th e s e two w a rra n ts u n t i l he

542742

12 co u ld i n v e s t i g a t e th e c irc u m sta n c e s under which th e y had been is s u e d .

B efore t h i s tim e , how ever, Sahm had g o t in to an arg u ­

ment w ith an Emmett S. H uggins, who worked in th© A u d ito r’ s o f­ f i c e und er th e t i t l e o f B a i l i f f o f th e County C om m issioners1 C o u rt.

The A u d ito r had i n s i s t e d t h a t a l l b i l l s p re s e n te d to

th e com m issioners f o r payment be accom panied by an a f f i d a v i t s e t t i n g o u t in d e t a i l th e s e r v ic e s perform ed o r m a te r ia ls sup­ p lie d .

U n til th e A u d ito r’ s enforcem ent o f t h i s p r o v is io n ,

which had been newly ad o p ted by th e com m issioners on th e ad v ice o f th e co u n ty a t to r n e y , a c e r t i f i c a t i o n by Huggins had been s u f f i c i e n t f o r p r e s e n ta tio n o f a claim to th e C om m issioners. Huggins had m a in ta in e d t h a t th e a f f i d a v i t s now t o be used were " u n n e c e s sa ry ,* b u t A u d ito r Sahm had i n s i s t e d on com plete com pli­ ance w ith th e la w . When th® two e a rlie r -m e n tio n e d w a rra n ts were p r e s e n te d , th e A u d ito r d isc o v e re d t h a t th e y were made out to in d iv i d u a ls , who, so f a r a s he co uld d is c o v e r , had had no d e a lin g s w h atev er w ith th e co u n ty .

On t h i s same day f iv e w arra n t books o f 1907

d isa p p e a re d from th e A u d ito r’ s o f f i c e .

Mr. Sahm th e n inform ed

th e Com m issioners o f th e s i t u a t i o n i n h is o f f i c e .

At a m eeting

o f th e t h r e e C om m issioners, th e A u d ito r and P ro s e c u tin g A tto rn e y , Emmett S. Huggins a d m itte d making out th e w a rra n ts in q u e s tio n . He s a id t h a t he had made o u t th© w a rra n ts to in d iv id u a l employees o f a c o n s tr u c tio n firm doing work f o r th e county because " i t was d e s ir e d t h a t i t n o t ap p e a r t h a t th e firm was g e t t i n g to o much work from th e c o u n ty ."

Huggins a d m itte d t h a t he had drawn one

13 w arra n t on an im proper fund b e c a u se , he s a id , th e p ro p e r fund was to o low a t th e tim e .

Huggins d enied any knowledge w hatever

o f th© m issin g w a rra n t books.

The News o f t h a t day s t a t e d

*fHuggins i s a young man, th© s o n -in -la w o f K. G. Moore, a member o f th e co unty c o u n c il.

H is r e p u ta tio n h as been c l e a n . ”

One o f th e Com m issioners (n o t s p e c if ie d ) e x p re s se d co n fid e n ce in H uggins, sa y in g t h a t Huggins “co u ld e x p la in th e m a tte r o f $ th e w a rra n ts and would do s o . 7?Q Such c o n fid e n c e , how ever, was n o t w e ll fo u n d ed , f o r H ugginsf s to r y was q u ic k ly ex p lo d e d .

One o f th e men to whom

a w arra n t was made o u t was c a lle d to th e A u d ito r1s o f f i c e ; th e o th e r a lle g e d w a rra n t h o ld e r was in C a lif o r n ia and c o u ld not be re a c h e d .

At th e A u d ito r’ s o f f ic e th e f i r s t man s t a t e d t h a t

he had done no work w h atev er f o r which th e co u n ty , even i n d i r e c t l y , sh o u ld pay him; he f u r t h e r s a id t h a t he had n o t re c e iv e d o r sig n ed any coun ty w a r ra n ts .

He d en ied t h a t th e s ig n a tu r e on th e w arran t

had been made by him . P ro s e c u to r Hooten s a id t h a t a gran d ju r y was needed.

P ol­

ic e were s ta tio n e d in th e A u d ito r’ s o f f ic e a t n ig h t to p re v e n t any f u r t h e r d isa p p e a ra n c e o f o f f i c i a l r e c o r d s .

The I n d ia n a p o lis

News on F eb ru ary 15, 190$, m entioned t h a t ’’Humors o f a lle g e d cro o k ed n e ss were p l e n t i f u l about th e co u rth o u se t o d a y .”

An e d i­

t o r i a l in t h a t p ap e r th e same day s t a t e d i t s s u s p ic io n s o f th e form er county a d m in is tr a tio n . --------------------

-

I n d ia n a p o lis Hews, F ebruary 14, 190$.

14 We th in k th e people o f M arion County now r e a l i z e how w ise was t h e i r a c tio n in e l e c t i n g Mr* Sahm a u d i t o r , th u s making a b reak in th e r in g w hich has f o r y e a rs governed th e county

... *

Of c o u rse t h i s i s a case f o r th e g ran d j u r y , h e a v in g , th e n , th e q u e s tio n of c r im i n a li ty t o be s e t t l e d by t h a t body, we o n ly say now t h a t we have a case h e re o f b u s in e s s management t h a t r e f l e c t s s e r io u s ly on a l l th o s e —-the l a t e a u d i to r and th e county com m issioners*-w ho had any o f f i c i a l r e l a t i o n to th© a f f a i r . On F eb ru ary 17* 190$, a grand ju r y was summoned and Judge James A* P r itc h a r d o f th e C rim in al C ourt gave i t s p e c ia l i n s t r u c t i o n s co n c ern in g a lle g e d f r a u d u le n t paym ents mad© in th e A u d ito r* s o f f i c e .

A Mews e d i t o r i a l o f th e same d a te ask ed :

What we w ish t o know i s th e names o f th e men who have th u s been ro b b in g th e p eople o f M arion C ounty. A lso th e people w ish to know how i t was t h a t such r id ic u l o u s and c r im in a lly c a r e le s s me­ th o d s o f tr a n s a c t i n g th e p e o p le 1® b u s in e s s were p e rm itte d by / t h e co m m issio n ers/ &nd ^y A u d ito r C l a r k . . . . We know, to o , t h a t u n d er th© sy stem , o f w hich we have le a r n e d much in th e l a s t few d ay s, alm o st any s o r t o f lo o tin g o r g r a f t i n g was p o ss­ ib le . O th er in fo rm a tio n was bro u g h t to l i g h t by th e gran d j u r y . The money p a id to th e A u d ito r f o r th e making o f p l a t s had in ­ c re a s e d from 11,000 in 1904 to #$,500 in 1907.

hone o f th e

b i l l s f o r p l a t making p re s e n te d by th e A u d ito r d u rin g 1905 and 1906 s e t o u t th e a c tu a l number o f

d e s c r ip tio n s f o r which th e

b i l l was supposed to pay; a l l were made out in a s #100, #300 o r #500.

round sums, such

Th© c o a l b i l l s f o r th e county power

house v a r ie d betw een |6 0 0 and $1,200 m onthly, a lth o u g h th© en­ g in e e r t e s t i f i e d t h a t th e amount o f a sh e s removed each month

15 was s u b s t a n t i a l l y th e same*

I t was l a t e r found th a t th e c o a l

b i l l s were h ig h e r in th e summer months th a n in th e w in te r . The com m issioners p a id $775 Tor an x - ra y machine f o r th e J u l i e t t a H o s p ita l f o r th e In s a n e , even tho u g h th e p r ic e on th e open m arket was o n ly $1*55•

The S u p e rin te n d e n t d en ied

t h a t he had made any r e q u i s i t i o n f o r such a m achine, and none was fo u n d .

When he re c e iv e d th e m achine, th e S u p e rin te n d e n t

had c a lle d Com missioner iieGaughey about i t .

The Commissioner

a s s u re d hiza t h a t e v e ry th in g was ”a l l r i g h t ” and d ir e c te d him to approve th e r e c e i p t .

His a p p ro v a l on th e r e c e i p t , th e S u p erin ­

te n d en t. s a i d , was to mean no more th a n t h a t th e machine had a r ­ r iv e d in w orking c o n d itio n . The most im p o rta n t d is c o v e ry , how ever, concern ed th e l e t t i n g o f a c o n tr a c t t o su p p ly b o i l e r s and pumps f o r th e county power h o u se .

The o n ly b id was by th e A tla s Engine

Company; no c o n tr a c t betw een t h a t firm and th e county co u ld be d isc o v e re d by th e C om m issioners. Meanwhile newsworthy e v e n ts o c c u rre d .

The County Com­

m is s io n e rs p e t itio n e d th e County C ouncil to a p p r o p r ia te $1,000 to pay "two com petent e x p e r t s ” t o examine th e C ountyTs b o o k s. The p e rs o n n e l o f th e grand ju r y came un d er d is c u s s io n .

I t was

d isc o v e re d t h a t one member had been a c u s to d ia n o f th e c o u rt h o u s e , and i f he had rem ained on th e g ran d ju r y he would have p a sse d upon some o f h i s own a c t s .

A nother member was a p a r tn e r

w ith h i s b r o th e r in a lum ber firm t h a t had re c e iv e d money from

16 th e c o u n ty .

M oreover, hi© b r o th e r , a form er m ailm an, had been

s e n t to p r is o n on th e te stim o n y o f A u d ito r A lb e rt Sahm when he m s P o stm aster* I t was th e developm ents stemming from th e l e t t i n g o f th e A tla s Engine Company c o n t r a c t , how ever, which to o k th e h e a d lin e s in th e I n d ia n a p o lis p a p e rs ,

H uggins, who had been a r r e s t e d on

a f o rg e ry ch arg e on F ebruary 20 , was f u r t h e r ch arg ed w ith b r ib ­ e ry and c o n s p ira c y t o commit b r ib e r y .

Two County C om m issioners,

one o f whom, McGregor, was s t i l l s e r v in g , were a ls o ch arg ed w ith b r ib e r y and th e s o l i c i t i n g o f a b r i b e , a s were s e v e r a l o f f i c e r s o f th e A tla s Engine Company,

The p r e s id e n t of th e company, who

had been v i s i t i n g in C a lif o r n i a , h a d , a c c o rd in g to h i s w ife , gone on t o v i s i t in A u s t r a l i a , Emmett Huggins s t a t e d t h a t he d id n o t in te n d to become a " f a l l g u y ,"

His a tto r n e y aro u se d p u b lic i n t e r e s t in th e case

f u r t h e r by s a y in g , a c c o rd in g to th e I n d ia n a p o lis S ta r o f March 5, " I f t h a t boy /H u g g in s / t e l l s what he knows, he w i l l blow th e s l a t e r o o f o f f o f th e e o u rt h o u s e ," Huggins soon a d m itte d s t e a l i n g a t l e a s t #5,000 from th e county by fo rg in g and c a sh in g more th a n f i f t y w a r r a n ts .

F u rth e r

b e tr a y a l o f p u b lic t r u s t was assumed b ecau se he had a # 9 ,0 0 0 bank a c c o u n t, though h i s s a la r y had n e v e r exceeded #75 a m onth. The A tla s Machine Company salesm an t e s t i f i e d t h a t he had g iv e n a check f o r # 3,$00 to Huggins to b rib e th e County C om m issioners, The company a u d i to r o f th e A tla s Company p re s e n te d th e c a n c e lle d

17 check.

H uggins, In a sta te m e n t to th® P ro s e c u to r, ad m itted

t h a t h@ had re c e iv e d th® check and th a t he had p a id Commis­ s io n e r McGregor #$00*

On th e day t h a t Huggins and th e A tla s

men t e s t i f i e d t h a t Commissioner McGregor had been g iv en th@ #$00 b r ib e , a d e p o s it s l i p o f McGregor*®, f o r ap p ro x im ately #$00, mad® out th e same day, was p re s e n te d as e v id e n c e . m issio n e r McGregor was found not g u i l t y .

Com­

The o r i g i n a l b id of

th e A tla s Machine Company had been # 1 5 ,0 0 0 .

When H uggins,

a lle g e d ly a c tin g f o r some o f th e Com m issioners, demanded th e # 3 ,$ 0 0 b r ib e , th e company added an a d d itio n a l #1,900 to i t s b id f o r ^ p r o f i t ” . W ithin fo u r days o f th e f i r s t p u b lic a tio n o f th e s c a n d a l, th e County Commissioners s t a r t e d a c tio n to g e t th e f a c t s on th e conduct o f p u b lic b u sin e ss in Marion County.

They p e titio n e d

th e county c o u n c il to a p p ro p ria te # 1 ,0 0 0 to pay ”t\tfO com petent e x p e r ts ” t o examine th e c o u n ty 1s f in a n c ia l r e c o r d s .

W ithin two

weeks th e County C ouncil had mad© $ 5 ,0 0 0 a v a ila b le f o r th e in ­ v e s tig a tio n .

A ll county r e c o r d s , s t a r t i n g w ith th o s e o f Decem­

b e r 3 1 , 1907, were to be in v e s tig a te d . was to be c a r r ie d was not s p e c if ie d .

How f a r back th© study Th® ”e x p e r t s , ” as y e t un­

named, were to be under th e d ir e c tio n o f th e Com missioners a t a l l tim e s .

T h e ir r e p o r ts , when com pleted, should go to th e

Com m issioners.

An In d ia n a p o lis O tar e d i t o r i a l , March 3 , 190$,

o b je c te d t o th e arran g em en t.

id

I t does seem as i f a bo ard o f county com­ m is s io n e rs , one o f whom i s u n d e r a r r e s t and a l l o f whom a r e u n d er in q u ir y , m ight h e s i t a t e about a p p o in tin g e x p e r ts to i n v e s t i g a t e them­ se lv e s* I t m ight o cc u r to them , we sh o u ld s a y , t h a t a v in d ic a t io n so o b ta in e d m ight form th e b a s is o f a su b seq u en t u n sy m p ath etic comment• On t h a t same day L* E» Parm alee and 0* D. L o ck h art were a p p o in te d by th e Board o f County Com m issioners to exaraine th e c o u n ty ’ s f i n a n c i a l re c o rd s* 'The raost s i g n i f i c a n t ev en t in th e M arion County s i t u a ­ t i o n o c c u rre d on March 9 , 1903, when th e M e rc h an ts1 A sso c ia­ t i o n o f I n d ia n a p o lis to o k an a c tiv e p a r t in a id in g th© i n v e s t i g a ­ t i o n and p ro se c u tio n * e Th© M erch an ts’ A s s o c ia tio n o f I n d ia n a p o lis was founded in 1393,

I t was and I s a n o n - p r o f it o r g a n iz a tio n w hich was

founded t o f o s t e r trad© and commerce, to encourage e t h i c a l mer­ c h a n d is in g , t o su p p ly f a c i l i t i e s f o r d is c u s s io n betw een v a r io u s m erchant g ro u p s a s a b a s i s f o r th© s o lu tio n o f t h e i r m utual problem s, to su p p o rt community and c i v ic p r o je c ts *

I t in v e s ti­

g a te s a d v e r t is in g media and s o l i c i t a t i o n s , m a in ta in s a c r e d i t bureau and a p r o te c tiv e d iv is io n a g a in s t s h o p l i f t e r s , bad c h e c k s, and f ra u d u le n t charging** Th© M erch an ts’ A s s o c ia tio n " ta k e s no p a r t in p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y w h atev er now," Mr* Murry H* M o rris , p r e s e n t manager o f th© a s s o c ia tio n to l d th e w r i t e r .

H© s a id t h a t o n ly once in th e

p a s t f o u rte e n y e a rs had he ap p eared b e fo re a l e g i s l a t i v e com m ittee* No A s s o c ia tio n re c o rd s p re v io u s to 1916 have been p re s e rv e d .

19 Th© M erchants5 A sso c ia tio n ag reed to c o n tr ib u te £2,500 to h ir e an a tto rn e y t o a s s i s t th e County P ro s e c u to r in th® g r a f t cases*

W. G. Babbs, Ford L* Mayer, and Fred M. Ayres

were th® com mittee who c a lle d on Judge P ritc h a r d to a s c e r ta in th® d e s i r a b i l i t y o f such a move*

The a c tio n was in resp o n se

to th® County C o u n c il1® r e lu c ta n c e to a p p ro p ria te such a sum* On A p ril 13 , 190$, however, th e c o u n c il d id make such an ap­ p ro p ria tio n * E e te n tio n o f James W* N oel, I n d ia n a p o lis a tto r n e y , by th e Merchants* A sso c ia tio n to a s s i s t in th e in v e s tig a tio n s by Parmalee and L ockhart was o f f a r - r e a c h in g s ig n ific a n c e *

For

Noel*s p a r t in c r e a tin g th© S ta te Board o f A ccounts i s a most s i g n i f i c a n t one*

The s p e c if ic d a te t h a t he was a s s ig n e d to

t h i s p a r t i c u l a r job can n o t be a s c e r ta in e d .

The second c la u se

o f th© Commissioners* p e t i t i o n to th e C ouncil f o r #10,000 to c a rry on th e in v e s tig a tio n s m entions Noel: W hereas, By and th ro u g h th e work of s a id e x p e rts and County A tto rn ey John 0* E uckelshaus and Mr. James W* N oel, s p e c ia l co u n sel f o r Marion in m a tte rs p e r­ ta in in g t o th e i n v e s tig a tio n , th© county has reco v e re d from v a rio u s p erso n s la r g e sums of money***.9 In h is speech on th e T w en ty -F ifth A n n iv ersary Banquet program ,"^ Noel s t a t e s "They /M erchants* A s s o c ia tio n / f i n a l l y induced th e ^ In d ia n a p o lis S ta r , August 21, 190$• ^ Q n Jan u ary 5, 1935, a banquet was giv en by th e F ie ld Ex­ am iners* A ss o c ia tio n to c e le b r a te th e tw e n t y - f if th a n n iv e rs a ry o f th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts. A ste n o g ra p h e r was a s sig n e d by Mr. O tto Je n se n , th e n a Deputy S ta te Exam iner, to ta k e an account o f th e p ro c e e d in g s. M a te ria l from th e s e p ro ceed in g s w i l l be r e f e r r e d to as XXV A n n iv ersary P ro c e e d in g s. \

County Commissioners t o employ th e sp e ak er as a deputy county a tto r n e y ) w ith o u t pay*

The M erchants7 A sso c ia tio n p aid him.

Noel was p a r t i c u l a r l y w ell equipped to a id in th e in v e s tig a tio n o f county o f fic e s * James W, N oel, Purdue U n iv e rs ity g ra d u a te and l a t e r a member of th e Board o f T ru s te e s o f t h a t i n s t i t u t i o n , took h is law degree a t th e In d ia n a Law School in I n d ia n a p o lis .

Though a

very s u c c e s s fu l p r a c t i t i o n e r o f p r iv a te law , he had a g r e a t in ­ t e r e s t in p u b lic a f f a i r s .

A R ep u b lican , he serv ed one term in

th e S ta te House o f R e p re s e n ta tiv e s in 1&99*

In 1903, Noel

. . . conducted a p u b lic in v e s tig a tio n o f th e a f f a i r s o f th e c i t y o f In d ia n a p o lis which r e s u lt e d in th e overthrow o f th e a d m in is tra tio n a t th e n ex t e l e c t io n and te m p o ra rily purged th e c i t y o f much c o rru p tio n and many a b u se s. In 1905 th e Governor ap p o in ted him as one o f th r e e members o f a commission to in v e s tig a te s t a t e a f f a i r s and th e c o n d itio n o f In d ian a in su ran c e com panies. Mr. Noel took d ir e c tio n o f t h i s movement and devoted th e l a r g e r p a rt o f a y e a r t o I t s su c c e s s , which r e s u lt e d in th e removal o f th e A u d ito r o f S t a t e , S e c re ta ry o f S ta te and th e A d ju tan t G eneral and th e reco v ery o f hundreds o f th o u san d s to th e S ta te t r e a ­ s u r y ., . .T2 Noel seems to have been alm ost u n iq u e ly q u a l if i e d to supply th e i n i t i a t i v e to th e movement which would cu lm in ate in th e e sta b lish m e n t o f th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts, Summing up th e Marion County S can d als, Noel s a id , "As a r e s u l t o f t h a t in v e s tig a tio n more th a n f or t h e S t a t e o f f i c e s , i n s t i t u t i o n s , b o a r d s , bu­ r e a u s ^ ,and c o m m issio n s, c o u n ty , c i t y , to w n , and to w n s h ip o f f i c e s , a l l o f w hich h ave b een d i s t r i ­ b u te d t o t h e p r o p e r o f f i c i a l s . - 3 1 ( I n s t a l l a t i o n o f a b u d g e t sy ste m u n d e r t h e p u b l i c f

*

a c c o u n ti n g la w i s t y p i c a l o f Mr. Hendren *s method o f i n t e r \

'

p r e t a t i o n o f t h e la w .y The power t o d e v i s e fo rm s and r e c o r d s f o r ' t h e r e c o r d i n g o f . f i n a n c i a l t r a n s a c t i o n s was c l e a r l y a proced u ral m a tte r.

But t h e c r e a t i o n ' o f a b u d g e tin g sy stem

would be a s c l e a r l y a s u b s t a n t i v e m a t t e r . (The u t i l i t y o r a d v a n ta g e o f a b u d g e t sy stem i s , f o r t h e moment,- b e s i d e t h e p o in t.

The r e a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n h e r e i s w h e th e r t h e ag ency

had t h e power t o i n s t a l l b u d g e t i n g . d o es n o t a p p e a r v e ry p e r s u a s iv e *

Mr. H en d ren ! s argu m en t

Such a s y s te m , h o w ev er,

was i n s t a l l e d , and n o t on an o p t i o n a l b a s i s , a s shown b elo w . The a d o p t i o n o f t h e b u d g e t sy stem a s p r e s c r i b e d 3 2 and i n s t a l l e d by t h i s D epartm ent i n t h e v a r i o u s o f ­ f i c e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e s t a t e s h o u ld mean a t o t a l s a v ­ in g t o t h e t a x p a y e r s o f a l a r g e sum a n n u a l l y and r e d u c e t h e ex p e n se o f e x a m in a tio n o f such o f f i c e s h y t h e S t a t e Board o f A c c o u n ts .33 3 ^-Hendren, S p e c i a l he p o r t . 1 9 1 6 , "p

17.

3 2 i t a l i c s are th e p re se n t w rite r * s . 3 3H endren, S p e c i a l R e p o r t . 1 9 1 7 . p . 33*

126 A means o f e v a lu a tin g th e e f f i c i e n c y of th e D epart­ ment i s g iv en by the r e p o r t s o f o u ts id e a c c o u n ta n ts .

On

J u ly 10, 1914, Governor Samuel R alston appointed Harry L. A rnold, from th e o f f i c e of th e A uditor of S t a t e , and John E. Reed of th e Farm ers' T ru st Company t o examine th e accounts o f th e S ta te Board of Accounts and th e Department.

The

a c c o u n ta n ts 1 r e p o r t was very fa v o ra b le to th e agency.

The

S ta te Examiner re v e a le d h i s g r a t i f i c a t i o n ; The commendation of th e p o lic y of t h i s board and th e complimentary mention as t o the e f f i c i ­ ency of th e deputy exam iners, o f f i c e f o rc e and f i e l d examiners a re e s p e c i a l l y g r a t i f y i n g . Con­ c e rn in g my p o lic y th e r e p o r t c o n ta in s th e fo llo w ­ in g , i f X may be pardoned f o r th e r e f e r e n c e ; 'Mr, Hendren1s p o lic y has been ho n esty , p r a c t i c a l e f f i - . ciency and economical b u sin e ss management.134 A r e p o r t to Governor James P. Goodrich by two more o u t­ sid e a c c o u n ta n ts who examined th e a g e n c y 's re c o rd s from J u ly 1, 1914 to June 30, 1917, was lik e w is e la u d a to r y ; We wish to commend th e e f f i c i e n c y of th e S ta te Examiner and th e two Deputy Examiners and th e o f f ­ ic e f o rc e under them. We f e e l t h a t they a r e succeed­ ing in hand ling th e many i n t r i c a t e problems t h a t ar i s e most s a t i s f a c t o r i l y and w ithout unnecessary fric tio n . We f e e l t h i s e f f i c i e n c y and i m p a r t i a l i t y i s g ra d u a lly b rin g in g home to th e public th e value of t h i s board and th e good work t h a t i s being' done by i t . That th e fo rc e o f f i e l d examiners i s competent and e f f i c i e n t i s shown by th e r e s u l t s o f t h e i r work as i n d ic a t e d by th e t a b l e s o f r e c o v e rie s h erew ith s u b m itte d .35 ^ H e n d r e n , 'Special^ rleport" 1 9 1 4 * P« 4 4 * 33Hendren, S p e c i a l R ep o rt. 1 9 1 7 . p. 3 7 .

127 W illiam C. Bobbs, Evans Woollen, Hugh Dougherty and James W, Noel j o i n t l y sen t a l e t t e r t o Mr. Hendren t h a t p r a is e d t h e work of th e agency very h ig h ly .

I t might

be assumed t h a t a group of men d e a lin g w ith t h e i r own c r e a ­ t i o n would weigh t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e i r id e a c a r e f u l l y . j

There w ere, however, no q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of t h e i r p r a i s e . The l a s t paragraph o f t h e i r l e t t e r i s i l l u s t r a t i v e o f th e to n e : The b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t s o f th e o p e r a tio n of t h i s law and th e f i n e a d m in is t r a tio n o f your departm ent cannot be reco u n ted in a s h o r t l e t t e r . The enactment of th e Accounting Law marks a new epoch in th e conduct o f p u b lic b u s in e s s , and we simply d e s i r e t o e x p ress our s a t i s f a c t i o n w ith th e p r a c t i c a l r e s u l t s which have ensued.36 Mr. Hendren p u b lis h e d in f u l l la u d a to r y l e t t e r s from th e p r e s i d e n t s o f th e In d ia n a S h e r i f f s ' A s s o c ia tio n , th e County S u rv e y o rs1 A s s o c ia tio n , and th e In d ian a T r u s te e s ' A sso c ia tio n . The S ta te E x am iner's own e v a lu a tio n o f th e e f f i c i e n c y o f th e agency he was d i r e c t i n g i s i n t e r e s t i n g .

He r e p o r t s :

The S ta te Board o f Accounts i s now approach­ ing th e z e n ith o f i t s am b itio ns and ach iev in g th e most m iracu lo us r e s u l t s o f e f f i c i e n c y and economy in th e p ro p e r s u p e rv is io n and examina­ t i o n o f th e 6,522 p u b lic o f f i c e s i n Indiana.37

35-------------------------------------------------------



Hendren, Fourth Annual R e p o rt. 1914, p. 15*

37Ib id . . p. 27 .

123 A weighing o f t h e evidence a v a i l a b l e f o r c e s one t o a g ree w ith Mr# Hendren and o t h e r s who co n s id e re d th e work o f th e agency#

A ll 6,522 p u b lic o f f i c e s and i n s t i t u t i o n s

were examined#

The amount o f r e c o v e r i e s in c re a s e d a n n u a lly ,

and th e o p e r a tin g expenses g e n e r a l l y d e c re a s e d , a s th e o u t­ s id e a c c o u n ta n ts T r e p o r t s show: Expense o f th e Department June 7 , 1913 to June 30, 1914

Ju ly 1, 1916 to June 30, 1917

1250,039

$162,960

J u ly 1 , 1914 to June 30, 1915

J u ly 1 , 1917 to Sept* 30, 1913 (15 mo. p e rio d )

#134,021

#195,563

J u ly 1 , 1915 to June 30, 1916

O ct. 1 , 1915 to S e p t. 3 0 , 1919

$171*165

#169,633

The r e c o v e r i e s o f p u b lic money i s d i f f i c u l t t o e s ta b ­ l i s h , f o r o r d i n a r i l y a la r g e sum a n n u a lly w i l l be l i s t e d as i n th e c o u r t s .

A pproxim ately sev en ty p e r cent o f such s h o r t ­

ages a r e re c o v e re d d u rin g th e p e rio d under c o n s i d e r a t i o n . Some o f th e sums under ffp en ding ” n a t u r a l l y are c a r r i e d over from e a r l i e r y e a r s .

(See ”iie c o v e rie s Made Under th e P u b lic

A ccounting Law, p . 129*) Although r e c o v e r i e s in c re a s e d and expenses decreased d u rin g Mr. Hendrenf s te rm , o nly in th e l a s t y e a r did th e

129 R ecoveries Made u n d e r t h e P u b lic A c c o u n t i n g Law Paid

Pending:

T o ta l

June 7, 1913 to June 30, 1914

i 174,331

3 96,111

3270,492

Ju ly 1 , 1914 to June 30, 1915

#113,903

I 39,123

#203,033

Ju ly 1 , 1915 to June 30, 1916

#109,329

#103,257

#212,536

Ju ly 1 , 1916 to June 30, 1917

#111,375

#130,300

#291,675

Ju ly 1 , 1917 to S ep t. 30, 1913

.193,957

#239,571

#433,523

Oct. 1, 1913 to Sept. 30, 1919

#275,504

#337,133

#612,642

money a c t u a l l y c o l l e c t e d exceed th e o p e ra tin g expense# The c o n t r ib u t io n s of Mr* Hendren were in h i s i n t e r p r e ­ t a t i o n o f th e law and h i s a p p l ic a tio n o f t h a t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n by th e p h y s ic a l exam inations and i n v e s t i g a t i o n s by th e f i e l d men; th e p u b lic a tio n o f p r ic e l i s t s and law c o d i f i c a t i o n s f o r t r u s t e e s and com m issioners, and o th e r u se fu l p u b lic a t io n s , such as P ro fe s s o r V e a l’ s; Hendren*s in s i s te n c e upon th e independence o f th e agency; th e requirem ent t h a t each two-man team be compe­ t e n t t o examine a l l o f f i c e s i n a t y p i c a l county; h i s r e s is ta n c e to th e examiner and c l e r k su g g e stio n .

His f o s t e r i n g o f th e

130 s a la ry l e g i s l a t i o n f o r lo c a l o f f i c i a l s i s lik e w ise n o t­ ab le .

A ll i n a l l , Mr. Hendren was an a m b itio u s , e n e r g e t i c ,

im a g in a tiv e S t a t e f x a m in e r .

Only a s a h i s t o r i a n i s he de­

f i n i t e l y s u b - s t a n d a r d , and such a c h a rg e i s an e x c e e d in g ly m inor o n e .

But he r e v e a l s t h a t he knew v e r y l i t t l e

of th e

h i s t o r y o f t h e agency he d i r e c t e d when he w rote •«* [ k j com m ittee o f b u s i n e s s and p r o f e s s i o n a l men su b m itte d t h e p r e s e n t a c c o u n tin g law to t h e l e g i s l a t u r e o f 1909, and r e q u e s t e d , th ro u g h a f r i e n d l y p r e s s , t h e s u p p o r t o f a l l p u b lic s p i r i t e d c i t i z e n s . As a r e s u l t 4 t h e law a s d r a f t e d W them was p a sse d w ith p r a c t i c a l l y no o p p o s i t i o n .do

3$~' H endren, S p e c ia l R e p o r t. 1 9 1 6 . p . 6 . p r e s e n t w r i t e r 7s .

i t a l i c s a re th e

CHAPTER ? MR* ESCHBACK*3 TERM:

1919*1923

Jess© E. Eschback, a lawyer and a l e g i s l a t o r , was ap po in ted S ta te Examiner by Governor Goodrich to succeed Mr, Hendren. ic e .

He was th e f i r s t Republican to hold the o f f ­

His d e p u tie s were Lawrence E. Qrr, R epublican, W alter

A. Owens, Democrat. Not being an a c c o u n ta n t, Mr* Eschback, according to s e v e ra l f i e l d men who served under hira, made p r a c t i c a l l y no changes in p o lic y and p rocedu re.

f o r a time very l i t t l e a t t e n ­

t i o n was p a id to th e home l o c a l i t i e s o f f i e l d men when a s s ig n ­ ments were made.

A fte r being re - a s s ig n e d to th e n o rth w este rn

p a r t of th e s t a t e and being c o n fid e n t t h a t he was not being d i s c i p l i n e d , Mr. W alter D» Schreeder t o l d th e w r i te r t h a t he c a lle d Mr* Eschback*s a t t e n t i o n t o th e f a c t t h a t h i s home was in E v a n s v ille .

Within a very sh o rt time he was r e lie v e d o f

h i s n o rth e rn assignm ent and given an o th er one much c l o s e r to h is home.

Mr# Schreeder sa id many o th e r f i e l d men found Mr.

Eschback t o be c o n s id e r a te and o b lig in g when he understood t h e i r problems. The Department i n h e r i t e d by Eschback was v ig o ro u s, a g g r e s s iv e , and competent. could perform them p r o p e r ly .

The f i e l d men knew t h e i r jo bs and The powers o f th e agency had

131

132

been co n stru e d in as wide a manner as was conceivable by Mr, Hendren,

The methodology o f th e f i e l d men had been

developing f o r n e a rly a decade.

I n t e r n a l l y , th e morale

was high; e x t e r n a l l y , th e agency had c o n s id e ra b le p r e s t i g e . Mr. Eschback*s p o lic y of not rocking th e boat seems t o have been an em inently s e n s ib le one.

Moreover, th e S ta te Exam­

i n e r had o th e r d u t i e s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . On January 13, 1920, Governor Goodrich summoned a s p e c ia l s e ssio n o f th e l e g i s l a t u r e to r a t i f y Amendment XII to th e C o n s titu tio n of th e United S t a t e s .

Mr, Eschback,

Speaker o f th e House o f R e p re s e n ta tiv e s in th e r e g u la r s e s s io n , ag ain took th e c h a i r . One a c t o f t h i s s p e c ia l s e s s io n was to c r e a te a g re a t d e a l of work and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r th e S ta te Examiner, and was t o show th e esteem in which th e l e g i s l a t o r s now held the Board o f Accounts.

This a c t c re a te d a S p e c ia l Coal and Food

Commission, which c o n s is te d o f th e members of th e S ta te Board of Accounts.^*

This commission w i l l be co n sid ered a t some

le n g th below. The S p e c ia l S ession of 1920 a ls o made l e g a l th e budget­ ing p r a c t i c e s f o r m unicipal c o r p o r a tio n s in tro d u ced by Mr, Hen­ dren under h i s a u t h o r i t y to p r e s c rib e uniform form s.

The S ta te

Board o f Accounts was fo rm ally charged w ith p r e s c r ib in g th e ^"Indiana A c t s , 1 9 2 0 . p. 1 4 4 .

133 b u d g e tin g form s t o be used*

2

The S even ty -S eco nd G en e ra l Assembly, which convened Ja n u a ry S, 1921, a p p r o p r i a t e d one th o u s a n d d o l l a r s to th e S t a t e Board o f A ccounts t o . . . d e f r a y t h e e x p e n se s n e c e s s a r i l y i n c u r r e d in t h e c o l l e c t i o n and c o m p ila tio n o f d a t a and t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f s c h e d u le s and recom m endations t o t h e s e v e n t y - t h i r d g e n e r a l assem bly o f I n d ia n a t o be u s e d In d r a f t i n g a g e n e r a l s a l a r y b i l l f o r th© s e v e r a l c o u n ty , c i t y , towns and tow n­ s h ip o f f i c e r s . ••*3 The b u d g e tin g a c t o f 1921 was th e most im p o r ta n t l e g i s ­ l a t i v e a c t i o n a f f e c t i n g th© S t a t e Exam iner s in c e t h e c r e a t i o n o f th e Board and t h e D ep artm en t. ’The b u d g et p r i n c i p l e , which Mr. Hendren had in tr o d u c e d i n I n d i a n a , by way o f t h e s id e d o o r, a s i t w ere, was f o r m a lly a d o p ted by t h e G eneral Assembly f o r t h e s t a t e d e p a rtm e n ts and i n s t i t u t i o n s i n 1921.

B ud geting f o r m u n ic ip a l c o r p o r a t i o n s ,

a s n o te d a b o v e , had been p r e s c r i b e d by t h e s p e c i a l s e s s i o n a year e a r l ie r .

The 1921 Budget A c t c l e a r l y gave t h e S t a t e Ex­

am iner a g r e a t d e a l o f power o v e r t h e s t a t e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e m ach in ery .

The p h r a s e o lo g y o f t h e a c t i s s t r o n g , and by i t

th e S t a t e Examiner was made one o f th e most p o w e rfu l o f f i c e r s i n th© E x e c u tiv e b ran ch o f governm ent.

The arran g em en t o f t h e

s e c t i o n s r e v e a l s , r i g h t from t h e f i r s t , th e r o l e o f th e S t a t e ^ I n d ia n a A c t s . 1920. p . 169. 3

Indiana A c t s . 1 9 2 1 . p . 303*

134 Examiner in th e bu d getin g p ro c e s s ; •*, be i t en a cte d by th e General Assembly of th e S ta te of I n d ia n a , That i n a d d i tio n t o h is o th e r d u tie s as now pro vided by law, th e S ta te Examiner o f th e s t a t e board of accounts s h a l l be a u th o r is e d and re q u ire d t o p re p a re , formu­ l a t e and submit t o th e Governor, f o r t r a n s ­ m ission t o th e General Assembly a budget r e p o r t and a budget b i l l as h e r e i n a f t e r p r e s c rib e d in t h i s A ct.4 i

The Act pro vided t h a t each s t a t e department and i n s t i ­

t u t i o n submit to th e S ta te Examiner on o r before October 15 in even numbered y e a rs th e s e v e r a l amounts n ec essary f o r i t s a d m in is t r a tio n , o p e r a tio n , m aintenance, and support f o r the coming biennium* lik e w is e required*

Other e s tim a te s f o r budgeting purposes were On or befo re the f i r s t of December the

S ta te Examiner was r e q u ir e d t o p u b lish a d e t a i l e d account o f s t a t e f i n a n c e s , w ith t h e probable estim a te d r e c e i p t s f o r th e coming biennium*

The S ta te Examiner then was r e q u ir e d to

examine and review a l l r e q u e s ts f o r a p p r o p r ia tio n s and then prepare a s t a t e budget r e p o r t and s t a t e budget b i l l f o r sub­ m ission t o th e Governor,

The S ta te Examiner was given g r e a t

d is c r e tio n a r y power by th e a c t inasmuch as he was re q u ire d to recommend th e sums t o be a p p ro p ria te d f o r each departm ent. In a d d i t i o n , t h e r e was t o be mad© d e f i n i t e recommendations by th e s t a t e examiner of th e s t a t e board of accounts r e l a t i v e t o th e f i n ­ ancing of e x p e n d itu re s recommended and how and in what manner th e r e s p e c tiv e amounts a r e to be r a i s e d , 5 g ^I b i d . . p. 3 7 5 . h b l d . . p. 3 7 # .

135 To empower a member of th e a d m in is t r a tiv e branch to th u s ad vise on a m a tte r t h a t i s th e very h e a r t o f th e l e g i s l a ­ t i v e p ro c e s s i s q u ite s u r p r i s i n g .

D is c re tio n a r y power of

r a i s i n g o r lo w ering e s tim a te s o f v a rio u s departm ents was c l e a r l y given th e S ta te Examiner, a s th e fo llo w in g g ra n t r e v e a ls : I f in th e p r e p a r a tio n o f th e budget, th e s t a t e examiner of th e s t a t e board o f accounts in h i s d i s c r e t i o n , s h a l l have recommended an in c re a s e or a d ecrease in th e a p p r o p r ia tio n e s tim a te d o r re q u e s te d by any department o f th e s t a t e government, he s h a l l in c lu d e in such budget r e p o r t a b r i e f e x p la n a tio n of th e r e a ­ sons which have in flu e n c e d h i s judgment in p ro ­ posing th e recominended in c r e a s e or d ec re ase a s th e case may be.® The d e c is io n making power o f th e S ta te Examiner on budgetary r e q u e s ts was f u r t h e r stren g th en ed by lin k i n g him w ith th e Governor t o h e a r e x p la n a tio n s of r e q u e s ts by v a r i ­ ous s t a t e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

E ith e r o f f i c e r could h e a r th e r e ­

q u e s ts , but th e S ta te Examiner was h e ld r e s p o n s ib le f o r formu­ l a t i n g th e budget. For perform ing th e s e a d d i t i o n a l s e r v ic e s th e S ta te Ex­ aminer was t o be p aid an a d d i t i o n a l $ 2 ,GOO a n n u a lly .

A bud­

g et c l e r k , who was t o r e c e iv e $3*600 a n n u a lly , was t o be appointed by th e S ta te Examiner w ith th e approval o f th e Governor.

F urtherm ore, th e S ta te Examiner was a u th o riz e d rfto

employ such o th e r a s s i s t a n t s as may i n h i s .judgment be n ec ess" " "

1



I b i d . , p. 37&»





I t a l i c s a re th e p re se n t w r i t e r ' s .

-

136 a r y . * . and, w ith th e ap p ro v al o f the Governor, to f i x th e compensation o f such a s s i s t a n t s . The budgeting forms were t o be p re sc rib e d nas th e S ta te Examiner o f th e S ta te Board o f Accounts in h i s d i s ­ c r e t i o n may deem b e s t c a lc u l a te d t o d is c lo s e an i n t e l l i g i b l e summary, u o f th e f i n a n c i a l needs o f th e v a rio u s departm ents of th e s t a t e , 7 This Budget Act o f 1921, as noted above, made th e S ta te Examiner one o f th e key o f f i c e r s in th e Executive branch o f s t a t e government, ?3uch wide d is c r e t i o n a r y powers g ra n te d him made him second only t o th e Governor in s t a t e ad­ m i n i s t r a t i o n . < The budgeting power and th e power of post a u d it over s t a t e department s r e a l l y made him th e key f ig u r e in s t a t e f in a n c e s .

Mr. E schback's te rm , however, was not to be one o f

s t e a d i l y in c r e a s in g power and su c c e ss.

There were a ls o t o be

s e t backs. Mr, Hendren’ s id ea o f th e a u t h o r it y g ra n te d h is o f f ic e by th e P ub lic Accounting Act of 1909, which i n t e r p r e t a t i o n was accepted by Mr. Eschback, was b ad ly s h a tte r e d by th e Ind ian a A ppellate Court.

In S ta te o f Indiana ex re I . Licking; Township

Glaiawe e t a l (30 In d. App. 147, no. 11,163, 1922) th e co u rt co n stru ed th e a c t of 1909 and i t s amendments th o ro u g h ly , and on n e a r ly every p o in t r u le d a g a in s t th e agency and i t s a u th o r­ ity . 7I b id . . p. 379.

137

The c a se developed from an ex am in atio n mad.© i n Lick­ in g Township, B la c k fo rd County, by Thad Major and H, W. C. F o sd ic k , f i e l d men.

On checking a com pleted s t r e t c h o f a s ­

p h a l t paving a g a i n s t th e c o n t r a c t u a l s p e c i f i c a t i o n s , th e y found t h a t t h e c o n t r a c t o r had f a i l e d t o comply w ith a number o f th e s t i p u l a t i o n s ,

Abraham L. Donaldson, a c i v i l e n g in e e r

f o r th e D epartm ent, a s s i s t e d on th e p h y s ic a l ex a m in a tio n . Some of th e s t i p u l a t i o n s t h a t had not been complied w ith were: only 62i f e e t o f c a s t i r o n c u l v e r t p ip e had been u se d , whereas th e c o n t r a c t c a l l e d f o r 33 f e e t ; 1,235 cu bic f e e t o f e a r t h was not e x c a v a te d , a s r e q u ir e d ; o n ly 166.3 to n s o f paving a s p h a lt were u sed , w hereas 205 t o n s had been s t i p u l a t e d ; i n ­ s te a d o f c o v e rin g th e h o t ( 3 0 0 ° F) a s p h a lt w ith lim e sto n e sc re e n in g and r o l l i n g im m ediately , t h e c o n t r a c t o r , in some c a s e s , d id n ot r o l l th e a s p h a l t w ith th e lim e sto n e s c re e n in g u n t i l f i v e days a f t e r p o u rin g .

I t was a v e rr e d by th e F ie ld

Examiners t h a t th e t o t a l damage s u f f e r e d by th e tow nship was # 7 ,3 9 3 .3 3 . The c o n t r a c t o r had been p aid by th e County A u d ito r w ith w a rra n ts a u t h o r iz e d by th e County Commissioners, who had a c te d on t h e ad v ic e o f th e County E ngineer and th e S u p e rin te n d ­ en t o f C o n s tr u c tio n .

The s t a t e ' s case was b ased upon t h e f a c t

th a t . . . t h e c o n t r a c t o r f a l s e l y r e p r e s e n te d t o them (th e two o f f i c i a l s named above) t h a t th e road had been

133 c o m p le te d a c c o rd in g to th e c o n tr a c t; t h a t by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s he p r o c u r e d th e m t o e x e c u te and f i l e c e r t i f i c a t e s o f c o m p le tio n .••• The A tto rn e y G e n e ra l i n s t i t u t e d th e

s u it in B la c k ­

f o r d C o u n ty a g a i n s t t h e c o n t r a c t o r an d h i s b o n d sm en .

The

c o n t r a c t o r ' s d e m u r r e r w a s s u s t a i n e d i n t h e B lack fo rd C o u n t y C i r c u i t C o u r t, a n d th e e a s e w as ta k e n t o th e A p p e lla te C o u rt. A tto r n e y G e n e r a l U, S . L e sh r e t a i n e d

D a le F , S t a n s b u r y , A . G.

E m s h w i l l e r , a n d , m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y , J a m e s W. N o e l t o a i d h i m * S i n c e 1909 N o e l h a d i n c r e a s e d t r e m e n d o u s l y i n r e p u t a t i o n .

He

h a d b e e n a p p o i n t e d b y A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l Wicker s h a m t o a i d t h e U n ite d S ta te s D i s t r i c t A tto rn e y in th e p r o s e c u tio n o f th e o ffic e rs o f th e

S t r u c t u r a l B r id g e a n d I r o n W o rk e rs U n io n f o r

c o n s p ir in g t o t r a n s p o r t d y n a m ite b e tw e e n 3 t a t e s t o b e u se d in th e d e s tr u c tio n

of l i f e a n d p r o p e r t y .

A fte r g e ttin g a

c o n v ic tio n in t h i s c a se a f t e r a th re e -m o n th t r i a l , re ta in e d by th e

N oel w as

s ta te o f C a lifo rn ia to a id in th e p ro se c u tio n

o f t h e M cN am ara b r o t h e r s i n t h e f a m o u s L o s A n g e l e s T im e s b o m b in g . tio n .

N oel had becom e an a tto r n e y w ith a n a t i o n a l r e p u ta ­

B e c a u se o f h i s p e r s o n a l p r e s tig e and h i s in tim a te know ­

le d g e o f th e c r e a tio n o f th e

b ill,

it

is assum ed t h a t h is p a r t

in th e p r e p a r a t i o n o f th e f i n a l b r i e f w as a le a d in g o n e . v ie w s e x p r e s s e d i n t h i s f i n a l b r i e f a r e ta k e n t o

be th e a g e n c y 's

b e st e f f o r t p re se n te d by th e b e st le g a l ta le n t a v a ila b le . v i e w s , h o w e v e r , w i l l n o t b e px’e s e n t e d u n t i l t h e

The

T hese

p re se n t d e c isio n

139 is

c o n s id e r e d , f o r th e y a p p e a r in b r i e f f o r a new t r i a l

b e fo re th e S ta te

S uprem e C o u r t, w h ic h w as r e f u s e d *

J u d g e E th a n A. D ausm an g a v e t h e o p in io n o f t h e c o u rt.

The A tto rn e y G e n e ra l c o n c e d e d t h a t th e a c t i o n w as

in stitu te d

under th e

s ta tu te s r e la tin g to th e a u th o rity of

t h e D e p a rtm e n t o f I n s p e c t i o n a n d S u p e r v is io n o f P u b lic O ff­ ic e s ; he f u r t h e r co n ced ed t h a t i f t h a t ag en cy had no pow er t o in s p e c t th e h ig h w a y , th e n th e r u l i n g o f th e c i r c u i t c o u r t w as c o r r e c t . The f i r s t

p o i n t t h e A p p e lla te C o u rt m ade w as t h a t th e

D e p a rtm e n t o f I n s p e c tio n an d S u p e r v is io n o f P u b lic O f f ic e s a n d t h e S t a t e B o a rd o f A c c o u n ts w ere s e p a r a t e

and d i s t i n c t

b o d ie s , and b o th w ere l e g a l l y d i s t i n c t fro m th e B o ard o f C e r t i f i e d P u b lic A c c o u n ta n ts*

The se c o n d p o in t d e a ls w ith

th e d e p a r t m e n t 's a u t h o r i t y : The s p e c i f i c p u rp o s e s so u g h t to be accom ­ p lis h e d a re a h ig h e r sta n d a rd o f a c c u ra c y and e f f ic ie n c y in a c c o u n tin g and r e p o r t i n g .... But N e ith e r th e c h i e f e x a m in e r n o r a n y o f h i s d e p u tie s can a llo w o r d isa llo v * , a p p ro v e o r d is a p p ro v e , any ite m o f e x p e n d itu re , o r ad­ j u d i c a t e any q u e s tio n o f la w o r f a c t ; f o r th e s i m p l e r e a s o n t h a t n e i t h e r t h e 1d e p a r t m e n t ' n o r a n y o f i t s m em bers h a s a n y j u d i c i a l p o w e r w h a ts o e v e r . F o r t h e sam e r e a s o n n e i t h e r t h e 'd e p a r tm e n t' n o r a n y o f i t s o f f i c e r s h a s any r i g h t t o r e v i e w t h e a c t i o n o f a b o a r d o f com ­ m i s s i o n e r s , o f a com m on c o u n c i l o f a c i t y , o r o f any b o a rd , c o u r t, o r o f f i c e r , a u th o riz e d by la w t o m ake a l l o w a n c e , f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f a l t e r -

1A0

i n g , r e v e r s i n g , o r a f f i r m i n g any a l l o w a n c e m ade b y a n y o f t h o s e a g e n c ie s * As th e

d e c is io n g o e s o n , th e pow ers o f th e a g e n c y

becom e le s s * E ach o f th e ab o v e-n am ed g o v e rn m e n ta l a g e n c ie s (th e B o a rd a n d th e D e p a rtm e n t) i s an a d m in is tr a ­ t i v e b o d y an d h a s no p o w er e x c e p t t h a t w h ic h i s e x p r e s s ly g r a n te d , p lu s w h a te v e r f u r t h e r p o w er, i f a n y , w h ic h i s g r a n te d by n e c e s s a r y i m p l i c a t i o n . The p o w e rs a n d d u t i e s o f th e s t a t e b o a r d o f a c ­ c o u n ts a re so c le a r ly d e fin e d by th e e x p re s s p ro ­ v i s i o n s o f th e s t a t u t e t h a t t h e r e i s no o c c a s io n f o r a d is c u s s io n o f th e m . They a r e o f su c h a c h a r a c t e r t h a t t h e y m ay b e d i s c h a r g e d f u l l y a n d c o m p le te ly w ith o u t th e a i d o f any im p lie d po w er; and th e r e i s no in tim a tio n o r s u g g e s tio n in th e s ta tu te th a t th e le g is la tu r e in te n d e d to g ra n t t h a t b o a rd any pow er w h a te v e r by im p lic a tio n ..* * F rom t h e l e g i s l a t i o n r e l a t i n g t o t h a t d e p a r t ­ m e n t, i t c l e a r l y a p p e a r s t h a t i t s p o w e rs and d u tie s a re lim ite d to th e su b je c t o f a c c o u n tin g and re p o rtin g . T h is r u lin g c o m p le te ly kn o ck ed o u t H en d ren * s i n t e r p r e t a ­ t i o n o f t h e a u t h o r i t y a n d d u ty o f t h e D e p a rtm e n t, w h ic h w e r e , he s a i d , t o b r in g " e f f ic ie n c y an d econom y in th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f p u b lic a f f a i r s ."

M r. H e n d re n s a i d t h a t t h e a b o v e s e n te n c e

d i d n o t g iv e a c l e a r i d e a o f " th e broad, s c o p e o f a u t h o r i t y , th e g e n e ra l p u rp o s e , th e g r e a t pow er f o r good t h a t i s e x e r c is e d by t h i s , th e m ost im p o rta n t d e p a rtm e n t in o u r s t a t e fro m th e

sta n d p o in t of e ffic ie n c y

To m ake t h e a u t h o r i t y p e rfe c tly c le a r,

govern m en t

and e c o n o m y ." ^

{or la c k o f i t )

Ju d g e D ausm an g o e s o n :

Hendren, S p e c ia l lie port „ 1917, p. 1.

o f th e agency

141 T h ere i s a b s o lu te ly n o th in g in any o f th e l e g i s l a t i o n r e l a t i n g t o t h i s s u b j e c t w h ic h te n d s in th e s lig h te s t d eg ree to a u th o riz e th e d e p a rtm e n t to c o n tr o l th e d i s c r e tio n o f any p u b lic o f f ic e r , a d m in is tra tiv e b o ard , o r o th e r g o v e rn m e n ta l ag en cy w h a ts o e v e r. o b i t e r d ic tu m o f th e to

c re a te an agency to

Judge i s to th e e f f e c t th a t

check th e

p u b l i c o f f i c e r s w o u ld r e q u i r e th e la w o f th e lic

sta te

re la tin g to

th e

d is c r e tio n a r y pow er o f re -w ritin g

of a ll th e

p o w ers an d d u t i e s o f p ub­

o ffic e rs* I t i s t o b e p r e s u m e d t h a t i f t h e leg is la tu r e w ere t o a tte m p t su c h a c o m p re h e n siv e a n d s e r io u s p r o j e c t , i t w o u ld n o t be u n m in d fu l o f c o n s t i t u ­ tio n a l p ro v isio n s* J u d g e D ausm an t h e n b ecam e c o n te m p tu o u s o f t h e a g e n c y ,

a n d , a t l e a s t by in f e r e n c e , o f th e l e g i s l a t u r e . th a t th e re

i s no e v id e n c e o f any in te n t to g r a n t pow er by

im p lic a tio n ,

" u n l e s s a n I m p l i e d g r a n t m ay b e i n f e r r e d f r o m

its o ffic ia l title *

I t m ust b e co n ced ed t h a t t h e l e g i s l a t u r e

s e l e c t e d a h ig h - s o u n d in g nam e f o r i t s to

He s t a t e s

o ffs p rin g ."

He g o e s o n

s a y t h a t a n a g e n c y a c t i n g a s t h e D e p a rtm e n t h a s b e e n a c t i n g

i s a v i o l a t i o n o f s e p a r a t i o n o f po w ers* The f i n a l f l i c k

o f c o n te m p t i s ;

T h ere can be no doubt t h a t th e l e g i s l a t u r e In ­ te n d e d t h a t t h e d e p a rtm e n t o f in s p e c tio n an d s u p e r­ v i s i o n o f p u b l i c o f f i c e s s h o u l d b e w h a t I s c o m m o n ly c a l l e d a *b u r e a u * — a s u b - d e p a r t m e a t o f t h e e x e c u ­ t i v e bran ch * T h is s ta te m e n t w as m ade in 1 9 2 2 , w hen i n 1 921 t h e

S ta te

E x a m in e r h a d b e e n m ade b u d g e t d i r e c t o r a n d c h a r g e d w ith p r e p a r -

142 in g a budget b i l l by th e le g is la tu r e *

In 1920 th e Board

had been g iv en th e r e s p o n s i b ilit y f o r d ev isin g a system to r e g u la te th e s ta te * s co a l in d u s try , in c lu d in g th e power to e s ta b li s h p ric e s*

From 1913 on th e l e g i s l a t u r e had en­

tr u s te d a d d itio n a l d u tie s to th e agency, and one p r a c tic e (budgeting) i n s t i t u t e d by th e agency had been en acted in to law* On th e s p e c if ic m a tte r a t hand, th e checking o f a com pleted highway a g a in s t th e c o n tra c tu a l s p e c if ic a tio n s to govern i t s c o n s tru c tio n , th e judge i s e q u a lly vehement and c a te g o ric a l* N e ith e r th e s t a t e board of acco u n ts nore th e departm ent o f in s p e c tio n and su p e rv is io n o f pub­ l i c o f f ic e s had a u th o rity to in s p e c t th e h ig h ­ way, o r to employ a surveyor or an en g in e e r f o r th a t purpose; nor did th e two a g e n cie s j o i n t l y have t h a t a u th o r ity . The a c tio n o f th e d e p a rt­ ment in t h a t re g a rd c o n s titu te s a p la in case of u su rp atio n * There i s n o th in g in th e s t a t u t e s which can p o s s ib ly be co n stru e d to a u th o riz e th e departm ent to in s p e c t p la n s f o r a proposed improvement o f a p u b lic highway, o r f o r th e con­ s tr u c tio n o f p u b lic b rid g e s o r b u ild in g s ; o r to in s p e c t any p u b lic highway a f t e r i t has been im­ proved, o r any p u b lic b rid g e o r b u ild in g a f t e r i t has been c o n s tru c te d . Such in s p e c tio n s a re w holly o u ts id e th e scope o f i t s a u th o r ity . The r ig h t o f th e A ttorney General to sue on b e h a lf o f m unicipal c o rp o ra tio n s where no s t a t e funds were in v o lv ed was d en ied .

F urtherm ore, th e A ttorney G eneral has a "sound d is c r e ­

tio n in th e m a tte r o f i n s t i t u t i n g a c tio n s under th e s t a t u t e . " He

i s n o t re q u ire d to i n s t i t u t e a c tio n a r is in g from sh o i'tag es

143 d isc o v e re d by th e F ie ld Exam iners,

F in a lly , such a c tio n s

by th e A ttorney G enera! can be only a g a in s t th e p u b lic o f f i c e r and wany o th e r p ro p er p erso n * n

The co u rt co n stru e d

^pro p er’* as a lim itin g word, and th e r e i s a stro n g im p lica­ tio n t h a t th e only wp ro p e rT’ person who might be jo in e d w ith a p u b lic o f f i c e r f o r th e purposes o f th e a c t would be h is bonding company*

In th e p re s e n t c a s e , sin c e th e a c tio n i s

not a g a in s t a p u b lic o f f i c e r but a p r iv a te c o n tr a c to r , no a u th o rity e x i s t s f o r such an a c tio n .

F urtherm ore, L icking

Township, a s a ta x in g d i s t r i c t , has no le g a l p e r s o n a lity , and th e r e f o r e no s u it could be brought in i t s name. A p e t i t i o n was f i l e d f o r a re h e a rin g on th e m a tte r. The agency1s e s tim a tio n o f th e damage done i t by th e A p p ellate Court i s made c l e a r in th e b r i e f f i l e d f o r a re h e a rin g : We r e s p e c tf u lly submit t h a t th e c o u rt in th e d e c isio n of th e above e n t i t l e d cause has committed s e rio u s e r r o r in a ffirm in g th e co u rt below in su s­ ta in in g th e d em u rrer.* * . The c o n s tru c tio n given to th e s o - c a lle d P u b lic Accounting Law, in th e o p in io n , i f i t should p r e v a i l, would serv e to im p air th e e f f i ­ ciency and c u r t a i l th e powers o f a most im portant p u b lic ag en cy .9 A s iz e a b le passage 011 th e background which prompted th e enactment o f th e P u b lic Accounting Law fo llo w s , w ith a p o in t by p o in t c h a lle n g e of Judge Dausman’ s o p in io n .

A re h e a rin g ,

however, was denied by th e A p p ellate G ourt, June 30, 1 9 2 2 . '

Q

' r ' ' .............................

'

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,r

'

'

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!

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S ta te ex r e l * L icking Township v. Claume, $0 Ind. App. 147, No. 11, 15?, P e titio n f o r R ehearing.

144 The s tr o n g e s t p le a to th e ju d ic ia r y , how ever, was a p e t i t i o n to th e Supreme Court f o r a t r a n s f e r o f th e case to t h a t c o u r t.

As n o ted above, i t seems reaso n ab ly sa fe to

assume th a t Mr. Noel had an im p o rtan t r o le in th e fram ing o f t h i s l a s t attem p t o f th e Department to be a b le to con­ tin u e th e p r a c t ic e s i t had used f o r th e p a s t decade.

T his

b r i e f i s th e c l e a r e s t and most e lo q u en t e x p o s itio n o f Fir. HendrenTs i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e law , and i t m e rits q u o tin g a t le n g th f o r t h i s re a so n . A p p ellan t contends t h a t th e Department o f In ­ s p e c tio n and S u p erv isio n o f P u b lic O ffic e s was c re a te d p rim a rily f o r th e purpose o f sa fe g u ard ­ ing and p re s e rv in g p u b lic funds and t h a t a l l o th e r q u e s tio n s are in c id e n ta l t h e r e t o . 10 A p p ellan t contends t h a t th e h is t o r y o f th e o r ig in and passage o f th e ac co u n tin g law . . . d em o n strates c o n c lu s iv e ly t h a t th e prim ary and, in f a c t th e s o le re a s o n , f o r th e e n a c t­ ment o f s a id law was th e d isc o v ery o f a g e n e ra l ’ 1’ o f th e p u b lic tr e a s u r y on a trem endous A p p ellan t contends t h a t . . . th e prim ary pur­ p o se, to which a l l o th e r s a re in c id e n t a l, was not th e keeping o f n ea t and a c c u ra te books but th e p r e s e rv a tio n and sa fe g u ard in g o f p u b lic fu n d s . 12 Judge Dausman had g ra n te d t h a t th e highway fund was a p u b lic fu n d , but he h e ld t h a t th e p re s e n t case d id not attem p t I n s t a t e ex r e l . L ick in g Township v . Clamme, $Q In d . App. 147, No. 1 1 , 163, Appeal to Supreme Court o f In d ia n a , p . 5. ^ I b i d . , p. 6. ^ I b ld .» p. 6.

145 t o r e c o v e r any o f t h a t fu n d . f o r dam ages. o f v ie w .

I t w as, he h e l d , a s u i t

But t h e s t a t e b r i e f c h a lle n g e d t h i s p o in t

" A p p e lla n t contend© t h a t t h e t r u s t fu n d w ould

n o t lo s e i t s c h a r a c t e r in th e h an d s o f a c o n t r a c t o r who se c u re d i t by f r a u d . The s t a t e *s b r i e f a l s o c h a lle n g e d t h e c o ta r t’ s i n ­ t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e d i s c r e t i o n o f l o c a l o f f i c e r s . A p p e lla n t c o n te n d s t h a t m is a p p r o p r ia tio n o r d iv e r s i o n o f p u b lic f u n d s , w here s e c u re d by con­ t r a c t o r s , by f r a u d o r o th e r w is e , i s n o t w ith in t h e d i s c r e t i o n o f any p u b lic o f f i c e r , a d m in is­ t r a t i v e b o ard o r any g o v ern m en tal b o ard w hatso­ e v e r .1 4 Judge Dausman had made a s tr o n g a t t a c k on th e power o f th e l e g i s l a t u r e t o c r e a t e an agency t h a t would have au­ t h o r i t y t o i n v e s t i g a t e th e e x e c u tio n o f p u b lic c o n t r a c t s l e t by com p eten t a u t h o r i t i e s .

Quoted i n p a r t i t r e a d s :

To concede t h a t th e l e g i s l a t u r e may c r e a te a d ep a rtm en t o f i n s p e c ti o n and s u p e r v is io n o f pub­ l i c o f f i c e s and endow i t w ith power to s u p e r v is e and c o n t r o l t h e t h r e e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d e p a rtm e n ts would be t o concede t h a t th e l e g i s l a t u r e h as power t o tr a n s f o r m o u r s t a t e governm ent from a r e p u b lic t o a d e s p o tis m .15 T h is argum ent o f Judge Dausman1s ech o es G overnor Mar­ s h a l l 1 s o r i g i n a l r e lu c ta n c e t o su p p o rt th e c r e a t i o n o f an i n ­ s p e c tin g and s u p e r v is in g a g e n c y .

The argum ent th e s t a t e b r i e f

u s e s t o c o u n te r t h i s one i s th e same t h a t Noel fo u n d e f f e c t i v e * 3I b i d . . p . 7 . 1 4 Ib id . . p. 9. 4 ^I b l d . . p . 1 0 .

a g a i n s t G o v e rn o r M a r s h a ll a t t h e M e rc h a n ts*

A sso c ia tio n

d in n e r in 1903. A p p e lla n t c o n te n d s t h a t u p h o ld in g th e pow er to i n v e s t i g a t e and r e p o r t a l l tr a n s a c t i o n s f o r th e p u rp o se o f u n c o v e rin g f r a u d and d is h o n e s ty conced ed no such pow er an d t h a t th e p r iv ile g e o f o f f ic e r s o f lo o tin g th e p u b lic tre a s u ry is n ot an e s s e n tia l fe a tu re o f a r e p u b lic .Id Ju d g e B ausm an h a d r u l e d t h a t t h e B o a rd a n d D e p a rtm e n t h ad no im p lie d p o w ers w h a ts o e v e r, b u t th e b r i e f a ll e g e s : A p p e lla n t c o n te n d s t h a t t h e D e p a rtm e n t o f I n ­ s p e c tio n and S u p e rv isio n o f P u b lic O ffic e s p o s­ s e s s e s im p lie d p o w ers n e c e s s a ry to an e f f i c i e n t e x e rc is e o f th e pow er e x p re s s ly c o n fe rre d on i t by s t a t u t e , and th a t th e e n tir e s ta tu te i s p re g ­ n a n t w ith th e m a n ife s t p u rp o se t o s a fe g u a rd and p re s e rv e p u b lic fu n d s .1 7 The o p in io n h a d h e l d t h a t , u n d e r th e a c t , a s u i t c o u ld be b ro u g h t a g a in s t o n ly a p u b lic o f f i c e r and any o th e r " p ro p e r" p e rso n , h o ld in g th e

"proper** w as a l i m i t i n g w o rd .

But th e

s t a t e b r i e f a r g u e s f o r a m ore l i b e r a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n b y p o i n t ­ in g o u t t h a t

"A ny p e r s o n who h a s m i s a p p r o p r i a t e d o r d i v e r t e d

p u b l i c f u n d s o r who h a s s e c u r e d p u b l i c f u n d s b y f r a u d i s a f p r o p e r T p e r s o n w i t h i n t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e a c t . 5* - ^ A f te r p o in tin g o u t th e d e s i r a b i l i t y , fro m th e p o in t o f v ie w o f t h e p u b l i c , o f g r a n t i n g a w id e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

of th e

po w ers o f th e B o ard a n d D e p a rtm e n t, th e b r i e f s t a t e s th e e r r o r in Ju d g e D ausm an’ s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .

147 th e o p in io n and d e c is io n o f sa id c o u rt l i m i t s th e p h ra s e , a l l acco u n ts and a l l f in a n c ia l a f f a i r s o f ev ery p u b lic o f f ic e and o f H e a r and every in ­ s t i t u t i o n as used in s e c tio n 75 46 i Burns a t . 3. 1914 (60-211 Burns 1933) to such a f f a ir s ' "as appears on th e fa c e o f th e acco u n ts o f th e o f f i c e r s *•. which c o n s tru c tio n f a i l s to g iv e th e term ’f in a n c ia l a f f a i r s ’ any meaning over and above t h a t ex p ressed by th e phrase ’a l l a c c o u n ts1 and th e re b y co n trav en es th e w ell s e t t l e d r u le o f c o n s tru c tio n th a t every word o f th e s t a t u t e w ill be g iven some meaning, i f poss­ ib le * (U. S. Cement c . v . Cooper 172 In d . 599-610, S tran g e v# Board 173 6 4 0 .)I9 The b r i e f c h a rg e s, in a d d itio n , th a t th e acceptance of an a d m in is tra tiv e agency’ s a c tio n s over a p erio d of tim e s ig ­ n i f i e s acq u iescen c e. The o p in io n o f sa id . . . c o u rt ig n o re s a long con tin u ed p r a c t ic a l c o n s tru c tio n o f th e s ta tu te by an a d m in is tra tiv e b o ard , o f which th e c o u rt has j u d i c i a l knowledge, and th e re b y co n trav en es th e r u le l a i d down in th e fo llo w in g case t h a t a p r a c t i c a l c o n s tru c tio n given a s t a t u t e o f long continued a c tio n and acquiescence th e r e in i s eq u al to p o s itiv e law . (Board v . B unting, 111 In d . 143» 1 1 2 0 ).2 0 The l a s t paragraph of th e b r i e f i s an eloquent s t a t e ­ ment o f th e d e s i r a b i l i t y o f allo w in g th e f i e l d men to make p h y sic a l exam inations o f p u b lic work done under c o n tr a c t. Does i t m a tte r by what means he (th e F ie ld Examiner) secu red th e ev id en ce; w hether he looked a t a document o r a t a s e t o f f ig u r e s o f somebody e l s e ’ s making, o r w hether he took th e documents which he found in th e County Commissioners’ o f f ­ ic e and w ith a s k ille d a s s i s t a n t checked th e highway to s p e c if ic a tio n s d ir e c tly ? The s ta tu te Ibid*, p. 16. 20I b id ., p. 17.

14$ does n o t mean th a t he must r e s o r t only to second hand knowledge upon which to b ase so im p o rtan t a th in g as a r e p o r t o f m isap p ro p ri­ a tio n o r d iv e rs io n o f funds* I f , by th e o r­ d in a ry r u le s o f c o n s tru c tio n , th e s t a t u t e can­ not be sa id t o g iv e him ex p ress powers to ex­ amine a highway o r schoolhouse to determ ine w hether p u b lic money h as been w asted o r s to le n , th en th e d o c trin e of im p lied powers comes to h is rescu e and we sta n d upon th e o ld p r in c ip le t h a t s u f f i c i e n t power always t r a v e l s w ith a s ta tu to r y g ra n t o f power to e f f e c tu a te th e g ra n t *21 Such elo q u en ce, however, was u n av ailin g *

The Supreme

Court re fu se d t o g ra n t th e p e t i t i o n f o r a h e a rin g . The o f f i c i a l re p o rt o f th e Department p u b lish e d in th e Year Book sim ply d is re g a rd s th e L icking Township d e c is io n a lto g e th e r*

The paragraph t i t l e d "A u th o rity o f th e B oard,"

f i r s t p u b lish ed by Hendren in 1 9 1 7 $ i s re p e a te d verb atim by Mr. Sschback and Mr. Orr in t h e i r annual r e p o r ts .

I t re a d s

in p a r t : The board o f acco u n ts does not co n fin e i t s a c t i v i t i e s e x c lu s iv e ly to th e a u d itin g o f acc­ ounts o f p u b lic o f f i c e r s and th e reco v ery of p u b lic funds which are knowingly o r u n w ittin g ly m isa p p ro p ria te d . A mere a u d it of p u b lic acc­ ounts w ill g iv e no id e a o f th e range o r magni­ tude o f th e i r r e g u l a r i t i e s and m a lp ra c tic e s which have o b ta in e d th ro u g h o u t th e S ta te in awarding p u b lic c o n t r a c ts , d is b u rs in g p u b lic funds and c a rry in g on p u b lic work. The o f f i c i a l a c ts o f th e departm ent have been based upon th e th e o ry , amply su sta in e d by th e ex p ress p ro v is io n s of th e acco u n tin g law , th a t ev e ry th in g should be done which w ill a id p u b lic o f f i c i a l s in p re v e n t­ in g th e w aste o f p u b lic funds and g u aran tee value re c e iv e d f o r each d o lla r o f p u b lic money expended ^ I b i d . , p. 25.

149 The o p e r a t i o n o f th e d e p a rtm e n t i n th e d i s ­ ch arg e o f t h i s a n c illa r y p u b lic fu n c tio n s y i e l d t h e m o st b e n e f i c i a l r e s u l t s . 22 An a c c o u n t o f f a i l u r e s t o m e e t s p e c i f i c a t i o n s o f p u b lic c o n tra c ts f o r th e c o n s tru c tio n o f ro a d s, b rid g e s , d i t c h e s , a n d o t h e r p u b l i c w ork fo llo w s * p r a c tic e s have b een e lim in a te d by th e

rfM a n y o f t h e s e

in v e s tig a tio n s and ex­

a m in a tio n s c o n d u c te d by t h e S ta te B o ard o f A c c o u n ts th ro u g h its fie ld

e x a m i n e r s a n d c i v i l e n g i n e e r s * Tf^

The co p y o f th e 1922 f e a r Book r e p o r t p r i n t e d i n 1 9 2 3 , m ay h a v e b e e n f i l e d b e f o r e t h e L i c k i n g d e c i s i o n w a s h a n d e d dow n, th o u g h i t

seem s h ig h ly im p ro b a b le *

B ut th e 1923 r e p o r t,

p r in te d in 19 2 4 , r e p r i n t s , a s s ta te d ab o v e, H en d ren f s i n t e r ­ p r e ta tio n o f th e la w , th e

in te r p r e ta tio n v ery la rg e ly in ­

v a l i d a t e d b y t h e L i c k i n g T o w n sh ip d e c i s i o n . The 1923 r e p o r t d o e s m e n tio n t h e a c t o f t h a t y e a r p e r ­ m i t t i n g I n v e s t i g a t i o n s w hen t w e n t y - f i v e t a x p a y e r s h a v e p e t i ­ ti o n e d t h e B o a rd , b u t K e n d re n f s sw e e p in g s ta te m e n t o f t h e a u ­ th o r ity o f th e agency i s re p rin te d v e rb a tim . S in c e th e o f f i c i a l p u b lic a tio n s f a i l e d to r e v e a l an y tra c e o f th e

D e p a rtm e n t’ s a d ju stm e n t to

J u d g e D a u s m a n ¥s L i c k ­

in g T o w n sh ip d e c i s i o n , p e r s o n a l i n t e r v i e w s w e re u s e d t o d i s ­ c o v e r th e

re a c tio n .

S e v e r a l f o r m e r e x a m i n e r s w ho h a d b e e n

w ith t h e D e p a rtm e n t a t t h e tim e o f th e d e c i s i o n f a i l e d to

22In d ia n a f e a r B ook, 1 9 2 2 , p . 147* ^ Ib id . , p. 14$.

re-

150 c a l l th e case a t a l l .

Even Mr. Thad M ajor, who was one

of th e exam iners making th e exam ination th a t fu rn is h e d th e f a c t s f o r th e c a s e , did not r e c a l l i t .

Though now

p a st $0 y e a rs o f a g e , Mr. Major r e c a lle d many cases and s i t u a t i o n s , some of which p re -d a te d th e L icking Township c a se , and d e sc rib e d them w ith v iv id n e ss and p r e c is io n . Mone o f th e F ie ld Examiners in te rv iew ed was a b le to r e c a l l th e c a s e , even though in Burns In d ian a S t a t u t e s . A nnotated. 1933i L icking v. Clamme i s c ite d th r e e tim es in I n te r p r e tin g th e powers o f th e Board and th e Department*

Mr. G reenberry

Lowe, a form er deputy, a t f i r s t d id not r e c a l l th e d e c is io n , but when he le a rn e d th a t Judge Dausman had given i t , he in fa m e d th e w r ite r t h a t th e d e c is io n was always r e f e r r e d to only a s "Dausman’ s d e c is io n ," by th e p erso n n el o f th e D epart­ ment.

The adju stm en t o f th e Department to th e sev ere r e ­

s t r i c t i o n s p la ced on i t by Judge Dausman was very sim p le, accord­ ing to Mr. Lowe.

The Department sim ply d isre g a rd e d th e d e c i­

sio n o f th e In d ian a A p p ellate C ourt. th e s ta te m e n t.

L a te r Air* Lowe q u a lif ie d

The prohibition a g a in s t h ir in g e n g in e e rs o r su r­

veyors was com plied w ith to th e e x te n t t h a t th e en g in e e r em­ ployed by th e Department was q u a lif ie d as a F ie ld Examiner through a s p e c ia l ex am in atio n .

A fte r h is appointm ent a s a

F ie ld Examiner he co n tin u ed h is work a s an en g in eer f o r th e De­ p artm en t.

T his happy s o lu tio n , according to Air*. Lowe, was o r i ­

g in a te d and executed by Mr. O rr,

151 To undo th e p o t e n t i a l damage o f th e L ick in g Township d e c is io n , th e D epai'traent tu r n e d t o th e S e v e n ty -T h ird G en eral Assembly (1 9 2 3 ).

The a g e n c y ’ s a tte m p t t o re g a in i t s o ld

pow er, p a r t i c u l a r l y o v e r l o c a l governm ent, was n o t e s p e c i­ a l l y p u b lic iz e d .

In h i s le n g th y M essage, Governor McCray does

n o t m ention th e Board o r th e D epartm ent. ( On Ja n u ary 23 Sena­ t o r Penrod in tro d u c e d S en ate B i l l Humber l B l , a b i l l c o n f e r r in g a d d i t i o n a l d u t i e s and powers upon th e s t a t e ex am in ers / s i c / , d ep u ty e x a m in e rs, f i e l d e x a m in e rs, and th e a tto r n e y g e n e r a l o f th e s t a t e , and p ro v id in g a d d i t i o n a l rem ed ies and p ro ced u re f o r r e c o v e r ie s and p r o s e c u tio n s , w ith r e s p e c t to p u b lic c o n t r a c ts and funds.... *4 The b i l l , a f t e r m inor amendments by th e J u d ic ia r y r?B" Com m ittee, was p a s s e d , f o r ty - tw o t o t h r e e . In th e House th e b i l l was amended f r e e l y , n in e d i s t i n c t amendments b ein g o f f e r e d on th e second r e a d in g .

T h is amended

b i l l was p a sse d on th e t h i r d re a d in g by a f i f t y - n i n e to seven­ te e n v o te .

On th e l a s t day o f th e s e s s io n , March 5 , 1923, Sena­

t o r Penrod moved t h a t th e S en ate co n cu r in th e House amendments, and th e m otion was a d o p te d . ( The a c t empowered th e Departm ent t o i n v e s t i g a t e p u b lic c o n tr a c ts and t h e i r e x e c u tio n , b u t o n ly a f t e r tw e n ty -f iv e t a x ­ p ay e rs had p e t i t i o n e d th e D epartm ent.

I n s p e c tio n o f th e com­

p le te d s t r u c t u r e was p e r m itte d , o r tw e n ty -f iv e p e t i t i o n e r s co u ld g iv e th e S ta te E xam iner th e power to r e q u ir e t h a t " a l l p la n s , ^ Indiana Senate J ou rn a l. 1,9.23, p. 121.

152

s p e c if ic a tio n s and e s tim a te s • • • b e su b m itted to him f o r c o r r e c tio n s and ap p ro v a l b efo re any such c o n tra c t be

The powers g ra n te d th e Department to in v e s tig a te p u b lic c o n tr a c ts and t h e i r e x e c u tio n by t h i s a c t were ample: The s t a t e exam iner, deputy exam iner o r any f i e l d exam iner when making such ex am ination o r i n v e s tig a tio n , s h a l l have th e r i g h t and i t s h a ll be h i s duty to exam ine, in s p e c t, and t e s t any and a l l such p u b lic w orks, b u ild in g s , o r s tr u c t u r e s in such manner a s he may see f i t , in o rd e r to de­ te rm in e w hether th e same have been o r a re bein g perform ed, b u i l t o r c o n s tru c te d acco rd in g to such c o n tra c t or p la n s and s p e c i f i c a t i o n s . ^ Any lo s s to th e s t a t e , m u n ic ip a lity , o r ta x in g o r a s s e s s in g d i s t r i c t could be made th e s u b je c t o f a s u it by th e A ttorney G eneral.

He could b rin g a c i v i l a c tio n a g a in s t n o t only

p u b lic o f f i c e r s and t h e i r bond but a ls o a g a in s t " c o n tra c to rs* bonds, s u re ty o r o th e r bonds, o r upon in d iv id u a l l i a b i l i t y , *#.«27

The blank check g iv en by th e L icking Township d e c i­

sio n t o c o n tr a c to r s to g r a f t on p u b lic c o n tr a c ts th u s was tak en away.

Where th e r e p o r t o f th e S ta te Examiner to th e

A ttorney G eneral d is c lo s e s any crim e in co n n ectio n w ith f a i l ­ ure to f u l f i l l a p u b lic c o n tr a c t, th e m a tte r i s to be g iv en to a grand ju r y .

And th e A tto rn ey G eneral i s to " d i r e c t ,

^ I n d i a n a A c ts . 1923, p . 321. ^ Ib id . . p. 322. ^ I b i d *, p . 3 2 2 .

153

s u p e rv is e , and a s s i s t in th e p ro se c u tio n of such crim e. In a d d itio n to th e in v e s tig a to r y power g ra n te d to th e S ta te Examiner by th e p e t i t i o n o f tw e n ty -fiv e I n te r e s te d ta x ­ p ay e rs, th e 1923 amendment a ls o gave him th e a u th o rity to I n i t i a t e in v e s tig a tio n s and exam inations in to c o n tra c ts and t h e i r com pliance.

I f th e in v e s tig a tio n re v e a le d th a t con­

t r a c t u a l req u irem en ts had been m et, th e expense o f such in ­ v e s tig a tio n should be p aid by ”th e s t a t e of In d ian a .»• from funds a v a ila b le f o r c o n tra c tu a l se rv ic e o f th e s t a t e board of acco u n ts* tr^ GOAL AND FOOD COMMISSION An im p o rtan t ta s k o f very c o n sid e ra b le m agnitude, as mentioned e a r l i e r , was p laced upon th e S ta te Board o f Accounts by th e G eneral Assembly in th e S p ecial S essio n o f 1920.

A

S p ecial Coal and Food Commission was c re a te d , and th e members o f th e S ta te Board o f Accounts

were named a s

th e c o m m is sio n e rs,^

The sh o rtag e o f co a l in

most p a r ts o f

th e s t a t e and of

th e country in 1920 was caused

by s e v e ra l th in g s .

abnormal demand f o r co a l had been c re a te d

by

in 1919 th e demand had decreased d r a s t i c a l l y . p ro d u c tio n , and a number ceased o p e ra tio n . ^ I b id .V p. 324. 29

I b i d . , p. 3 20,

^ Indiana A c t s . 1920, pp. 1 4 3 -3 3 ,

F i r s t , an

th e war.

E arly

Many mines cut

C onfronted by t h i s

154 economic u n c e r ta in ty , th e miners* union stru c k November 1, 1919, and rem ained on s t r i k e f o r s ix weeks.

The r e g u la r

sto c k p i l e s o f p r iv a te and p u b lic u s e rs o f c o a l were ex­ h a u ste d in t h i s p e r io d .

S h o rtly a f t e r th e m iners went back

to work th e ra ilw a y switchmen s tr u c k .

Since p r a c t i c a l l y no

sto ra g e space n e a r th e mines e x is te d , th e mines once again stopped o p e ra tio n s .

There was a t o t a l absence o f c o a l in a

g re a t many In d ian a com m unities, e s p e c ia lly in th e n o rth e rn and e a s te rn p a r ts o f th e s t a t e .

When th e r a ilr o a d s resumed

o p e r a tio n s , th e s i t u a t i o n was not m a te r ia lly e a s e d , because th e r a i l r o a d s , t h e i r equipment d e p le te d by th e g re a t demands o f th e war, could not s a t s i f y th e demand f o r c o a l c a r s .

The

d r a s ti c sh o rtag e o f an a b s o lu te ly b a s ic commodity prompted th e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e to c r e a te an a d m in is tra tiv e agency to make co al a v a ila b le to In d ian a communities th a t were badly in need o f i t . The tem porary n a tu re o f th e Commission was made c le a r by th e f a c t t h a t i t was to e x i s t only u n t i l March 31, 1 9 2 1 , u n le ss extended by subsequent l e g i s l a t i o n .

The Commission

was empowered to h ir e such e n g in e e rs , a c c o u n ta n ts, c l e r k s , and o th e r employees as i t th o u g h t n e c e ssa ry and to f i x s a l a r i e s f o r such em ployees.

The Commission was given re g u la to ry power

over co a l p ro d u c e rs, w h o le s a le rs , and r e t a i l e r s , in c lu d in g p r ic e f ix in g powers from p ro d u ctio n to th e consumer.

To pay th e ad­

m in is tr a tiv e c o s t, a l l mining companies had to buy a lic e n s e

155 c o s tin g |2 5 * 0 0 .

W holesalers* lic e n s e s co st te n d o lla r s ;

r e t a i l e r s * lic e n s e s f iv e d o l l a r s .

In a d d itio n , one c e n t

was le v ie d upon each to n o f co a l mined in th e s t a t e , to be p aid to th e s t a t e t r e a s u r y .

P e n a ltie s f o r f a i l u r e to

observe th e Commission*s r e g u la tio n s were e s ta b lis h e d . Coal iaoving in i n t e r s t a t e commerce was exempted from th e a u th o rity o f th e Commission, and one s e c tio n o f th e a c t provided t h a t th e F ed eral governm ent, i f i t extended i t s pow ers, would ta k e precedence o v er th e a c tio n s o f th e Com­ m issio n .

In a d d itio n to p ric e f ix in g , th e Coaimission should

have power t o e s ta b li s h a p r i o r i t y system f o r consum ers.

As

an a d d itio n a l d u ty , an a f te rth o u g h t o f th e G eneral Assembly, th e Commission was a ls o to in v e s tig a te th e h ig h c o s t o f fo o d p ro d u c ts by w h o l e s a l e r s , r e t a i l e r s , d e a l e r s . . . a n d m ake re c o m m e n d a tio n s to th e g o v e rn o r f o r t h e p r e ­ p a ra tio n o f a b i l l to be p re se n te d to th e con­ s i d e r a t i o n o f th e n e x t g e n e r a l a s s e m b ly reco m ­ m en d in g s u c h la w s a s w i l l p r e v e n t s a i d p r o f i t ­ e e r i n g , h o a r d in g a n d d e s t r o y i n g o f f o o d . . * .3 1

At i t s f i r s t m eeting th e Commission e le c te d Je sse Esehback as chairm an; Governor James P. G oodrich, v ic e chairman; and A u d ito r O tto K lau ss, s e c r e ta r y - tr e a s u r e r .

**The

chairman was g iv e n f u l l a u th o r ity to engage co u n sel and le g a l a s s is ta n c e and to employ e n g in e e rs ,

c le r k s , a s s i s t a n t s ,

anr

ac co u n ta n ts n e c e ssa ry in th e p ro p er

e x e rc is e o f th e l a w . ?*32

3^I b i d . . p . 152. 3^d ep o rt o f th e S p e c ia l Goal and Food Commission to the Seventy-Second G eneral Assembly. 1921, p . 1 .

156 Mr. E. D. Farmer of Bloom ington, one o f th e o r ig in a l F ie ld Exam iners, was put in charge o f th e a c c o u n ta n ts to d e te r ­ mine th e p ro d u c tio n c o s t o f co al in each In d ian a m ine.

A ll

lic e n s e e s were d ir e c te d t o ap p ear a t a h earin g in In d ia n a p o lis w ith evidence o f t h e i r c o s t o f o p e ra tio n .

On th e b a s is of th e

accountants* a n a ly s is o f o p e ra tio n c o s ts , th e commission is s u e d p ric e f ix in g o rd e rs to each p ro d u cer, w h o le s a le r, and r e t a i l e r o f co a l on O ctober 1 , 1920. O rder Number One fix e d th e p ric e a t th e mine mouth. Each mine had been p la ced in one o f fo u r g ro u p s, based upon th e c o s t o f p ro d u c tio n .

P ric e s ranged from th re e d o l l a r s a

to n f o r mine run t o f iv e d o lla r s and e ig h ty - f iv e c e n ts a to n f o r co a l o f p rep ared s iz e s .

I f th e p roducer m ain tain ed i t s

own s e l l i n g o rg a n iz a tio n i t was allow ed f i f t e e n c e n ts a d d i­ tio n a l on each to n .

According to i t s r e p o r t, th e Commission

allow ed l i b e r a l c o s ts and a reaso n ab le p r o f i t , so th a t i t could not be charged w ith c o n f is c a tio n . Order Number Two s e t f i f t e e n c e n ts a s th e maximu h an d l­ ing charge allow ed w h o le s a le rs .

T his charge could be made only

once, so t h a t th e co a l could not be s h if te d from one d e a le r t o an o th er w ith each adding h is h an d lin g ch a rg e . Though th e a c t provided th a t an appeal from any r u lin g o f th e Commission could be ta k en to th e Marion County C irc u it C ourt, no a p p e a ls were made on th e f i r s t two o rd e rs .

157 O rd er Humber T hree f ix e d th e m argin a llo w e d t h e r e ­ t a i l e r s a t two d o l l a r s and tw e n ty - f iv e c e n ts a t o n .

T h is

c h a rg e was t o c o v e r h i s e x p e n se s o f u n lo a d in g th e c o a l from th e c a r and d e l i v e r i n g i t to th e consum er*s c u rb . Between O cto b e r 5 , 1920, and December 3 1 , 1920, th e Commission p ro m u lg ated s ix t e e n p r ic e f i x i n g o r d e r s . The o r i g i n a l o r d e r number one was s u b s e q u e n tly m o d ifie d by t h e p ro m u lg a tio n o f e le v e n o th e r o r ­ d e r s chan g in g th e p r ic e f o r in d i v i d u a l m ines w here i t was shown to th e Commission t h a t th e o r i g i n a l g ro u p in g and p r i c e had n o t been e n t i r e l y e q u i t a b l e . 33 From th e l a t t e r p a r t o f Septem ber t o e a r l y November, com m unities w ith o u t c o a l c a l l e d on th e Commission f o r a s s i s t ­ ance.

Goal was sh ip p e d t o th e s e com m unities by p ro d u c e rs a t

th e s u g g e s tio n o f th e Com m ission.

On O cto b er 22 , 1920, th e

Commission is s u e d an o r d e r w hich p ro v id e d t h a t each p ro d u c e r must f u r n i s h a d e s ig n a te d amount o f c o a l f o r s t a t e co n su m p tio n . Weekly r e p o r t s were r e q u ir e d o f th e o p e r a t o r s , show ing th e con­ sig n e e and d e s t i n a t i o n o f a l l c o a l s o ld in th e s t a t e . S t i l l , n o r th e r n and e a s t e r n s e c t i o n s , w hich had depended upon o u t o f s t a t e c o a l s o u r c e s , were u n a b le to g e t s u f f i c i e n t c o a l; and such c o a l a s th e y d id r e c e iv e was a t n e a r ly p r o h i b i ­ tiv e p ric e s .

To meet t h i s em ergency, th e Commission u sed i t s

f u lle s t a u th o rity .

O rd ers were nd i r e c t e d t o a p a r t i c u l a r l y

named o p e r a t o r o r d e r in g him to s h ip a s p e c i f i c q u a n t ity o f c o a l

Ib id . . p. 7 .

153 to a d e s ig n a te d d e a le r , o f f i c e r , o r consumer in some d e s ig ­ n ated to w n .w34

Where p u b lic sch o o ls were s h o r t, th e c o a l

was consigned to a T ru stee or sch o o l o f f i c e r .

For dom estic

n ee d s, a lic e n s e d d e a le r re c e iv e d c o a l, w ith th e d ir e c tio n th a t he was t o s e l l In sm all q u a n t itie s so th a t a s wide a d i s t r i b u t i o n a s p o s s ib le was a t t a i n e d . Under th e emergency o rd e rs of th e Commission ap p ro x im ately 2150 c a rs o f c o a l were d i s t r i b u t e d to needy p o in ts in In d ia n a , and school and pub­ l i c u t i l i t i e s which were about to c lo s e were kept open and o p e ra tin g and in d iv id u a l consumers were p ro te c te d from s u f f e r i n g .35 The Commission s ta te d t h a t th e c i tiz e n s of In d ia n a were saved | 1 , 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 by i t s a c tio n s . A p e t i t i o n f o r an in ju n c tio n a g a in s t th e enforcem ent o f th e Commission*s a l lo c a tio n o rd e rs was f i l e d by th e Vigo Coal P roducts Company and th e V andalia Goal Company in th e U nited S ta te s D i s t r i c t Court on November 13, 1920. ju n c tio n was g ra n te d .

A p re lim in a ry in ­

The a c t i v i t y of th e Commission slowed

down c o n sid e ra b ly fo llo w in g t h i s a c tio n .

Many c o a l companies

re fu se d to pay th e tonnage ta x fo llo w in g th e g ra n t o f th e in ­ ju n c tio n .

T his a c tio n seemed to cause a wound th ro u g h which

th e v i t a l i t y o f th e agency d rain e d away. As an agency th e S p e c ia l Commission seems to have p e r­ formed m e rito rio u s ly , e s p e c ia lly c o n sid e rin g th e emergency w ith which i t was co n fro n ted and remembering t h a t i t had to s t a r t 34-I b i d . . p . 9. 35i b i d . . p . 1 0 .

159 w ith n o th in g b u t an empowering s t a t u t e .

To make th e s it u a ­

t i o n more d i f f i c u l t , th e a d m in is tra tiv e body was to have le g a l e x is te n c e f o r only a y e a r.

H e c ru itin g a s t a f f on such

n o tic e and ap p ly in g th e p ro v is io n s o f th e law in th e fa c e of such emergency c o n d itio n s c a lle d f o r a d m in is tra tiv e re so u rc e ­ fu ln e s s o f a high o r d e r . In th e o p in io n o f s e v e ra l f i e l d men who serv ed under him, Mr# Eschback was not an o u tsta n d in g S ta te Exam iner.

The

s u c c e s s fu l o p e ra tio n o f th e Department and i t s g a in in p r e s tig e was due t o th e d e p u tie s and th e s t a f f .

Mr, Eschback*s p o l i t i c ­

a l in flu e n c e and s k i l l , however, was o f v alu e to th e agency.

CHAPTER VI MR* OER’ S TERM;

1923-1933

Lawrence O rr, th e R epublican d ep u ty , re p la c e d Je sse Eschback a s S ta te Examiner*

The f i r s t S ta te Examiner to

r i s e from th e ra n k s , Orr was s p le n d id ly equipped f o r th e p o sitio n *

B efore jo in in g th e Department in 1915, he had

worked f o r a r a i l r o a d and a bank, and th en had been C ity C lerk o f Columbus, In d ia n a , f o r fo u r y e a rs .

He had had

f o u r y e a rs as a F ie ld Examiner and n e a rly a s many a s deputy b efo re he was ap p o in ted to succeed Mr. E schback.

Most v e t­

eran f i e l d men in te rv ie w e d by th e p re se n t w r ite r ag reed th a t Lawrence Orr was one o f th e b e s t o f th e S ta te Exam iners. The v e te r a n s 1 i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e i r s u p e r io r ’ s jo b was v ery sim p le .

P rim a rily , th e y f e l t th e S ta te Examiner had

to g et alo n g w ith th e f i e l d men and win t h e i r r e s p e c t.

Sec­

o n d a rily , th e S ta te Examiner had to en fo rce th e law on p u b lic o f f i c e r s , but lik e w is e he was n o t to o ffen d them , a t l e a s t not u n n e c e s s a rily .

Some S ta te E xam iners, th e y f e l t , have f a l l e n

down on b o th c o u n ts. Mr. O rr seemed t o win th e re g a rd and a f f e c tio n o f th e F ie ld Exam iners, and th e men in te rv iew ed by th e w r i te r s a id t h a t he had a b e t t e r u n d e rsta n d in g o f th e f i e l d men’ s prob­ lems th a n h is p re d e c e ss o rs had had.

160

Since Mr. O rr had been

161 a f i e l d man h im s e lf , t h i s g r e a t e r knowledge and sy m p ath etic u n d e rsta n d in g i s q u ite n a tu ra l*

One s to r y re g a rd in g O rr

had t o do w ith an atte m p t made t o cu rb th e work o f two f i e l d men by p o l i t i c a l p r e s s u r e .

A d i s t r i c t chairm an once storm ed

in to t h e o f f i c e o f th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts and demanded t h a t two f i e l d exam iners be removed from t h e i r assignm ent im m ed iately .

The u ltim atum was backed by a t h r e a t to ta k e

th e S ta te Exam iner and th e d e p u tie s b e fo re th e G overnor. O rr gave th e p o l i t i c a l le a d e r such a to n g u e - la s h in g , r e i n ­ fo rc e d by a t h r e a t to ta k e th e d i s t r i c t chairm an h im s e lf be­ fo re th e G overnor, t h a t th e p o l i t i c i a n f in is h e d by a p o lo g iz ­ in g and begging t h a t th e F ie ld E xam iners be k e p t on t h e i r assig n m e n t.

Such o v e r t p o l i t i c a l t h r e a t s , however, a re r a r e

in th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts. A nother in c id e n t in which two F ie ld Exam iners were in v o lv ed does n o t show Mr. O rr in such a fa v o ra b le l i g h t . In 1930 two f i e l d men, W alter D. S ch reed er and C arl G oble, were s e n t to th e Gibson County j a i l on a contem pt o f c o u rt c o n v ic tio n .

Though th e y were r e le a s e d a f t e r th r e e h o u rs, th e

in c id e n t was s e r io u s , and th e tre a tm e n t th e y re c e iv e d f r i g h t ­ ened o th e r F ie ld E xam iners.

One fo rm er f i e l d man t o l d th e

w r ite r t h a t a t t h a t tim e he had v ery r e c e n tly su b m itte d a r e ­ p o rt t h a t showed t h a t a ju d g e had allow ed a p ro s e c u to r f e e s in ex c e ss .of th e s t a t u t o r y l i m i t when he le a rn e d o f th e Gibson County c h a rg e s .

He added t h a t , p r o v id e n ti a ll y , th e judge con-

162 earned d ied w ith in a v ery s h o rt tim e .

But th e danger o f be­

ing j a i l e d , even though obeying th e law and e x e rc is in g o r­ d in a ry p ru d en ce, was a d is q u ie tin g and alarm ing p o s s i b i l i t y to f i e l d men. The Gibson County em broilm ent developed from a r e p o r t on a t to r n e y s ’ f e e s from th e drawing up o f p e t i t i o n s f o r th e c o n s tru c tio n o f d r a in s in Gibson County.

Two p a r t i c u l a r law­

y e rs perform ed th e le g a l work f o r n e a rly a l l th e p e t i t i o n s , and a P rin c e to n a tto r n e y , Hovey G. K irk , was a s p e c ia l judge f o r a number o f c a s e s . case was pending.

At th e tim e o f th e r e p o rt a d rain ag e

B efore f i l i n g th e r e p o r t w ith th e S ta te

Examiner, S chreeder and Goble subm itted th e r e p o r t t o Mr. K irk so th a t any o b je c tio n a b le m a tte r, from a j u d i c i a l p o in t o f view , might be d e le te d .

When th e s p e c ia l judge s a id t h a t

he saw n o th in g o b je c tio n a b le , th e r e p o r t was f i l e d .

Data

concerning a t to r n e y ’ s fe e s were o b ta in e d , however, by th e P rin c e to n and E v a n sv ille p ap ers from th e Gibson County r e c o rd s . Follow ing newspaper p u b lic a tio n o f th e f a c t s , th e two f i e l d men were charged w ith in d i r e c t contempt o f c o u r t. The s p e c ia l judge re fu s e d a change o f venue.

On th e

day th e y were re q u ire d to answ er, Schreeder and Coble were a s s is te d by Merle W all, a deputy a tto rn e y g e n e ra l, who drew up an answer f o r them .

S h o rtly a f t e r t h i s , a prom inent P rin c e ­

to n a tto rn e y was r e ta in e d by th e f i e l d men to a s s i s t them in

163 t h e i r defense*

He p rep ared an amended answ er, but th e c o u rt

re fu se d to c o n s id e r i t *

The t r i a l to o k s e v e ra l d ay s, w ith

th e two a tto rn e y s in v o lv ed in th e d itc h ca ses a c tin g as pro­ se cu to rs*

On O ctober 25, 1930, th e c o u rt found S chreeder

and Coble g u ilty o f contem pt, fin e d each of them #500 and sentenced them to 30 days in j a i l *

I f th e y had appealed to

a h ig h e r c o u rt th ey would have had to rem ain in j a i l u n t i l a h e a rin g d a te was s e t , f o r b a i l was n o t allow ed. During th e th r e e h ours th e f i e l d men were behind th e b a r s , t h e i r a tto rn e y s were in conference w ith th e s p e c ia l ju d g e . The judge d e liv e re d an ultim atum ;

a l l c o p ies o f t h a t p a r t i c u l a r

re p o rt must be r e c a lle d by th e S ta te Exam iner.

W alter Owens,

D eputy -S tate Examiner, ag reed by te lep h o n e to th e s e c o n d itio n s . When th e Department com plied, only t e c h n i c a l i t i e s rem ained. Court re c o rd s showed t h a t a new t r i a l was h e ld , and th e two F ie ld Examiners were h eld to be n o t g u i l t y .

I t was not n ec ess­

a r y , however, f o r S chreeder o r Goble to be p re se n t a t t h i s new tria l. Mr. S chreeder and Mr. Goble had reaso n to be concerned, as d id a l l o th e r f i e l d men, about th e la c k o f a s s is ta n c e given them by H ea d q u arters.

N e ith e r th e S ta te Examiner nor th e

d e p u tie s put in an ap p earan ce. Mr. Orr could have had th e A tto rn ey G eneral f i l e f o r a w rit o f p r o h ib itio n to have stopped th e Gibson County proceed­ in g s .

Given th e f a c t s , th e Supreme Court alm ost c e r t a in ly would

164 have had to g ra n t th e w r i t.

A t r i a l b e fo re an u n p re ju d ic e d

c o u rt m ight have brought a r u lin g t h a t would have stre n g th e n e d th e p o s itio n o f th e F ie ld Exam iners.

The s i t u a t i o n , however,

has n ev e r been co n sid e re d s e r io u s ly in th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts.

When r e c a lle d by th e men in th e agency a t th e tim e ,

th e Gibson County s i t u a t i o n i s c o n sid e re d as only a humorous happening.

R ath er s tr a n g e ly , sin c e Mr. Orr was a trem endously

p o p u lar S ta te Exam iner, a myth has developed about h i s r o le in th e a f f a i r .

One f i e l d man t o l d th e w r i te r t h a t , h e a rin g about

th e f i e l d men’ s em b arrassin g p o s itio n , Mr. Orr im m ediately drove to P rin c e to n and " ta lk e d 11 th e lo c a l o f f i c e r s out o f any attem p t to p ro se c u te th e F ie ld Exam iners.

Mr, S ch reed er, who i s in th e

b e s t p o s itio n to know, s t a t e s v ery p o s it iv e l y t h a t th e r e i s no b a s is w hatever f o r t h i s myth.

The o n ly person from M arion County

who ap p e ared , and th e n somewhat t a r d i l y , was th e law yer from th e A ttorney G en e ra l’ s o f f i c e .

The only p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f Headquar­

t e r s a t a l l seems to have been Deputy Owens’ accep tan ce of th e ju d g e ’ s u ltim atu m .

The whole ep iso d e r e f l e c t s no c r e d i t on th e

S ta te Exam iner. D esp ite t h i s b la ck mark a g a in s t th e to p d ir e c tio n of th e agency, Mr. Qrr i s v ery h ig h ly reg ard ed a s a S ta te Exam iner. His diplom acy, h is c o n s id e ra tio n f o r p u b lic o f f i c e r s , h is t a c t and f a i r n e s s were g e n e ra lly ag reed upon.

I t i s re p o rte d t h a t

a T ru ste e w ith a sm all problem was given th e same a t t e n t i o n , c o u rte s y , and a s s is ta n c e a s was g iv en t o th e d i r e c t o r o f a

la r g e s t a t e e s ta b lis h m e n t o r to a s t a t e o f f i c e r w ith p o l i t i c a l in flu e n c e * The s i t u a t i o n was awkward* l e s s b e fo re th e co u rt*

The f i e l d men were power­

Prompt s u rre n d e r by th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f

th e D epartm ent to th e c o u r t’ s p ro p o s itio n was th e o n ly p o s itiv e a s s is ta n c e re n d e re d th e F ie ld E xam iners. LEGISLATIVE ACTION When i t i s c o n s id e re d t h a t Lawrence O rr was a p p o in te d to th r e e te rm s — by G overnors McCray, L e s l ie , and Jackson — and serv ed somewhat more th a n te n y e a rs a s S ta te Exam iner, i t I s s u r p r is in g t h a t in t h a t decade th e work o f th e Board and Departm ent was r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e a f f e c te d by th e l e g i s l a t u r e . O Probably th e most im p o rta n t change was t h a t bro u g h t about by th e new b u d g etin g a c t o f 1 9 2 5 , but t h i s a c t a f f e c te d only th e S ta te E xam iner, not th e Department o f In s p e c tio n and S u p e rv isio n o f P u b lic O f f ic e s . The e a se o f th e c i t y o f I n d ia n a p o lis v . N atio n al C ity B ank,$0 In d . App. 6?7 (1923) o r ig in a te d i n 1917, when th e De­ partm ent was under th e d ir e c tio n o f G ilb e r t Hendren.

I t is

d isc u sse d h e re because th e a d m in is tr a tiv e a d ju stm e n ts to th e case had t o be made by Mr. Q rr.

An ex am in atio n o f th e o f f i c e

o f th e G ity C o n tr o lle r o f I n d ia n a p o lis re v e a le d t h a t c o n s id e r­ a b le pay r o l l padding had been done by th e s t r e e t com m issioner. T his o f f i c e r had c e r t i f i e d some e ig h ty fra u d u le n t claim s to th e Board o f P u b lic Works, who had allo w ed them .

The C o n tr o lle r

had th e n drawn w a rra n ts on th e G ity T re a s u r e r , who c o u n te rs ig n e d them and stamped on them th e name o f th e N a tio n a l C ity Bank. T his p u b lic d e p o s ito ry p a id th e w a rra n ts a s th e y were p r e s e n te d . The amount in v o lv e d was # 1 ,3 5 9 .

The c i t y f a i l e d , o r r e f u s e d , to

171

ta k e any le g a l a c tio n , and so a c tio n was begun by th e A tto r­ ney G en eral.

The a c tio n was an attem p t to re c o v e r th e funds

from th e p u b lic d e p o s ito ry . Judge Dausman, as in th e L icking Township c a s e , once ag a in r u le d a g a in s t th e agency in ev ery way p o s s ib le .

Any

chances o f reco v e rin g from th e p u b lic d e p o sito ry were q u ick ly e x tin g u is h e d .

Judge Dausman h eld t h a t :

"The c i t y o f f i c i a l s

were endowed w ith ample power to make allow ance and to is s u e o rd ers.

They a c te d w ith in th e scope o f t h e i r a u th o r ity and

t h e i r a c tio n s are b in d in g upon the m u n ic ip a lity , 11 Judge DausmanTs h o s t i l i t y tow ard th e Department i s r e ­ v ea led when he d is re g a rd s th e le g a l t i t l e given i t by l e g i s l a ­ t i v e a c tio n and r e f e r s to i t a s th e "bureau o f p u b lic acco u n t­ in g ."

The e f f o r t s o f th e F ie ld Examiners to sto p such g r a f t ­

ing were d isa llo w e d by th e ju d g e , who s a id : F ie ld Examiners checked th e names in th e o rd e rs w ith th e names in th e c i t y d ir e c to r y , in t h e i r e f f o r t to determ ine w hether the o rd e rs were fra u d u ­ l e n t l y is s u e d . Many p erso n s were in te rv ie w e d , sub­ poenas were is s u e d , and a grand ju ry in v e s tig a tio n was c o n d u c te d .. . , In an e f f o r t to prove th a t th e indorsem ents were f o r g e r i e s , sev en teen were c a lle d a s w itn e s s e s . Some o f th e names o f w itn e s se s were th e same a s , w hile o th e rs were s im ila r t o , th e names in some o f th e o rd e rs . . . th e s e w itn e ss e s t e s t i f i e d t h a t th e y d id not endorse th e o r d e r s , d id not re c e iv e th e proceeds t h e r e o f , and knew n o th in g about them—mere n e g a tiv e te stim o n y . A fte r d ism issin g such evidence as w o rth le s s , Judge Dausraan had to j u s t i f y h is a c tio n in not allo w in g th e o f f i c i a l r e p o r t

172 o f th e Department on th e o f f i c e s examined to be p re se n te d a s ev id e n c e .

T his a c tio n needed j u s t i f i c a t i o n , f o r th e law

re q u ire d t h a t such a r e p o r t be re c e iv e d in a l l c o u r ts o f th e s t a t e a s evidence o f th e f a c t s in th e case*

Not d e te r r e d , how­

e v e r, th e judge would n o t allo w i t s p r e s e n ta tio n .

He r u le d

th a t: The r e p o r t o ffe re d in evidence and excluded by th e c o u rt i s a voluminous document com prising 1 4 o pages o f t r a n s c r i p t *7 f t co v ers a l l th e f in a n c ia l a f f a i r s o f th e c i t y ••• and i t i s c e r t i f i e d by G. H, Hendren, S ta te Examiner, Only a very sm all p a r t o f i t has any re fe re n c e to th e m a tte r in v o lv ed in t h i s l i t i g a t i o n * While th e bulk o f i t i s u t t e r l y fo re ig n to th e c o n tro v e rsy in th e case a t b a r and might be a v a ila b le in an a c tio n a g a in s t th e c i t y o f f i c i a l s , i t c o n ta in s sta te m e n ts th a t would be p r e ju d ic ia l to th e d e p o s ito ry . The s t a t u t e r e l a t ­ ing t o p u b lic acco u n tin g c o n ta in s th e fo llo w in g : *Any such r e p o r t a s i s d e s c rib e d in t h i s s e c tio n , or a copy th e r e o f duly c e r t i ­ f ie d by th e s t a t e exam iner s h a ll be ta k en and re c e iv e d in any and a l l c o u rts o f t h i s s ta te a s evidence o f th e f a c t s in such r e ­ p o r ts s ta te d and c o n ta in e d . 7546 i Burns 1914, A cts 1909, p* 136 (Burns 1933, 602 1 1 , p. 227) f I t i s fundam ental t h a t th e l e g i s l a t u r e may not s t r i k e down th e r i g h t s o f c i t i z e n s by in v ad in g th e province o f th e j u d i c i a l departm ent o f th e s t a t e governm ent. While t h i s c o u rt i s n o t a u th o riz e d to d e c la re a s t a t u t e u n c o n s titu tio n a l, n e v e r th e le s s , where a s t a t u t e i s s u s c e p tib le of two c o n s tru c tio n s , one o f which would ren d er i t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l , and th e o th e r a s n o n c o n s titu tio n a l, i t i s our d u ty to adopt th e fo rm er. T h erefo re we hold th a t th e l e g i s l a t u r e in te n d ed to d e c la re th a t such r e p o r ts only as are found t o be com petent under th e e s ta b lis h e d r u le s of evidence and in th e p a r t i c u l a r kind o f a c tio n a u th o r7 I t a l i c s are the present w riter* s.

173

iz e d by th e s t a t u t e s r e l a t i n g to th e s u b je c t o f p u b lic a c c o u n tin g s h a ll be re c e iv e d by th e c o u r ts . T h is r u le o f Judge Dausman *s i s c i t e d by Burns In d ia n a S t a t u t e s , 1933, a s i n t e r p r e t a t i v e of how th e r e p o r ts o f th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts a re t o be used i n In d ia n a c o u r ts . Mr, Thad M ajor and Mr. H. W. G. F o sd ic k , who made th e lic k in g Township ex am in atio n w hich cu lm in ated in th e A p p e lla te C o u rt, found a $35 o v er payment in th e c i t y o f Columbus which got to t h e In d ia n a Supreme C o u rt. ^The c a s e , a s th e one fo llo w ­ in g i t , shows how th e f i e l d men must be w e ll v e rse d in th e law o f th e o f f i c e s th e y examine*/* The c a se o f th e C ity o f Columbus v , liynerson, 195 Ind* 620 developed from an ex a m in a tio n o f th e o f f i c e o f th e c i t y

c le r k o f Columbus.

Iiynerson, a s p e c ia l ju d g e , had charged

f iv e d o l l a r s f o r each case h e a rd , w hereas th e law seemed to allo w o n ly f iv e d o l l a r s a d ay.

The Supreme Court u p h eld th e

F ie ld Examiners* i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e law by r u lin g t h a t th e governing s t a t u t e p ro v id e s th e allow ance p e rm itte d t o a s p e c ia l judge o f a c i t y c o u rt o rg an iz ed p u rsu a n t to th e a c t co n cern in g m u n ic ip a l c o r p o r a tio n s . . . whe­ t h e r i t be such s p e c ia l judge i s named f o r a p a r t i c u l a r case on account of a change o f venue from th e r e g u la r judge o r i s ap p o in te d because o f th e tem p o rary absence o r i n a b i l i t y o f th e r e g u la r judge to a c t , and t h a t allow ance f o r such s e rv ic e s h a l l be f iv e d o l l a r s p e r day f o r th e tim e a c t u a l l y s e rv e d .

174 The n ex t c a s e , Marion Township o f Boone County v. Howard, 196 In d . 16? r e v e a ls th e F ie ld Examiners o b lig e d to apply law th a t would work a h a rd sh ip out o f p ro p o rtio n to th e o f fe n s e . An exam ination showed th a t a t r u s t e e used a room in a p r iv a te re s id e n c e a s a p la ce to tr a n s a c t p u b lic b u sin e ss and to s to r e p u b lic docum ents.

He c o n tra c te d , and h i s Ad­

v iso ry Board approved, t o pay $90 a y e a r r e n t , th e maximum allow ed by s t a t u t e ,

His la n d lo r d , however, was h im s e lf.

An

1&72 s t a t u t e p ro v id ed

t h a t any tow nship t r u s t e e who s h a l l , d u rin g th e tim e he may occupy such o f f i c e , b© i n t e r e s t e d , d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y , in any c o n tra c t f o r th e c o n s tru c tio n o f any sch o o l h o u se, b rid g e , p u b lic b u ild in g or work o f any k in d , e re c te d o r b u i l t f o r th e use o f any tow nship in th e s t a t e in which he e x e rc is e s any o f f i c i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n , o r who s h a l l b a rg a in f o r o r re c e iv e any p e rc e n ta g e , draw­ back, premium, o r p r o f i t s o r money w hatever, on any c o n tr a c t, o r f o r th e l e t t i n g o f any c o n tr a c t, w herein any tow nship i s concerned, on c o n v ic tio n s h a ll be fin e d and im prisoned in th e s t a t e p ris o n , No o th e r p la c e except h i s home was a v a ila b le to th e tr u s te e f o r $90 a y e a r.

The c o u rt re so lv e d th e d i f f i c u l t y ,

however, but th e d e c is io n i s so verbose and obscure t h a t , f o r b re v ity and c l a r i t y , two hendnotes are u sed , Headnote 3—Where, because o f am biguity in a s t a t u t e , i t s a p p lic a tio n to p a r t i c u l a r f a c t s would be extrem ely absurd o r r e s u l t in m a n ife stly u n ju s t consequences, th e c o u rts are a u th o riz e d to e n g ra ft an ex c e p tio n on th e s t a t u t e . Headnote 10—A tow nship t r u s t e e o f th e e ig h th c l a s s • . . may pay h im s e lf th e re n t f o r th e use o f a room in h is re sid e n c e as an o f f ic e when th e r e i s

175 no o th e r s u it a b le room In th e tow nship a v a ila b le which can be had w ith in th e amount a p p ro p ria te d f o r t h a t p u rp o se. The l a s t o f th e e a s e s t o be c o n sid e re d h e r e , a s n o ted above, in v o lv ed a c o n s id e ra b le amount o f money and re v e a le d Mr. O rr1s z e a l and s k i l l a s a p u b lic s e r v a n t. In 1.924, F ie ld Exam iners made a check o f th e books o f th e S ta te Highway Commission.

The Commission had been

p u rch asin g c a r s , t r u c k s , and r e p a i r p a r ts from an O tto F, S c h le n sk e r, and d u rin g th e tim e covered by th e e x a m in a tio n , th e amount p u rchased was ap p ro x im a tely $40 0 ,0 0 0 .

The Exam iners

found t h a t c e r t a i n a r t i c l e s o f m erchandise had been b i l l e d to th e S ta te and t h a t th e S ta te had made payment t h e r e f o r a t e x h o r b ita n t p r i c e s . As an in v e s tig a tio n c o n tin u e d , th e i r r e g u l a r i t i e s mul­ t i p l i e d . The ex c ess c h a rg e s In clu d ed d u p lic a tio n o f b i l l s , war t a x e s , b i l l i n g on a r t i c l e s g r e a t l y in e x c e ss o f l i s t p r i c e , and o th e r g ro s s ir r e g u ­ l a r i t i e s , in c lu d in g payment f o r a r t i c l e s which had n e v e r been d e liv e re d .® Mr. S c h le n s k e rf s a t t e n t i o n was c a lle d to th e o v erch a rg e s and o th e r i r r e g u l a r i t i e s by men from th e D epartm ent.

As th e

exam ination c o n tin u ed and the* s i t u a t i o n became re v e a le d more c l e a r l y , S c h le n sk e r became w o rrie d .

He f i n a l l y c o n fe rre d w ith

th e S ta te E xam iner, s t a t i n g t h a t he wanted to pay t o th e s t a t e th e amount t h a t he owed from h is d e a lin g s w ith th e S ta te High­ way Commission.

y

Since re c o rd s had been k ep t o n ly c a s u a lly by

......... ..... .......— ..... -—*-----------—-—

° S c h le n sk e r v . S ta te o f I n d ia n a ,$$ In d . App, 216.

176

both S ch le n sk er and th e S ta te Highway Commission, he was inform ed t h a t th e exam ination would have t o be com pleted b efo re a d e f i n i t e amount could be f ix e d .

He was t o l d , how­

e v e r, t h a t h is o v erch arg es were c lo s e to $50,000,

S ch len sk er

th e n " d e liv e re d to th e S ta te Examiner a c a s h ie r ’ s check f o r $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 , w ith th e u n d e rsta n d in g t h a t , i f he owed more, he would pay i t , and t h a t , i f he owed l e s s , th e d if fe re n c e would be r e ­ tu rn e d to h im ,”9 When th e exam ination was com pleted, S ch len sk er* s over­ charges were fo\md to be $51,309*

The A tto rn ey G eneral and th e

S ta te Exam iner, in co n feren c e, "accep ted th e o f f e r o f Mr* Schlen­ sk e r in th e sum o f # 5 0 ,0 0 0 a s s e ttle m e n t in f u l l o f th e above f in d in g s ," ^

Mr, S ch len sk er brought s u i t in th e In d ian a Court

o f Claims to re c o v e r, but th e s t a t e was u p h eld .

In th e A ppell­

a te C ourt, S ch len sk er contended th a t th e re c o rd shows t h a t t h r e a t s o f c rim in a l p ro se c u tio n were made, or a t l e a s t h in te d a t , and t h a t , by reaso n of th e s i t u a t i o n in which a p p e lla n t was p la c e d , he was e x c ite d and w o rried , and t h a t he i s e n t i t l e d to re c o v e r in t h i s a c tio n . I t may be presumed t h a t Mr. O rr t a c t f u l l y and d iplom at­ i c a l l y p o in ted out t o S ch le n sk er th e p o s itio n in which th e s h o r t­ ages put him.

T h at, "by reaso n o f the s i t u a t i o n in which th e

a p p e lla n t was p la c e d (by Mr. O rr) he was e x c ite d and w orried To e x p lo it t h i s m ental s t a t e to th e e x te n t where Mr. ^ Ib id . , p. 21$. •^ Ib id . , p. 21$.

177 S c h le n s k e r was in d u c e d t o pay #50>000 seems a p r e t t y c l e a r i l l u s t r a t i o n o f Mr* Q r r 's d ip lo m a tic a b i l i t i e s . The A p p e lla te C o u rt u p h e ld th e C ourt o f C laim s by p o in ti n g o u t th a t* T estim o n y o f many w i t n e s s e s , a s w e ll a s w r i t t e n e v id e n c e , was in tr o d u c e d i n t h i s c a s e , a n d , a f t e r a c a r e f u l e x a m in a tio n o f th e saiae, we f i n d t h a t t h e r e i s am ple e v id e n c e to s u s ­ t a i n th e d e c i s i o n o f t h e c o u r t on th e th e o r y t h a t th e money p a id was a v o lu n ta r y paym ent The c o l l e c t i o n o f $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 i s by no means i n s i g n i f i c a n t , b u t th e f i n e s s e and n e a tn e s s o f t a c t i c

used by th e s t a t e o f f i ­

c i a l i s o f more i n t e r e s t t o t h e s tu d e n t o f p u b lic a d m i n i s t r a ­ tio n .

Even th e v e r i e s t lay m an , how ever, can p e r c e iv e th e ad­

v a n ta g e , from t h e a g e n c y ’ s p o in t o f v ie w , o f h a v in g th e c i t i z e n a tte m p t t o c o l l e c t from t h e s t a t e r a t h e r t h a n th e s t a t e t r y i n g t o c o l l e c t from th e c i t i z e n .

17

n i b i d . . p . 219. 12

The work o f th e B oard and th e c o u r t s went f o r l i t t l e , how ever, f o r th e l e g i s l a t u r e re fu n d e d $ 3 6 ,3 0 7 S c h le n s k e r in 1941. I n 1939 a c o n c u r r e n t r e s o l u t i o n e s t a b l i s h e d a co m m ittee to i n v e s t i g a t e th e S c h le n s k e r m a t t e r . A f ir m o f p u b lic a c c o u n t­ a n t s was com m issioned t o make a n . a u d i t o f h i s d e a lin g s w ith t h e S ta te Highway C om m ission. T h is f i r m fo u n d S c h le n s k e r h ad o v e r­ ch a rg e d o n ly $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 , n o t $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 . The 1941 l e g i s l a t u r e g r a n te d S c h le n s k e r t h e r e f u n d s t a t e d above and p a id th e r e - a u d i t i n g ch arg e o f $ 3 ,5 0 0 . In 1949 t h e E ig h ty - S i x th G e n e ra l A ssem bly g r a n te d f u l l paym ent an d i n t e r e s t t o S c h le n s k e r . F o r th e p u rp o se o f f u l l y r e im b u r s in g O tto P . S c h le n s k e r th e amount o f f o r t y th o u sa n d t h r e e h u n d red f i f t y sev en d o l l a r s and f i f t y c e n t s found due him and i n t e r e s t t h e r e o n , two p e r c e n t p e r annum fro m J u ly 2 4 , 1924 t o d e c . 1 , 1 9 3 2 , t h e r e i s h e re b y a p p r o p r ia te d from th e I n d ia n a S ta te Highway fu n d th e sum o f t e n th o u s a n d tw o -h u n d re d e i g h t y - n i n e d o l l a r s and s e v e n ty c e n ts t o be made

173

S e v e ra l v e te ra n f i e l d men look back upon th e te n y e a rs o f Q rr’ s le a d e r s h ip a s a p a r t i c u l a r l y happy and s u c c e s s fu l one f o r th e agency.

Since th e re c o rd s show

n o th in g rem arkable about th e p e r io d , i t seems p ro b ab le t h a t such n o s ta lg ia i s based upon th e f a c t th a t i t was p rim a rily a p r e -d e p re s s io n , pre-McNutt p e rio d when th e agency was d ir e c te d f o r th e f i r s t tim e by a form er F ie ld Examiner whom th e y l i k e d , r e s p e c te d , and adm ired.

a v a ila b le f o r payment im m ediately upon th e ta k in g e ffe c t of th is a c t. (In d ia n a A c ts. 1949, sec 2 , d -1 . ) ‘ r Thus S ch len sk er reco v ered $47,096 from th e s t a t e , when th e most fa v o ra b le acco u n tin g f ig u r e found him to have o v erch arg ed th e s ta te # 1 0 ,0 0 0 . The D epartm ent, sta n d in g on i t s o r ig in a l a u d i t , which showed S ch len sk er to have overcharged more th a n #50,000, opposed th e p r iv a te l e g i s l a t i o n in h is f a v o r .

CHAPTER VII THE TERMS OF WILLIAM P. COSGROVE, 1933-1939, AMD EDWARD BRENNAN, 1939-1941 Lawrence Orr* a t h i r d term was te rm in a te d a b r u p tly , when two y e a rs o f th e appointm ent rem ained t o be served., by Governor Paul V, McNutt,

Mr, G reenberry Lowe, a deputy a t

th e tim e s ta te d th e a c tio n s u c c in c tly ;

"McNutt came in and

f i r e d th e l o t o f u s , ” The le g a l b a s is f o r G overnor McNutt’ s a c tio n was th e S ta te E x e c u tiv e -A d m in istra tiv e A ct,^ to g iv e I t i t s l e g i s l a ­ tiv e t i t l e .

Terms in more common usage a t th e tim e were

"E xecutive R e o rg a n iz a tio n ” o r "M cN utt's R e o rg a n iz a tio n ,” The in t e n t o f th e a c t , according to th e l e g i s l a t u r e th a t c re a te d i t , was ”to s im p lify th e laws p ro v id in g f o r th e o p e ra tio n o f th e e x e c u tiv e in c lu d in g th e a d m in is tra tiv e de­ partm ent o f th e S ta te o f In d ia n a , to e lim in a te d u p lic a tio n s o f a c t i v i t i e s , to e f f e c t econom ical re d u c tio n s in p e r s o n n e l . . . , ” In o rd e r to ach iev e th e s e en d s, th e Governor was given com plete power over n o n -e le c te d p e rso n n e l.

S ectio n 3 p ro v id ed ;

That th e te n u re o f o f f ic e o f each and every o f f i c e r , employee o r se rv a n t o f th e e x e c u tiv e in c lu d in g th e a d m in is tra tiv e departm ent o f th e S ta te o f In d ia n a , o f w hatsoever n a tu re and k in d 1Indiana A cts. 1 9 3 3 , pp. 7 -1 7 .

179

l£ o o f ap p o in tm en t, d e s ig n a tio n , o r employment . . . be and th e same i s hereby te rm in a te d a t th e p le a s u re and d is c r e tio n o f th e g o v ern o r, and In a l l e v e n ts not l a t e r th a n th e t h i r t i e t h day o f Ju n e, 1933**•• fhe lo s s o f independence which had p e rtu rb e d Mr, Hendren and a g a in s t which he had p r o te s te d so vehem ently tw enty y e a rs b e fo re became a f a c t .

The s ig n ific a n c e o f th e

lo s s o f independence, however, can be e a s ily over-em phasized. A c tu a lly th e Department o f In s p e c tio n and S u p erv isio n of Pub­ l i c O ffic e s dominated th e D iv is io n .

The o th e r ag e n cie s —

Board o f C e r tif ie d A ccountants and th e Budget Department — were so c lo s e ly connected and dependent upon th e Department or S ta te Examiner t h a t , i n t e r n a l l y , th e re was very l i t t l e change "^5 Since th e D iv isio n was in th e E xecutive D epartm ent, and th u s under th e s u p e rv is io n o f th e G overnor, th e r e l a t i o n s o f th $ S ta te Examiner and th e Governor rem ained s u b s t a n tia lly as b e fo re .

There was in te r v e n tio n in th e D ep a rtm en ts a f f a i r s

by Governor McNutt, p a r t i c u l a r l y in c u ttin g down th e f i e l d s t a f f and u t i l i z i n g th e a b i l i t i e s o f F ie ld Examiners in ta s k s o th e r th a n th e making o f ex am in atio n s.

But i t seems e n t i r e l y

probable t h a t such in te r v e n tio n would have o ccu rred w ith o u t th e lo s s o f independence.

I t can well be accounted f o r f i r s t ,

by th e p e r s o n a lity of Governor McNutt; second, by th e adverse

lB l economic c o n d itio n s o f th e p e rio d ; and, t h i r d , by th e changes in s t a t e and lo c a l a d m in is tra tio n c re a te d by th e Governor and th e le g is la tu r e -. One new duty was assig n e d th e D iv isio n .

The ta s k

o f com piling and e d itin g th e Year Book, th e S t a t i s t i c a l Re­ p o rt and th e R o ster was ta k e n from th e L e g is la tiv e R eference Bureau and g iv en to th e D iv isio n , under th e d ir e c tio n and r e s p o n s i b ilit y o f th e S ta te Examiner, whose r e s p o n s i b ilit y i t rem ains to d a y . W illiam P. Cosgrove was ap p o in ted S ta te Examiner; W alter G. Owens, Democratic d ep u ty , was re a p p o in te d , and Law­ rence F. Orr co n tin u ed in th e Department as R epublican deputy exam iner u n t i l h i s d e a th , which o ccu rred th e n ex t y e a r. Mr. Cosgrove appeared to be an o u tsta n d in g appointm ent by Governor McNutt.

In Marion County he had been Deputy C ity

C o n tro lle r and Deputy County T re a s u re r.

A fter ex p erien ce as

a f i e l d man, he had ta k e n leav e to serv e a s Deputy A u d ito r o f S ta te , where h i s re c o rd had been o u tsta n d in g . O tto K, Je n sen , who worked c lo s e ly w ith Cosgrove and who saw him a t c lo se range in h is g r e a t e s t t e s t i n g a s S ta te Examiner, t o l d th e p re s e n t w r i te r :

nThere has n ev er been a

man on th e s t a f f o f th e S ta te Board o f Accounts who had more a b i l i t y th a n Cosgrove. an a ly zin g a b i l i t y .

He had a b r i l l i a n t mind and an uncanny

He was loved by th e m en.,f

1$2 One o f th e problem s t h a t Mr. Cosgrove had to contend w ith , b u t was n e v e r to co n q u er, was t h a t o f m o rale.

An im­

m ediate re d u c tio n o f s t a f f , b o th f i e l d and h e a d q u a rte rs , was made.

!,We must now do th e work o f e ig h ty men w ith ap p ro x im ately

s i x t y , and we hope to red u ce expenses even more th r o u th th e p er diem o f men te m p o ra rily o f f th e f o r c e , ft Mr. Cosgrove w rote in h is f i r s t r e p o r t .

The p l i g h t o f F ie ld Exam iners d ism isse d or

l a i d o f f in th e m id st o f th e se v e re d e p re s sio n a f f e c te d th e men who r e ta in e d t h e i r jo b s .

As n o te d , some men r e ta in e d d id n o t

re c e iv e s te a d y a s sig n m e n ts, a s an economy move.

The Governor

was blamed p r im a r ily by th e F ie ld Exam iners who were no lo n g e r w orking, b u t, b ein g a McNutt a p p o in te e , Mr. Cosgrove re c e iv e d some o f th e blam e.

The s i t u a t i o n was f u r t h e r e x a c e rb a te d by

l e t t e r s to n ew sp ap ers, a tta c k in g th e Governor and th e D epart­ ment • The p re o c c u p a tio n w ith econom ical o p e ra tio n fo rc e d upon Mr* Cosgrove by th e tim e s and by th e Governor r e s u lt e d in a marked d e c re a se d c o s t o f o p e r a tio n . In 1932 th e t o t a l expense o f th e Department was $34$>229.04, o f which $3 1 4 ,9 $ 6 .3 6 went t o th e F ie ld Examiners and 133 ,2 4 2 .6 4 was a d m in is tr a tiv e ex p en se.

In 1934 th e t o t a l

o p e ra tin g expenses had been low ered to # 2 7 7 , 3 2 $ .

The f i e l d men

re c e iv e d # 2 4 9 , 3 6 $ and th e rem ain d er (# 2 7 , 9 5 9 ) went f o r ad m in is­ t r a t i v e ex p e n ses. t h a t o f 1932.

The 1934 o p e ra tin g c o s t was # 7 0 ,9 0 1 below

133 W hether th e Departm ent o p e ra te d a s e f f i c i e n t l y under Cosgrove a s i t d id u n d er O rr would be d i f f i c u l t to d e te rm in e . The com paring and w eighing o f p e rs o n a l v alu e judgm ents seemed o f l i t t l e w orth t o th e w r i t e r .

Comparing th e r e c o v e r ie s o f

two d i f f e r e n t y e a rs i s o n ly a rough gauge, s in c e th e t o t a l r e c o v e rie s f ig u r e i s a f f e c t e d by a g r e a t many t h i n g s , th e most sim ple b ein g t h a t i f s h o rta g e s do n o t e x i s t th e y can n o t be d is c o v e re d .

But even w ith th e ' lo s s o f tw enty men from th e

D epartm ent and th e low ered m o rale , ab u n d an tly t e s t i f i e d t o , th e D epartm ent tinder Mr. Cosgrove in 1934 had a n o ta b le r e ­ c o v e rie s f ig u r e — $ 5 6 0 , 0 2 1 . had been o n ly $ 402,593.

In 1932 th e r e c o v e r ie s f ig u r e

S u b tra c tin g th e t o t a l o p e ra tin g ex­

penses from th e t o t a l r e c o v e r ie s r e v e a ls t h a t in 1932 th e r e ­ c o v e rie s exceeded th e expenses by $ 5 4 , 3 6 4 . r e c o v e rie s f ig u r e was #560,021.

In 19 3 4 th e t o t a l

When th e o p e ra tin g expense

i s s u b tr a c te d , r e c o v e rie s exceeded expenses by $232,695* C a p itu la tio n 1932

1934

#314,936

#2 4 9 ,36 $

#402,593

# 560,021

Expenses F ie ld Exam iners O ffic e T o ta l T o ta l R e co v e rie s R eco v eries o v er Expenses

134 As s t a t e d above, such f ig u r e s sh o u ld be a c c e p te d w a rily b ecau se of many elem en ts not acco u n te d f o r .

But

th e y do show t h a t th e Departm ent co n tin u ed to work w ith some degree o f e f f ic ie n c y u n d er Mr. C osgrove, a t l e a s t d u r­ ing h is f i r s t te rm . S ince th e l e g i s l a t u r e and th e c o u r ts d id n o t a f f e c t th e Departm ent in any s i g n i f i c a n t way d u rin g th e CosgroveBrennan p e r io d , th e two a s p e c ts are lin k e d in one s e c tio n . The 1935 l e g i s l a t u r e s tr a ig h te n e d out th e r o le of th e A tto rn ey G eneral in S ta te Board o f A ccounts e a s e s .

When r e p o r ts a re

c e r t i f i e d to th e A tto rn ey G eneral by the S ta te Exam iner, ch arg ­ ing a p u b lic o f f i c i a l , a fo rm er o f f i c i a l , or any o th e r p erso n w ith having i l l e g a l l y r e ta in e d , f a i l e d to acco u n t f o r , o r ex­ pended p u b lic money and th e A tto rn ey G eneral b r in g s a c tio n f o r re c o v e ry , such a c tio n s h a l l be bro u g h t in th e name o f th e s t a t e upon th e r e l a t i o n o f th e A tto rn ey G eneral a s p l a i n t i f f . ^ 1934* Many o b se rv e rs contend t h a t an a u d it by th e board o f acco u n ts a t any tim e sub­ se q u e n tly would have re v e a le d a sh o rtag e in some amount l e s s th an th e t o t a l a lre a d y a d m itte d . Any s o r t of a u d it in th e in te rim , i t i s arg u ed , would have h a lte d th e l o s s e s t h a t d a ily were red u cin g th e cash b alan ce s o f th e Floyd County tr e a s u r y . L ate on th e job a f t e r th e lo s s e s have o c c u rre d , th e board o f acco u n ts has clamped th e l i d on th e t r e a s u r e r ’ s o f f ic e and th e p u b lic i s ex p e ctin g to rem ain in th e dark u n t i l th e powers th a t be decree t h a t th e f a c t s be made p u b lic o f f i c i a l l y . Though both th e c a n d id a te and th e new spaper a re R epubli­ cans a tta c k in g th e agency o f a Democratic a d m in is tra tio n d u rin g a campaign, th e blows a re s t i l l t e l l i n g .

When th e e le c tio n was

over, th e Hews co ntinued to keep th© f a u l t s and e r r o r s o f th© Department b efo re th e p u b lic . e d i t o r i a l was p u b lis h e d .

On November 3, 1933, a b i t t e r

139 The attem p t o f p o l i t i c a l c a n d id a te s and o th e r campaign le a d e r s to o b ta in in fo rm a tio n about th e fin a n c e s o f c e r t a i n p u b lic o f f ic e s a few weeks b efo re e le c tio n were d efeated* The s t a t e board o f a c c o u n ts , which i s supposed to be n o n -p a rtis a n and devoted s o le ly to se e ­ ing t h a t p u b lic money i s sp en t only a s th e law r e q u ir e s , announced t h a t i t s p o lic y i s to make no r e p o r t on a p u b lic o f f ic e w ith in t h i r t y days b efo re e le c tio n * The im p lied reaso n was th a t th e board wished to av o id th e s u sp ic io n o f tim ­ in g and s la n tin g i t s r e p o r ts to in flu e n c e th e outcome o f e l e c t io n s . How th e e le c tio n i s o v e r,* .* The board i s supposed to swing back to i t s custom ary pro­ ced u re. I f t h a t i s th e c a s e , i t should make p u b lic i t s r e p o r ts on th e o f f ic e s on which i t has w ith h eld in fo rm a tio n d u rin g th e t h i r t y days preced in g e le c tio n day. In view o f th e c r i t i c ­ ism d ir e c te d a t th e board f o r i t s f a i l u r e to p u b lish i t s r e p o r ts n o t only f o r th ix 'ty days but even f o r f o u r y e a rs , i t may w ell ta k e advan­ ta g e of th e o p p o rtu n ity to reach back in to th e dark c o rn e rs o f i t s f i l e s and make a l l i t s de­ layed r e p o r ts , i f any, a v a ila b le to th e people as th e law r e q u ir e s . The board should be i n te r e s te d in convinc­ ing Marion County v o te rs th a t i t i s not holding back any a u d its o f Marion County o f f i c e s . The campaign developed th e charge t h a t no re c e n t r e ­ p o rt o f th e county c le rk * s o f f ic e could be found. The eLection has not changed th e s i t u a t i o n . I f no a u d it has been made during th e l a s t fo u r y e a rs , why not? I f an a u d it has been made, has i t been p u b lish e d . I f n o t, why not? The q u e stio n s no lo n g e r inv o lv e anyonef s p o l i t i c a l f o r tu n e s . They r e l a t e only t o th e b o a rd ’ s o b lig a tio n under th e law and t o th e p e o p le ’ s r ig h t to a f u l l a u d it of t h e i r p u b lic o f f ic e s and a fra n k r e p o r t o f th e fa c ts . Less th a n a week l a t e r , developm ents from Floyd County put th e Department back on th e fro n t page.

The a c tio n o f th e

Floyd County grand ju r y , though m otivated to some e x te n t by

190 th e q u ite human d e s ir e t o sp read some o f th e blam e, was firm ly based upon inadequacy o r d e r e l i c t i o n o f two o f th e D epartm ent’ s F ie ld E xam iners,

N e ith e r th e grand ju r y n o r

th e I n d ia n a p o lis Hews was g e n tle w ith th e D epartm ent, b u t th e r e was o f co u rse no re a so n why th e y sh o u ld b e . h e a d lin e s w ere: ACCOUNT BOARD HIT IN JORX QUIZ

N e g le c tf u l, sa y s Floyd Body, In T r e a s u r e r ’ s O ffic e Check - — S ix in d ic te d The a r t i c l e , by a s p e c ia l co rresp o n d e n t in New Albany, put th e agency in a s bad a p o s itio n a s p o s s ib ly could be done w ith th e f a c t s a v a i l a b l e . Charging in i t s f i n a l r e p o r t t h a t ’th e s t a t e board o f a c c o u n ts has been n e g l e c t f u l in i t s s u p e rv is io n and checking o f th e Floyd County t r e a s u r e r ’ s o f f i c e , ’ th e b lu e rib b o n grand ju ry o f th e Floyd county c i r c u i t c o u rt was d ism isse d S aturday by Judge M, P a r i s . . , . B efore le a v in g h ere l a s t week, f o u r exam iners f o r th e s t a t e bo ard o f a c c o u n ts who sp e n t e ig h t weeks a u d itin g th e t r e a s u r e r ’ s books, re q u e s te d t h a t any in d ic tm e n ts n o t be in d o rse d f o r w a rra n ts u n t i l t h e i r o f f i c i a l r e p o r t on th e s h o rta g e ($127,000) i s f i l e d w ith th e s t a t e board in In ­ d ia n a p o lis , p ro b ab ly n ex t week. The j u r y ’ s r e p o r t s t a t e d : ’A fte r a th o ro u g h in v e s tig a tio n o f th e Floyd county t r e a s u r e r ’ s o f f i c e , we have re tu r n e d s e v e r a l In d ic tm e n ts and we f e e l t h a t th e s t a t e bo ard o f a c c o u n ts was la x

191 and n e g l e c t f u l In I t s s u p e rv is io n and checking o f t h i s o f f ic e as we f in d from our exam ination th a t th e o th e r o f f i c e s in Floyd County have been checked out f o r th e y e a r 1937, w h ile an a u d it f o r th e t r e a s u r e r ’ s o f f ic e has not been made sin c e th e y e a r 1934• * The n ex t week th e blow f e l l .

Two F ie ld Examiners were

in d ic te d on two co u n ts — being a c c e s s o r ie s to the fra u d u le n t w ith h o ld in g o f p u b lic money and co n c e a lin g a sh o rtag e o f 13,474 in 1934. The s to ry was g iven th e p r is e news p o s itio n in th e paper, th e to p o f th e r ig h t hand column.

A two-column head­

lin e was follow ed by a one-column bank: FORMER TREASURER AND TWO STATE EXAMINERS INDICTED IN SHORTAGE F ie ld Men Held As A ccesso ries At New Albany A clim ax in th e ta n g le d f in a n c ia l a f f a i r s of Floyd county came to d ay w ith th e in d ic tm e n t o f Frank H oppinjon, form er county t r e a s u r e r , and two f i e l d exam iners f o r th® s t a t e board o f acc­ o u n t s . . . . The grand ju ry named Claude G ladden, S c o tts b u rg , and T. J . Cram ball /C r a n d a ll / o f t h i s c i t y , f i e l d ex am in ers, w ith haveing been a c c e s s o rie s to th e fra u d u le n t w ith h o ld in g o f p u b lic m o n e y .... Gladden and Cram ball Z sic 7 were accused o f having been a c c e s s o r ie s to th e f a c t In co n n ectio n w ith th e a lle g e d em bezzlem ent. One in d ictm en t a g a in s t th e exam iners charged th a t th e y concealed

192 th e embezzlement o f f 27,763 by Robert L e is t, deputy county t r e a s u r e r , who committed s u ic id e s h o r tly b efo re th e November e l e c t i o n . • • . There­ a f t e r i t was brought out t h a t th e acco u n ts board had n o t made a com plete a u d it o f the Floyd county t r e a s u r e r ’ s o f f ic e sin c e 1934• A r e p o r t made p u b lic y e ste rd a y by th e s t a t e board o f acco u n ts showed a combined sh o rtag e o f #127,763 in th e county t r e a s u r e r ’ s o f f ic e and an a d d itio n a l sh o rtag e o f #1,243 in th e tr e a s u r y o f th e c i t y o f New Albany. Gladden and Cramball were charged in a n o th e r in d ictm en t w ith co n c ea lin g a sh o rtag e o f #3,474 in 1934, when L e is t was a ls o t r e a s u r e r . . . . Although th e county t r e a s u r e r ’ s bond was #15,000, t h a t of th e c i t y t r e a s u r e r was #30,000, d e s p ite th e f a c t th e county handled th r e e tim es as much money a s th e c i t y . . . . Three s e p a ra te bonds cover #43,474 o f th e sh o rta g e . I f s a id , th e n e t lo s s to th e county w ill be #79,293. The annual sh o rta g e s re v e a le d in th e r e p o r t, d a tin g back to 1933, cover term s o f L e is t and Hoppenjon. A t o t a l o f #3>474 i s m issing f o r f o r 1934, and #36,143 f o r 1935, a l l During Hoppenjon’ s term th e amounts 1936; #32,106 f o r 1937, and #23,113 September 30, 1933.

1933, #27,765 in L e i s t ’ s te rm . a re #4,696 f o r f o r 1933 up to

An exam ination o f th e o f f ic e was made f o r 1935 and 1936 but n ev er was f i l e d , A re p o rt f o r 1933 and 1934 was made and f i l e d but re v e a le d no s h o r t­ age. The #30,000 sh o rta g e now re v e a le d f o r th o se two y e a rs was d isc o v ered by r e - a u d it and was dove­ t a i l e d in to th e succeeding sh o rtag e by th e f a c t t h a t money re c e iv e d in ta x payment a f t e r s e t t l e ­ ment was made w ith th e S ta te A u d ito r on flay 1 and November 1 each y ea r was found to be m issing n e a rly ev ery y e a r. The sh o rtag e f o r 1933 and 1934 escaped th e r e p o r t f o r th o se y e a rs by th e f a c t th a t L eist" ju g g led bank d e p o s i t s as th e exam iners were com pleting t h e i r r e p o r t.

193 The county had |1 7 ,0 0 0 in one bank* A fte r i t was accounted in th e ex am in atio n , he w ithdrew i t and p la ced i t in an o th er bank and was given c r e d i t f o r th e d e p o s it a second tim e in th e r e ­ p o rt# The rem ainder o f th e f 3 0 ,0 0 0 d e fic ie n c y f o r th o se two y e a rs was hidden in a f t e r - s e t t l e ­ ment ta x payments which a p p a re n tly were pocketed and in 16,547 in o u tsta n d in g checks which were found n o t t o have been in clu d ed in th e p rev io u s r e p o r t •5 During th e n ex t day th e Governor became in v o lv ed in th e a f f a i r s o f th e Department*

A fro n t page s to r y to ld o f

Governor M. C lif f o r d Townsendf s in te n tio n o f ta lk in g to Mr. Cosgrove* fI b e lie v e th e p r a c tic e o f keeping men in one p lace h as been an economy m easure;1 th e Governor s a id , p o in tin g to th e f a c t t h a t such a p r a c tic e made tr a v e lin g and o th e r expenses u n n ecessary . ’ Sometimes i t ta k e s th in g s l i k e t h i s to awaken us to th e p o s s i b i l i t i e s . I have some id e a s I want t o ta lk about to W illiam P. Cosgrove, c h ie f exam iner o f th e board o f a c c o u n ts, and I w ill suggest to him th e r o t a t i o n / o f f i e l d ex am in ers/ method. That same day C ran d all and Gladden pleaded n o t g u ilt y to th e two ch arg es in Mew Albany. |4 ,0 0 0 each , which was m et.

T h eir bond was s e t a t

T heir t r i a l was s e t f o r th e

January term o f th e c o u r t. The Floyd County P ro se cu tin g A tto rn ey , however, d id not p re ss ch arg es a g a in s t Gladden and C ra n d a ll.

The D epart­

ment s e p a ra te d them a s a team , and f o r a sh o rt tim e n e ith e r o f them was g iv en any assig n m en ts.

But both resumed t h e i r

^ In d ia n a p o lis Mews. December 5, 193$. ^ I b i d . , December 6 , 193$.

194 work a s F ie ld Examiners*

C ra n d a ll worked u n t i l th e r e t i r e ­

ment system went in to e f f e c t and th e n r e t i r e d .

Gladden r e ­

sig n ed from th e f i e l d s t a f f t o a c c e p t a p o s itio n in h is home tow n, where he had g ain ed c o n s id e ra b le s t a t u s in th e c o u n ty ’ s p o l i t i c a l o r g a n iz a tio n . Some rese n tm en t h as been e x p re sse d to w ard Mr. Brennan f o r n o t g iv in g C ra n d a ll and Gladden a p u b lic h e a rin g .

Since

th e in t e n t o f th e D epartm ent was t o r e a s s ig n them a s soon as i t seemed e x p e d ien t to do s o , th e d e c is io n t o do n o th in g to keep th e s i t u a t i o n b e fo re th e p u b lic seems to have been on© t h a t can be j u s t i f i e d * The Departm ent was c l e a r l y a t f a u l t in th e Floyd County a ffa irs .

The f a c t t h a t Gladden and C ra n d a ll had been th e only

exam iners f o r some tiia e t o a u d it th e Floyd County books p la ced th e agency in an e x tre m e ly v u ln e ra b le p o s it io n . Mr* Edward Brennan was e le v a te d from th e o f f ic e o f Bud­ g e t D ire c to r t o f i l l out Mr. C osgrove’ s term on Jan u ary 2 .

Mr.

Cosgrove, who was no lo n g e r a b le to f i l l an a d m in is tr a tiv e p o s i­ t io n , re tu r n e d t o th e f i e l d s t a f f . Brennan was c o n fro n te d w ith a v ery d i f f i c u l t s i t u a t i o n . The Floyd County sc a n d a l had d e stro y e d much o f th e p r e s tig e and esteem w hich th e D epartm ent had slow ly b u i l t up.

Governor Town­

sen d ’ s f’a d v ic e ff about r o t a t i o n o f F ie ld Exam iners was b i t t e r l y re s e n te d by th e f i e l d s t a f f and was c o v e r tly r e s is te d *

I t s im­

peccab le r e p u ta tio n tarnfehed by th e Floyd County a f f a i r , th e

195 Department found i t s r e l a t i o n s w ith p u b lic o f f i c e r s had be­ come co m p licated and, to an e x te n t, weakened.

A m orale prob­

lem had been c re a te d by th e D epartm ent’ s tre a tm e n t o f Gladden and C ra n d a ll, who had been a t f a u l t in Floyd County.

Knowing

t h a t th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f commission and om ission was alw ays p re se n t in in s p e c tin g p u b lic o f f ic e s , th e f i e l d s t a f f was n a tu r a lly co ncerned, d u rin g th e f i r s t p a r t o f Brennan’ s p e rio d , a t what appeared to be th e somewhat summary judgment given Gladden and C ra n d a ll. These were th e problem s fa c in g Mr. Brennan. he was w ell equipped to handle them .

In most ways

He was one of th e F ie ld

Examiners ap p o in ted from th e f i r s t exam ination given by th e De­ p artm en t.

His knowledge and ex p erien ce o f In d ian a s ta te and

lo c a l government was c e r t a in ly a t l e a s t eq u al to th a t o f anyone in th e s t a t e .

From th e job o f th e tow nship t r u s t e e to th e

la r g e s t f in a n c ia l ta s k in th e s t a t e , budget p r e p a r a tio n , he had a r i c h and d e t a il e d body o f in fo rm a tio n and ex p erien ce t o draw on.

Brennan a lso had in te llig e n c e and energy w ell above

th e av erag e.

C ountering th e s e q u a l i f i c a t i o n s , however, he had

a q uick , hot tem p er, and a sh arp to n g u e. and he d id n o t s u f f e r f o o ls g la d ly .

He la ck ed p a tie n c e ,

In a tte m p tin g to a s s e s s

Mr. Brennan a s a S ta te Examiner, th e w r i te r en countered two d if f e r e n t o p in io n s .

His d e t r a c to r s , and th ey were many, h e ld

th a t Mr. Brennan had a d m in iste re d b i t t e r tongue la s h in g s when only a m ild rebuke would have been n e c e ss a ry .

His o rd e rs and

196

d ir e c tio n s , i t was a lle g e d , were fre q u e n tly an tag o n izin g to th e F ie ld E xam iners.

Mr. Brennan’ s undiplom atic h an d l­

ing of p u b lic o f f i c i a l s a t h e a d q u a rte rs , h is d e tr a c to r s charged , made th e ta s k in th e f i e l d u n n e c e ss a rily d i f f i c u l t . A ll p erso n s in te rv ie w e d , however, agreed th a t Mr. Brennan served a t a h ig h ly d i f f i c u l t tim e .

Two men who worked

w ith him c lo s e ly , O tto Jensen and Byron N ick e ls, agreed th a t h is bark was much worse th a n h is b i t e .

nBrennan was to u g h ,8’

Mr. N ick els s a id , ”but he had to b e . ” In any lo n g term p o in t o f view , Mr, Brennan d id n o t h u rt th e D epartm ent.

The th r e a te n in g l e g i s l a t i v e in v e s tig a ­

tio n did not o ccu r.

W ithin a very s h o rt tim e th e Department

regained th e esteem of th e l e g i s l a t u r e , th e o f f i c e r s , and th e p u b lic .

In, 1939 th e Department p rese n ted a re tire m e n t system

to th e l e g i s l a t u r e . chosen.

The tim e , o f c o u rse , was s in g u la r ly i l l

The memory o f Floyd County and th e o th e r d i f f i c u l t i e s

of th e tim e were s t i l l g re e n .

R e p re se n ta tiv e George W. H enley,

who in tro d u ce d th e b i l l , l a t e r w ithdrew i t .

B ut, in a way, i t s

in tro d u c tio n in 1939 p rep ared th e way f o r th e s u c c e s sfu l a c tio n in 1941. Mr. Brennan’ s own o p in io n o f h is most s ig n i f ic a n t achieve­ ment a s S ta te Examiner was a r e v is io n o f th e accounting and re­ p o rtin g system in th e o f f ic e o f th e A uditor o f S ta te .

The app­

li c a t i o n o f Mr. Brennan’ s id e a s on t h i s ta s k was made by Thomas Hindman, p re s e n t Deputy S ta te Examiner.

CHAPTER VIII MR. JENSEN'S TERM:

1941-1945

In 1939* as n oted above, th e G eneral Assembly did not enact any l e g i s l a t i o n a f f e c tin g th e D epartm ent.

T his l u l l ,

however, was only a h a rb in g e r o f th e l e g i s l a t i v e s q u a lls ahead.

The 1940 G eneral E le c tio n , a p o l i t i c a l r i p t i d e ,

s ta r te d th e flow o f p o l i t i e a l - l e g i s l a t i v e - a d m i n i s t r a t i v e events th a t made In d ian a p o l i t i c s h ig h ly in t e r e s t i n g f o r fo u r y e a rs . The 1940 e le c tio n saw th e R epublicans sweep to v ic to r y . N ative Son W illk ie c a r r ie d th e S ta te by 23,000 v o te s .

In th e

House th e R epublican m a jo rity was 73 to 27; in th e Senate 31 to 19, w ith th e R epublicans ta k in g 19 o f th e 23 s e a ts open in th a t e l e c t io n .

The e le c tiv e s t a t e o f f ic e s were lik e w ise sw ept,

th e R epublican S e c re ta ry o f S ta te g e ttin g a 13,000 m a jo rity , th e A u d ito r winning by 9 ,0 0 0 , th e T re a su re r by 10,0 0 0 , th e S uperin ten d en t o f P u b lic I n s tr u c tio n by 3 ,0 0 0 .

But Henry F.

S c h ric k e r, Democratic L ieu ten an t G overnor, d e fe a te d Glenn R. H i l l i s , R epublican c a n d id ate f o r governor by approxim ately 4,000 v o te s , g e ttin g #$9,620 to h i s o p p o n e n ts #$5,637* T his s o l i t a r y Democratic v ic to r y gave th a t p a rty th e patronage power t h a t goes w ith th e o f f ic e o f g o v ern o r.

The

R epub lican s, w ith c o n tro l o f b o th houses of th e l e g i s l a t u r e ,

197

19# were n o t l i k e l y to le av e a Democratic Governor w ith th e power g ra n te d him by th e E x e c u tiv e -A d m in istra tiv e R eorganiza­ t io n Act of 1933.

A cco rd in g ly , th e McNutt R e o rg a n iza tio n Act

was re p e a le d ,T over th e v eto o f Governor S e h ric k e r, and a new E x e c u tiv e -A d m in istra tiv e R e o rg a n iza tio n Act was p a s s e d .2

T his

a c t d r a s t i c a l l y lim ite d th e a p p o in tin g power o f th e G overnor. In th e same s e s s io n th e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e en acted a s ta te m e rit system under a fo u r man b ip a r ti s a n P erso n n el Board. One o f th e powers given t h i s board was th a t o f a p p o in tin g th e S ta te Examiner and th e two d e p u tie s .3

The term rem ained a t

fo u r y e a rs , and th e s a la r y was s e t a t $5,400 f o r th e S ta te Exam iner'and $4,200 f o r th e d e p u tie s .

The q u a l if i c a t io n s and

removal p ro v is io n s rem ained a s b e fo re . Mr. Brennan, th e S ta te Exam iner, rem ained in th e o f f i c e , and th e P erso n n el Board f a i l e d to ap p o in t anyone to succeed him. The R epublican re o rg a n iz a tio n a c t , which was en acted a f t e r th e McNutt E x e c u tiv e -A d m in istra tiv e Act was re p e a le d , was t e s t e d In d ia n a A cts, 1941, pp. #-9« ^ I b id . , p . 10. ^ A c tu a lly , when th e appointm ent o f th e S ta te Examiner and th e two d e p u tie s i-ras v e s te d in th e S ta te P erso n n el Board, no such body had a s y e t been le g a l l y provided f o r . The b i l l pro­ v id in g f o r th e e sta b lish m e n t of a P erso n n el Board was n o t en­ a c te d u n t i l two days l a t e r . The amendment to th e Board o f Acc­ o unts law was: ,TF ile d in o f f ic e o f S e c re ta ry o f S ta te a t 11:05 A.M., March 6, 1941j passed by G eneral Assembly over v e to o f Governor.*1 In d ian a A c ts . 1941, p . 297. The S ta te P erso n n el Board was p rovided f o r in an a c t t h a t was " F ile d in th e o f f ic e

199 in th e c o u r ts .

On b e h a lf o f Governor S e h ric k e r a case was

ta k e n by th e A tto rn ey G eneral to th e Marion County C irc u it Court t o e n jo in th e G overnor, th e S e c re ta ry of S ta te , and o th e r s t a t e o f f i c e r s , from a c tin g under th e R epublican Ex­ e c u tiv e R e o rg a n iza tio n A ct.

When th e Marion County C ir c u it

Court g ra n te d a tem porary in ju n c tio n , an appeal was ta k en to th e In d ian a Supreme G ourt, where i t became th e famous Tucker (James M. Tucker was S e c re ta ry of S ta te ) v . S ta te (21$ In d . 641) c a s e . The Supreme Gourt upheld th e C ir c u it C ourt, s ta tin g th a t: The c r e a tio n o f th e o f f i c e s i s a l e g i s l a t i v e fu n ctio n * The appointm ent o f o f f i c e r s i s an ex­ e c u tiv e f u n c tio n . The co n c lu sio n cannot be avoided t h a t th e a c ts here in q u e stio n seek t o absorb and u su rp func­ tio n s which a re norm ally and g e n e ra lly u n d ersto o d to be th e fu n c tio n s o f th e Governor and v e s t them in m inor a d m in is tra tiv e o f f i c e r s . . . . 4 On t h i s b a s is th e 1941 Act was h e ld to be u n c o n s titu tio n a l. Since th e R epublican l e g i s l a t u r e o f 1941 had re p e a le d th e 1933 E x ecu tiv e R eo rg an izatio n A ct, th e e x e c u tiv e branch o f government re v e rte d t o i t s p r e - re o rg a n iz a tio n s t a t e o f 0 ? th e S e c re ta ry "of "&tate a t 10:00 "iU ll., March '$, -191^1 f'beQams a law w ith o u t th e g o v e rn o r's a p p ro v a l." I b i d . , p . 3$7. T his p e c u lia r s it u a ti o n can be e x p lain e d somewhat by th e f a c t t h a t th e R epublicans had overwhelming m a jo r itie s in b o th houses and had a c ce p ted th e m e rit p la n as p a rty p o lic y .

^Tucker v . S ta te , 213 In d . 614 (1941).

200

1933 •

G overnor1s ap p o in tin g powers were stre n g th e n e d

by being made d e f i n i t e •

The power to ap p o in t a S ta te Exam­

in e r was presumed to be th e Governor*s once a g a in . Mr. Brennan tu rn e d th e o f fic e o f S ta te Examiner over to O tto K. Je n sen , th e ap p o in tee o f Governor S e h ric k e r. In 1943, th e G eneral Assembly d e f i n i t e l y tr a n s f e r r e d th e power o f a p p o in tin g th e S ta te Examiner and th e d e p u tie s back t o th e G overnor, reduced th e term to two y e a rs , and ra is e d th e s a la r y to $6,000 fo r th e S ta te Examiner and #4>400 f o r th e d e p u tie s . In 1941 th e G eneral Assembly en a cte d th e R etirem ent b i l l which Mr. Henley had in tro d u ce d and withdrawn in 1939* I t s p ro v is io n s w ill be co n sid ered in C hapter X III. In 1943 a b i l l which th e S ta te Board o f Accounts had been v i t a l l y in te r e s te d in was passed .

The a c t p erm itted th e

Department to c a l l a con feren ce f o r county a u d ito r s and a u d ito rs -e le c t.

For a tte n d in g th e co n feren c e, which was lim ite d

to th re e days in le n g th , th e p u b lic o f f i c e r s were p aid m ileage and f iv e d o lla r s a day in l i e u of ex p en ses.^ Before such an a c t was passed , Mr. Jensen had r e g u la rly a tte n d e d th e County A u d ito rs A sso c ia tio n m eeting and had ad­ v ise d them o f t h e i r d u tie s .

But th e 1943 Act gave th e D epart­

ment a r e a l o p p o rtu n ity to be o f genuine a s s is ta n c e to th e le ad in g f in a n c ia l o f f i c e r in county governm ent. ^Indiana Acts’, 1943 .

Mr. Jensen

201

r e p o r te d th e 1944 co n feren ce a s a n o ta b le su c c e s s: The sch o o l f o r county a u d ito r s w hich th e s t a t e Exam iner convened in th e S ta te House F eb ru ary 23 and 2 4 , in com pliance w ith an a c t o f th e 1943 l e g i s l a t u r e was very s u c c e s s f u l. A ll s e s s io n s were conducted under sc h o o l room d i s c i p l i n e and th e a u d ito r s ev id en ced t h e i r a p p r e c ia tio n by t h e i r prompt a tte n d a n c e and c lo s e a tte n tio n .® In 1945i because o f tr a n s p o r t& tio n d i f f i c u l t i e s and la c k o f h o te l space in I n d ia n a p o lis , th e County A u d ito rs 1 C onference was h e ld in f iv e s e c tio n s :

th e n o rth w e ste rn

county a u d ito r s met a t Winamac, n o r th e a s te r n group a t Col­ umbia C ity , so u th w e stern a t P e te rs b u r g , s o u th e a s te rn a t S e o tts b u rg , and th e a u d i to r s of th e c e n t r a l c o u n tie s met a t I n d ia n a p o lis .

These m eetin g s a ls o seemed q u ite s u c c e s s f u l.

Mr. Jensen r e p o r t s :

ffA il th e m eetings were w e ll a tte n d e d and

th e o f f i c i a l s asked many q u e s tio n s co n cern in g th e work in t h e i r o ffic e s .

Such m eetin g s w ill co n tin u e a n n u a lly .ft7

To keep th e county a u d ito r s a b r e a s t o f a l l developm ents a f f e c tin g t h e i r work, Mr. Jen sen o r ig in a te d a monthly b u l l e t i n C o n ta in in g a d ig e s t o f A tto rn ey G e n e ra lf s o p in io n s , departm ent r u lin g s , and a c a le n d a r o f th e s e v e r a l d u tie s a s sig n e d by law to th e A u d ito r’ s o f f i c e each month. ^ l e a r Book, 1944. p . 6QbT 7I b i d . . 1945, p . 774. I b i d . . p . 774.

202

Under Mr. Je n se n th e D epartm ent q u ic k ly re g a in e d i t s fo rm e r esteem and p r e s t i g e in th e s t a t e .

R e la tio n s

betw een h e a d q u a r te r s and th e f i e l d ex am in ers w ere s a t i s ­ f a c t o r y , and p u b lic o f f i c e r s s e e k in g in fo rm a tio n were h an d led c o u r te o u s ly and t h e i r q u e r ie s answ ered p ro m p tly . To k eep th e f i e l d s t a f f a b r e a s t o f s i g n i f i c a n t de­ v elo p m en ts, l e g a l and o th e rw is e , Je n se n began th e p u b lic a t io n and c i r c u l a t i o n o f th e E x am in er, a house organ and an in fo rm a­ t i o n s h e e t .9 < fln 1945 th e D epartm ent o f I n s p e c tio n and S u p e rv is io n o f P u b lic O f f ic e s , a s a l e g a l t i t l e , was a b o lis h e d , and th e t i t l e o f 11S ta te B oard o f A c c o u n ts ," by l e g i s l a t i v e a c t i o n , was t o be u sed t o in c lu d e th e fo rm e r D ep artm en t.

T h is a c ­

t i o n o n ly fo rm a liz e d a te rm in o lo g y t h a t had e x i s te d f o r more th a n a q u a r te r o f a c e n tu r y .

In a d d i t i o n , th e o ld Board o f

A ccounts, c o n s is tin g o f th e G overnor, A u d ito r o f S t a t e , and S ta te Exam iner was a b o lis h e d , and a new b o ard composed o f th e S ta te E xam iner and th e two d e p u tie s was c r e a t e d ^

The o n ly

v e s tig e o f th e o ld b o ard was th e re q u ire m e n t t h a t th e G overnor and A u d ito r o f S ta te sh o u ld approve th e a c c o u n tin g form s and system s fo rm u la te d by th e new o n e .

T h is a c tio n lik e w is e was

o n ly a f o r m a liz in g o n e, s in c e f o r many y e a rs th e G overnors and A u d ito rs o f th e s t a t e had been o n ly ru b b e r stam ps to th e S ta te 9

Appendix 2 .

203 Examiner on th e te c h n ic a l a sp e c t o f th e B oard’ s d u t i e s . And only th e te c h n ic a l a s p e c t went b e fo re th e Board.

in

Mr. Jensen ex p la in e d t h a t , somewhat s u r p r is in g ly , th e Board had n o th in g to do w ith th e 1945 A ct.

The o f f ic e

o f th e A tto rn ey G en eral, he s a id , had become t i r e d o f th e cumbersome t i t l e o f th e D epartm ent.

M oreover, only th e

" S ta te Board o f A ccounts" was th e common u sag e, but le g a l a c tio n s were alw ays in th e name o f th e D epartm ent.

The

bhanees f o r f a u lty le g a l work th e re b y were in c re a s e d .

The

change, as was n o ted above, was only a le g a l o n e, and i t caused no c o n fu sio n . A more s ig n i f i c a n t l e g i s l a t i v e change was en acted by th e G eneral Assembly in 1945.

A new com pensation p la n f o r

F ie ld Examiners was s ta b lis h e d .

U n til t h i s amendment was

p assed , f i e l d men had been paid |1 0 a day f o r each day worked; and t h i s sum was c o lle c te d by th e f i e l d men from th e u n its examined.

The two d o l l a r and f i f t y c e n t p er diem

f o r expenses had been added in 1927.

M oreover, a l l F ie ld

Exam iners, w hether o f 20 days o r 20 y e a rs e x p e rie n c e , drew t h i s same com pensation. The am endatory l e g i s l a t i o n o f 1945 made two n o ta b le improvements in th e payment p la n .

F i r s t , a s a la r y "payable

monthly out o f th e g e n e ra l fund o f th e s t a t e r e p l a c e d t h e 1QIndiana A cts. 1945, pp. 434-440. ^ Burns. 60-20$.

204 c o l le c tio n by th e f i e l d men from th e u n its exam ined.

Sec­

ond, a g ra d u a te d s a la r y schedule based upon y e a rs of e x p e ri­ ence w ith th e agency was a d o p te d .

Newly a p p o in te d F ie ld Ex­

am iners re c e iv e d #250 a month f o r th e y e a r under th e new le g is la tio n .

The ft. . . com pensation s h a l l be in c re a s e d each

y ea r t h e r e a f t e r f o r fo u r (4) y e a rs by th e a d d itio n a l sum o f tw e n ty -fiv e d o l l a r s ($25*00) p e r month u n t i l th e maximum sum o f th r e e hundred and f i f t y d o l l a r s ($350) p e r month s h a ll have been r e a c h e d .**

Such a g rad u ated s a la r y s c a le was a genuine

improvem ent, s in c e u n t i l t h i s amendment was e n a c te d , a new man re c e iv e d pay i d e n t i c a l t o t h a t p aid th e v e te ra n who was te a c h in g him th e d u tie s of h i s p o sitio n *

In a d d itio n th e

v e te ra n had to a c c e p t th e a c t u a l , i f n o t th e l e g a l , re s p o n s i­ b i l i t y o f th e ex a m in a tio n .

Though th e s a la r y sch ed u le was

based e n t i r e l y upon y e a rs o f ex p e rie n c e and d id n o t attem p t to reco g n ize in d iv id u a l m e r it, i t was a n o ta b le improvement over th e uniform s a la r y p re v io u s ly p aid a l l F ie ld E xam iners. Some o b je c tio n by th e f i e l d s t a f f was r a is e d to th e payment o f a m onthly s a l a r y .

I t was f e l t t h a t a h ig h e r d a ily

r a te to be c o l le c te d by th e exam iner from th e examined u n it would be more p r o f e s s io n a l th a n a monthly s a la r y .

In a d d itio n

to th e b a s ic s a l a r y , th e F ie ld Exam iners were to draw th e reg u­ l a r p er diem ltp ro v id ed by law f o r o th e r s t a t e o f f i c e r s and em-

205 p lo y e e s . . . when engaged on assig n m e n ts o u ts id e th e county o f t h e i r a c tu a l r e s i d e n c e . ( i n 194$, th e p er diem was $ 6 .2 0 .)

The r e g u la r m ileage r a t e o f s i x c e n ts a m ile was

a ls o p aid th e F ie ld E xam iners. An amendment to th e r e tir e m e n t system en ab led Any p e rs o n , who p r i o r to th e e f f e c t i v e d a te o f th e a c t o f which t h i s a c t i s su p p le m e n ta l, had been a f i e l d exam iner o f th e d epartm ent o f in s p e c tio n and s u p e rv is io n o f p u b lic o f f i c e s f o r more th a n f o u r ­ te e n (14) y e a r s , and who was r e t i r e d from such s e r ­ v ic e f o r more th a n f i v e (5) y e a rs p r i o r t o th e ta k ­ in g e f f e c t of s a id a c t and was a t th e tim e o f h is r e tir e m e n t s i x t y - f i v e (65) y e a rs o f ag e , and who a t th e tim e o f h i s r e tir e m e n t was in good h e a lth and p h y s ic a lly a b le t o perform th e d u tie s o f a f i e l d ex­ am in er, i s hereb y e n t i t l e d to be r e i n s t a t e d a s a f i e l d exam iner by th e s t a t e board o f a c c o u n ts w ith ­ out e x a m in a tio n , upon making a p p lic a tio n t h e r e f o r , and upon such r e in s ta te m e n t s h a ll be e n t i t l e d to membership in th e r e tir e m e n t f und. . . .-*-4 T h is amendment en ab led one form er exam iner who had con­ s id e ra b le p o l i t i c a l in f lu e n c e to share in th e R etirem en t Fund which had been c r e a te d a f t e r he l e f t th e agency. A f i n a l 1945 a c t p la ced a heavy burden on th e D epart­ m ent.

T h is one r e q u ir e d t h a t a uniform acco u n tin g system be

e s ta b lis h e d f o r a l l e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r a c t i v i t i e s in a l l In d ia n a p u b lic s c h o o ls , and t h a t a l l such e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r a c c o u n ts be a u d ite d .

The sch o o l t r e a s u r e r s , which th e a c t re q u ir e d to be

c r e a te d , perforin o th e r , f u l l - t i m e work, and most o f them have little

a c c o u n tin g s k i l l . ■13I b id . . p. 209. Burns. 6 0 -246a.

M oreover, few o f them r e a l i z e th e

206

r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s th e y have assum ed.

The tim e and e f f o r t

r e q u ir e d o f th e F ie ld Exam iners to make ex a m in a tio n s o f e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r funds h as been a heavy one. D uring Mr. J e n s e n 's l a s t f u l l y e a r a s S ta te . Exam iner (1 9 4 4 ), th e r e c o v e r ie s by th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts f o r th e f i r s t tim e exceeded one m illio n d o l l a r s . o f 1944, # 1 ,1 6 9 ,5 1 7 was re c o v e re d .

In th e f i s c a l y e a r

The f a c t t h a t r e c o v e r ie s

caused by e r r o r s o r d is h o n e s t a c t s o f p u b lic o f f i c i a l s has in c re a s e d f a i r l y r e g u la r ly over th e y e a rs does n o t o f co u rse mean t h a t th e Board does n o t have a r e p r e s s iv e e f f e c t .

The

amount o f money h an d led by p u b lic o f f i c i a l s on which p o st a u d its a r e made by th e Board h as lik e w is e in c re a s e d trem e n d o u sly .

GHAPTER IX MR. HUSTON'S TEHMs

1945-1949

C laren ce E. H uston, a F ie ld Exam iner o f fo u rte e n y e a rs e x p e rie n c e , was a p p o in te d S ta te Examiner by Governor Ralph F. G a te s.

B efore jo in in g th e f i e l d s t a f f , he had been employed

by an E v a n s v ille bank and had worked a s an a c c o u n ta n t in Chic­ ago.

O tto K. Jen sen ste p p e d down to th e p o s itio n o f D em ocratic

d ep u ty , and se rv e d in t h a t p o s itio n u n t i l O ctober 1 , 1945, when he to o k a le a v e o f ab sen ce t o become E x e c u tiv e S e c re ta ry to th e I n d ia n a p o lis Redevelopment Commission. Byron B. N ic k e ls .

He was succeeded by

Thomas M, Hindman was th e R epublican d e p u ty .

For more th a n th r e e y e a rs H uston, N ic k e ls , and Hindman were th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts, a s th e 1945 Amendment c r e a te d th e B oard• In c re a s e d demands were mad© on th e ag en cy , c h i e f l y be­ cause o f th e v ery heavy in c r e a s e s in p u b lic b u s in e s s on most l e v e ls o f governm ent.

In 1925 th e spending o f a l l u n i t s o f

government in th e s t a t e had been # 2 0 6 ,# 7 5 ,4 5 6 .

In 1945, i t

was # 3 9 3 ,9 8 6 ,8 4 0 .1 The r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f th e Board th u s became h e a v ie r . But th e problem s were m et, and a n o ta b le re c o rd was a c h ie v e d . T

~

'

1

~

S t a t i s t i c a l R e p o rt. 1925, p . 102; 1945, p* 6.

207

1



20$

A f i n a n c i a l r e o r g a n iz a tio n a c t by th e l e g i s l a t u r e o f 1947 l e f t th e powers and d u tie s o f th e Board u n im p aired .

The

language o f th e a c t i n d i r e c t l y r e v e a ls th e co n fid en ce th e le g ­ i s l a t u r e p la c e d in th e agency: T h is a c t s h a l l not be c o n stru e d as d iv e s tin g th e s t a t e b o ard o f a c c o u n ts o f i t s powers and d u tie s o f p r e s c r ib in g form s . . . to e x e rc is e s u p e rv is io n and c o n tr o l o v er use o f same by a l l s t a t e o f f i c i a l s and a g e n c ie s , but such power s h a l l rem ain and be in th e s t a t e board o f accounts* A ll pow er, d u ty , and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f making p o st a u d i ts o f a l l u n i t s o f government s h a l l rem ain and be in and be e x e rc is e d by th e s t a t e board o f ac­ c o u n ts .2 Mr. H uston, w ith h i s v ery r e c e n t e x p e rie n c e as a f i e l d man, went t o c o n s id e ra b le le n g th s to b u ild m orale in th e f i e l d s ta ff.

The e f f o r t was su c c e s sfu l*

The E xam iner, th e f o u r page

monthly b u l l e t i n s t a r t e d by Mr. Je n se n , was expanded to s ix p a g e s.3

A g enuine e f f o r t was made to g e t e d i t o r i a l c o n trib u ­

ti o n s from th e F ie ld E xam iners.

In th e " S ta te E xam inerf s Mess­

age" in th e Ja n u ary 15, 1946, i s s u e , Mr. H uston w ro te: In th e November, 1945, is s u e o f th e Examiner th e S ta te Exam iner m entioned th e id e a o f having one o r more F ie ld Exam iners w rite an a r t i c l e each month f o r use in th e E xam iner. The c r e d i t f o r t h i s id e a b elo n g s to 6 ." A . H utchens. In t h i s is s u e you w i l l f in d a r t i c l e s by Hutch and Ed. Eikman. Each month h e r e a f t e r we want to devote about two columns t o th e s e a r t i c l e s . You w ill v e ry soon r e c e iv e a su g g e sted l i s t o f s u b je c ts b u t we would much p r e f e r t h a t you w rite on a s u b je c t o r ig in a t in g w ith y o u r s e lf . 2In d ia n a A c ts . 1945, p . 1145* -^Appendix.

209 I t i s our p re se n t in te n tio n to p u b lis h th e s e a r t i c l e s a s w r i tte n . I f we do n o t agree w ith c o n te n ts , we propose to say so in an e d i t o r i a l f o o tn o te . I f you do n o t a g re e , w hether t h i s fo o tn o te ap p ears o r not you are welcome to ta k e is s u e w ith th e a r t i c l e . In a d d itio n to th e Examiner . th e f i e l d men were se n t a l l p e r tin e n t o p in io n s o f th e A tto rn ey G en eral.

The proceed­

in g s o f th e annual m eetings of th e F ie ld Examiners were mimeo­ graphed and a copy se n t to each exam iner.

H eadquarters e a rn e s t­

ly t r i e d t o keep th e f i e l d s t a f f su p p lie d w ith c u rre n t inform a­ tio n . The n a tu r a l d e s ire o f th e F ie ld Examiner was and i s t h a t o f le a d in g as normal a home l i f e as p o s s ib le .

S p e c if ic a lly ,

t h i s i s to be o b ta in ed only by being ab le to g e t home f a i r l y f re q u e n tly , which i s based upon h is assig n m en ts.

In h is Feb­

ru ary 15, 194$, r e p o r t to th e G overnor, Mr. Ruston s ta te d h is p o licy on assig n m en ts. A s in c e re e f f o r t h as been made to a s s ig n men as n e a r home a s p o s s ib le on th e th e o ry t h a t such assignm ents would make th e in d iv id u a l a more con­ te n te d employe© and a t th e same tim e save th e S ta te o f In d ian a some expense money. In th e same r e p o r t Mr. Ruston announced th a t one b i t o f p o lic y e s ta b lis h e d by Governor M arshall in 1910 — th a t o f a l ­ ways sending a team o f a R epublican and a Democrat to work t o ­ g e th e r — was b eing p a r t i a l l y abandoned. As an economy m easure, a number of one man assig n m en ts have been made in th o se p la c e s which a re sm all enough to len d them selves to such a rra n g e ­ ment because i t i s f e l t th a t in many exam inations

210

one man can com plete th e jo b in l e s s th an double th e tim e i t would re q u ir e two men to do so . T his b reak w ith t r a d i t i o n seems em in en tly s e n s ib le .

What was

a re a so n a b le p re c a u tio n f o r a newly c re a te d agency face d w ith sc a rc e ly co n cealed h o s t i l i t y i s no lo n g e r n ec essary f o r a w ell e s ta b lis h e d body g ra n te d u n iv e r s a l r e s p e c t. Second only to m a in ta in in g s a t i s f a c t o r y r e l a t i o n s w ith th e f i e l d s t a f f , th e S ta te Examiner must c r e a te a c lo s e , co­ o p e ra tiv e a t t i t u d e on th e p a r t o f th e p u b lic o f f i c i a l s .

To

a t t a i n t h i s a t t i t u d e , Mr. Ruston made su re t h a t th e S ta te Board o f Accounts had a t l e a s t one r e p r e s e n ta tiv e a t th e meet­ in g s o f th e v a rio u s o f f i c i a l s .

"At th e s e m eetings th e la w s,

th e problems o f th e o f f i c e , th e p ro p er p ro ced u res and th e p ro p er keeping o f re c o rd s i s / s i c / d is c u s s e d , (by th e Board*s r e p r e ­ s e n ta tiv e ) a l l o f which te n d to make f o r a b e t t e r p u b lic o f f i c i -

al.«^ The tw o-page monthly b u l l e t i n to th e County A u d ito rs, which Mr. Jensen o r ig in a te d , was in c re a s e d to s ix pages by Fir. R uston.

An e x p la n a tio n o r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e problem s o f

th e o f f ic e i s g iv en in t h i s p u b lic a tio n a s w e ll as a c a le n d a r of th e d u tie s t o be perform ed each month.

A s im ila r b u l l e t i n

was s ta r t e d f o r Township T ru s te e s . Manuals f o r C lerks of th e C irc u it C ourts and f o r T reasu r­ e r s were com piled, and each o f th e s e p u b lic o f f i c e r s su p p lie d ^ S tate Examiner’ s Seport to Governor. February 15, 1% 3,

P. 5.

211

w ith h is re s p e c tiv e m anual.

A copy o f each p u b lic a tio n was

lik e w is e se n t t o each F ie ld Examiner,

These p u b lic a tio n s

w ill be c o n sid e re d a t le n g th in th e n ex t c h a p te r.

A re v is e d

guide f o r th e p u b lic a tio n o f le g a l n o tic e s was w r i tte n , and i t has gone a long way to e lim in a te th e c o n tro v e rs ie s between th e Board and newspaper p u b lis h e r s . Mr, Ruston a ls o made p la n s f o r im proving th e s e rv ic e s o f th e agency.

In th e Examiner o f Jan u ary , 1946, he s t a t e s

th e sta n d a rd d i f f i c u l t y o f an a d m in is tra to r w ith a heavy lo a d of d a ily d u tie s : We a re a busy d ep artm en t. There seems t o be to o few hour® in th e day. The p re s s o f ro u tin e m a tte rs seems to consume so much o f our tim e th a t th e re i s to o l i t t l e l e f t f o r p la n n in g , fo r th in k ­ ing and f o r p o lic y making. But in h is F eb ru ary , 194$, Report to th e G overnor, Mr. Ruston made s ix su g g e stio n s t h a t seem worthy o f being quoted in f u l l . 1 . Because o f th e s u c c e s s , th e e n th u s ia s tic re c e p tio n and th e u n q u estio n ed v alu e o f th e con­ fe re n c e s h eld f o r county a u d ito r s under s ta tu to r y re q u ire m e n t, th o u g h t i s being g iv en to ex ten d in g th e 's c h o o l! id e a f o r o th e r groups o f p u b lic o f f ­ i c i a l s by l e g i s l a t i o n . 2 . A manual f o r th e guidance o f th e o f f i c i a l s o f c i t i e s and towns i s now in th e p ro cess o f p re ­ p a r a tio n . 3 . A r e v is io n o f a l l e x is tin g manuals and pam phlets i s contem plated, 4 . An e x te n sio n o f th e b u l l e t i n s e rv ic e to c i t i e s and towns and school c i t i e s and towns i s co n tem p lated .

212

5. I t i s hoped t h a t when s u f f i c i e n t p erso n n e l can he o b ta in e d in t h i s departm ent to keep more c u r r e n t on r o u tin e ex am in atio n s t h a t men be a s s ig n ­ ed t o no o th e r d u ty b u t to c a l l upon a l l p u b lic o f f i c i a l s in th e S ta te o f In d ia n a th r e e o r fo u r tim e s a n n u a lly to d is c u s s w ith them t h e i r problem s and to scan th e re c o rd k eeping and o f f ic e proced­ u re w ith an id e a t o p re v e n t erro n eo u s a c ts on th e p a r t o f th e o f f i c i a l b e fo re th e y have co n tin u ed f o r any g r e a t le n g th o f tim e , ^ f h i s su g g e stio n w ill be c o n s id e re d in th e l a s t c h a p te r^ / 6 . A c o n tin u a l stu d y o f th e problem s o f govern­ ment w ith a view to e i t h e r c o r r e c tin g th o se th in g s t h a t can be c o r r e c te d w ith o u t l e g i s l a t i o n o r in w r itin g and in tro d u c in g th e l e g i s l a t i o n when such i s needed to improve th e s i t u a t i o n . In F eb ru ary , 194$» R eport to th e G overnor, Mr. Ruston l i s t e d te n p ro c e d u ra l changes he had made.

Since he s t a t e s

them s u c c in c tly , th e y a re quoted v e rb a tim . 1 . H earin g s a r e now o f fe re d p u b lic o f f i c i a l s on r e p o r ts o f ex am in atio n s o f th e o f f i c e s which c o n ta in ch a rg e s p r io r t o th e d o ck etin g o f such r e ­ p o r ts , in s te a d o f subsequent t h e r e to a s was p re ­ v io u s ly done, th u s o f f e r in g such o f f i c i a l s an o p p o rtu n ity to e x p la in such ch arg es b e fo re th e r e ­ p o r ts a r e o f f i c i a l l y f i l e d as a p u b lic document. T his o f co u rse a f f o r d s t h i s o f f ic e an o p p o rtu n ity to c o r r e c t th e r e p o rt i f th e o f f i c i a l f s e x p la n a tio n i s a c c e p ta b le th u s sa v in g p o s s ib le em barrassm ent to both th e o f f i c i a l and t h i s d ep artm en t. 2 . When such h e a rin g s do not r e s u l t in s a t i s ­ f a c to r y ad ju stm en t and i t becomes n e c e ssa ry to docket r e p o r ts c o n ta in in g c h a rg e s , a t i c k l e r f i l e i s main­ ta in e d so t h a t th e s e r e p o r ts a re k ep t moving, r e s u l t ­ ing in an alm o st co m p letely c l e a r docket in t h i s o f f ­ ic e and a more c u rre n t s e ttle m e n t of th e c h a rg e s, 3 . A r e p o r t form h as been d esigned f o r use o f f i e l d exam iners in r e p o r tin g payments made by one county o r s u b d iv is io n th e r e o f to an o th er county o r s u b d iv is io n th e r e o f which r e p o r ts c l e a r th ro u g h t h i s o f f ic e and a r e se n t out w ith th e d a ta on th e next assignm ent o f th e r e c i p ie n t county o r s u b d iv is io n t h e r e o f , th e re b y tig h te n in g c o n tro l on such paym ents.

213 4* Mearly ev ery exam ination r e q u ire s a d is ­ c u ssio n w ith th e o f f i c i a l being examined concern­ ing erro n eo u s p ro ced u res, m ostly o f a minor n a tu re but which sometimes grow in to item s o f im portance i f passed u n q u estio n ed . f i e l d exam iners are now re q u ire d to submit to t h i s o f f ic e when an examina­ tio n i s com pleted a copy o f t h e i r n o tes concerning such c o n v e rs a tio n s and th e s e n o te s are sen t out w ith th e d a ta a t th e tim e th e next exam ination i s made so th a t th e exam iners can determ ine i f th e o f f i c i a l has c o rre c te d such erroneous procedures m entioned o r w hether he has ignored th e a d v ic e , th u s a ffo rd in g th e examiner and t h i s departm ent de­ f i n i t e in fo rm atio n which i s o f a s s is ta n c e in handl­ ing th e s it u a ti o n . 5. To e lim in a te th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f lo s s o f r e ­ p o r ts o f exam inations in t r a n s i t between th e f i e l d exam iner and th e d ep artm en t, and a f t e r tr y in g se v e ra l m ethods, th e ♦dummies® o f th e exam ination a re d e liv e re d to t h i s o f f ic e by th e f i e l d examiner and th e p ro o fin g o f th e ty p e w ritte n re p o rt i s done in t h i s o f f ic e . 6 . The tim e la p s e between th e f i l i n g o f th e ♦dummies®, th e com pletion o f th e ty p e s r e p o r ts , the proof read in g and p ro cessin g through th e o f f ic e has been sh o rten ed so th a t th e f in is h e d re p o rt i s re tu rn e d to th e o f f i c i a l examined a t th e e a r l i e s t p o ssib le d a te . 7 . The cash co u n t, which form erly was done a t th e c lo se o f b u sin e ss on December 31> i s now th e f i r s t o r­ der of b u sin e ss o f a f i e l d exam iner when an assignm ent i s s t a r t e d , th e re b y a ffo rd in g th e o f f i c i a l no oppor­ tu n ity t o put h is cash in to b alance m om entarily. Checking r e p o r ts in th e o f f i c e , which fo rm erly consumed a la rg e p a r t o f th e tim e o f th e Deputy Ex­ am iners i s now done by o th e rs os th a t th e tim e o f th e Deputy Examiners may be devoted to o th e r m a tte rs . 9. The S ta te Examiner and the two Deputy S ta te Examiners have a d a ily m eeting a t which problems o f th e o f f ic e a re d is c u s se d . 10. Copies o f l e t t e r s w ritte n to o f f i c i a l s con­ c e rn in g charges co n tain e d in r e p o r ts o f exam inations a re se n t to th e exam iners who made such exam ination th e re b y keeping th e exam iner b e t t e r inform ed and b o o st­ ing h is morale by th e knowledge th a t h i s e f f o r t s a re r e ­ c e iv in g a t te n t io n in t h i s o f f i c e .

214

The l e g i s l a t i v e program o f th e S ta te Board o f Accounts was put on a more sy stem a tic b a s is by Mr. Ruston th a n i t had been on b e fo re .

At th e su g g e stio n o f Governor Gates th e

Board made a study in 194& to determ ine how th e c o st of gov­ ernment could be reduced w ith o u t im p airin g e f f ic ie n c y .

V ari­

ous com m ittees of F ie ld Examiners s tu d ie d s p e c if ic problems and made recom mendations.

The su g g estio n s re q u irin g l e g i s l a ­

tio n were handled s y s te m a tic a lly .

S p e c ia lly equipped f i e l d

men and th e S ta te Examiner and d e p u tie s became a committee th a t attem p ted to d isc o v e r weaknesses in b i l l th a t one o f them had been chosen to d r a f t .

A fte r th e b i l l was as w ell drawn as

th e committee could make i t , Fir. Paul Harvey, a F ie ld Examiner, took ch a rg e ,

A form er county c le rk who had served as l e g i s l a ­

tiv e r e p r e s e n ta tiv e f o r th e c l e r k s ’ s ta te a s s o c ia tio n , he has a very d e ta ile d knowledge of In d ia n a ’ s l e g i s l a t i v e p erso n n el and p ro ced u res.

Fir. Harvey chooses th e l e g i s l a t o r to i n t r o ­

duce th e b i l l , e x p la in s th e b i l l c a r e f u lly , appears b efo re committees when th a t i s d e s ir e d , and, fu rth e rm o re , e x p la in s th e b i l l and i t s in te n t to th e r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f a l l groups who might be in te r e s te d in i t . passage.

He th e n keeps th e b i l l moving tow ard

In 1947, o f th e t h i r t e e n b i l l s drawn by th e Board,

eleven were en a cte d . became law .

Of th e tw elve sponsored in 1949, elev en

That th e b i l l s were a l l c o n s tru c tiv e m easures,

la rg e ly rem edial in n a tu re , h e lp s to e x p la in such unusual su c c e ss. Members o f th e Board are fre q u e n tly tu rn e d to by th e l e g i s l a t o r s

215 f o r f a c t u a l , u n b iased in fo rm atio n about pending b i l l s *

The

Governor’ s o f f ic e a lso c o n s u lts members of th e Board fo r t h e i r o p in io n s on th e v alu e and p ro b ab le r e s u l t s o f l e g i s l a ­ ti v e measures*

Not in f re q u e n tly th e Board w ill be c a lle d on

by l e g i s l a t o r s f o r a s s is ta n c e in d r a f tin g b i l l s . Mr. R uston’ s F eb ru ary , 194$, Report to th e Governor expressed c o n sid e ra b le s a t i s f a c t i o n w ith th e Board’ s l e g i s l a ­ tiv e e f f o r t s . Although to my knowledge th e S ta te Board o f Accounts has n o t in th e p a st e n te re d th e f i e l d o f sponsoring l e g i s l a t i o n , th e r e s u l t s o f o u r f i r s t e f f o r t s have proven so s a tis f a c to r y th a t i t i s our in te n tio n to co n tin u e to d r a f t b i l l s f o r subm ission to th e l e g i s l a t u r e along th e l i n e s enum erated a b o v e .5 In 1949 th e same system was used w ith eq u al su c c e s s. Twelve b i l l s were d r a f te d , th o ro u g h ly to r n a p a rt and r e ­ assembled by th e in fo rm al committee r e f e r r e d t o above, and then e n tru s te d to Mr. Harvey.

E leven o f them were e n a c te d .

The tw e lf th b i l l was dropped when a n o th e r b i l l w ith s u b s ta n ti­ a l ly th e same p ro v is io n s was in tro d u ce d in th e House. Since th e In d ian a A c ts . 1949, had not been p rin te d when t h i s study was being w r itte n , i t i s n a tu r a lly im p o ssib le to supply th e page r e f e re n c e s o f th e a c ts d isc u ss e d ; th e re fo r e ch ap ter numbers a re g iv e n .

In b r i e f , th e b i l l s w ritte n by th e

Board and en a cte d by th e G eneral Assembly a re : ~ r ~ " '

'

5"

~

T

■ ■

1 ■

■■ -

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Under Fir. De H o rity a pay plan f o r lo c a l o f f i c e r s was sponsored by th e Board, a s were th e budget b i l l s under Mr* Hend ren. L e g is la tio n a f f e c tin g th e Department was sponsored by th e F ie ld E xam iners’ A sso c ia tio n .

216 Senate B i ll 115, c.$ 2 — Unused B alances in Board Funds; P ro v id es f o r th e t r a n s f e r o f su rp lu s funds when th e purpose f o r which th e debt was in c u rre d has been accom plished o r abandoned. Senate B i l l 116, c.$3 — Cash Chang© Fund;

P erm its

th e esta b lish m e n t o f a cash change fund to f a c i l i t a t e making change in h an d lin g c o l le c tio n s . Senate B i l l 119, c.207 — A cting Township T ru ste e ; P rovides f o r appointm ent o f an a c tin g tow nship t r u s t e e when th e e le c te d t r u s t e e i s in c a p a c ita te d by m ental o r p h y s ic a l in ­ ju ry o r i l l n e s s .

{Popularly r e f e r r e d to in th e G eneral Assem­

b ly as th e ffGrazy T ru stee B i l l . " ) Senate B i ll 120, c.$4 — F ilin g and Recording O f f ic ia l Bonds;

R equires a l l bonds except th o se o f th e R ecorder, h is

d e p u tie s and employees to be f i l e d w ith th e R ecorder.

The

Recorder and h is a s s i s t a n t s co n tin u e to f i l e t h e i r bonds w ith th e Clerk o f th e C irc u it G ourt. S e n a t e B i ll 150, e.$ 9 — Schools f o r P u b lic O f f ic ia ls ; Allows th e S ta te Board o f Accounts to hold e d u c a tio n a l m eetings f o r T re a su re rs, C le rk s, and o th e r county, tow nship and c i t y o f f i c e r s ^ T his Act amended th e 1943 Act (Burns 60-240A) which

e s ta b lis h e d th e very s u c c e s s fu l school f o r A u d ito rs. Senate B i ll 170, c.92 — S urplus Tax Fund;

P ro v id es a

procedure f o r th e tr e a s u r e r to use in d e a lin g w ith su rp lu s ta x funds.

21?

Senate B i ll 132, c.2Q$ — Township Advisory Board: P ro v id es, in tw e n ty -th re e s e c tio n s , a p a r t i a l r e c o d if ie a tio n o f th e Township Advisory Board law; re p e a ls s ix sec­ tio n s o f p rev io u s A cts, some d a tin g back to 1$99. House B i ll 39$, c.136 — P u b lic Work:

E s ta b lis h e s

when p la n s and s p e c if ic a tio n s must be made to c a rry out pub­ l i c work and r e p a ir s ; p ro v id es method f o r g iv in g n o tic e s when b id s w ill be ac ce p ted . Senate B i l l 121, c.$ 5 — Change of Venue Charges; Provides t h a t unpaid c o u rt c o s ts in a change of venue case s h a ll be c e r t i f i e d from county where th e t r i a l was h e ld to county in which th e c o s t o r ig in a te d , o r th© county in which the judgment d eb to r r e s id e s i f he does not re s id e in th e county where th e case o r ig in a te d . Senate B i ll 122, c.$ 6 — C lerk ’ s Monthly F in a n c ia l Statem ent;

P rovides t h a t a monthly f in a n c ia l statem en t be

f i l e d by C lerks o f th e C irc u it C ourts w ith S ta te Board o f Accounts. Senate B ill 164, c.153 Fund:

M unicipal U t i l i t i e s Reserve

P rovides th a t m unicipal u t i l i t i e s c re a te a cash re s e rv e

fund which may be tr a n s f e r r e d to th e g e n e ra l fund of c i t i e s and towns o p e ra tin g u t i l i t i e s only under s p e c if ie d c o n d itio n s . The in te n t I s to prevent th e m u n ic ip a litie s from "m ilking" th e u tilitie s .

21$ The energy shown by Mr* Huston and h is d e p u tie s in keeping th e p u b lic o f f ic e r s and th e f i e l d s t a f f c u rre n tly informed was commendable.

The l e g i s l a t i v e ro le to in c re a s e

economy and e f f ic ie n c y given t o th e Board by Governor G ates was executed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y ; and th e ex ten sio n o f th e schools fo r p u b lic o f f ic e r s probably w ill be a n o tab le c o n trib u tio n . The re c o v e rie s o f th e Department under Mr. Huston was s a t i s ­ fa c to ry , even though th e d elay in c e r tif y in g charges has been q u estio n ed . One ch arg e, made w ith re lu c ta n c e because not f u l l y supported^ i s th a t th e b asic fu n c tio n , i . e . , perform ing a u d its , was not executed as f u l l y as could be d e s ire d .

Since th e

change in a d m in is tra tio n o f th e o f fic e does not co in cid e w ith th e f i s c a l y e a r, th e f ig u re s given below w ill not be f u lly a c c u ra te .

Mr. Huston headed th e agency th e l a s t few months

o f th e f i s c a l year o f 1945, and Mr. Jensen did th e same in th e f i s c a l y e a r o f 1949*

This being so, th e se few months

are assumed to ca n ce l each o th e r o u t.

in Mr. H uston’ s term ,

1946 -4 9 , th e re was a marked decrease in th e number o f r e p o r ts file d .

In th e 1942-45 p erio d $,09? r e p o rts were f i l e d ; in

th e 1946-49 p erio d only 5,910 were f i l e d . The r e p o r ts f i l e d by y e a rs follow : 1942 1943 1944 1945

2327 1259

1961 2550

1150 125$ 1992 1510

219 During th e 1941-45 p erio d e ig h t men from th e f i e l d s t a f f served in th e Armed Forces of th e n a tio n ; th ey r e ­ tu rn ed to th e agency during th e second p e rio d .

S t i l l , w ith a

d ep leted s t a f f , th e agency p erfo raed 2,1$7 more a u d its in th e f i r s t p e rio d , 1942-45, th an in th e second p e rio d , 194649, co n sid ered .

I t i s to be r e g r e tte d th a t th e annual number

of r e p o r ts made by th e agency from i t s beginning i s not a v a il­ a b le .

The annual average i s 2,195, but t h i s f ig u re should be

accepted w ith r e s e r v a tio n s , because th e volume and com plexity of p u b lic b u sin e ss was c o n sid erab ly le s s in th e f i r s t tw enty y ears of th e agency’ s o p e ra tio n .

CHAPTER X THE BOARD AMD THE DEPARTMENT To what e x te n t th e Governor i s in flu e n c e d by th e S ta te Examiner cannot be ab­ s o lu te ly d eterm in ed , sin ce th e p e r s o n a litie s and backgrounds o f th e Governor, th e S ta te Examiner, and th e in d iv id u a l deputy make each s it u a ti o n u n iq u e.

The o p in io n o f v a rio u s f i e l d men,

however, was t h a t except in unusual s i t u a t i o n s th e S ta te Ex­ aminer could pick th e men t o serve d i r e c t l y under him.

Both

men have served as d e p u tie s b efo re and Mr. Hindman i s now serving h is second co n secu tiv e term . T h eir hours a re th o se of th e S ta te Examiner, and o th e r S tate House employees*

T heir pay comes from two so u rc e s.

The

sa la ry f o r t h e i r Board d u tie s i s $5*600 a n n u a lly , s e t by th e Budget Committee and th e Governor.

In a d d itio n , th e y re c e iv e

$600 an n u ally f o r se rv in g as S e c re ta ry and T re a su re r to th e Board o f C e r tif ie d P u b lic A ccountants.

26k

265 Before d is c u s sin g th e d e p u tie s 1 d u tie s , th e o rg an iza­ tio n o f th e S ta te Board o f Accounts might w ell he c o n sid ered . B revity i s p o s s ib le , f o r th e o rg a n iz a tio n i s sim ple.

On th e

le v e l of th e f i e l d men th e re i s very l i t t l e s p e c ia liz a tio n . S pecial c a p a b il itie s a re u t i l i z e d , but they are not d ig n ifie d w ith t i t l e s or a d d itio n a l com pensation.

There are no d iv i­

sions o r b u reau s, and th e re are no su p e rv iso ry le v e ls between th e f i e l d men and th e S ta te Examiner and d e p u tie s . ( For con­ t r a s t th e Department o f F in a n c ia l I n s t i t u t i o n s may p ro p erly be co n sid ered , sin ce th e fu n c tio n s o f th e two ag en cies are b a s ic a lly s im ila r .

Though having a f i e l d s t a f f of only about

o n e -th ird th e s iz e of th a t o f th e S ta te Board o f A ccounts1, th e Department o f F in a n c ia l I n s titu t io n s has th re e d iv is io n s — Banks and T ru st Companies, B uilding and Loan A sso c ia tio n s, Small Loans and Consumer C red it — w ith a su p e rv iso r d ir e c tin g each division.^} The S ta te Board o f Accounts men f e e l th a t what i s gained by t h i s re c o g n itio n o f th e span of c o n tro l concept i s lo s t in f l e x i b i l i t y .

Other f a c to r s noted e a r l ie r , i t i s

f e l t , le s s e n th e Board*s need of re c o g n itio n of th e span o f c o n tro l concept. On th e le v e l o f th e d e p u tie s , s p e c ia l c a p a b il itie s are inform ally reco g n ized .

Mr. Hindman u s u a lly handles th e q u erie s

d ealin g w ith m unicipal c o rp o ra tio n s and p u b lic u t i l i t i e s , and Mr, Cooper ta k e s care of th o se on tow nship and county b u sin e ss, but o r d in a r ily each can a c t in e i th e r f i e l d .

Advice of th e

deputy to p u b lic o f f i c e r s or F ie ld Examiners commits th e agency.

N a tu ra lly , i f he i s not p o s itiv e , th e deputy w ill

not a c t w ithout c o n fe rrin g w ith th e o th e r deputy or w ith the S tate Examiner. The d e p u tie s o r d in a r ily are not concerned w ith th e F ield Examiners.

O ccasio n ally , when th e S ta te Examiner i s not

in th e o f f i c e , an assignm ent might be made by th e d e p u tie s . F ield Examiners in fre q u e n tly w rite o r telep h o n e one o f th e d ep u ties f o r th e agency’ s p o lic y upon a c e r ta in ty p e o f pro­ cedure,

The r e p o r ts o f th© F ie ld Examiners were o r ig in a lly

proved by th e d e p u tie s , but t h i s duty has la rg e ly been d e le ­ gated to a F ie ld Examiner who remains in th e o f f ic e .

Charges

made on sh o rtag e s are c a lle d to th e a tte n tio n of one of th e d e p u tie s , who makes th e form al a c tio n of the agency.

The c h ie f

duty, however, o f th e d e p u tie s i s d ea lin g w ith p u b lic o f f i c i a l s by in te rv ie w , by te le p h o n e , and by l e t t e r .

The p re se n t w rite r

observed p u b lic o f f i c i a l s c a llin g on th e d e p u tie s a s f a s t as they could be ta k e n c a re o f .

I t i s l i k e l y th a t the demands on

th e agency were h e a v ie s t during t h i s p erio d (A p ril-Ju n e , 1949) than i s u s u a l, because o f th e rece n t adjournment o f th e s ta te l e g is la tu r e .

For one week in May a reco rd o f telephone c a l l s

and correspondence was k e p t; i t re v e a ls th e fo llo w in g r e s u l t s : Incoming T ele­ phone C a lls Monday Tuesday Wednesday

75 71 56

Incoming F irs t-C la s L e tte rs 109 69 57

267 Thursday Friday Saturday

57 59 is

43 191 51

The l e t t e r s and c a l l s a re d ir e c te d to th e S ta te Exam­ in e r , and he r e f e r s them to th e d e p u tie s , p re fe ra b ly on th e b a s is o f t h e i r s p e c i a l t i e s .

Mr. Cooper sa id t h a t more th an

th r e e - q u a r te r s of h is tim e was given to d e a lin g w ith p u b lic o ffic ia ls .

Mr, Hindman, who i s s e c re ta ry to the Board of Cer­

t i f i e d P u b lic A ccountants, must devote a la rg e p a rt o f h is time during th e March-May and September-Wovember p erio d s to a d m in is tra tiv e work f o r th a t Board.

During th e se tim es Mr*

Cooper c a r r ie s th e h e a v ie r lo ad o f ad v isin g th e o f f i c e r s . Many q u e rie s n e c e s s ita te long and c a r e f u l study o f Burns S ta tu te s and th e Opinions o f th e A ttorney G en eral.

The

S tate Examiner and d e p u tie s have to be very c a re fu l about th e advice and in fo rm atio n th ey g iv e , p a r tic u la r ly when th e y are queried by te le p h o n e .

The in fo rm atio n su p p lied them by th e

public o f f i c i a l not in fre q u e n tly w ill be co lo red or incom plete, When th e d e p u tie s f e e l t h a t th e account o f th e s itu a tio n being given them i s not complete o r a c c u ra te , th ey w ill give only a te n ta tiv e re p ly and ask t h a t a l e t t e r be sen t th e Board s ta tin g th e f u l l p a r t i c u l a r s o f th e s it u a ti o n . Assembling a l i s t o f ty p ic a l q u estio n s from p u b lic o f f i ­ c e rs th a t th e S ta te Examiner and th e d e p u tie s must answer was d iffic u lt.

Wo reco rd i s m aintained o f th e advice given to pub­

l i c o f f ic e r s who v i s i t th e agency o r who c a l l on th e te le p h o n e .

26B Both d e p u tie s ag reed , however, t h a t th e same s o r t of q u estio n s were asked o r a lly and by correspondence; so th e q u estio n s be­ low, tak en from th e f i l e s of correspondence, are co n sid ered ty p ic a l o f a l l th e q u eries*

The in q u ir ie s and responses th a t

follow are co n sid ered as t y p i c a l .

They a re made as b r ie f as

c l a r i t y perm its* Q.

What a re th e d u tie s o f th e Town Board? Asked by a Town C lerk .

A.

A ppropriate re fe re n c e s in Burns Indiana S ta tu te s cited *

Q.

How can new accounts be s e t up f o r E le c tr ic U ti l i t y Revenue Bonds? — Town Clerk*

A.

A F ie ld Examiner was sen t t o s t a r t a system*

Q.

May a Town Board member ”who r a r e ly a tte n d s m eetings” be allow ed to c o lle c t sa la ry ? — Town C lerk ,

A.

He may.

Q.

In a rthydrophobia epidem ic” does th e County H ealth o f f i c e r have a u th o r ity to c o n tra c t f o r the s e rv ic e s o f an a s s is ta n t? Can th e County A uditor pay th e claim f o r such an a s s is ta n t w ithout an a p p ro p ria tio n ?

A.

The A ttorney G en eral1s Opinion i s c ite d to the c o n tra ry on th e f i r s t q u e s tio n . The County Audi­ t o r has no a u th o rity t o pay such a claim . Suggested S o lu tio n : The Township Dog Fund should provide funds; i f t h i s fund i s ex­ h au sted , th e tow nship g e n e ra l fund may be drawn on w ithout a p p ro p ria tio n .

269 Q»

May th e two subm itted claim s made by th e P ro se c u to r and S h e r if f f o r going to Mew fo rk to pick up a p ris o n e r be paid? — a County A u d ito r,

A,

The County P ro s e c u to r’s claim was approved by th e S ta te Board o f Accounts; th e S h e r if f ’ s claim was disapproved as e x c e ss iv e .

Q.

I s th e County C oroner’ s fee determ ined by w hether o r not a C oroner’ s ju ry i s used? — a County A u d ito r.

A.

No, th e fe e i s te n d o lla r s f o r th e f i r s t day and f iv e d o lla r s f o r each su c cessiv e day th a t th e in v e s tig a tio n r e q u ir e s .

Q,

May th e County S h e riff i n s t a l l V enetian b lin d s in th e j a i l and pay f o r them out o f the fund f o r R epairs o f B u ild in g s and S tru c tu re s?

A.

No.

Q,

May ’’p la in c lo th e s ” policemen re c e iv e o n e -h a lf o f th e c o s t o f b u sin e ss s u i t s from th e c i t y , a s re g u la r p o lic e do f o r uniform s? — a Mayor,

A.

No.

Q.

May th e members o f th e Town Board continue to re c e iv e f r e e w ater se rv ic e?

A.

No.

Q. Does th e 1 9 4 9 law allo w th e County P ro se cu to r to be p aid a p e r diem seven days a week? A. No, only when he i s engaged in o f f i c i a l b u s in e s s, which must be sworn t o . Q.

What fe e s and m ileage payments are p a rt o f the r e ­ m uneration of th e o ffic e ? — a newly e le c te d S h e r if f .

270 A.

A ppropriate c i t a t i o n s in Burns In d ian a S ta tu te s g iv e n , and a n o t i f i c a t i o n made o f a p u b lic a tio n o f th e In d ian a S h e r if f ’ s A sso c ia tio n ,

. Q,

May g a so lin e ta x funds be used to c o n s tru c t a b rid g e on a county highway? — a County A u d ito r,

A,

Yes, i f th e County Commissioners choose to make th a t e x p e n d itu re .

Q,

What funds should a check from S o cial Sec­ u r i t y be paid in to ? — a County A u d ito r,

A,

In to th e Poor Fund o f th e tow nship th a t paid th e o r ig in a l claim .

Q,

Must a tr u s te e f i l e a claim on th e Township Bog Fund i f a dog, whose owner liv e s in an o th er cou n ty , comes in to th e tow nship and k i l l s chickens?

A,

Yes,

Q,

Must a t r u s t e e provide tr a n s p o r ta tio n f o r c h ild re n a tte n d in g a p a ro c h ia l school?

A.

No, th e c h ild re n may r id e th e school bus along i t s r e g u la r r o u te , but th e bus may not go out o f i t s r e g u la r ro u te f o r them.

Q,

I f an in san e person i s d e liv e re d to an I n s t i t u ­ tio n by an u n d e rta k e r’ s ambulance f o r which a payment o f $>25 i s made, may th e S h e r if f go along and c o lle c t m ileage?

A.

Ho, th e S h e r i f f ’ s m ileage i s p aid only when he fu rn is h e s the conveyance.

Burns c i t a t i o n g iv e n .

An in te r e s ti n g query was subm itted on th e v a l i d i t y of fo u r answ ers to B a rre tt Law q u estio n s given a C1e rk - Tre a sure r

271 by a C ity A tto rn ey ,

The S ta te Board o f Accounts r e p lie d ,

w ith c o n sid erab le t a c t , th a t two of th e a tto r n e y ’s answers were c o r r e c t. A la rg e p er cen t o f th e q u estio n s asked could have been answered on th e lo c a l le v e l by county and c i ty a tto rn e y s , i f th e se o f f i c i a l s were perform ing t h e i r d u tie s ad eq u ately , ^kany such a tto rn e y s th e m selv es, however, w rite o r c a l l th e S ta te Board o f Accounts f o r le g a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .^ Some q u estio n s re q u ire c o n sid e ra b le search fo r th e c o rre c t answ ers. Sometimes th e substance o f th e law i s known by th e d e p u tie s , but fin d in g th e s p e c if ic s e c tio n in Burns S ta tu te s o r th e Opinions of th e A ttorney G eneral f o r c i t a t i o n ta k e s tim e. As noted above, th e d e p u tie s must be wary of a re p o rt of th e circum stances th a t i s s la n te d to b rin g out th e answer the pub­ l i c o f f i c e r w ants.

I f such an answer can be o b tain ed in a

l e t t e r , a F ie ld Examiner i s p laced in th e awkward p o s itio n of saying, on th e b a s is of more complete in fo rm a tio n , th a t th e deputy, h is le g a l s u p e rio r, was wrong. The S ta te Board of Accounts, hox^ever, i s anxious to help th e p u b lic o f f i c e r p rev en t m istak es; and th e s e rv ic e of th e d e p u tie s i s a very im portant item in t h i s program. The d e p u tie s a re in charge of th e housekeeping f o r th e agency.

Whenever -any o f f ic e su p p lie s run low or m echanical

equipment needs r e p a i r o r ad ju stm en t, th e person using the m a te ria l or equipment inform s one of th e d e p u tie s , who p la c e s

272 an o rd e r.

New equipment i s o rd ered through th e Department

o f P ub lic Works and Supply by th e d e p u tie s . The c l e r i c a l s t a f f o f th e S ta te Board of Accounts c o n s is ts of fo u r p erso n s:

a c le r k , a r e c e p tio n is t, and two

ste n o g ra p h ers. The second c le rk th a t th e agency has had in i t s f o r ty y ea rs o f o p e ra tio n i s Miss Kathryn© M ille r.

Miss N olle M ullen-

ix , th e f i r s t c le r k , who r e t i r e d in 1941, i s th e only non­ examining employee to q u a lify f o r th e Board’ s re tire m e n t.

The

c le r k ’ s c h ie f duty i s numbering and f i l i n g th e typed and bound re p o rts o f th e F ie ld Exam iners, and she i s re sp o n sib le fo r be­ ing ab le to produce any r e p o rt t h a t i s w anted.

When the typed

re p o rt comes to th e c l e r k ’ s d esk, she numbers i t (th e l a t e s t number, in J u ly , 1949, was $ 7 ,1 4 3 ), re c o rd s th e number in the la rg e assignm ent book in in k , and keeps th e y e a rly f i l e on typed index card s up to d a te .

The a c tu a l r e p o r ts of ap p ro x i­

mately th e l a s t te n y e a rs are in the f i l i n g c a b in e ts in th e o f f ic e .

The r e p o r ts f i l e d b efo re 1940 have been m icrofilm ed,

and th e y may be screened in th e Bureau of Motor V eh icles. In a d d itio n to m ain tain in g the la rg e assignm ent book, the c le rk keeps th e y e a rly assignm ent book up to d a te .

This

sim pler reco rd o f th e u n its to be examined i s used by th e S ta te Examiner when he makes assig n m en ts. When th e f i l e d r e p o r ts are from th e p o l i t i c a l su b d iv i­ sio n s o f the s t a t e , th e c le rk b i l l s th e County A uditor f o r th e

273

se rv ic e o f th e agency.

The charge f o r a F ield Examiner fo r

each working day i s te n d o lla r s when th e a u d it i s o f a regu­ l a r governm ental fu n c tio n .

The p u b lic u t i l i t i e s of th e po­

l i t i c a l su b d iv isio n s a re charged th e a c tu a l c o s ts o f th e ex­ am ination.

Since th e pay o f th e exam iner v a r ie s during h is

f i r s t fiv e y e a rs w ith th e agency, th e c o s ts to th e u t i l i t i e s d iffe r.

A charge o f |1 1 . $5 i s made f o r a f i r s t year man, and

the d a ily fee in c re a s e s one d o lla r a day f o r

each y ea r o f ex­

p e rie n c e , up t o f i v e , t h a t an exam iner h as.

The lo c a l u n it

pays th e charge w ith a check t o th e T re a su re r o f S ta te , which, however, i s se n t to th e Board o f A ccounts.

The c le rk reco rd s

th e payment in th e agency’ s accounts and th en d e p o s its

th e

check w ith th e T re a su re r o f S ta te . The p a y ro ll i s an o th er r e s p o n s ib ility of th e c l e r k ’ s . The F ield Examiners tu r n in to th e c le rk th e reco rd of days worked each month and t h e i r m ileage and per diem s.

The m ile­

age i s checked f o r accuracy; i f an e r r o r i s d isc o v ered , th e clerk r e f e r s i t to one of th e d e p u tie s .

When th e reco rd i s

com plete, th e c le rk ty p e s th e p a y r o ll; and a f t e r i t i s signed by th e S ta te Examiner, ta k e s i t to th e o f f ic e o f th e A uditor of S ta te , who has s a la ry checks drawn to th e F ie ld Exam iners. V arious o th e r n o n -ro u tin e jo b s are performed by th e c le rk .

The pay i s |2 1 0 a month.

days; th e sic k le av e i s e le v e n .

The annual leav e is tw elve In approxim ately one more

year th e p re se n t occupant of th e p o s itio n m i l be e l i g i b l e to

274 jo in th e agency’ s re tire m e n t program.

The monthly c o n trib u ­

tio n and th e re tire m e n t b e n e f it are one h a lf o f th o se of a F ield Examiner. The r e c e p tio n is t o f th e agency, in a d d itio n to answer­ ing th e te le p h o n e , g re e tin g c a l l e r s and e s c o rtin g them to th e o f f ic e r s th ey wish to s e e , han d les one q u ite im portant a s s ig n ­ ment,

She a d m in iste rs th e program f o r th e ty p in g of th e o f f i ­

c i a l r e p o rts o f th e F ie ld Exam iners.

The r e p o r ts are hand­

w ritte n on yellow accounting p a p e r,.w ith adding machine ta p e s a tta c h e d .

Such r e p o r ts are c a lle d "dummies.”

The r e c e p tio n is t

sends th e se dummies to th e one f u ll- tim e ty p i s t o f th e agency or to one o f th e te n p a rt-tim e t y p i s t s th a t th e agency u s e s . The p a rt-tim e t y p i s t s are paid tw en ty -fiv e c e n ts a page; and they must make a t l e a s t fo u r carbon copies o f r e p o r ts .

The

ty p is ts r e tu rn th e typed re p o rt and th e dummy to the re c e p tio n ­ i s t , who sends them to th e F ie ld Examiner so th a t he can proof read h is re p o rt or th e p ro o f read in g may be done in th e o f f ic e . An o f f ic e ru le i s th a t th e dummy and the typed re p o rt may not be m ailed in one package, so th a t both dummy and re p o rt may not both be l o s t in th e m a il.

The r e c e p tio n is t pays th e p a rt-tim e

ty p is ts by checks drawn on th e F ie ld Examiners’ Typing Associa­ tio n Fund. pense.

She th e n b i l l s th e u n its examined fo r the ty p in g ex­

The r e c e p tio n is t i s also in charge o f f i l i n g th e agency’ s

correspondence.

275

Two ste n o g ra p h ers are employed.

Each of them ta k e s

d ic ta tio n from th e S ta te Examiner and th e two d e p u tie s . th re e g i r l s a re paid $160 a month.

A ll

Not under th e ju r is d ic tio n

of th e S ta te P ersonnel D iv isio n , th e g i r l s were employed by Mr. Huston, and none has been w ith th e agency f o r th re e y e a rs. Two are R epublicans and one i s a Democrat, but th ey did not g et t h e i r jo b s through th e p a rty h ie ra rc h y , and they make no p o l i t i c a l c o n trib u tio n s .

One g i r l s a id , ttI would r a th e r work

here th a n anywhere e ls e in th e S tate House.

Everyone here i s

nice and f r ie n d ly ." As noted above, th e occupants of th e p o s itio n s o f r e ­ c e p tio n is t and sten o g rap h er do not u s u a lly stay more th a n a few y ea rs w ith th e agency, but they are not removed a s a p a tro n ­ age measure.

They leav e to g e t m arried or to ta k e o th e r jo b s.

CHAPTER U I I F IE L D i

THE F IE L D EXAMINERS

In August of 1949 th e re were e ig h ty -th re e F ield Exam­ in e rs on assignm ents made by th e S tate Examiner,

The S tate

Examiner would lik e to have a f i e l d s t a f f of n in e ty -f iv e . Q u a lita tiv e ly , th e s t a f f appears to be w ell equipped to per­ form i t s d u tie s .

By decades th e age of th e s t a f f breaks

down to those of 60 and above, 1$; 50 to 59, 1$; 40 to 49, 22; 30 to 39, 14; 25 to 29, 10, and one 24 year old exam iner. The average age i s s li g h tly above 47•

This mixture of youth

and experience seems to be fa v o ra b le , when th e r e s p o n s ib ility and d u tie s are considered. Eleven men are in th e f i r s t year pay group, fo u r in th e second, fo u r In th e th i r d , six in the fo u rth , and f i f t y - e i g h t in th e f i f t h .

The average number of

years w ith th e agency i s approxim ately te n and o n e -h a lf.

These

fig u re s o f course do not in clu d e th e S ta te Examiner and d ep u ties and th e te n men loaned to o th er ag en cies.

Counting them in , the

average age and average y ears of experience in c re a se s s li g h tly . More than h a lf (47 of $3) o f th e men have attended c o lle g e , and many of th e o th e rs have taken advanced work in accounting.

More

of th e f i e l d men atten d ed Indiana U n iv ersity th an any oth er college or u n iv e rs ity (2 3 ).

Three atten d ed Purdue and the same

number took work a t DePauw.

Most of th e co lleg e s of the s ta te 276

277 are re p re se n te d on th e r o s t e r o f th e f i e l d s t a f f . The lo c a l p u b lic o f f ic e s have provided th e major share of th e F ie ld Examiners, though n e a rly a l l of them have worked also in p r iv a te in d u s try .

Summarising th e employment back­

ground p resen ted d i f f i c u l t i e s , and th e fig u re s do not give a tru e p ic tu r e , fo r the sources o f inform ation — th e a p p lic a ­ tio n blanks and th e F ie ld Exam inersf A ssociation b iographies — were not com plete.

There is a lso some o v erlapping, since when

p riv a te and p u b lic backgrounds were g iv en , they were noted and counted.

Even though incom plete, th e summary appears to th e

w rite r to be of v a lu e , f o r i t does give an id ea o f th e employ­ ment backgrounds of the F ie ld Examiners. ormer P o s itio n County A uditor Deputy A uditor County T reasu rer Deputy T reasu rer Clerk o f C irc u it Court Deputy Clerk T rustee C lerk -T reasu re r Employee o f C o n tro lle r M unicipal U t i l i t y Accountant C ity Engineer Teacher P rin c ip a l S uperintendent o f Schools Employee of S ta te A uditor Employee of S ta te Highway Commission Employee o f Gross Income Tax D ivi­ sion Employee o f P ublic Welfare Dept. Employee o f U.S. I n te r n a l Revenue Employee o f U.S. C onsular Service

Humber 13 15 2 5 2 4 2 3 1 3 1 4 1 2 2 5 2 2 4 1

27$ Employee o f U.S. Census Employee o f U. S. Post o f fic e A ccountant, p riv a te b u sin ess Bank c a s h ie r Newspaper r e p o r te r College stu d e n t

1 2

5 5 1

9

As th e l i s t i n g shows, County A uditors and d ep u ties form th e backbone o f th e s t a f f .

There i s , however, a w ealth

of p u b lic and p riv a te ex p erien ce th a t can be u t i l i z e d . l a s t l i s t i n g , College s tu d e n t, re q u ire s e x p la n a tio n . f i e l d men were appointed in 194$ and 1949* v eteran s whose ed u catio n s had been delayed.

The These

N early a l l were Though they had

had l i t t l e employment ex p e rien ce , as a group th ey averaged more th a n tw en ty -fiv e y ea rs o f age. One c r itic is m th a t might be made o f the f i e l d s t a f f i s th a t f o r an agency th a t must operate over the whole s t a t e , a d is p ro p o rtio n a te nuiaber liv e in In d ia n a p o lis , o r w ith in tw en ty -fiv e m iles o f th a t c i ty .

G ranting th a t th e s ta te o f f ­

ic e s and Marion County form a heavy c o n c e n tra tio n f o r the se rv ic e s o f th e agency, s t i l l a geographic d is tr ib u tio n th a t had more men liv in g in th e co rn ers of th e .state and le s s in the c e n te r would be d e s ir a b le .

Very fre q u e n tly th e o b je c tio n

to s p e c if ic assignm ents stems from t h i s overcrowding o f th e In d ia n a p o lis a re a .

Since no geographic apportionm ent i s follow ed

and sin c e th e S ta te Examiner can appoint only th o se who have passed th e ex aad n atio n , th e geographic d is tr ib u tio n w ill probably

279 remain a problem*

From th e p o in t of view o f th e F ie ld Ex­

am iners a c e n tr a l lo c a tio n i s of course d e s ir a b le .

He

can th en r e tu r n home f o r a week end from even an assignm ent in a co rn er co u n ty .

I f he liv e d in E v an sv ille o r J e ffe rs o n ­

v i l l e , however, and was banished to Lake County, he could go home only th ro u g h stren u o u s d riv in g .

The lik e lih o o d of such

an uneconomic assignm ent, th o u g h , i s r a th e r sm a ll. COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION SYSTEM ^The f i e l d s t a f f , a s n o ted above, has always been com­ posed to a la rg e degree o f form er p u b lic o f f ic e r s .) T his s it u a ­ tio n i s o f course q u ite n a t u r a l.

As a group, In d ian a p u b lic

o f f ic e r s a re inform ed, a s p r iv a te ac co u n ta n ts and accounting stu d e n ts are n o t, o f th e D ep artm en t^ work, i t s pay, ad v an tag es, and p r e s ti g e .

The high c a lib r e of th e F ie ld Examiners n a tu r a lly

has a t t r a c t e d a h ig h type o f p u b lic o f f i c e r .

The t r a n s i t i o n

from p u b lic o f f i c e r to F ie ld Examiner appears to be a f a i r l y n a tu ra l one.

The exam ining system , u n t i l q u ite r e c e n tly , was

devised p rim a rily f o r th e man who had had experience in p u b lic o ffic e in In d ia n a . ^

'

In 1946 a n o ta b le r e v e r s a l o ccu rred ,

" Mr, Huston to ld

th e p re s e n t w r ite r th a t he b e lie v e d th a t a w ell tr a in e d account­ an t could be ta u g h t p u b lic b u sin e ss e a s ie r th an an experienced p u b lic o f f i c e r could be ta u g h t te c h n ic a l a c c o u n t i n g H e th e r e J

fo re b e lie v e d t h a t a more e f f e c tiv e F ie ld Examiner could be de-

2$0 veloped from a te c h n ic a lly tr a in e d acco u n tan t th an from th e experienced p u b lic o f f i c e r in d if f e r e n tly tr a in e d in acco u n tin g .

Mr. Huston in s tr u c te d George E. Greene, who

had q u a lif ie d f o r appointm ent s h o r tly a f t e r being graduated from In d ian a U n iv e rs ity , to draw up an exam ination th a t would emphasize tr a in in g and s k i l l in g e n e ra l ac co u n tin g , one where knowledge o f In d ian a p u b lic accounting methods and term inology was not h e a v ily w eighted,

Mr* Gordon Qlvey, Greene*s p a r tn e r,

a s s is te d in th e p re p a ra tio n o f th e 1946 exam ination,

Mr. Hus­

to n accepted th e fo llo w in g system* W ritten E xam ination. .......................... 70$ Accounting E x p erien ce, . . . . . . 10$ Accounting T ra in in g , 10$ E ducation, g e n e ra l . . . . . . . . 7$ A g e « » , . « « » i G eneral appearance .......................... . 1% 100$ The w ritte n exam ination, which re q u ire d e ig h t hours to com plete, was w eighted in th e fo llo w in g manner:

G eneral

Accounting (33$)> Governmental Accounting (31$)> A uditing (10$), Cost Accounting (1 2 $ ), In d ian a Accounting P ra c tic e s (14$)*

On t h i s exam ination seventy p o in ts from a l l f a c to r s

was th e p assin g mark; below s ix ty - f iv e on th e w r itte n examina­ tio n d is q u a lif ie d th e a p p lic a n t. ^Accounting experience was in te r p r e te d s t r i c t l y .

The

a p p lic a n t must have been in charge o f a f u l l s e t of records> or prepared com plete statem en ts th e re o n f o r th e tim e in the p o si­

2di

tio n to count as "Accounting E xperience •"

"Experience as

a p u b lic o f f i c i a l may be c r e d ite d only i f th e d u tie s con­ s is te d o f th e immediate su p e rv isio n o f , o r th e a c tu a l keeping o f f in a n c ia l re c o rd s o f th a t o f f i c e * O n an extended s c a le , th e p o in ts given f o r accounting experience were as fo llo w s: Tear o f Experience F i r s t Year Second Year T hird Year Next Fpur Years Next Five Years

Hate p er Tear 40 20 10 5 2

p o in ts p o in ts p o in ts p o in ts p o in ts

Years above tw elve not c re d ita b le

Extended P o in ts 40 p o in ts

20 10 20 10

p o in ts p o in ts p o in ts p o in ts

0 100 p o in ts

The t h i r d elem ent, Accounting T ra in in g , according to Greene, might be more a c c u ra te ly termed " s p e c ia l tr a in in g o f p a r tic u la r value in th e work o f a F ie ld Examiner*"

Such an

approach allow ed law and g e n e ra l b u sin e ss co u rses to count* Law cou rses w ill be given f u l l c r e d it f o r up to te n sem ester hours and o n e -h a lf c r e d it f o r th e next tw enty sem ester hours and none th e re a f te r * Accounting co u rses w ill be given f u l l c r e d it f o r the f i r s t f i f t y sem ester hours and o n e -h a lf c r e d it th e re a f te r * General b u sin ess co u rses w ill be given f u l l c r e d it f o r th e f i r s t f iv e sem ester h o u rs, o n e -h a lf c r e d it f o r th e next te n sem ester h ou rs, and none th e r e a f te r * 2 The r a tin g on "Accounting T rain in g " was on th e fo llo w ­ ing b a s is : ^George E* Greene, L e tte r to th e S tate Examiner (undated)* 2I b id .

2$2 Semester Hours

Rate per Hour

F i r s t 20 hours Next 20 hours Next 40 hours

E xtension

2$ 1§$ 3i?$

40/4 30$ 30$

E ducation, g e n e ra l, was on th e follow ing b a s is : Type of Education

Maximum Tears

Grade School High School U n iv ersity or College U n iv ersity o r College

$ 4

Rate per Tear

Extension

1/4 6$

$$ 24$

F ir s t 4

15$

60$

Next 1

8$

None t h e r e a f t e r c re d ita b le

0 100$

The b a s is f o r grading age was as fo llo w s: Age o f A pplicant 21-25 y ears 26-37 y ears 3$-40 y ea rs 41-45 y ea rs 46-50 y ears 51-55 y ears 56-60 y ears 61 and over

old old old o ld old old old y ea rs old

Grade yvyo 100$ $0$ 70$ 50$ 20$ 10$ 0$

The "AppearancefT f a c to r could be fix e d by the Examiners giving th e t e s t , This type o f exam ination put th e co lleg e graduate with an accounting degree above a County A uditor o r deputy.

In th e

194$ exam ination, o f th e f i f t e e n who passed, eleven were account* ing s tu d e n ts , a l l but one o f whom were from Indiana U n iv ersity .

2$3 The 1949 exam ination w ill be weighted more in fav o r of th e experienced p u b lic o f f i c e r th an the l a s t t e s t was. The S ta te Examiner announced a t th e annual F ield Examiners1 A ssociation meeting th a t th e Board wanted a p p lic a tio n s from experienced p u b lic o f f ic e r s .

The fa c to rs in th e exam ination

and the value to be given each has not y et been form ulated. An a d m in is tra tiv e r u lin g o f th e agency re q u ire s pub­ l ic a tio n o f n o tic e o f th e exam ination t h i r t y days before i t i s g iv en .

A news sto ry u su a lly i s p rin te d a ls o .

For the

l a s t two exam inations, F ie ld Examiners were d ire c te d to give f a c ts on th e agency and th e exam ination to th e newspapers in the l o c a l i t i e s in which they were working.

In t h i s way n ea rly

state-w id e newspaper covering was achieved. The agency does not screen th e a p p lic a tio n s in any way. To ta k e the exam ination i t i s only n ecessary to w rite the agency f o r an a p p lic a tio n blan k , f i l l i t out p ro p e rly , and re ­ tu rn i t to the agency.

Using such a system th e Board i s some­

tim es deluged w ith a p p lic a n ts .

Accurate reco rd s o f th e number

tak in g th e exam ination extend back only to 193$*

On a q u an tity

b a sis th e record shows th a t th e r e c r u itin g is adequate.

Q uali­

ta tiv e ly co n sid ered , th e record i s co n sid erab ly le s s imposing. Following i s th e reco rd o f those ta k in g and those p assin g th e exam ination:

2B4

Year

Number Taking th e Examination

193$ 1941 1942 1945 1946 1947 194$

554 125 96 $0 33 54 73

Those Passing th e Examinat ion 22 13 $ $ 7 6 15

A copy o f th e a p p lic a tio n form appears in th e Appendix.

I t is

a conventional a p p lic a tio n form , except th a t th e a p p lic a n t must secure th e recommendation o f th re e Republicans and th re e Demo­ c r a ts . As i t has always been, th e exam ination i s a combination o f assembled and unassebled ty p e .

The can d id ates are brought

to g e th e r and given a w ritte n t e s t sim u ltan eo u sly , though in 194$ an exam ination was given a t Indiana U n iv e rsity , and an ev a lu atio n o f t h e i r backgrounds i s made.

Both elem ents are

counted in determ ining w hether th e candidate p asses. ^The per­ s o n a lity f a c to r i s thought o f as deserving o f very considerable weight by the v ario u s f i e l d and h ead q u arters men in terv iew ed . o r two t a c t l e s s , domineering F ie ld Examiners could lo se th e agency a g re a t deal o f good w ill and could make th e d u tie s of other f i e l d men le s s p le a sa n t and more d i f f i c u l t . ) The examina­ tio n system has never been questioned ju d ic ia lly , and, since the unassembled element has not always been c le a rly broken down with a num erical v a lu a tio n given to each f a c to r , i t would be

235 very d i f f i c u l t f o r a d isa p p o in te d c a n d id ate to e s ta b lis h grounds a g a in s t th e Board. The ex am in atio n , acco rd in g to s t a t u t e , s h a ll be ’’c o m p e titiv e .’^

A c tu a lly , however, th e S ta te Board o f Acc­

ounts exam ination i s n o t ”c o m p e titiv e ,” a s t h a t term i s de­ fin e d and a p p lie d in g e n e ra l p u b lic p ersonnel a d m in is tra tio n . T e c h n ic a lly , th e term a p p lie d to th e Board’ s exam ination and s e le c tio n system i s ’’n o n c o m p e titiv e .”^

Although th e Indiana

Personnel Act does not e x p l i c i t l y d e fin e ’’co m p etitiv e examina­ t i o n , n i t i s made q u ite c l e a r by th e fo llo w in g sen ten ce; ’’The names o f a l l perso n s a t ta i n in g th e minimum f i n a l earned r a t ­ ings e s ta b lis h e d by th e d ir e c to r in advance o f th e g iv in g o f th e t e s t s h a ll be p la c e d upon th e e l i g i b l e l i s t in th e order of t h e i r r a t i n g s . ”^

In orthodox p u b lic perso n n el a d m in is tra ­

tio n term in o lo g y , th e exam ination o f th e S tate Board o f Acc­ ounts i s a ’’p a s s ” e x a m in a tio n .6

A ca n d id a te w ith a mark o f

71 (70 i s p assin g ) may be ap p o in ted ahead o f a can d id ate who receiv ed a grade o f 35* 3B urns. 6 0 - 2 1 0 . kM NM W W M BO *

^ ”The noncom petitive exam ination i s synonymous w ith th e f a m ilia r ’pass e x a m in a tio n ’ employed under th e f e d e r a l law o f 1 $ 7 1 .... There i s no ran k in g o f e l i g i b l e s . ” W illiam h . Mosher and J . Donald K in g sley , P u b lic P erso n n el A d m in istra tio n (hew York: H arper and B ro th e rs, 1941), p* 110. 5B urns. 60-1319* ^Mosher and K ingsley, lo c . c i t .

236 A fte r p a s s in g th e e x a m in a tio n , th e a p p lic a n t’ s e l i g i b ­ ility

is not fix e d .

B o ard p o lic y h a s b een to

se t a fiv e -y e a r

lim it upon th e c a n d id a te ’s e l i g i b i l i t y , b u t t h i s p o lic y h as n o t b een e s ta b lis h e d in any fo rm a l w ay.

The p ro b le m h a s n o t

y et had to be fa c e d . No s t u d i e s h a v e b e e n m a d e o n t h e v a l i d i t y o f t h e B o a r d ’ s e x a m in a tio n .

To b e a v a l i d e x a m i n a t i o n , a c l o s e c o r r e l a t i o n

s h o u ld e x i s t b e tw e e n h ig h e x a m in a tio n s c o r e s a n d s u p e r io r a c h ie v e m e n t on th e jo b .

C o n v e rs e ly , a p e rs o n w ith a lo w e r

p a ssin g s c o re sh o u ld p e rfo rm l e s s s a t i s f a c t o r i l y .

The S t a t e

B o a rd o f A c c o u n ts h a s m ade n o s t u d i e s on t h e v a l i d i t y o f i t s e x a m in a tio n s.

S u ch s t u d i e s w o u ld be p r a c t i c a l l y i m p o s s i b l e ,

b e c a u se th e p e rfo rm a n c e o f t h e F ie ld E x a m in e rs h a s n e v e r b e e n e v a lu a te d in any fo rm a l w ay.

The pay s c a le i s b a s e d e n t i r e l y

u p o n s e n i o r i t y , w i t h t h e m o s t r e l i a b l e a n d c o m p e t e n t f i e l d m en r e c e i v i n g t h e sam e s a l a r y a s t h e l e a s t c o m p e t e n t , i f b o t h h a v e t h e sam e n u m b e r o f y e a r s w i t h t h e a g e n c y t o t h e i r c r e d i t *

T h is

s a la ry s c a le a p p lie s o n ly f o r th e f i r s t fo u r y e a rs o f s e rv ic e ; a l l F i e l d E x a m in e rs w i t h f i v e o r m ore y e a r s a r e p a i d a t th e sa m e r a t e .

The s a l a r y p a id t h e F i e l d E x a m in e rs w i l l b e d i s ­

c u sse d a t le n g th b e lo w . Women a n d N e g r o e s h a v e t a k e n t h e e x a m i n a t i o n , b u t n o n e h a v e e v e r r e c e i v e d a p a s s i n g g r a d e . . The p r e s e n t S t a t e E x a m in e r b e lie v e s

t h a t t h e r e i s d e f i n i t e l y a p l a c e f o r w o m en a s F i e l d

E x a m in e r s , a n d h e w o u ld l i k e t o a p p o i n t a te a m .

237 PAX AND RETIREMENT AND LEAVE The s a la r y o f th e F ie ld Examiners i s s e t by th e Bud­ get Committee and th e G overnor.7

The m o tivating fo rc e f o r

an in c re a se in s a la r y , o f c o u rse , must come from th e agency. The 1949 r a is e was a fa v o ra b le response by th e Budget Committee and Governor to a l e t t e r w ritte n on March 23, 1949» to th e Budget D ire c to r by Mr. Jensen a f t e r o b ta in in g th e Governor’ s approv al, a l e t t e r which n e a tly s ta te d th e s itu a tio n of th e F ie ld Examiners and th e Board; Dear Mr. F re e h a fe r: ^bhe Budget D ir e c to r/ We r e s p e c tf u lly re q u e st th a t you submit to th e Budget Committee f o r t h e i r c o n s id e ra tio n our re ­ quest f o r a s a la r y in c re a s e f o r F ie ld Examiners o f th e S ta te Board of Accounts. I am sure th a t you a p p re c ia te th a t many o th e r s ta te departm ents, i n s t i t u t i o n s , and a g e n cie s have made in q u ir ie s r e ­ gard in g c e r ta in o f our men and ask th a t th ey be g ran te d le a v e s o f absence in o rd er to tak e a p o si­ tio n a t a la r g e r compensation th an th e y now re c e iv e as F ie ld Examiners o f t h i s departm ent. Many of the men have had y e a rs o f ex p erien ce and I am su re th a t in comparison w ith s a l a r i e s paid to lik e examiners th e departm ent i s not on a par as f a r as compensa­ tio n i s concerned. Our re q u e st i s as fo llo w s; For F i r s t Year Second Year T hird Year Fourth Year F if th Year and a f t e r 7

Burns. 60-422.

P re sen t S alary 63,400 3,700 4,000 4,300

Requested S alary 63,600 3,900 4,200 4,500

4,600

4,300

233

We h a v e c h e c k e d t h e a p p r o p r i a t i o n s f o r t h e 1943-49 F i s c a l Y ear an d f e e l t h a t th e r e I s a s u f f i c i e n t b a la n c e to c o v e r th e in c re a s e s r e ­ q u e s t e d a b o v e . We t r u s t t h a t t h e B u d g e t C o m m i t t e e w ill g iv e t h i s t h e i r s e rio u s c o n s id e r a tio n , and am s u r e t h a t i t w i l l g r e a t l y b e n e f i t t h e d e p a r t ­ m en t i n t h e w ork w h ic h i t I s c h a r g e d by s t a t u t e to p erfo rm . V ery t r u l y y o u r s (sig n e d )

O tto K. Je n se n S t a t e E x a m in e r

S in c e a pay s c h e d u le had a lr e a d y b een e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e B u d g e t C o m m itte e a n d t h e G o v e rn o r , a p p r o v a l w as q u i c k l y g ra n te d to th e S ta te E x a m in e r’ s r e q u e s t. E v en th o u g h t h e S t a t e E x a m in e r m ade t h e p o i n t to t h e B u d g e t C o m m itte e t h a t t h e F i e l d E x a m in e rs w e re u n d e r p a i d , M r . G e o r g e E . G r e e n e , a f i e l d m an a s s i g n e d t o I n d i a n a U n i v e r ­ s i t y , u se d th e pay a s an a t t r a c t i o n in r e c r u itin g t a l k s to u n iv e r s ity a c c o u n tin g c la s s e s # p a ra d o x ic a l in th e s itu a tio n .

T h ere i s o f c o u rs e n o th in g W h a t w o u l d b e an a t t r a c t i v e

s a l a r y t o a n i n e x p e r i e n c e d u n i v e r s i t y S e n io r w o u ld n o t be a d e s i r a b l e one to an e x p e r ie n c e d m an.

M r. G r e e n e ’ s p r e s e n t a ­

t i o n o f t h e f i n a n c i a l re w a rd s o f a b e g in n in g f i e l d e x a m in e r w as a s f o l l o w s : base s a la ry ,3 ,4 0 0 (o ld r a te ) p e r d ie m ( 6 6 .2 0 a d a y ) 6 3 2 .5 5 x 50 w e e k s. . . . . . . . . 1 ,6 2 0 mileage® ( 6 , 0 0 0 m i l e s a t 3 c e n t s ) . . 1$0 Ci

...................." " "

" "



°Mr. G r e e n e a s s u m e d t h a t a c t u a l o p e r a t i o n o f a c a r c o s t o n l y t h r e e o f t h e s i x c e n t s a m i l e t h a t t h e s t a t e p a y s . He s t a t e d t h a t in t h i s r e c r u i t i n g sp e e c h he w as a s a le s m a n , n o t an a c c o u n ta n t.

289 440

retirem ent b en efit

157340

ta x saving to ta l

460

$6,100

This p re s e n ta tio n probably i s to o ro s e a te , but from a f i n ­ a n c ia l p o in t of view th e agency could compete s a t i s f a c t o r i l y w ith p riv a te b u sin e ss and o th e r governmental u n its f o r co lleg e tra in e d ac co u n ta n ts.

Since th e exam ination was w eighted to

allow them t o compete fav o rab ly w ith persons tr a in e d in pub­ l i c b u sin e ss, u n iv e r s itie s and c o lle g e s accounting stu d e n ts took th e exam ination.

Of the f i f t e e n passing th e l a s t exam­

in a tio n , te n were from Indiana U n iv ersity and one o th er from E v an sv ille C ollege. Like o th e r s ta te employees, the F ie ld Examiners have, as a r i g h t , one day’s leav e f o r each month they work.

Since

Sunday does not co u n t, th e annual leave i s a c tu a lly f o r two weeks.

I t i s not cum ulative.

The eleven-day sick leave i s a

p riv ile g e and not a r i g h t . The re tire m e n t system f o r F ie ld Examiners and o th e r em­ ployees of th e S ta te Board of Accounts was enacted by th e Gener­ a l Assembly in 1941*^

U n til t h i s tim e the F ield Examiners con­

tin u ed on th e job u n t i l fo rced by i l l h e a lth to sto p .

Mr. Thad

Major, one o f th e members of th e f i r s t group to r e t i r e under the system, worked u n t i l he was sev en ty -eig h t years o ld . ent law compels re tire m e n t a t seventy. Burns, 60-241-43.

The p res­

290 To c re a te a re tire m e n t fund, each f i e l d Examiner paid $20 f o r each year o f se rv ic e o r $500 in to th e fund, whichever sum was sm a lle r.

S ta rtin g on Ju ly 1, 1941* each

f ie ld worker paid |162 an n u ally , in monthly in sta llm e n ts o f $13*5Q in to th e fund.

The s ta te supplements the fund to th e

amount n ecessary to make th e payments to th e r e tir e d members. Retirem ent may be taken on th e January 1 or Ju ly 1 follow ing th e F ie ld Examiner Ts s ix ty ’• f i f t h b irth d a y .

He i s

paid six d o lla r s a month f o r each c re d ite d year o f se rv ic e , up to and in clu d in g t h i r t y y e a rs. tirem en t b e n e fit th u s i s $160.

The maximum monthly r e ­

I f he has t h i r t y y ears of

se rv ic e before he i s s ix t y - f iv e , he may r e t i r e and be paid monthly a t th e follow ing r a te m u ltip lie d by each y ear of c re d ite d serv ice 65 - $6.00 64 - 5.61 63 - 5.63 62 - 5.46 61 - 5.30 60 - 5.15 59 - 5.00 56 - 4.$6 57 - 4.73 56 - 4.61 55 - 4*49 54 - 4.36 53 - 4.26 52 - 4.17 51 - 4.06 50 « 3.99 Burns. 60-247.

49 - $3.90 3.63 47 - 3.75 46 - 3.66 45 - 3 .6 0 44 - 3.54 43 - 3.47 42 - 3.42 41 - 3.36 40 - 3.30 39 - 3.26 3$ - 3.20 37 - 3.15 36 - 3.11 35 - 3 .0 6

46 -

291 Thus a man w ith t h i r t y years of se rv ic e who r e t i r e d at f i f t y - f o u r ($4 *3 6 ) would draw a $131*40 monthly retirem en t b e n e f i t.

R etirem ent may be taken a f t e r tw en ty -fiv e years

of se rv ic e w ith payment based upon th e ta b le mentioned above. I f he i s six ty y ea rs o f age a f i e l d man with twenty years of serv ice may r e t i r e and be paid f o r each year of se rv ic e on the b a s is of th e above ta b le .

I f le s s than s ix ty , a f i e l d

man w ith tw enty y ears of se rv ic e may withdraw from th e r e ­ tirem en t fund and rece iv e h is own c o n trib u tio n s and the in ­ t e r e s t on them, but he w ill not re c e iv e any c o n trib u tio n from the s t a t e ,

A man w ith ten o r more years of se rv ic e who has

a tta in e d h is s i x t y - f i f t h year may request th e Board of Trus­ te e s o f th e re tire m e n t fund to in v e st h is c o n trib u tio n s and the earn in g s on them and th e s t a t e ’s matching sum in an in s u r­ ance company, which w ill then pay him an an n u ity .

Upon th e

death of a r e tir e d F ield Examiner, h is h e ir s or e s ta te s h a ll be paid h is c o n trib u tio n s and th e earnings on them, le s s th e retirem en t b e n e fits he has rec e iv e d ,

A f i e l d man w ith te n

or more y ears of se rv ic e who i s forced by a p h y sical or mental d is a b ility to r e t i r e may rece iv e a monthly b e n e fit o f s ix d o lla r s m u ltip lie d by h is number of y ears of s e rv ic e , and he may rece iv e t h i s sum f o r as many years as he has worked f o r the S ta te Board of Accounts,

A member o f th e re tire m e n t fund w ith te n y ears o f

service who does not v o lu n ta rily r e t i r e but who i s sep arated

from th e agency, may, i f he has not been convicted of a felo n y , draw b e n e fits based upon th e ta b le fo r as many years as he has served the Board* The re tire m e n t p ro v isio n f o r employees other than F ield Examine© was provided s p e c if ic a lly f o r Miss N elle Mullen ix , who served as c le rk to th e agency f o r th irty -o n e y e a rs . I t provides th a t employees o th e r th an F ie ld Examiners must f i r s t serve te n y ears to become e l i g i b l e .

The in d iv id u a l con­

tr ib u tio n s and b e n e fits are ju s t o n e-h alf o f th o se o f th e f i e l d men. At th e p resen t tim e tw en ty -fiv e former F ield Examiners are drawing re tire m e n t b e n e f its , and one i s being paid f o r d is ­ a b ility *

Three widows are being paid on a " la s t su rv iv o r”

p lan , and Miss M ullenix i s drawing retirem en t b en efits* The Board o f T ru stees o f th e Retirem ent Fund i s composed o f Mr* Otto K, Jensen, Chairman, Edward A. Cooper, Thomas M, Hindman, George E, Greene, and E* Kirk McKinney, the l a s t named is th e " o u tsid e ” member req u ired by th e law*H

As o f July 1,

1949, th e fund amounted to $161,794 o f which $170,000 i s in government bonds and $11,794 in cash*

The F ie ld Examiners have

co n trib u ted $130,596; th e rem ainder came from th e sta te*

11

Bums* 60-243*

293 THE EXAM INING PROCESS The F i e l d E x a m in e rs o f t h e S ta te B o a rd o f A c c o u n ts do n o t m ake o n ly a c a s h , c r e d i t , a n d i n v e n to r y c h e c k ; th e y a ls o i n v e s t i g a t e an d r e p o r t on th e l e g a l i t y o f t r a n s a c t i o n s and th e e f f i c i e n c y w ith w h ic h p u b lic b u s in e s s is c o n d u c te d i n t h e u n i t e x a m in e d ®

B ecause o f t h i s b ro ad ap p ro ach to

t h e i r t a s k , t h e i r e x a m in a tio n s a r e m ore v a l u a b l e t h a n t h e e x a m in a tio n s o f p r iv a te c e r t i f i e d b e .^

In a d d itio n to

p u b l i c a c c o u n t a n t s 9 w o u ld

c r i t i c i z i n g t h e w ork o f p u b l i c o f f i c e r s

a n d e m p l o y e e s , t h e f i e l d m en w o rk c o n s t r u c t i v e l y t o th e a c c o u n tin g and r e p o r tin g

sy ste m s*

im p ro v e

I t has been ch arg ed

t h a t t h e F ie ld E x a m in e rs p e rfo rm a p a r t o f th e p u b lic o f f i c e r s 9 d u tie s , e s p e c i a l l y on th e l o c a l l e v e l s .

S e v e r a l f i e l d m en h a v e

t o l d t h e w r i t e r t h a t t h e p o s t i n g i n som e o f f i c e s w a s d o n e so in a c c u r a te ly th a t a tr a n s a c tio n - b y - tr a n s a e tio n ch eck fo llo w e d b y t h e e x a m i n e r s 9 own t o t a l s f r e q u e n t l y w a s t h e q u i c k e s t w ay to perfo rm an a u d it.

In m any c o u n tie s a n d to w n s h ip s su ch an

a u d it is u s u a lly th e r u le .

In an e f f ic ie n tly o p e ra te d o f f ic e ,

h o w e v e r , a m o n t h o r a q u a r t e r 9s c h e c k m i g h t b e r u n o n a p a r t i c u ­ l a r f u n d , a n d , i f s a t i s f a c t o r y , t h a t f u n d 's y e a rly

t o t a l w o u ld

be ch eck ed and a c c e p te d , w ith o u t re v ie w in g each tr a n s a c tio n . Som e c r i t i c i s m

h a s b e e n m ade o f t h e t y p e o f a c c o u n tin g

t h a t th e B o ard h a s p e r m itte d in th e l o c a l o f f i c e s o f th e s t a t e . T o

r

"

" ~r

'

— —

— —-------------- —— — ■ — — ---------------



T h is p o i n t w as m ade t o t h e w r i t e r b y M r. T ed d V a n c e , a F i e l d E x a m in e r a n d a C e r t i f i e d P u b l i c A c c o u n t a n t . M r. V a n c e o b ­ se rv e d c e r t i f i e d p u b lic a c c o u n ta n ts a u d itin g p u b lic o f f i c e s in T exas.

294

While g ra n tin g th e g r e a te r e ffe c tiv e n e s s of a c c ru a l account­ in g , th e Board doubts the a b i l i t y of most e le c te d public o f f ic e r s to use a more complex system th an th e p resen t re ­ c e ip ts and disbursem ents type now used. fWhere te c h n ic a lly tra in e d p erso n n el i s a v a ila b le the Board has in s t a ll e d ac cru al systems*) Such systems are now used in th e p e n a l, c h a r ita b le , and c o rre c tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s o f th e s ta te th a t produce a r t i c l e s fo r consumption, in th e s ta te c o lle g e s and u n iv e r s i tie s , and in the la r g e r m unicipal u t i l i t i e s , and in the o f f ic e of the Auditor of State* While th e examiners are a t work on an o f f i c i a l 's books, he may g et t h e i r ad v ice.

When th e exam­

in a tio n i s com pleted, th e pu b lic o f f ic e r re c e iv e s a copy of the exam ination.

Following th e a u d it i s a c r itic is m o f th e o f f i c e 's

conduct o f public b u sin e ss. o u t.

E rro rs and weaknesses are pointed

I f th e work i s performed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y , th a t f a c t i s

noted in complimentary term s.

The F ie ld Examiners are no lo n g er

" ju s t as welcome as h o rn ets" — except to the d ish o n est o r in ­ competent p u b lic o f f ic e r .

THE FIELD EXAMINERS* ASSOCIATION The F ie ld Examiners' A ssociation i s a u n io n -lik e organ­ iz a tio n , which, according to a l l persons in terv iew ed , was de­ f i n i t e l y not a union.

The reason f o r th e form ation of th e Asso­

c ia tio n was th e d e sire of c e rta in members of the f ie ld s t a f f to become e l ig ib le f o r a group insurance p o lic y .

According to the

o f f i c i a l M inutes, th e A sso ciatio n was formed December 15, 1924,

301 and H oratio Harryaan was e le c te d p re s id e n t. and by-laws were adopted on December 6, 1927*

A c o n s titu tio n The b asic laws

were rev ise d and adopted on Ju ly 25, 1945; and th e se now gov­ ern th e A s so c ia tio n 's a c t i v i t i e s . The purpose of th e o rg an iz atio n is made c le a r in the C o n stitu tio n . The purpose o f t h i s o rg a n iz a tio n is declared to be fo r th e improvement o f th e membership, to enhance the v alue of i t s members' se rv ic e to th e p u b lic , and to promote cooperation and a f r a te r n a l s p i r i t . I t is d eclared to be a fix e d p rin c ip le o f th e body th a t no in d iv id u a l in te r e s t of any member is to be defended or promoted, where such in te r e s t i s fo re ig n to th e in ­ t e r e s t o f th e S ta te Board of Accounts in i t s serv ice to the p u b lic . The o rg an iz atio n s h a ll a t a l l tim es bear in mind th e w elfare o f the S tate Board of Accounts as an i n s t i t u t i o n and s h a ll always resp e ct the judgment and p o lic y o f th e S tate Examiner in ad m in isterin g the law. The A ssociation i s composed o f two ty p es of members: tiv e and honorary.

ac­

The f i r s t group is composed of th e S ta te Ex­

aminer, th e d e p u tie s, and th e F ield Examiners employed by th e agency and those on leave w ith other s ta te ag en cies.

The honor­

ary members are the Governor, th e A uditor of S tate and th e re ­ tir e d F ield Examiners*

This second group pays no fe e s and has

no v o te . The o f f ic e r s and d ir e c to rs are e le c te d a t an annual A pril meeting. $50.

The S ecretary re c e iv e s #120 a year; th e T reasu rer,

The y ea rly dues are $12,50, which was a d a y 's sa lary when

they were s e t.

302 Th© o r ig in a l in te n t - o b ta in in g a group insurance plan - was ach iev ed .

More th a n 75 per cent of the A ssocia­

tio n a re members in a d i s a b i l i t y p la n .

I f they are unable,

because o f sic k n e ss o r a c c id e n t, to perform t h e i r d u tie s , they may re c e iv e a maximum o f $50 a week f o r th e payment of an annual premium o f $71•

L esser payments down to $25 weekly

may be c a rrie d f o r sm a lle r premiums.

A much sm aller propor­

tio n carry a h o s p ita liz a tio n p o licy through th e A sso ciatio n . The a c t i v i t i e s o f th e A sso c iatio n , except those in re ­ la tio n to th e l e g i s l a t u r e , which w ill be considered below, are s lig h t.

The S ta te Examiner I s informed of th e a t titu d e s and

views o f th e members o f th e A sso c iatio n .

An annual meeting

and banquet, a t which tim e th e wives o f th e members a lso hold a s o c ia l g a th e rin g , i s c a lle d by th e S ta te Examiner,

A group

p ic tu re o f th e f i e l d s t a f f and th e S tate Examiner and d ep u ties i s arranged annually by th e A sso ciatio n . As a s ta te agency, th e S tate Board of Accounts has a formal o b lig a tio n to a s s i s t th e General Assembly, and, ex­ cepting th© L e g is la tiv e Reference Bureau and the Budget Depart­ ment, i t f u l f i l l s t h i s o b lig a tio n more than any o th er s ta te agency.

As an o f f i c i a l body i t has the re s p e c t of th e l e g i s l a ­

to r s , who fre q u e n tly tu rn to i t f o r a s s is ta n c e in th e in te r p r e ­ ta tio n and th e d ra ftin g o f b i l l s , as w ell as the sig n ific a n c e of pending l e g i s l a t i v e m easures.

But as a s ta te agency th e

Board th e o r e tic a lly should not attem pt to draw up and sponsor

303

le g is la tio n .

Even t h i s p o in t, however, is now d o u b tfu l,

since Governor Gates d ire c te d th e agency s p e c if ic a lly to perform th e se fu n c tio n s in 1947.

The F ield Examiners' Asso­

c ia tio n , however, i s co n sidered a p riv a te group, and as such i s fre e t o engage in p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y .

How i t does so w ill

be considered in th e next s e c tio n ,

STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS AND POLITICS The S ta te Board o f Accounts has always o p erated w ith in th e Indiana tw o -p arty system .

To be e l ig ib le f o r appointm ent,

candid ates must be recommended by th re e Republicans and th re e Democrats.

In th e 1912 e le c tio n th e R oosevelt fo llo w ers sup­

planted the re g u la r R epublicans, and appointm ents to th e f i e l d s t a f f were made from t h e i r ra n k s.

The form ation o f teams of

F ield Examiners i s based of course upon th e b i- p a r tis a n s tru c ­ tu re o f Indiana p o litic s * Most of th e F ie ld Examiners p rid e them selves upon being good p arty men*

In in te rv ie w s , th e f i e l d men expressed resp e ct

f o r membership in e i t h e r o f th e major p a r tie s but th e y had l i t t l e regard f o r anyone who was not likexfise a f f i l i a t e d .

Since a

heavy m a jo rity of th e f i e l d s t a f f had held e le c tiv e or ap p o in tive o f fic e s gained through p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y , t h i s a t titu d e seems q u ite n a tu ra l* P o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y co n tin u es when th e candidate i s ap­ p o in te d , but in a low er key.

P o l i t i c a l c o n trib u tio n s are made,

304

each man giving approxim ately two per cent to th e s ta te tr e a s u r e r of h is party#

Men who do not conform to t h i s

o b lig a tio n are lik e ly to lo se th e regard o f t h e i r colleagues# A minor p a rt in p arty a f f a i r s may be tak en , but one f i e l d man went to o f a r in becoming county chairman*

He accepted the

p o st, however, only a f t e r t e l l i n g th e S tate Examiner of h is in te n tio n of re sig n in g from th e s ta ff* The Board of Accounts has not been used su c c e s sfu lly as a step p in g stone to e le c tiv e o ffice*

Mr# Laurence G rr,

S tate Examiner, 1923-33, was p resen ted to th e Republican s ta te convention as a can d id ate f o r Governor in 1932, but f a ile d to obtain th e nomination#

In 1934 he was the Republican nominee

fo r A uditor o f S ta te , but f a ile d in th e g en eral e le c tio n . Some Democratic F ield Examiners, out o f t h e i r high personal re ­ gard fo r t h e i r S ta te Examiner, confessed th a t th ey co n trib u ted to Mr, O rr's candidacy#

Mr. Frank Gardner of S co ttsb u rg , who

had been a F ie ld Examiner te n y ears e a r l i e r , in 1922 became United S ta te s R ep resen tativ e from th e Third D istric t#

He held

th is o f fic e u n t i l defeated by a Republican in 1923. Though e le c tiv e o f fic e s have not been won by F ie ld Ex­ am iners, th e Board has supplied many of the appointed o f f ic e r s to th e s ta te ad m in istratio n #

Below i s a l i s t of th e F ie ld Ex­

aminers who now are serving o th er s ta te agencies and e s ta b lis h ­ ments: L ytle F re e h a fe r, S tate Budget D irecto r Roscoe P. Freeman, Public Service Commissioner

305

Noble H e lla r, Chairman of th e S tate Board o f Tax Commissioners B. B. McDonald, A ssistan t D ire c to r, Motor V ehicle License D ivision W illiam Owens, Deputy A uditor of S tate W illiam S te in s b e rg e r, A lcoholic Beverage Commissioner Harold W, T a lb o tt, B usiness Manager, Northern In d ian a H o sp ital fop Insane and Northern Indiana C h ild re n 's H ospital Ross Teckemeyer, S e c re ta ry , Public Employees' R etirem ent Fund Ralph W ilson, S e c re ta ry , S ta te Board of Tax Commissioners Harry W ells, S ta te Insurance Department Two o f th e se p o s itio n s - Budget D irecto r and Deputy Audi­ to r o f S ta te - t r a d i t i o n a l l y are f i l l e d by F ie ld Examiners.

The

p resent number o f men loaned to o th e r departm ents i s unusually la r g e , being more than te n p er cent of th e p resen t f ie ld s t a f f . The lo s s o f such a number from th e s t a f f has worked somewhat of a hardship on th e agency, but i t i s a te s tim o n ia l to th e regard w ith which th e S ta te Board o f Accounts i s h e ld . When th e Department wishes to g et le g is la tio n enacted, the instrum ent i t uses i s the F ie ld Examiners' A sso ciatio n . A fter being reb u ffed by th e le g is la tu r e in i t s quest f o r a re ­ tirem en t system in 1939, th e A sso ciatio n assessed each member $12.50 in 1941 and e s ta b lis h e d a "lobby.

The success a tta in e d

in 1941 has prompted th e A ssociation to continue to provide th e se "lobby", according to th© meaning attach ed to the word by se v e ra l Department men, does not mean ju s t a s e rie s of a c t i v i ­ t i e s designed to a t t a i n a le g is la tiv e end; "lobby" a ls o , and most g e n e ra lly , has a p h y sical meaning. S p e c ific a lly , a "lobby" i s a room in a downtown In d ia n a p o lis h o te l s u ita b ly supplied f o r e n te r­ ta in in g members of th e General Assembly.

306

f a c i l i t i e s f o r l e g i s l a t o r s , even though th e A ssociation has had no b i l l s o f economic i n t e r e s t to i t s members before th e le g is la tu r e f o r th e p a s t two s e s s io n s .

This policy i s con­

sid ered by th e F ield Examiner who has been th e A s so c ia tio n 's L e g isla tiv e R ep resen tativ e fo r th e p ast th re e sessio n s as a sound p u b lic r e la tio n s t a c t i c , and a m ajo rity of th e A ssocia­ tio n supports t h i s view.

A p o licy o f banning a l l le g is la tiv e

measures as c o n v e rsa tio n a l to p ic s in the room has now become a custom. With reg ard to re g u la r d u tie s of th e agency, no charge o f p a rtis a n a c t i v i t y has ever been s u b s ta n tia te d a g a in st th e Board, though such a charge was made in 1933 by a Republican candidate fo r a Marlon County o f f ic e . Because th e Board re p o rts o b je c tiv e ly on th e conduct of p u b lic b u sin ess on a l l le v e ls of government in th e s t a t e , i t s fin d in g s can have an im portant p o l i t i c a l e f f e c t.

The S tate

Examiner and th e d ep u ties have to ld th e w rite r how lo c a l p o li­ t i c a l le a d e rs have come to th e o ffic e and asked, th a t a re p o rt be p u b lic iz ed or w ith h eld .

The th ir ty - d a y ban on p u b lic a tio n

immediately preceding a prim ary o r g en eral e le c tio n was a de­ vice th e Board developed to meet th e charge th a t i t was attem pt­ ing to in flu en c e lo c a l e le c tio n s .

Once f i l e d , however, the re ­

p o rts become public documents and may be used as campaign m ater­ ia l.

In the 1947 c ity e le c tio n in Bloomington, m a te ria l was

taken from Board r e p o r ts , and so la b e lle d , and used in the campaign.

307

Unfavorable asp e c ts of th e fin an ces of the m unicipality were p resen ted in an eight-page l e a f l e t and th e source was given as "From th e Records o f th e S tate Board of A ccounts.” This lin e was underscored with red crayon.

The value of

t h i s m a te ria l of course cannot be determ ined, but th e candi­ date u sin g i t won th e e le c tio n .

Less dramatic use of m ateri­

a l made a v a ila b le by th e Board has occurred in o th er lo c a l e le c tio n s .

D iscoveries by th e f i e l d men of shortages and i r ­

r e g u la r itie s in public o ffic e o f course have had p o lit ic a l e f f e c t. Though stu d e n ts of personnel ad m in istra tio n would re ­ je c t th e p o l i t i c a l referen ce s each candidate must secure and the c o n trib u tio n s to th e p arty each f ie ld man must make, i t i s th e opinion o f th e w rite r based upon numerous interview s th a t most f i e l d men would re se n t any attem pt to take th e ir jobs com pletely out of p o l i t i c s and put them on a s tra ig h t m erit b a s is .

Several younger f i e l d men, however, showed l i t t l e

in te r e s t in p o lit ic s and seemed to p re fe r a com pletely non­ p o lit ic a l system.

CHAPTER XIV EVALUATION Many people in Ind ian a - l e g i s l a t o r s , p u b lic o f f i c e r s , newspapermen - speak o f th e S tate Board of Accounts w ith a note o f s ta te p rid e .

This f e e lin g seems to be based upon

the b e l i e f t h a t , i f th e S tate Board of Accounts is not unique, i t i s uniquely good. Mr. Frank A. White, whose column i s published in t h i r t y Indiana newspapers, expressed t h i s p o in t of view c le a r ly : ”When you go in to an o th er s ta te t h i s summer look ’em in th e eye and say we have a S ta te Board of Accounts and i t i s one of th e co rn er sto n es of Good S tate Government.”^* I f s ta te p r e s c rip tio n of forms and accounting systems and p o s t-a u d itin g of some p u b lic o ffic e s i s concerned, the serv ice is f a r from unique.

Each o f th e f o rty - e ig h t s ta te s

e x e rc ise s some su p e rv isio n over s ta te and lo c a l acco u n ts, and many p re sc rib e accounting systems and form s.^

In d ia n a ’s

Board, however, does supply a more complete se rv ic e than the agency o f any o th e r s t a t e , ex cep tin g , p o ssib ly , th a t o f West W orld-Telephone. Bloomington, In d ., June 9, 1949* *Wylie K ilp a tr ic k , S ta te Supervision of Local Finance (Chicago: P ublic A dm inistration S erv ice, 19417, p* 53. A ll of the m a te ria l comparing th e Indiana S tate Board of Accounts with sim ila r ag en cies in o th e r s t a t e s i s tak en from th e source immedi­ a te ly above. P ro fe sso r K ilp a tric k ’ s c o n trib u tio n i s unique in 30$

309 V irg in ia .

These two s t a t e s are th e only ones th a t p re sc rib e

forms and a u d it th e accounts o f a i l u n its .

Because K ilp a tric k

l i s t s ev ery th in g o th e r th an c o u n ties and m u n ic ip a litie s as "Other U n its ,n i t i s not p o ssib le to t e l l i f school fin a n c e s, including e x tr a c u r r ic u la r funds, are included.

Since th e West

V irg in ia agency had only tw enty-seven examiners in 1941, i t does not seem lik e ly th a t such exam inations are made.

Only

767 "o th e r u n its " are examined in West V irg in ia , (P rofessor K ilp a tric k l i s t s 2,215 fo r Indiana)^ th e Indiana S tate Board of Accounts alm ost c e r ta in ly g iv es a more complete coverage, Ohio, th e source o f th e Indiana law, has a la rg e r s t a f f , but th e re th e s ta te a u d its o f m u n ic ip a litie s are p a r t i a l l y o p tio n a l. Almost a l l county accounts are s ta te examined, except in the New England s t a t e s , where th e county has never developed sig ­ n if ic a n tly as an a d m in is tra tiv e u n it. The e ffe c tiv e n e s s of a s ta te agency may be roughly gauged by th e siz e o f i t s s t a f f and th e o p eratin g funds made a v a ila b le to i t .

On th e se two c lo s e ly r e la te d p o in ts Indiana

>stands in th e f i r s t ran k .

Only Ohio (244) and M assachusetts

(9$) are l i s t e d as having a la rg e r number of "Supervisory Per­ sonnel" than In d ian a ($0). The s iz e o f th e s ta te a u d itin g s t a f f can n o t, however, be considered a com pletely v a lid measure of th e e x te n t of ex­ am inations perform ed. the f i e l d . made.

Eleven s ta te s perm it the use of re g is te re d

I t T sT re g re tta b le th a t a r e H ’H onT Ias ’not’ been

310

p riv a te a u d ito rs by m u n ic ip a litie s , and such a u d ito rs are not members of the agency s t a f f ,

Fir. Tedd Vance’s evalua­

tio n o f p riv a te a u d ito r ’ s exam inations of p u b lic accounts i s co rro b o rated by P ro fe sso r K ilp a tric k : No evidence i s n ecessary to dem onstrate th a t th e weakness o f th e m ajor share o f p riv a te a u d itin g , even when perform ed by acco u n tan ts o f high te c h n ic ­ a l t r a i n i n g , i s th a t p ro fic ie n c y in accountancy in g en e ra l does n o t a ssu re p ro fic ie n c y in m unicipal acco u n tin g . Q u a lifie d men may or may not be se le c te d to perform lo c a l exam inations. l e t th e s p e c ia l know­ ledge o f lo c a l co rp o rate fin an c e and law , th e e s s e n tia l in m unicipal accountancy, i s la c k in g in many p riv a te a c c o u n ta n ts ,3 The o p eratin g expenses, from both th e s ta te and th e lo c a l u n its , fo r the a u d itin g agency of th e se th re e s t a t e s n a tu r a lly i s g re a te r th an th o se of s ta te s having l e s s complete coverage. Ohio’s Bureau of In sp e c tio n and S upervision spent $6l$,9$0 in 1939» In d ia n a ’ s Board, $299?654> M a ssa c h u se tts D ivision o f M unicipal Accounts, $294>690.

As the t i t l e of th e agency re ­

v e a ls, M assachusett’s D iv isio n has no d u tie s or r e s p o n s i b ilit ie s over s t a t e o f f ic e s o r e s ta b lish m e n ts.

Ohio’ s 1940 p o pulation

(6,907,612) was more th an double th a t o f Indiana (3 ,4 2 7 ,7 6 9 ). More th a n h a l f o f th e s t a t e s (27) spent le s s than $50,000 fo r superv isin g lo c a l fin a n c e s; and 10 more spent between $50,000 and $100,000. How In d ian a r a te s on frequency o f exam inations cannot be determ ined from K ilp a tr ic k , f o r he l i s t s Indiana as performing ^ I b id ., p. 16.

311

annual exam inations, as th e law r e q u ire s .

The amount of

charges and re c o v e rie s , a v alu ab le gauge o f th e e f f e c tiv e ­ ness o f th e agency, made by th e Indiana Board causes K il­ p a tric k to sin g le out th e agency. /C o rre c tio n s o f i l l e g a l i t i e s and recovery of m isspent moneys c o n s titu te another o b je c tiv e of s ta te au d itin g * Findings o f i l l e g a l expenditures o r.u s e s o f p u b lic moneys by th e Indiana Depart­ ment o f In sp ec tio n and S upervision o f Public Off­ ic e r s approximate a m illio n d o lla rs annually and in some y ears exceed t h i s sum#/>{These re c o v e rie s, approaching a m illio n d o lla rs an n u ally , f a r ex­ ceed th e t o t a l ex p e n d itu res both f o r lo c a l a u d it­ ing and fo r o th e r su p erv iso ry s e rv ic e s .$ Annual fin d in g s in- Ohio averaged $1,15$,191..from 1924 to 1939 and annual re c o v e rie s averaged #340,961.& The Indiana " re c o v e rie s" included of course the s ta te school a id , b u t, a s noted above, t h i s savings accomplished by the Board was a r e a l sav in g s, even though not a recovery accom­ p lish ed by a p o s t- a u d it. Another asp ect K ilp a tric k co n sid ers i s th e com plete­ ness o f th e f in a n c ia l re p o rtin g o f th e s ta te agency.

In t h i s

f ie ld Indiana i s also ranked a s one of th e eig h t s ta te s who publish a "Comprehensive Annual Report."-*

On th e standards

th a t K ilp a tric k uses Indiana i s d e f in ite ly in th e fro n t rank. In th e a u d itin g a l l governm ental u n its , In d ia n a ’ s Board f u r ­ nish es a se rv ic e t h a t i s more complete than th a t fu rn ish ed by any o th e r s t a t e . ^Ibid, , p. 16. ^Ib id . , p. 19.

312 The S tate Board o f Accounts has long been more than a s e lf-s u p p o rtin g agency. < ln 1919 i t f i r s t recovered a la rg e r sum than i t s o p eratin g expenses, and every year since then reco v e ries have been la r g e r than expenses^) The tab le below p a r t i a l l y shows the year-by-year record.

A record of

t o t a l expenses and re c o v e rie s was given in the f i r s t Year Book report in 1917*

This record was made by John E. Reed and

George N, Bingham, a team of sp e c ia l accountants who examined the Board in th a t y ear.

The 1915 and 1916 fig u re s are from

Hendren’ s Special Report o f 1916,

E a r lie r fig u re s are unre­

lia b le because of changes th a t were made in the f i s c a l y ea r. The fig u re s from 191? to 1947 are from the Board’ s re p o rt in the Year Book: the 194$ and 1949 f ig u r e s , as yet unpublished, were fu rn ish ed by th e S tate Board of Accounts. The Board could, i f i t cared t o , j u s t i f y i t s existence as a revenue producing agency.

From i t s beginning in 1910 i t s

recoveries have exceeded i t s expenses by $15,34$,397*20.

The

Board, however, has always maintained th a t i t s c h ie f value as a p ro te c to r of public funds has been i t s rep ressiv e e f f e c t . ^f such a re p re ssiv e e f f e c t were cumulative, i t might be supp­ osed th a t as th e f i e l d men became more expert and the Board’s work became more widely p u b licized , the t o t a l of recoveries would become p ro g re ssiv e ly le s s each y ea r. opposite has been t r u e .

Of course ju s t the

In 1919, te n years a f t e r the Board was

c rea ted , the recovery fig u re was approximately $275,000; in 1949

313

Operating Expenses I 692,091.7% 18%,021.12 1 7 1 .1 6 5 .1 1 1 6 2 .9 6 0 .4 2 1 9 5 .8 6 3 .3 8 1 6 9 .6 8 8 .0 8 1 5 5 .2 3 1 .0 0 133,377.6% 1 3 4 ,4 7 6 .9 6 14 6 .9 3 5 .4 3 1 7 2 ,3 8 2 .2 4 2 0 0 ,5 0 5 .8 5 1 9 3 ,5 4 6 .9 4 2 0 1 ,2 5 3 .6 0 2 3 1 ,9 1 9 .6 6 2 7 9 ,0 6 9 .0 4 2 8 3 ,1 5 1 .7 2 3 1 7 .3 2 5 .1 2 3 4 8 .2 2 9 .0 0 2 3 7 .3 8 2 .3 1 2 7 7 .3 2 3 .4 2 2 9 4 .6 8 0 .0 9 3 0 7 ,3 4 7 .2 1 3 1 4 .4 7 3 .1 3 3 2 0 .3 1 0 .3 2 3 3 4 ,1 5 2 .7 0 3 7 4 .5 2 6 .3 2 3 6 0 .3 4 6 .2 8 3 1 9 .3 4 7 .4 2 3 2 0 .1 2 5 .6 3 3 2 1 ,4 3 0 .4 5 28 5 .2 3 9 .3 8 4 1 5 .3 3 6 .6 4 4 2 5 ,3 2 4 .3 4 4 6 3 .3 9 5 .2 9 4 9 0 ,6 0 3 .5 6 1 1 0 ,2 3 5 ,5 9 9 .5 4

Tear 1910-1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 192? 192S 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 193 ^ 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947

m s

1949

T otal

Recoveries 1

592 113 109 111 193 275 262

176 29S 276 310 339 325 205 237 354 330 40^ 402 253 560 786 913 856 1,015 807 92 8 963 91? 922 1,169 1,416 1,682 1,773 2,342 2,951

867.29 905.69 392.17 375.34 957.55 504.12 360.53 341.97 293.27 233.52 222.31 701.11 205.45 355.92 239*07 239.43 4 6 4 .2 7

514.33 593.04 343.36 021.53 099.13 203.29 275.63 413.34 535.90 736.74 701.13 223.70 532.23 517.05 097.26 127.05 557.43 034.75 549.09

$25,533, 996.74

314 the recovery fig u re was $2,951,549 - more than te n times as great#

Of course the amount o f money spent on a l l le v e ls

of government in c re ase d tremendously in t h i s t h i r t y year period# Whether honesty and e f f ic ie n c y in public o ffic e in In­ diana has in c re ase d cannot be shown by S tate Board of Accounts sta tistic s #

For rece n t years i t i s po ssib le to c o r r e la te

shortages with th e number o f examinations made yearly# Number o f Reports

Year

2327 1259 1961 2550 1150 1253 1992 1510

1942' 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1943 1949

Number of Shortages 573 623 719 792 475 336 649 537

S lig h t as th e s e f ig u r e s a r e , they do very l i t t l e to up­ hold th e re p re ssiv e e f f e c t argument#

In 1942 only about one-

f i f t h of the re p o r ts rev ea led shortages; in 1943 more than oneh a lf contained charges.

In few years has the number of sho rt­

ages t o t a l l e d l e s s th a n o n e -th ird of the number of re p o rts filed #

Mr# Jensen, presen t S tate Examiner, suggests th a t th e

rep ressiv e e f f e c t i s b e s t shown by the larg e number of qu eries th a t th e Board re c e iv e s from public o f fic e r s #

The knowledge

th a t t h e i r accounts w ill be au dited causes public o f f i c e r s to be sure o f t h e i r a u th o rity before spending public money# the Board did not e x i s t , i t seems q u ite l i k e l y t h a t public

If

315

o f f ic e r s would spend the money when they now question th e Board on th e a u th o rity fo r th e expenditure* Proponents of a s t r i c t m erit system may properly question the q u a lify in g t e s t used by the Board.

Though more

s c i e n t i f i c t e s t i n g techniques to determine accounting a b i l ­ ity are a v a ila b le , th e Board does not fe e l th a t such a t e s t would meet i t s s e le c tio n problem.

An accountant of a very

high degree of p ro fic ie n c y might not become a good F ield Ex­ aminer* ^Teaching a b i l i t y i s a lso re q u ire d . f a c to r i s t h a t of p e r s o n a lity .

A most important

The F ield Examiners must go

into th e o f f ic e s o f popularly e le c te d o f f i c i a l s and check not only t h e i r honesty but also t h e i r competence^

Despite the good

w ill th a t th e Board has developed over the years, th e o rig in a l s itu a tio n th a t was r e s i s t e d so b i t t e r l y a t the beginning r e ­ mains - an o u ts id e r c r i t i c i z i n g an o f f i c e r ’ s performance of h is duty.

The r e la tio n s h ip i s a d e lic a te one.

Since the S tate

Examiner b e lie v e s the present r e c r u itin g and examining system i s adequate, and since no evidence e x i s ts to prove i t inade­ quate, i t would seem se n sib le to leave the t e s tin g system as i t i s , with considerable d is c re tio n a ry power over se le c tio n in the hands o f the S tate Examiner, Ju st what th e r e c r u itin g area should be i s somewhat more of a problem.

Are th e u n iv e r s ity accounting c la sse s or the s ta te

and lo c a l public o f f ic e s the most d esira b le r e c r u itin g f ie ld ? Are th e w e ll- tr a in e d but inexperienced accounting students to

316 be p re fe rre d to th e l e s s te c h n ic a lly competent but well ex­ perienced County a u d ito rs and deputy auditors?

Can th e

Board a t t r a c t thoroughly tr a in e d accountants with experience in public o f f i c e , which would seem to be th© most d esira b le course o f a l l ?

Since no system atic evaluation system e x i s t s ,

the f i r s t two questions cannot be answered.

The present State

Examiner b e lie v e s th a t w e ll-tr a in e d accountants with public experience can be a t t r a c t e d to the agency.

The r e c r u itin g em­

phasis now i s upon men with public experience. Students of personnel ad m in istra tio n might well question the uniform pay p o lic y .

C ertainly of the f i f t y - e i g h t f i e l d men

who have served fiv e years or lon ger, some are of g re a te r compe­ tence and of more value to the agency than others#

To d if f e r e n ­

t i a t e among them, however, would req uire an evaluation system, and dissensio n and loxfering of morale might r e s u l t .

The pay

and retirem en t system of th e s t a f f i s regarded as a group en­ te r p r is e by the f i e l d men.

As noted e a r l i e r , the F ield Exam­

in e r s ’ A ssociation goes to considerable lengths to preserve i t s s a ti s f a c t o r y r e l a t i o n s with the General Assembly.

D iffe r­

e n tia tio n in pay of men having th e same years of service could destroy the u n ity th a t the A ssociation has had in i t s dealings with the l e g i s l a t u r e .

With the lo s s of t h i s u n ity , the success­

fu l dealin gs with the l e g i s l a t u r e might well be l o s t a lso .

In

interview s with many f i e l d men of the Board the w rite r did not have one suggest a change in the present pay plan.

317

The most p re ssin g problem of th e S tate Board of Accounts remains th e b a s ic one of examinations*

F irs t,

th e exam inations a r e too in f re q u e n t, and consequently, occur to o long a f t e r th e tr a n s a c ti o n s are completed.

Though

th e Board g iv e s c o n sid erab le thought and energy to a s s i s t i n g public o f f i c e r s in th e performance of t h e i r d u tie s , th e ex­ amination of a s p e c if ic o f f i c e r ’s work i s th e most e f f e c t i v e device f o r te a c h in g and c o r r e c t in g .

Many o f f i c e r s serving

fo u r-y e a r term s can have served th r e e years or even longer be­ fore t h e i r o f f i c e s are v i s i t e d by a team o f F ie ld Examiners, Since the number of u n i t s to be examined i s 4 , 4 3 9 , c u ttin g down th e backlog w i l l be d i f f i c u l t .

In 1 9 4 5 , 2 , 5 0 0 r e p o r ts

were f i l e d , but in 1 9 4 6 only 1 , 1 5 0 were f i l e d . \XIn 1 9 4 9 th e f ig u re was 1,510, which means th a t only about one o f f ic e of the re q u ire d th r e e was a u d ite d ." 1 These f ig u r e s might well be too alarm ing, f o r th e a u d i ts of o f f ic e s and estab lish m en ts handling th e l a r g e s t sums of public money are not f a r in a r r e a r s . But to accomplish the o r i g i n a l purposes o f th e law w ill require a l a r g e r number of o f f i c e s to be examined each y ea r. ^Accelera­ tio n o f th e examining p ro cess w ill be at the r i s k o f thorough­ n e s s ^ The employment of a number of temporary examiners, as Mr, Hendren did in 1 9 1 3 , seems not p r a c t i c a l .

The problem r e ­

mains to be solved. Perhaps Mr. Ruston’ s suggestion of a f ly in g squad of experienced examiners would be one way of bringing the teaching

313

and c o rre c tin g s k i l l s of the agency to o f f ic e r s whose acc­ ounts had not been audited r e c e n tly .

Several men, working

in d iv id u a lly , stay in g no more than th ree or four days in a county se at and th e re advising township, municipal, school, and county o f f i c e r s , could be of considerable a s s is ta n c e . In ad d itio n to teaching and c o rre c tin g procedures, they might spot check p a r t i c u l a r funds.

Unless such examiners were r e ­

placed, however, the s t a f f would be f u r th e r depleted and fewer reg u la r examinations could be made. The second problem of examination i s based upon the fa c t t h a t , though th e S tate Board of Accounts has e s ta b lis h e d uniform procedures f o r o th e r o f f ic e s and agencies, i t has never e s ta b lish e d a uniform procedure f o r i t s own F ie ld Examiners D ifferent methods are used by d if f e r e n t examiners fo r au diting a County A u d ito rf s or a Township T ru s te e f s o f f i c e ^

This diver­

s i t y i s encouraged by s h if tin g new men from one experienced ex­ aminer to another so th a t they may le a r n th e v aried au diting s ty le s developed by the v e te ra n s 7 TSince no standard operating procedure e x i s t s , one team may pass a p ra c tic e of the lo c a l o f f ic e r and the next team may not approve i t 7

The State Board

of Accounts can th u s be placed in embarrassing s it u a ti o n s when uniform ity in i t s own procedure does not e x i s t .

Creating and

enforcing such a standard procedure would req u ire considerable energy and d eterm in ation .

Men who have spent twenty years re ­

fin in g t h e i r own methods would not re a d ily accept a procedure

319

handed down from above.

Stim ulation of committees of the

F ield Examiners* A ssociation t o devise standard auditing procedures f o r the v ario us o f f ic e s might achieve success. These suggested procedures would have to be c r i t i c i s e d and amended by the f u l l membership,

Such a task would probably

have to extend over se v eral y e a rs, even though sev eral commit­ te e s could be appointed sim ultaneously and each committee could develop uniform procedures f o r s p e c if ic o f f ic e s , '(■Rotation in assignment, so t h a t a f i e l d man never makes two consecutive examinations of th e same o f f ic e , seems d e s ir ­ able beyond a l l argument.^ This precautionary device i s widely overlooked, however, and th e re are no signs of i t being adopted as standard procedure.

Various F ield Examiners have, over the

years, developed vested r ig h ts in the examination of some o ff­ ic e s.

To change t h i s arrangem ent, the S tate Examiner would

have to meet opposition from h is own s t a f f and from the public o f fic e r s and employees, who, fre q u en tly have been taught t h e i r d uties by a p a r t i c u l a r F ield Examiner,

Such examiners, through

co n tin u ity of serv ice in a p a r t i c u l a r l o c a l i t y , can supply in­ formation and advice which lo c a l o f f ic e r s do not care to lo s e . The S tate Board of Accounts, under th e law crea tin g the agency, i s obliged to issu e "an annual statement of comparative £ s t a t i s t i c s . " J This duty i s complied with by the compilation and --------■ —r -------------------- , --------- ——— -—■ — ----—----—— — —— — Burns, 60-203.

320

p u b lic a tio n of the S t a t i s t i c a l R eport, which was considered e a r l i e r in t h i s study.

Many f a c t s of lo c a l and s t a t e govern­

ment o f i n t e r e s t to groups o f c i t i z e n s are contained in the document, but very l i t t l e e f f o r t is made to bring the f a c t s home to c i tiz e n s of Indiana communities.

Few newspapers

attempt to d ig e st and i n t e r p r e t the s t a t i s t i c s ; many news­ papers in sm aller communities do not have the tr a in e d personnel to do so.

The Board does have men tr a in e d in s t a t i s t i c s who

could w rite in t e r p r e t a t i v e a r t i c l e s .

One such man could be

appointed as S t a t i s t i c i a n , an o ffic e which formerly e x is te d , with the duty of in te r p r e tin g the s t a t i s t i c a l inform ation th a t the Board has and w ritin g a r t i c l e s f o r lo c a l newspapers and lo c a l o rg an iz atio n s of c i t i z e n s .

P ub licatio n of t h i s s t a t i s t i c a l

m aterial would inform a la r g e r p a rt of the community of the s e r­ vices and c o s ts o f government and l e t them know how t h e i r commun­ it y stand s, in a r e l a t i v e sense.

The p re stig e th a t th e Board

has would be a strong inducement to newspaper p u blishers to accept the r e le a s e s .

Most communities probably would not r e ­

ceive such a r t i c l e s more fre q u e n tly than twice a year.

A

sh o rte r, more cu rre n t account of government serv ices and costs could be supplied community newspapers by the c rea tio n of a lo c a l re p o rtin g o f f i c e r . sug gestion.7

P rofessor K ilp a tric k made such a

The County Auditor could be given such d u tie s ,

^Kilpatrick, ojo. c i t . , p. 23.

321

A form to c o l l e c t the inform ation monthly could be prescrib ed by th e Board.

Information could be gathered from townships,

towns and c i t i e s , both school and c i v i l , co u n ties, and sp ecial d istric ts.

Such r e p o r ts could be sent to the Board*s o ffic e

and th ere analyzed by th e S t a t i s t i c i a n ; th e comparative stand­ ing of each community in th e various a c t i v i t i e s and c o sts could be determined,

A b r i e f in t e r p r e t a t i v e a r t i c l e could be w ritten

by the S t a t i s t i c i a n , who would then send the m aterial to th e newspapers and c i tiz e n groups in th e communities of o rig in , A study of the f in a n c ia l ad m in istra tio n of the s t a t e , made by P ro fessor Frank G. Bates in 1 9 3 4 i must be considered,^ fo r h is recommendations concerning the State Board of Accounts are challen ging .

The competence of th e agencyTs operation is

not questioned by P ro fesso r B ates, but i t s existence as an in­ dependent department under th e Governor i s . ^■^Professor Bates* c h ie f c r itic is m of the State Board o f Accounts i s t h a t i t s le g a l p o s itio n v io la te s one o f the axioms of f in a n c ia l a d m in istra tio n , which holds th a t the post auditing of public accounts, which should be a l e g i s l a t i v e check on the executive branch of government, must be independent of the Ex­ ec u tiv e ,

The point i s made em phatically:

' The L e g is la tu re may be thought of as placing in th e hands of th e ad m in istra tio n c e r ta in sums of money by ap p ro p riatio n with in s tru c tio n s as to the purposes f o r which they s h a ll be expended. The ad—

*—y

*

..

■. m

i hm h

................. ..... ■..■m,.,,,—

. w ............................................................................... .........

Frank G. Bates, "F inancial A dm inistration,** Report of the Indiana S tate Committee on Governmental Economy TlridianapoTis: 1933)> PP* 72-94*

322

m in is tr a tio n i s , th e r e f o r e , responsible fo r t h e i r expenditure to the L egislature and through them to th e p u b lic . To determine the f i d e l i t y with which the ad m in istra tio n has performed i t s ta s k s as expressed in d o lla rs and cents is the purpose of a post a u d it. I t follows th a t i t should not be performed by the adm inistration i t s e l f , but by some independent au th o rity repre­ senting the L eg islatu re and the public who supplies the money• As now organized t h i s work of post audit i s done as has been s a id , by the s ta te examiner and h is s ta f f of f i e l d examiners, who are p a rt of the adm inistra­ tio n i t s e l f . These o f f i c i a l s are agents of the branch of government which has spent the money.9 Professor Bates admits th a t t h i s improper organization, in the tw enty-five years o f the existence of the State Boai’d of Accounts, has not prevented the agency from performing i t s duties s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . I t should be c le a r ly understood th a t th e re i s no suggestion here th a t t h i s s itu a tio n has been taken advantage of in the s l i g h t e s t . On th e con­ t r a r y , the o f f i c i a l s performing t h i s work have enjoyed to the f u l l e s t the confidence of the pub­ l i c , What i s pointed out i s th a t th e procedure i s unsound in p r in c ip le . One has no assurance th a t th e opportunity f o r wrong doing may not at some fu tu re day be taken advantage of by adminis­ t r a t i o n s le s s scrupulous than those of the present and the past.^-0 To f o r e s t a l l t h i s p o s s i b i l i t y , Professor Bates recommends th a t the State

Lxaminer, h is d ep u ties, and the f i e l d s t a f f be

tra n s fe rre d to

a Department of Audit, which would be d irected

by the Auditor of S ta te , 9l b i d . , p. $9. 1QIb id. , pp. 39-90.

The sole duty of the tra n s fe rre d de-

323

partment would be to conduct post a u d its .

The prescrib in g

of a l l accounting and business forms, and systems of account­ ing and repo rting f o r a l l departments and i n s t i t u t i o n s would become a duty of th e Bureau of Finance, a body to be d ire c te d by a C o n tro lle r.

This Bureau o f Finance was, in ad d itio n , "to

perform a l l the d u tie s of th e s ta te board of accounts . . . and a l l the d u tie s now performed by the Department of Inspection and Supervision o f Public O ffices except i t s d u tie s in connec­ tio n with th e p o s t-a u d it of a c c o u n ts.n^ Professor Bates, then, would reduce the Board and Depart­ ment to a nameless group lim ite d so le ly to the p o st-au d itin g of accounts under th e Auditor of S ta te .

Professor Bates has lo g ic ­

a l ly presented orthodox f in a n c ia l ad m in istratio n th eory , and, i f he had cared t o , could have documented h is recommendations with the w ritin g s of o th e r outstanding scholars in th e f i e l d .

On a

lo g ic a l and th e o r e t i c a l b asis h is argument cannot be countered. Something can be s a id , however, f o r leaving the State Board of Accounts as i t i s .

The lik e lih o o d th a t the agency would connive

with "adm in istratio n s l e s s scrupulous than those of the present and the p a s t” appears to th e present w rite r to be remote.

Even

granting to the S tate Examiner the in te n t to conceal wrong doing in the ad m in istratio n of h is own p arty , the b etray al of the ta x ­ payers could not be accomplished simply. not perform examinations him self.

The State Examiner does

The Field Examiners who per-

324 form th e examinations must swear to The accuracy of t h e i r r e p o r ts . To a t t e s t an in a ccu rate or incomplete re p o rt would be a v i o l a t i o n of t h e i r p ro fe s s io n a l standards and of the law of th e s t a t e .

As a f u r t h e r check th e re is the b ip a r tis a n

composition o f th e team.

I f in s is te n c e i s made t h a t th e se

checks are not s u f f i c i e n t , then th e F ield Examiners would have to be considered as completely venal and c o rru p t.

I f v e n a lity

and c o rru p tio n are p r a c tic e d by th e men making th e examination, then post a u d itin g i t s e l f becomes a mockery.

Assuming th en th a t

the a u d its are performed and rep o rted h o n e stly , any wrong do­ ing would have to be performed by th e S ta te Examiner.

F ailu re

to have a u d its made o f p a r t i c u l a r o f f ic e s would be a t b est a delaying t a c t i c .

The suppression of damaging r e p o r ts would

be d i f f i c u l t to th e point o f im p o s s ib ility .

Within a very

short time th e newspapers would demand inform ation about the suppressed r e p o r t , w ith the complete support of the party th a t would hope t o b e n e f it from such p u b lic a tio n .

Furthermore, th e

State Board o f Accounts i s an independent, " o u ts id e ," agency in r e l a t i o n to most o f the u n its i t examines, th a t i s , the lo c a l u n its of government.

Of th e 4*439 s p e c if ic assignments made by

the Board, 4*221 o f them are f o r th e examination of lo c a l u n i t s . Approximately tw o -th ird s of the f i e l d s t a f f are assigned to such examinations.

Because o f th e la r g e r o p eratio n s of s t a t e govern­

ment, n a t u r a lly th e same p ro p o rtio n does not e x is t in th e amount of money involved.

In 1947* of th e $503,590,741*96 expended by

325

a l l governmental u n its in In d iana, $265,344*593*37 was d is ­ bursed by lo c a l u n i t s , compared to $ 2 4 3 , 2 4 6 , 1 4 $ •5 9 by th e 10 sta te . The p re s c rib in g of forms and accounting systems might lo g ic a l ly be taken from th e Board on the grounds th a t a body concerned p rim a rily with post a u d itin g would subordinate th e day-to-day t r a n s a c ti o n o f public business to emphasize th e record keeping f o r convenience in post a u d itin g .

But since

1%, De Hority* s term , 1909-1913, no such charge has been made; a t l e a s t d i l i g e n t in v e s tig a tio n has not rev ealed i t .

The ex­

perience o f th e agency*s s t a f f with public business equips i t uniquely to perform t h i s fu n c tio n .

The leniency of th e Board

in d eleg atin g to th e operating s t a t e agencies some of i t s form p re sc rib in g a u th o r ity shows th a t th e Board cannot be charged with being a r b i t r a r y or unreasonable. F in a ll y , to counter P ro fessor Bates* lo g ic , i t might be pointed out th a t th e S tate Board of Accounts i s a going concern w ith a h i s t o r y , t r a d i t i o n , and a re p u ta tio n f o r compe­ tence and honesty.

The standards and the morale of the s t a f f

are based upon t h i s f a c t .

To t r a n s f e r the agency to th e super­

v isio n of th e A uditor o f S ta te and to deprive i t of a larg e share of i t s d u tie s would almost c e r t a in ly have a stro n g ly nega­ tiv e e f f e c t on the s t a f f and i t s performance o f the d u tie s assigned i t . Vo

— ~ S t a t i s t i c a l R eport. 1947, p* 9.

,

— ———— —

. - .

326 Any e v a lu a tio n of th e S ta te Board of Accounts would have to con sid er i f th e major in te n t of th e Public Account­ ing Act o f 1909 was being accomplished, namely, the decrease of m isfeasance, nonfeasance and malfeasance in public o f f i c e . No s t a t i s t i c a l m a te ria l e x i s t s to e s ta b lis h such a po in t. The study made by th e w r ite r of th e period immediately preced­ ing 1909 and in te rv iew s with Field Examiners who worked in 1910, 1911, and 1912 make him b elie v e th a t a notable decline of dishonesty in public o f f ic e has been accomplished.

Cer­

t a in ly th e a c tio n of th e Board has made dishonesty in public o ffic e much l e s s p r o f ita b le and considerably more hazardous than form erly. Has th e S ta te Board of Accounts been successful in in ­ creasing th e e f f ic ie n c y of the conduct of public o f fic e s in Indiana?

Mr. Harry Miesse, Chairman of th e Board of D irectors

of th e Indiana Taxpayers* A ssociation, t o l d the w r ite r t h a t e ffic ie n c y in o ffic e had improved in Indiana over th e past tw enty-five y e a rs .

The work of Mr. Miesse has equipped him

to give an opinion on t h i s m a tte r.

Mr. Miesse, who has spoken

to groups in t h i r t y - t h r e e s t a t e s in te r e s te d in improving gov­ ernment, has always recommended to them th a t a S tate Board of Accounts be e s ta b lis h e d as a primary step toward improving s ta te and lo c a l government.

While approving of the Board and

i t s o p eratio n , Mr. Miesse b elieved i t s comparative s t a t i s t i c a l rep o rtin g was not as good as i t might be.

327

Mr. Garl Dortsch, Research D irector of th e Ind ianap olis Chamber o f Commerce, while p rofessin g a high regard fo r the top le v e l d ir e c tio n of th e S ta te Board of Accounts, f e e l s th a t th e agency i s not a t ta i n in g i t s p o t e n t i a l i t i e s .

In h is

observation of th e conduct o f public business in In dianapo lis and Marion County, he has found the S tate Board of Accounts not to be an aggressive i n i t i a t o r of b e t t e r methods in public business.

F ie ld Examiners he has encountered, he to ld the

w rite r, have been content with e x is tin g con dition s and prac­ t i c e s and have taken a s k e p tic a l, d e f e a t i s t a t t i t u d e toward i n s t i t u t i n g more e f f i c i e n t methods.

Mr. Dortsch gave h is im­

pression o f th e f i e l d men he had observed as ,fstodgy, unimag­ inative , complacent•n E lected o f f i c e r s , Mr. Dortsch f e e l s , i f properly stimu­ la te d , ta u g h t, and d ir e c te d , are capable of more e f f i c i e n t ad­ m in istra tio n of p ub lic b usin ess.

He also b eliev e s th a t a more

precise post au d itin g of public accounting should be performed by the f i e l d men.

To support t h i s l a s t p o in t, he c ite d the

i r r e g u l a r i t i e s in th e grocery orders of a Marion County Trus­ t e e ’s o f f ic e .

A s e r i e s of a r t i c l e s in the In dianap olis Times,

running from August 21 to 26, 1949, revealed th a t th e re was some evidence r e l i e f c l i e n t s were not rece iv in g f u l l value f o r the grocery orders given them by th e T rustee.

A number of sus­

p ic io u sly larg e orders f o r p o ta to es, which had been accepted by S tate Board o f Accounts f i e l d raen, was d isclo sed by Times

326 in v e s tig a to r s .

’’Grocers c re d ite d some r e l i e f e r s with rece iv ­

ing 140 pounds of p o tato es f o r th e month of June.

In each case,

r e l i e f c l i e n t s said they never received more than te n pounds of po tato es a w e e k . A n a u t h o r it a ti v e repo rt on t h i s s it u a ­ tio n i s not yet a v a ila b le . A colleague o f Mr. Dortsch*s approved th e operation of the Board but disapproved of th e t a c i t approval th e Board gave to in creased fe e s f o r Clerks of C irc u it Courts in a recent l e g i s l a t i v e se ssio n .

These negative comments were the only

ones the w r ite r could d isc o v e r.

All other persons queried

professed adm iration f o r th e Board’s performance of i t s d u tie s, Mr, Hendren’ s in tr o d u c tio n , by the side door, of the budgeting p r a c tic e s in s ta te and lo c a l government must be con­ sidered in an e v a lu a tio n of th e S tate Board of Accounts.

The

p ra c tic e would have developed e v e n tu a lly , of course, but i t was the energy and enthusiasm of the second S tate Examiner th a t brought budgeting to Indiana s t a t e and lo c a l government, and th e Board must receiv e c r e d it f o r i t • In the opinion o f th e w r ite r the S tate Board of Acc­ ounts, given th e personnel i t must work with and work on, i s performing i t s d u tie s in a s a tis f a c to r y manner.

I t s g r e a te s t

a sse t i s the high regard in which i t is held by the public o f f i c e r s , l e g i s l a t o r s , and the general public of th e s t a t e . 13 T . * ' ~ ” In d ian ap o lis Times. August 27, 1949.

329

The f i e l d s t a f f should be in c re ase d and th e backlog o f ex­ aminations completed as quickly as p o ssib le ,

as

a temporary

expedient t o be able to provide more n early current a u d its , spot-checking r a th e r th a n tr a n s a c tio n -b y - tr a n s a c tio n examina­ tio n s might be performed on th e o f f ic e s th a t have not been examined f o r th re e or more y ears.

More aggressive d ir e c t r e ­

c r u itin g of public o f f ic e s and u n iv e rs ity accounting c la s s e s fo r Field Examiners cand id ates could be i n s t i t u t e d .

Wherever

p o ssib le, ac cru al accounting systems should be in s t a l l e d .

A

more e f f e c tiv e use should be made of the comparative s t a t i s ­ t i c s from lo c a l and s t a t e u n its o f government.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bates, Frank G. "S tate Control of Local Finances in Indiana," Essays on th e Law and P ra c tic e of Governmental Adminis­ t r a t i o n * ed. C. G. Haines and M*7Te , Dimock. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins P ress, 1935. Benz, J . S. The Public Accounting Law of Indiana. Bloomington, Indiana: (ty p ew ritte n A, B. The sis) Indiana U niversity,

1916.

Chamberlain, John. 1932.

Farewell to Heform.

New York: L iveright, I n c .,

C hatters, Carl H, and Tenner, Irv in g . Municipal and Governmental Accounting. New York: P ren tice B a ll, I n c . , 1940. C onstitution of th e F ield Examiners* A sso ciation . Dunn, Jacob P i a t t . G reater In d ia n a p o lis. Publishing CoT,"*T9To.

Chicago: The Lewis

The Examiner. January, 1946 - August, 1949. Feightner, Harold C. Qur S tate Government. Ind ianap olis: The Ind ian ap o lis New Publishing Co., 1930. General and Local Acts o f the S tate o f Ohio, Vol. ICY, 1902. Green, Wilmer L. History and Survey of Accounting. Standard Text P ress, 1930. Greene, George E.

New York:

L e tte r to the S tate Examiner (undated).

Hamilton, John J . The Dethronement of the City Boss. Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1910.

New York:

The Ind ian ap olis News, March 1, 190$ - March 15, 1909; January 2, 1911 - March 15, 1911. The In d ian ap olis S t a r . March 1, 190$ - March 15, 1909; January 2, 1911 - March 15, 1911. K ilp a tric k , Wylie. S tate Supervision of Local Finance. Public A dm inistration Service, 1941*

330

Chicago:

331

Marshall, Thomas B, lie c o lle c t ions of Thomas R. Mar s h a l l ; a Hoosier Salad. Ind ianap olis: Bobbs-Merrill, Inc*,"" 192!?.... Minutes o f th e Meetings of the S tate Board of Accounts. Mosher, K, B. Tom M arsh all1s Term as Governor. Bloomington, In d .: (Typewritten A. M7~TEesisT In d iana U niversity, 1932. Mosher, William E. and Kingsley, J . Donald. Public Personnel A dm inistration. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1941. Proceedings o f th e XXV Anniversary Banquet. Manuscript»)

(Typewritten

Kegier, G. 0. The Era of th e Muckrakers. Chapel H ill, N. G.: U niversity of North Carolina P ress, 1932. Cession Laws of the S tate of Wyoming, 1890. Sikes, P ressly S. Indiana State and Local Government. ington, Indiana: F rin c ip ia Press, I n c . , 1'1946'.

Bloom­

S te ffe n s, Lincoln. The Autobiography of Lincoln S te ffe n s . New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1931. . The Shame o f the C i t i e s . and C o,, 196V. .

New York: McClure, P h illip s

The Struggle f o r Self Government.

New Yorks McClure,

Phillips and Co., 1906.

Strahlem, Bichard E. Aecomitlng f o r State Government in In d i­ ana. B1oomington""Indiana: (Typewritten' 'I. "S. T hesis), Indiana U n iv ersity , 1940. Teekemeyer, Ross, 1816- 1949.

Organisation of Indiana S tate Government, (Typewritten M. S. Thesis *T

White, Leonard D. In tro du ction to the Study of Public Adminis­ t r a t i o n . New "fork: The Macmillan Co., 194?!

332

Indiana S ta te P u blication s T#Annual Reports of S ta te Board o f Accounts," Year Book, 1917194B, * Bates, Frank G, "F in an c ial A dm inistration," Report of the Indiana Committee on Governmental Economy,n In d ian a p o lis. 19 3 5 ....

Cosgrove, William P. Indiana Public Accounting; S tate Budget and Municipal Budget’TawsI In d ian a p o lis, 1936, De H ority, William A, Three Years o f Experience with the Public Ac count in ^ T a w .~" T ndianapQ lis, 1912. . F i r s t Annual Report of the S tate Board of Accounts, In d ia n a p o lis , 1911. Hendren, G ilb e rt H. Fourth Annual lie p ort of the Department of In sp ectio n and Supervision of Pubfic O ffices of Ind ian a. IndxanapoTis, 1914® « S pecial Repo art o f th e a n a p o lis, 1914® M M M M M W M M Bm

S tate Board o f

Accounts.In d i­

• S pecial Report of th e S tate Board of Accounts. a n a p o lis , 1916. m w ■i w m ........... ... ..

. Special Report of th e a n a p o lis , 1917.

i .w i ■

S tate Board of

w w aw „

m i m u m w h bim ip

Indi-

Accounts.Indi-

Indiana A cts, 1909 - 1947* Journal of th e House of R epresen tativ es o f the S tate of In d ian a, 1399, 1907-1947. Journal of th e Indiana S tate Senate, 1907-1947. Manual f o r Gountv T reasurers of Indiana. In d ia n a p o lis , 1947. • M W M W a M p iM lU

JIM"1 W lrtHWB

Manual of I n s tr u c tio n and Legal c u i t Courts of In d ia n a . a n a p o lis , 1947.

S tate Board o f Accounts,

Guide fo r the Glerks of the Cir­ S tate Board of Accounts, In d i­

Opinions o f the Attorney G eneral, 1910-1947*

333 Qrr, Lawrence F*

Public Accounting Law#

* S tate Budget Law. .

In d ia n a p o lis, 1923•

In d ia n a p o lis, 1923.

Township Opinions with C ita tio n s .

In d ia n a p o lis, 1923*

Report of the S pecial Coal and Food Commission to th e SeventySecond General Assembly. In d ian a p o lis, 1921. State Examiner*s Report to the Governor.

In d ia n a p o lis, 194$*

Cases Used Hansbottom v . S tate ex. r e l . Robbins, 17# Indiana #0, Number 22027. State o f Indiana, #0 Ind. App. 147, Number 1116#. State o f Indiana ex. r e l . v. Sondeman, #0 Ind. App. 443* City of In d ian a p o lis v. National City Bank, #0 Ind. App. 677. City o f Columbus v. Aynerson, 195 Ind. 620* ....- '—'f ■ Boone County v. Howard, 196 Ind. 167. Schlensker v. S tate of Indiana, S# Ind. App. 216. Tucker v. S tate o f Indiana, 21$ Ind. 641. M iller e t a l v. Jackson Township e t a l , 17$ Ind. 503*

APPENDIX A AMPLIFIED PLATFORM OF THE MERCHANTS* ASSOCIATION 1,

Provide a uniform system of county, township and

c i ty accounts and c e n tr a liz e t h e i r supervision in the State Auditor. Fix by law a business system and an honest standard which w i l l make dishonesty and i r r e g u l a r i t y in public o f fic e as d i f f i c u l t as p o ssib le , and which w ill make i t s d ete c tio n easy and c e r t a in . 2..

Require th e Governor t o make s ta te d examinations

of the books of every county, township, and c i t y . Examinations should proceed from the highest executive a u th o rity with no i n t e r e s t in r e - e le c tio n , and divorced from lo c a l in flu e n c e s , and they should be speedy, without n o tic e , thorough, and r e l e n t l e s s , following the methods of the U. S. government• 3.

Require the county au d ito r to au d it before making

se ttle m e n ts. The county a u d ito r should be responsible to the people fo r the accuracy of every settlem ent made by th e county in the re c e ip t and disbursement of money e i th e r with i t s o f f ic e r s or the p u b lic .

334

335

4.

Pay the County Commissioners ap propriate s a l a r i e s

and re q u ire them to give bond. The necessary q u a l if i c a t io n s , the grave f in a n c ia l r e s ­ p o n s i b i l i t i e s , and the importance of the o ffic e as managing d ir e c to r o f an immense public corporation demand th a t the County Commissioner s h a ll receive a salary and give bond on a business b a s is , 5.

Require th e county au d ito r to give an adequate bond,

The present bond of #10,000 f o r an o f f ic e r disbursing m illions annually i s grotesque.

Bonds should be graded upon

the volume of business in th e same manner as the t r e a s u r e r 's bond. 6,

Gut o f f e x tra allowances to public o f f ic e r s .

The p re v a ilin g custom i s a p r o lif ic source of le g alized g r a f t whereby p o l i t i c a l a sso c ia te s vote each other unearned money• 7,

Forbid public o f f ic e r s p r o fitin g from public con­

tra c ts, A broad general law a ffe c tin g a l l public o ffic e s should make i t a felony f o r any public o f f ic e r to p r o f i t by any con­ t r a c t with the p u b lic . S.

Require county o f f ic e r s to keep a public fee book.

The p riv a te fee book is the hiding place of concealed

336 p r o f i t s of public o f f ic e .

The people have a r ig h t to know

th a t fe e s are ac c u ra te ly charged, properly accounted f o r and turned in to the public tr e a s u ry . 9.

Require s h e r i f f s to feed priso n ers a t actual c o s t.

The present system which induces th e overcrowding of the j a i l , the underfeeding of the prisoners and the padding of accounts i s not only a v io la tio n of every business p r in c ip le , but i s also an outrage on public morals. 10.

Require the S tate Auditor to audit school funds.

The common school fund i s a sacred t r u s t and every item belonging to th a t fund should be reported to a s ta te o f f i c e r at the time i t accrues. 11.

Compel the c o lle c tio n of fin e s and f o r f e it u r e s due

to the school fund. The present annual lo ss of hundreds of thousands of d o lla rs to the school fund through unwarranted rem ittances and fla g ra n t neg lect in c o lle c tio n of f in e s and f o r f e it u r e s gravely th rea ten s th e adequacy of the school fund and has already caused a m aterial in c re ase in d ir e c t tax atio n f o r school purposes.

This

can be co rrected by placing the r e s p o n s ib ility in a s ta te o f f i c e r . 12.

Put the prosecuting attorney and h is deputies on

s a la r y , The present fee system in large c i t i e s overpays the o f f ic e r s and fu rn ish e s an incen tive to prosecute minor offenses to th e neg-

337

l e c t of m atters of public i n t e r e s t . 13.

Compel the payment of a l l fees in to the public

tr e a s u ry . The fee system is vicious and obsolete.

The opportunity

to make an independent fortune in public o ffic e is a v io la tio n of the p r in c ip le s of republican government, 14.

Require the courts to be responsible fo r the draw­

ing of jurors* The a tro c io u s m iscarriage of th e jury system c a l l s fo r ra d ic a l reform.

Our method of se le c tin g ju ro rs is ancient and

has been n o to rio u sly misused f o r the p ro tectio n of o f f i c i a l law-breakers and f o r th e ben efit of special i n t e r e s t s .

The

courts should be responsible to the people fo r the ch a ra cte r of j u r i e s .

The ex c ellen t r e s u l t s of the recent New fork law

proves the value of t h i s method, 15,

Require prelim inary examination of ju ro rs f o r special

v en ire s. The i n t e g r i t y of the sp ecial jury requ ires th a t ju ro rs drawn f o r sp e c ia l venire s h a ll be subject to o ra l exarn as to t h e i r q u a l if i c a t io n s before they are placed in the special panel. 16,

Authorize grand ju ro rs to make a presentment to the

Governor when conditions warrant, and require the Governor to i n s t i t u t e sp e cia l in v e s tig a tio n and prosecution in such cases and

33$

to present the f a c t s to the le g i s l a t u r e . Where lo c a l conditions are such as to o b stru ct the prosecution of crime e i t h e r through the co ntrol of th e prosecu­ to r or grand ju ry th e people should have a r ig h t of appeal to the S ta te .

Ger t a i n recent notorious instances of the h e lp le ss­

ness of communities proves the n ecessity o f t h i s provision.

IS S U E D MONTHLY BY THE STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS INDIANAPOLIS _________ C. E . H USTO N -STA TE EXAMINER_________ you 1 may, 1948_____________________ T m

SUGGESTED AUDIT NOTE BOOK FORM SOON TO BE READY FOR USE SAYS STATE EXAMINER | WANT TO AGAIN THANK YOU FOR YOUR PROMPT ATTENDANCE AT THE RECENT F I E L D EXAMINERS MEETING AND THE CLOSE ATTENTION, AND INTERESTED P A R T I C I ­ PATION IN THE P RO CEEDI NGS. T H I S WAS ONE MEETING WHERE WE HAD A 1 0 0 $ ATTENDANCE AND IT WAS MOST GRATIFYING TO HAVE EVERYONE ABLE TO BE P RE S EN T. I WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE PRESIDENT OF THE FI ELD- EXAMINERS ASSOCIATION AND THE COMMITTEE WHICH HE APPOINTED FOR A F I N E PROGRAM AT THE 'MONDAY EVENING BANQUET AND I AM SURE THAT THOSE PERSONS WITH TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OR MORE OF SERVICE, WHO WERE RECOGNIZED FOR THAT LONG S E R V I C E , WERE PLEASED WITH SUCH RECOGNITI ON. I AM INFORMED THAT THE LADIES HAD A VERY ENJOYABLE DINNER GATHERING WITH APPROXIMATELY THIRTYWIVES OF FI E LD, EXAMINERS PRESENT AND T H I S IS A FINE THING PROVIDING THEY D I D N ' T TALK ABOUT US, X X X X X 0 THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE F I E L D EXAMINERS MEETING IS NOT YET COMPLETEO, BUT I URGE ALL OF YOU TO READ ALL THAT I S CONTAINED THEREIN WHEN YOU RECEIVE IT BECAUSE I FEE L SURE THAT IN A MEETING OF THIS KINQ WHERE THERE ARE SO MANY T O P I C S DISCUSSED AND SO MANY THINGS S A I D , IT I S N ’ T POSSIBLE THAT ALL OF THEM WOULD TAKE ROOT AND I AM SURE THERE WERE SOME THINGS OF IMPORTANCE 'MENTIONED WHICH YOU MAY NOT HAVE GIVEN FULL WEIGHT TO AT THE MOMENT. IT TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF TIME AND EFFORT ON THE PART OF THE G IR L S TO .PREPARE THIS TRANSCRIPT AND IT I S ONLY BECAUSE FEEL IT I S WORTH THAT EFFORT THAT WE HAVE IT DONE.IT IS ONLY WORTH THAT EFFORT I F IT I S REFERRED TO SO PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT AGAIN, X X X X X ON MAY 11, 1 2 AND I 3TH, THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF COUNTY AUDITORS WAS HELD AT TURKEY RUN WITH A VERY GOOD ATTENDANCE AND A VERY I NTERESTED f l fo l l NC E , (CONTINUED PAGE 3)

INDIANA NO. 3

DEPARTMENTAL O PI NIONS COVER THREE SUBJECTS FREQUENTLY MET BY EXAMINERS IN THE F I E L D IN CHECKING A NUMBER OF EXTRA CURRICULAR A C T I V I T Y FUND REPORTS RECENTLY, WE NOTE THAT THE EXAMINER HAD A PARAGRAPH IN THE REPORT STATING THAT THE DEPOSITORY HAD MADE A SERVICE CHARGE AGAINST THE TREASURER OF THE S A I D FUNDS, THESE REPORTS WERE PREPARED P RIOR TO MARCH, 1 9 4 8 , HOWEVER, WE WISH TO CALL ATTENTION TO AN ARTI CLE IN THE MARCH EXAMINER WITH REFERENCE TO AN ATTORNEY G ENERAL' S O PI N I O N WHICH HELD THAT FUNDS OF THE EXTRA CURRICULAR A C T I V I T Y ACCOUNTS ARE NOT CONSIDERED AS PUBLIC FUNDS UNDER THE TERMS OF THE PUBLIC DEPOSITORY ACT. T H I S BEING THE CASE, IF THE BANK CHOOSES TO PLACE A SERVICE CHARGE AGAINST THESE FUNDS THERE WOULD BE NO RECOURSE. X X X X X BURIAL OF INMATES OF STATE I N S T I T U T I O N S WE HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE BURIAL OF AN INMATE OF A STATE HOS P IT AL WHO DIED WHILE AN INMATE OF THE SAID H OS P IT A L AND WHO MADE NO PROVISI ON FOR THE EXPENSE OF THEIR BUR I AL . T H I S QUESTION IS VERY WELL ANSWERED IN AN O F F I C I A L O PI N I O N ISSUED ON DECEMBER 1 5 , 1 9 3 3 AND WHICH IS FOUND IN THE 1 933 BOOK OF O P I N I O N S . THE S AI D OPI NION I S BASED UPON SECTION 2 2 - 1 2 1 7 OF BURNS 1 9 3 3 STATUTES AND PROVIDES THAT THE INS T IT U TI ON WHEREIN THE PATIENT D I E S SHALL PAY SUCH EXPENSES AND CHARGE THE S AI D EXPENSE AGAINST THE COUNTY FROM WHICH SUCH P ATIENT WAS ADMITTED, THE SAI 0 CHARGE ACCOUNT SHALL BE DELIVERED TO THE TREASURER OF S TA T E, TO BE BY HIM COLLECTED OF SUCH COUNTY, AS A DEBT DUE TO SUCH STATE H O S P I T A L . SUCH E XPENSE, WHEN P AI D BY THE COUNTY, WOULD BE CHARGED TO "EXP E NS E OF INMATES STATE I N S T I T U T I O N S % I F YOU HAVE QUESTIONS CONCERNING T H I S MATTER, WE SUGGEST YOU READ THE O PI N I O N REFERRED TO H E R E I N ,

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)

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MAY, 1 ^ 4 8

J O H N S E L L D R E A M I N G OF A C H O I C E A S S I G N M E N T IN BROOK, I N D ., AFTER H IS RETIREMENT JULY 1 , 1 9 4 8 . G R A N D P A ’ S CLUB THE RANKS OF G R A N D P A ’ S CLUB A RE F I L L I N G F A S T . T H A T I N D I C A T E S S O M E T H I N G OR O T H E R , I N C L U D I N G ADVAN­ C I N G A GE ON T H E P A R T O F T H E G R A N O P A . T H E S E A R E T HE R E C R U I T S OR R E I N L I S T M E N T S , A S T H E C A S E MAY B E . REINLISTM ENTS: B YRON B . N I C K E L S , W H O S E D A U G H T E R M R S . RUTH C OF F MA N OF L I B E R T Y , I N D . BECAME T H E M OT H E R OF A F I N E B O Y , NAMED RON BYRON C O F F M A N , BORN MAY 8 . T H I S IS B Y R O N 'S SECOND G RANDCHILD. F RANK D E U T S C H , B R Q O K V I L L E . WE DO NOT H A V E T H E D E T A I L S BUT F R A N K ’ S D A U G H T E R B E C A M E A MOT HE R RECENTLY. RECRUIT : F O R R E S T G . C O A T S , WH O S E D A U G H T E R M R S . S P R A G U E S Y N D E R O F C O N N E R S V I L L E 8 E C A M E T H E M O T H E R OF A BABY G I R L , NAMED C A R O L Y N , BORN A P R I L 1 6 , WELCOME I N T O THE M EM BERSH IP OF THE G RA ND PA ’ S CLUB1 X X X X X MODER N G I R L - O N E WHO L I K E S S P I N N I N G W H E E L S — F O U R ON T H E CAR AND A S P A R E . X X X X X R U S T Y ; " Y O U C A N ’ T ASK F OR A R A I S E L I K E T H A T . YOU M US T WORK Y O U R S E L F U P . ” R O O K I E F I E L D E X A M I N E R ; ’’ I D I D . I 'M TREMBLING ALL O V E R .”

O U T T S S T I L L * IN T H I S A I S L E T H E D I G N I F I E D E D I T O R I S T H A N K F U L F O R GUYS L I K E H A R O L O B E C K , WHO WAS E X P O S E D ( E I T H E R FOR B E T T E R OR F O R W O R S E ) AS O L I E O F P A O L I AT OUR M EETING. WE D O N ’ T KNOW W H E T H E R O U R PLA N FOR D I V U L G I N G H I S P S E U D O N Y M ( T H E R E I S A WORD FOR Y O U ) WAS A S U C C E S S OR N O T , BUT F I G U R A T I V E L Y AND L t T E R A L L Y , I V A N H I N E S GOT A " B A N G ” OUT OF IT. ANYHOW, H E R E I S HAROLD W ITH T H I S M ON TH 'S CONTRIBUTIONS: IVAN H I N E S S E Z : " S H U C K S , W A S N ’ T N U T H I N TO I T , F I G U R I N OUT WHO O L I E W A S . A S A B O O N E C O U N T Y BOY AT AN EARLY AGE I B E C A N E I N T E R E S T E D I N 4 - H C L U B WORK AND I N C I ­ D E N T A L L Y B E C A M E A D E P T A T A ND WON S E V E R A L CORN JUDGING C O N TE STS". A P R I L SHOWERSJ T H U N D E R AND L I G H T I N W H O L E WORLD SHAK I N ’ , P I G S A L L R U N N I N ’ , TO SA V E T H E I R — BACON . GREEK M EETS GREEK (GREEK R ESTA U RA N T, GREEK CUSTOMER) F. U. N . E . X . ( H A F YOU ENY E G G S ? ) S . V. F . X . ( YO U T R Y I T FROM H E R E ) F. U. N . £ . M. S . V . F . M. 0. K . M . N . X . C0NTRA-W E3STER ESKIMOS - G O D ’ S FROZEN P E O P L E . H E E L - MAN W I T H O U T A S O U L . S H I R K E R - CLOCK EYED P E R S O N . S P L I T SECOND - THAT B R I E F AND F L E E T I N G PERIOD O F T I M E T H A T E L A P S E S FROM THE T I M E T H E T R A F F I C S I G N A L TURNS G R E E N AND T H E GUY B E H I N D S T A R T S HONK I N G . RHYME W I T H O U T R E A S O N T H E B O T T L E OF P E R F U M E THA T W I L L I E S E N T WAS H I G H L Y D I S P E L A S I N G TO M I L L | C E N T ; HER THANKS WERE C O L D , OVER T H E S I L L Y S C E N T W I L L Y S E N T M I L L I C E N T • O N E W I L L G E T YOU T H R E E T H A T ; U N C L E SAM I S T H E R E A L L OAN R A N G E R . W E ’ D A L L BLOW OUR T O P S I F T O B A C C O C O M P A N I E S EVER M AD E T H E I R C I G A R E T S A S S T R O N G A S T H E I R ADJECT!VES. AN O L D - T I M E R I S A N Y O N E WHO CAN R E M E M B E R WHEN THE ONLY N A T I O N A L H O O K U P WAS T H E BACK O F AUNT M A G G I E ’ S S UNDAY D R E S S . - O L I E AND ED C OO P E R S U G G E S T S T H A T A N O T H E R D E S C R I P ­ T I O N OF AN O L D T I M E R I S A N Y O N E WHO CAN REMEMBER WHEN T H E Y O NL Y S HO W E D A W O M A N ' S F O O T I N THE A D V E R T I S E M E N T S OF CORN C U R E S . X X X X X L I P S T I C K - S O M E T H I N G THAT A D D S C O L O R AND FLAVOR TO AN AGE - OLD C U S T O M .

MAY, 1 9 4 8

STATE E XA M I N E R ' S MESSAGE A L T H Q I I S M H I S DEPARTMENT I S NOT EXACTLY W f T H p l ^ J & l D O , I . F E E L THAT THESE CONFERENCES OF |Y E D I T O R S ARE SO VALUABLE THAT I AM H SR I NG - ' S E R |OU5LY INTRODUCING ONE OR MORE ; 5>TO REQUIRE A S I M I L A R CONFERENCE OF OTHER OF PUB L IC O F F I C I A L S TO BE HELD AT LEAST ONSSlft ¥EAR* ■ a W * ''.: X X X X X ' ^ m ANNOUNCED IN THE LETTER SENT TO ALL OF y p r e c e n t l y , AN EXAMINATION FOR THE P O S I T I O N o f FIELD EXAMINER I S TO BE HELD ON J U N E 9 , 1 9 4 8 , W M IS HOPED THAT ENOUGH SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES U J L L J E OBTAINED FROM T H I S EXAMINATION SO THAT .BUILD OUR FORCE UP TO A POINT WHERE WE CAN ■KEEP CURRENT WITH OUR WORK AND HAVE ;MEN LEFT OVER AS A BACK LOG TO REPLACE THQSE WHO GO ON R ET I RE ME NT . THE SUGGESTED NEWS RELEASE WHICH WAS SENT TO YOU WAS ONLY A S U G G E S T I O N . I F YOU D E S I R E TO CONTACT A REPORTER AND HAVE HIM WRI TE H I S OWN STORY/THAT I S PERFECTLY A L R I G H T , BUT I FELT THAT THIS WAS A, CONVENIENT WAY IN WHICH WE COULD GET AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE PENDING. EXAMINATION IN A NUMBER OF NEWSPAPERS THROUGHOUT THE S T A T E , AS I TOLD YOU, LAST YEAR I ATTEMPTED TO HAVE THE ANNOUNCEMENT CARRIED ON THE NEWS S E R V I C E «hre ;s b u t t o my k n o w l e d g e i t w a s NOT DONE. I S I ^ L ATTEMPT TO GET IT ON THOSE W|,RES AGAIN THl% tYEAR BUT IN CASE OF ANOTHER F A I L U R E , YCg|' AS§ I STANCE IN T H I S MATTER WI L L G I V E US AT A PARTIAL COVERAGE. IF,YOU HAVE APW GOOD PROS PE CTS IN MIND, U R G E . THEM 'TO WRITE IN FOR AN A P P L I C A T I O N BLANK, THE EXAMINATION T H I S YEAR WILL BE HELD AT THE STATE FAIR GROUNDS IN THE AUDITORI UM, IT BEjNG THE ONLY AVAILABLE PLACE THAT WE COULD LOCATE LARGE ENOUGH FOR A GROUP OF DESKS IN Q UA NT I TI E S 5 £ F I C ( E N T TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THAT WE A N T I C I P A T E , IF WE SHOULD HAVE A GREAT NUMBER OF APP L IC ANT S WHICH CANNOT BE ACCOMMODATED IN T H I S P LACE, WE, OF COURSE, SHALL HAVE TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR SUCH ACCOMMODATIONS BUT THAT WILL NOT BE KNOWN U NT IL T l l T l R S T OF J U N E , WHICH IS THE LAST DATE FOR F‘HsTNG“APPL| CAT I O N S , THIS YEAR I HAVE SENT A NOT IC E OF THE EXAM­ INATION TO INDIANA, BUTLER AND NOTRE DAME , U(LUERS.|Ties AND HAVE F I X E D THE DATE OF OUR EXAMINATION SO THAT | T DOES NOT I NTERFER WITH THE n M f Exams o f t h e s e n i o r s i n t h e s c h o o l o f b u s ­ i n e s s WHO ARE S P E C I A L I Z I N G IN ACCOUNTING. I HOPE WE.GI-T SOME GOOD YOUNG CANDIDATES FROM THOSE SOURCES. • X X X * X I H i - A S T MONTH'S EXAMINER, WE CARICATURED OTTO GROSS AND IN T H I S I S S U E , IT IS JOHN S E L L . THESE ^ S J M T i E M E N ARE TO R E T I R E J ULY 1 S T AND ALTHOUGH 1 INTENDED TO MENTION THE FACT AT THE RECENT MEETING, IT ENTIRELY S L I P P E D MY MIND AND I WILL

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S T A T E E X A M I N E R ' S MESSAGE TAKE T H I S O P P O R T U N I T Y TO EXTENO TO BOTH OTTO AND J OHN THE BEST W I S H E S O F A LL OF US FOR A VERY PLEASANT RET IREMENT i X X X X X A F T E R THE S U G G E S T I O N OF CARL COBLE AND DON CLARK AS TO AN A U D I T NOTE BOOK FORM WAS SO WELL R E C E I V E D BY YOU F E LL O WS, I A S S I G N E D T H E ' D U T Y * OF DRAWING SUCH A FORM F O R T HE VARIOUS O F F I C I A L S TO A NUMBER OF D I F F E R E N T MEN AND T H E S E ARE NOW BE G I N N I N G TO COME INTO THE O F F I C E WHERE WE W I L L GO OVER THEM CA REFULLY AND IN T HE NOT TOO D I S T A N T F U T U R E , WE SHALL HAVE A FORM O F A U DI T NOTE BOOK F O R YOU WHICH WE HOPE W I L L BE OF CON­ S I D E R A B L E A S S I S T A N C E IN YOUR E X A M I N A T I O N S . AT A S U G G E S T I O N OF BOB H E R I T A G E , WE ARE GOING TO INCLUDE ON THE BACK OF EACH FORM A L I S T OF T H O S E FORMS WHICH ARE USED IN T HE VARIOUS U N I T S OF GOVERNMENT FOR YOUR FURTHER CONVENI ENCE. X X X X X T H I S WAS AN EXCELLENT S U G G E S T I O N FROM BOB AND I WOULD L I K E TO TAKE T H I S O P P O R T U N I T Y TO MENTION THE FACT THAT I HAVE ON MY DESK AT THE PRE SE NT MOMENT FOUR OR F I V E S U G G E S T I O N S FROM V ARI OUS MEN AS TO MATTERS THAT ARE INTENDED TO B E TT E R OUR WORK OR THE R E S U LT S OF OUR WORK AND AS R A P I D L Y A S 1 CAN F I N D T I M E TO ^ T U D Y ‘ T H E S E MATTERS AND COUNSEL WITH OTHERS ON THEM, WE W I L L TAKE SOME ACT I ON AND I F THE A CT I O N I S [N THE A F F I R M A T I V E , YOU WI LL BE HEARI NG FROM T HOSE MATTERS IN THE NOT TOO D I S T A N T F U T U RE , ALSO. I T I S AN EXCELLENT S I T U A T I O N , GENTLEMEN, WHERE YOU TAKE THE TIME AND HAVE THE I N T E R E S T TO SEND IN S U G G E S T I O N S THAT YOU THINK W I L L BE OF B E N E F I T TO THE DEPARTMENT. NATURALLY, THEY CAN NOT A LL BE USED BECAUSE THERE ARE O CC A S I O N S WHEN THE O V E R - A L L P I C T U R E WI LL NOT PE RH AP S LEND I T S E L F R E A D I L Y TO SUCH USE' BUT B E L I E V E ME WHEN I T EL L Y O U- A G AI N THAT THEY ARE ALL G I V E N CARE­ FUL C O N S I D E R A T I O N ANDICANNOT URGE YOU TOO STRONGLY TO F E E L F R E E AT ANY TIME TO MAKE THESE S U G G E S T I O N S . THE ONLY THI N G THAT I WOULD ADD TO THAT I S THAT YOUR S U G G E S T I O N S BE COMPLETELY THOUGHT OUT BEFORE YOU MAKE I T . BY THAT I MEAN, D O N ' T . J U S T DROP THE GERM OF AN IDEA IN OUR LAPS AND WE HAVE TO WORK OUT ALL THE DE­ T A I L S , ATTEMPT TO HEL P US IN THAT R E S P E C T A L S O . AFTER A L L , THE RE I S SUCH A THING AS BE I N G SO NEAR THE F O R E S T THAT WE CANNOT S E E T HE T R E E S AND S O ME T I M ES IN THE D A I L Y G R I N D O F O U R WORK WE F I N D OU R S E L V E S IN THAT P O S I T I O N AND BECAUSE OF THE VERY COMPLI CATE D NATURE OF OUR B U S I N E S S , IT I S N ' T P O S S I B L E FOR ONE OR TWO I N D I V I D U A L S TO V I S U A L I Z E E VERYTHI NG THAT SHOULD BE DONE. T H E R E F O R E , YOUR H E L P I S VALUABLE IN T H I S MANNER ALSO.

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MAY, 1948 H A R ^ y $zz D I S C U S S E S V A L U E O F SEE D ISC U S SES U T IL IT Y AUDITS E L E M E N T S O F T H E A C C O U N T S , AND TO B R I N G OUT A U O I T S AND E X A M I N A T I O N S C L E A R L Y A S O N E T O T A L T H E A MO U N T W H I C H I S B E I N G OF P U B L I C U T I L I T Y U S E D BY T H E A U D IT O R IN E I T H E R H I S BALANCE SHEET A U D I T I N G , U N L I K E B O O K K E E P I N G , I S AN A N A L Y T I C A L OR P R O F I T ANO L O S S S T A T E M E N T * IN O TH E R WORDS, PROCESS. IT NOT ONLY I M P L I E S A THORO KNOWLEDGE T H E A N A L Y S I S O F EACH ACCOUNT SH O ULD T I E UP WITH O F A C C O U N T S A ND T H E P R I N C I P L E S U N D E R L Y I N G T H E I R T HE F IG U R E S USED IN THE ST A T E M E N T S . IN CONSID­ C O N S T R U C T I O N , BUT D E M A N D S T H E P OWER TO A N A L Y Z E E R I N G T H E A N A L Y S I S O F A C C O U N T S , T H E Y A R E VERY P R O P E R L Y THE D E T A I L S OF B U S I N E S S T R A N S A C T IO N S IMPORTANT IN P R E P A R IN G BALANCE S H E E T . SCHEDULES. AND TO S Y N T H E S I Z E C O R R E C T L Y T H E O P E R A T I O N S O F A T H E R E I S A N O T H E R VERY I M P O R T A N T P A R T OF THE B U S I N E S S . AN A U D I T O R ’ S R E P O R T , T H E R E F O R E , MUST COM PLETE ANO C O N TIN U OU S A U D IT * T H E MECHANICAL NOT BE M E R E L Y L O G I C A L G R O U P I N G O F A C C O U N T S ; I T O R D E T A I L S I D E O F AN A U D I T * MUST R E V E A L F U L L Y T H E VAL UE OF C E R T A I N F O R C E S T H E M E C H A N I C A L WORK I N A N A U D I T E M B R A C E S T H E I N A C C O M P L I S H I N G D E S I R E D R E S U L T S AND T H E I R E F F E C T V E R I F I C A T I O N S O F F O O T I N G S A N D P O S T I N G S , AND ON T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T U S O F T H E O R G A N I Z A T I O N . V OUCHING. T H E E X T E N T O F T H I S D E T A I L WORK W I L L T H E V A L U E OF A U D I T S AND E X A M I N A T I O N S I S N A T U R A L L Y B E D E T E R M I N E D B Y T H E C O N D I T I O N O F THE L I M I T E D I N T H E I R S C O P E AND N A T U R E . N O R M A L L Y A A C C O U N T S E X A M I N E D A N D B Y T H E S Y S T E M I N U S E . AS C O M PL E T E A U D IT SHOULD BE T H E MOST V A L U A B L E . IN A RU L E T H E F O L L O W I N G BOOKS AND R E C O R D S SHOULD C O N S I D E R I N G T H E A U D I T O F A P U B L I C U T I L I T Y , WE BE FO O T E D * W I L L I N C L U D E T H E C O N T I N U O U S A U D I T W I T H THE 1 . CASH B O O K . COMPLETE A U D IT . 2 . VOUCHER R E G I S T E R . THE COMPLETE A UD IT EMBRACES THE V E R I F I C A T I O N 3 . GENERAL JO U R N A L , ( I F THERE ARE POSTINGS N O T ONLY O F A S S E T S AND L I A B I L I T I E S , B UT A L S O OF FROM T O T A L S ) . A L L I N C O M E AND E X P E N D I T U R E S D U R I N G A P E R I O D ; 4 . G E N E R A L L E D G E R A C C O UNTS. T H E R E F O R E , NO C O M P U N C T I O N S A S TO C O N C L U S I O N S 5 . ACCOUNTS R E C E IV A B L E LEDGER ACCOUNTS, N E E D B E F E L T BY T H E A C C O U N T A N T , P R O V I D E D , O F C O U R S E , T H A T H E HAS D O N E H I S WORK F A I T H F U L L Y AND 6 . PAY R O L L S , ACCURATELY. T H E R E IS GREAT VALUE IN A COM PLETE 7 . P E T T Y CA S H R E C O R D . A U D I T B E C A U S E T H E E F F E C T S OF R E S U L T S FROM O P E R ­ IN SOME I N S T A N C E S THE F O O T I N G S CAN BE V E R I­ A T I O N CAN B E V E R Y C L E A R L Y . A S S O C I A T I ON W I T H F I E D BY T O T A L S AND NO O E T A | L E D F O O T I N G W I L L BE CHANGES IN F I N A N C I A L P O S I T I O N , AN A N A L Y S I S OF N E C E S S A R Y ; T H I S P R O C E O U R E MAY B E A D O P T E D I N O P E R A T l ONS I S V A L U A B L E , M O R E O V E R , I F T HE P R O V I N G T HE T O T A L F O O T I N G S OF T H E CA SH RECORDS A C C O U N T A N T I S OF THA T P R O G R E S S I V E T Y P E WHO W HER EVER A L L R E C E I P T S A RE D E P O S I T E D IN T A C T IN B E L I E V E S THA T C O N S T R U C T I V E S U G G E S T I O N S AS TO T H E BANK AND A L L D I S B U R S E M E N T S A R E E V I O E N C E D O P E R A T I N G OR A C C O U N T I N G P R O C E D U R E A R E I M P O R T A N T B Y C H E C K S DRAWN ON T H E B A N K * THE TOTAL I N AND A U D I T O R ’ S R E P O R T . R E C E I P T S P E R C A S H B OOK MAY > I N T H A T C A S E , B E T H E C O N T I N U O U S A U D I T MAY B E E I T H E R L I M I T E D OR PROVED BY T H E U S E O F T H E F O L L O W I N G T A B L E ; C O M P L E T E I N I T S S C O P E AND WOULD T H E R E F O R E BE RECEIPTS; C O N F I N E D T O T HE P U R P O S E I N V I E W . T H E E S S E N T I A L D E P O S I T P E R B A N K S T A T E M E N T _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ft_ _ _ _ _ _ _ F E A T U R E OF A C O N T I N U O U S A U D I T I S I T S P E R I O D I C I T Y . DEDUCT " I T H AS THE A D V A N T A G E OF K E E P I N G T H E A C C O U N T I N G D E P O S I T S C R E D I T E D BY BANK AT S T A F F OF T HE C O N C E R N A U D I T E D ON T H E A L E R T AND B E G I N N I N G O F P E R I O D E N T E R E D ON R E F L E C T S TO T H E MANAGEMENT VERY C L E A R L Y , I F B OOKS P R IO R T H E R E T O , ft_ _ _ _ _ _ P R O P E R L Y D O N E , T H E CUR RE N T T E N D E N C I E S O F B U S I N E S S OPERATIONS. T H E S T A T E BOARD OF A C C O U N T S H A S , OF TOTAL g COURSE, THE CONTINUOUS A U D IT S . ADD A N A L Y S I S , AS SPO K E OF IN THE C OM PLETE A U O I T , D E P O S I T S E N T E R E D ON B O O K S D U R I N G I S V ER Y N E C E S S A R Y , W I T H O U T I T T H E A U D I T O R CANNOT P E R I O D C R E D I T E O B Y B A N K S U B S E Q U E N T L Y ft I N T E R P R E T T H E T E N D E N C I E S OF T H E O P E R A T I O N S . TOTAL R E C E I P T S , RECORD F O O T IN G , ft A N A L Y S I S A L S O R E V E A L S THE E R R O R S I N T H E C L A S S ­ I F I C A T I O N S A N D U N C O V E R S MANY I T E M S W H I C H WERE DISBURSEM ENTS; E I T H E R I N T E N T I O N A L L Y OR U N C O N S C I O U S L Y B U R I E D ; IT D I S B U R S E D P E R BANK S T A T E M E N T , ft I N D I C A T E S T HE E R R O R S O F C O M M I S S I O N ANO OF P R I N ­ DEDUCT C IPA L. AS A M E C H A N I C A L F E A T U R E , T HE A N A L Y S I S O F CH ECK S I S S U E D P R I O R TO B E G I N N I N G OF T H E A C C O U N T S D O E S AWAY W I T H T H E N E E D OF V E R I F Y I N G P E R I O D ( O U T S T A N D I N G AT THAT T I M E , ) ft_ _ _ _ _ _ _ T H E L E D G E R F O O T I N G S , F OR T H E SUM O F T H E V A R I O U S S E G R E G A T I O N S A P P E A R I N G I N T HE A N A L Y S I S S H O U L D total a AGREE WITH THE LEDGER F O O T I N G S . T H E E S S E N C E OF T H E A N A L Y S I S I S P R I M A R I L Y TO SHOW T H E C O M P O N E N T ( C O N T I N U E D N E X T C OL UM N)

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COL. 2 )

MAY, 1948 PAGE 5 "FRANK SIMONS EXPLAI NS H I S PLAN SIMONS EXPLAINS DATA F I L E 3 a FOR A GENERAL DATA F I L E ON O F F I C E AND TOWNSHIP T R U S T E E ' S BONDS IN THE ,UT ^ , At ■ PROGRESS OF ASSIGNMENT CLERK'S O FFICE, OTHER PAPERS TO GO IN THE GENERAL F I L E ARE I HAVE READ WITH I NTEREST ALU THE SUGGESTIONS ' THESE LETTERS TO THE E D I T O R , OR SHOULD TAX D I S T R I B U T I O N S AND PAYMENTS TO THE AUDITOR \ m LETTERS TO THE ‘ C H I E F ' . ALL OF THEM HAVE BY OTHER O F F I CE R S TO BE EXAMINED, TAKEN OFF IN WORTH READING AND MOST OF THEM WORTH A O 0 P T THE EXAMINATION OF THE A U D I T O R ' S O F F I C E , AND PAYMENTS TO TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES BY J U S T I C E S OF f f ^ U B G E S t T O N I S NOTHING STARTLING AND PROBABLY THE PEACE, TAKEN OFF IN THE EXAMINATION OF N f f l W NEW. IT HAS BEEN USED BY ME SO MANY TOWNSHIP T RU STEES. YEARS THAT THE O R I G I N HAS BEEN LOST, BUT I L I K E AS THE EXAMINATIONS OF THE VARIOUS O F F I C E S TO THINK THAT I ORIGINATED I T . IN THE COUNTY ARE COMPLETED PAPERS PERTAINING N # START I N 6 A NEW ASSIGNMENT, AND PARTICULARLY TO A PARTICULAR O F F I C E ARE ATTACHED TO THE WORK A COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT FOR AN ENT I RE COUNTY, I PAPERS FOR THE O F F I C E SO THAT AT THE COMPLETION START A GENERAL OR DATA F I L E , A F I L E PERTAI NI NG OF THE WORK IN THE COUNTY VERY L I T T L E REMAINS TO'NO ONE O F F I C E IN PARTICULAR AND YET TO ALL IN THE GENERAL F I L E EXCEPT THE ASSIGNMENT, TAX $ ® # E S TO BE EXAMINED. THE F I R S T THING IN THE D I S T R I B U T I O N S AND SCHEDULE OF BONDS. OF COURSE THE ASSIGNMENT AND THE DATA SENT BY THE THE PROGRESS SHEET IS S T I L L THERE BUT ALL F I L L E D OUT AND I S I T WITH BATED BREATH WONDERING WHAT AS THE NEXT S TEP I MAKE UP A PROGRESS S HE E T. COUNTY I WILL START ONE FOR NEXT— FRANK R . S I M O N S . fH$* BEARS ;NO R E L A T I O N S H I P rTO THE' WEEKLY PROGRESS SEE D I S C U S S E S U T I L I T Y AUDITS M T SENT TO THE DEPARTMENT BUT I S FOR MY OWN ADD CONVENIENCE AND INFORMATION. ON COLUMNAR SHEETS ■ CHECKS ISSUED TOWARD END OF PERI OD, I PREPARE FORMS SUBD IV I DE D AS TO COUNTY O F F I C E S , OUTSTANDING, NOT CASHED BY BANK BUT TOWNSHIP-TRUSTEES, G I V I L TOWNS AND J U S T I C E S OF ENTERED ON RECORDS t THE PEACE. HEADING OF THESE COLUMNS ARE AS FOLLOWSi O F F I C E , NAME OF O F F I C E R , PERIOD TO BE TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS DUMMY MADE, EXAMINATION COMPLETED, DATE IT I S , I B E L I E V E , THE D E S I R E OF OUR STATE EXAMINER, TO F I N D WAYS IN WHICH AN AUDIT CAN BE FOR TYPING, DATE PROOFREAD, THE COLUMN •DUMMY MADE'’ IS A PP L IC A BL E LARGELY TO TOWNSHIP CONDUCTED WITH A GREATER SAV NG OF TIME AND TRUSTEES, WHERE A PORTION OF THE EXAMINATION IS SHORTEN THE EXAMINATIONS. AFTER CONDUCTING MANY MAiE.AND THE DUMMY PREPARED PRI O R TO THE ACTUAL EXAMINATIONS OF U T I L I T I E S AND IN VARIOUS WAYS, I HAVE FOUND THAT A PROPER ANALYSIS OF ACCOUNTS, EXAMINATION, A GLANCE AT T HI S SHEET IS ALL THAT MUCH ADDING MACHINE WORK, AND ON A TOUGH ASSIGN­ IS^EdESSARY TO SEE-WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AND WHAT MENT, FORGET THAT EIGHT HOURS CONSTITUTES A REMAINS TO BE DONE IN THAT COUNTY* IT IS A VERY DEFINITE HELP IN F I L L I N G OUT ACCURATELY THE L I N E DAYS WORK, OR I F IT DOES, CROWD THE EIGHT HOURS •OFFICES NOT YET EXAMINED' ON THE WEEKLY PROGRESS FULL OF PROPERLY AND CAREFULLY PLANNED AUDITING REPORT. PROCEDURE, PLANNED BEFORE STARTING THE A SS I GN­ MENT OR AT LEAST AFTER MAKING A SURVEY OF THE -ANOTHER SHEET TO GO IN THE GENERAL F I L E I S A RECORDS, WI LL BRING YOU THROUGH IN A REASONABLY W l U L E OF ALL O F F I C I A L BONDS OF O F F I C E R S TO E xamined, soon a f t e r i s t a r t t h e a s s i g n m e n t GOOD TIME AND WITH S A T I S F I E D RESULTS TO BOTH YOURSELF AND THE DEPARTMENT. - G . H . S E E , AND B I F O R E ' i COMPLETE ANY EXAMINATION I OBTAIN X X X X X Tlfi FOLLOWING INFORMATION AS TO BONDS FROM THE AUDITOR'S, RECORDER'S AND CLERK’ S RECORDS; O F F I C E , BEST WISHES OF THE DEPARTMENT GO TO EDWARD NAME OF O FF I CE R , AMOUNT OF BOND, NAME OF BONDING El KMAN, DANVILLE, WHO RESIGNED LAST MONTH AND W P A N Y , ’ DATE OF BOND, DATE OF APPROVAL, RECORD HAS ACCEPTED A P O S I T I O N AS A PROFESSOR IN ACCOUNT­ AND PAGE WHERE BOND IS -R E CO RD E D. TH'IS' IS A ING ON THE FACULTY OF THE FLORIDA STATE DEFINITE TIME SAVER. I AM INHERENTLY LAZY AND DO U N I VE R SI T Y AT TALLAHASSE, FLA. NOt LIKE TO TAKE ANY MORE STEPS THAN ARE NECESSARY X X X X X WNEN | HAVE, COMPLETED AN EXAMINATION AND'AM ■ IT IS ANNOUNCED BY WALTER W. L E S L I E , PRES.IOENT WRITING THE REPORT I DO NOT HAVE TO CHASE ALL OVER OF THE F I E L D EXAMINERS ASSOCI ATI ON THAT RALPH S . THE-COURT HOUSE LOOKING FOR THE DOPE ON THE BOND. HESLER HAS BEEN NAMED TO MEMBERSHlP ON THE ,T IS THERE IN MY GENERAL F I L E , I F THE REPORT INSURANCE COMMITTEE OF THE A SSOCI ATI ON TO F I L L COMPLETED CONTAINS CHARGES AND THE BOND I S TO BE THE VACANCY CREATED BY THE RESI GNATI ON FROM THE COPIED I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO F I ND I T . IT I S DEPARTMENT OF EDGAR H. BURGAN. SURPRISING HOW MANY BONDS ARE F I L E D IN O F F I C E S CTHER THAN THE ONE S TI P UL A TE D BY LAW, J U S T I C E S ^ THE PEACE BONDS ARE FOUND IN THE A U D I T O R ' S

PAGE 6

MAY, 1948

DEPARTMENTAL O P IN IO N S A U D I T I N G OF C H A N G E O F V E N U E C L A I M S M E S S R S . MC N E A L AND F U S O N H A V E R E L A T E D O N E O F T H E I R E X P E R I E N C E S TO T H E D E P A R T M E N T , W H I C H WE B E L I E V E WOULD B E O F I N T E R E S T TO A L L O F Y O U . I T S E E M S T H A T I N A U D I T I N G C H A N G E OF V E N UE C L A I M S T H E Y W E R E A R O U S E D BY AN E X C E P T I O N A L L Y L A R G E NUMBER OF D A Y S C H A R G E D F O R P E R D I E M OF J U D G E . R E M E M B E R THAT C H A P T E R O F T H E 1943 A C T S A S AMENDED BY C H A P T E R 176 O F T H E 1 9 4 7 A C T S P R O V I D E S A P E R D I E M F OR T H E R E G U L A R J U D G E OR T H E P R O T E M P O R E F O R H I S S E R V I C E S I N T H E T R I A L OF A C A U S E . A L S O T H E TERM " T R I A L " I S D E F I N E D A S MEAN­ I NG A ND I N C L U D I N G “ T H E I M P A N E L I N G O F T H E J U R Y , T H E A C T U A L T R I A L , A R G UM E N T ON D E M U R R E R , A T R I A L OF T H E I S S U E S J O I N T E D ON A P L E A I N A B A T E M E N T , AND ARGUMENT OR R U L I N G ON ANY M O T I O N F O R NEW T R I A L . " T H E C L A I M I N Q U E S T I O N S HOWE D A C H A R G E F O R 1 7 DAYS F O R P E R D I E M OF J U D G E . T H E O T H E R C H A R G E S ON T H E C L A I M D I D NOT A P P E A R TO B E C O M P A R A B L E IN SIZE. U P O N I N V E S T I G A T I O N T H E Y F O U ND T H A T ACT UAL LY T H E R E C O R D S I N C OU NT Y OF T R I A L C O U LD SHOW C A U S E F O R O N L Y F I V E D AY S O F P E R D I E M D UE T H E J U D G E A L T H O U G H H E F I L E D C L A I M F O R AND R E C E I V E D P AY F OR N I N E D AY S OF P E R D I E M , O F C O U R S E T H E C L E R K OF C I R C U I T C O U R T E R R E D I N P R E P A R I N G C L A I M F O R 17 DAYS. T H E R E CAN B E NO Q U E S T I O N ABOUT AN O V E R ­ C H A R G E F OR 8 D A Y S , T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N 9 DAY S AND 1 7 D A Y S AND P O S S I B L Y F OR 1 2 D A Y S , P R O V I D I N G THE JU D G E W IL L ADMIT ERROR. T H E T H E O R Y B E H I N D T H I S S T O R Y I S T HA T E R R O R S CAN B E M AD E IN C H A N G E O F V E N U E C L A I M S , A S SHOWN H E R E I N , WHICH ARE RECOVERABLE— ALSO CLA IM S F I L E D BY J U D G E S F O R P E R D I E M ON C HA N G E O F V E N U E C L A I M S CAN C O N T A I N E R R O R S — A L L O F W H I C H , I F C A R E F U L L Y H A N D L E D , CAN M OS T G E N E R A L L Y B E P E A C E F U L L Y ADJUSTED. T H A N K S J O H N AND W E N D A L L F O R T H I S I N F O R M A T I O N , I T I S FOO D F O R T H O U G H T . NEW A S S I G N M E N T S BROWN 6c H I N E S - A N G O L A C I V I L & U T I L I T I E S . F RA N K D E U T S C H —J O I N M O R T I M E R L E W I S I N S U L L I V A N C O . PITTENGER & SELL-TOW NSHIP T RU STEES,TIPPEC A N O E CO. S E E & MUCKER-GREENDALE C I V I L & U T I L I T I E S . UMBAUGH & R E A D - F U L T O N C O U N T Y . F RA N K M . W I L Q —M A R | O N C I V I L & U T I L I T I E S ; U P L A N D C IV IL &U TIL. F U S O N & MC N E A L - C O . S U R V E Y O R , B O O N E C O . G R O S S & S T E I N S B E R G E R —T O U N S H I P T R U S T E E S , M A R I O N C O . W I L S O N & W E R T Z - M U N I C I P A L C O U R T - P R O B A T I ON O F F I C E , INDIANAPOLIS. A . D A L E D U D L E Y —J O IN J O H N N I E A N D E R S O N I N D E C A T U R COUNTY.

ATTORNEY G E N E R A L 'S O P IN IO N S APRIL 2 8 , 1 9 4 8 - O FF IC IA L . W I T H R E F E R E N C E T O C H . 3 5 2 , A C T S I 9 4 7 , A S TO W H E R E C L A I M F OR E X E M P T I O N MAY B E M A D E BY P E R S O N S D E S I G N A T E D IN S A I D A C T , T H E ATTORNEY GENERAL H OLDS* I AM, OF THE O P I N I O N THAT THE EXEMPTION A L L O W E D I N C H A P T E R 3 5 2 O F T H E A C T S O F 1947 MAY B E C L A I M E D A G A I N S T P R O P E R T Y OWNED I N A COUNTY O T H E R T HA N A C O U N T Y I N W H I C H T H E D I S A B L E D VET­ ERAN, CLA IM ING THE EXEM PTIO N, R E S I D E S . I AM F U R T H E R O F T H E O P I N I O N T H A T T H E P E R S O N C LAI M­ I NG T H E E X E M P T I O N N E E D F I L E H I S A F F I D A V I T ONLY W I T H T H E C O U N T Y A U D I T O R O F T H E C OU NT Y O F H I S R E S I D E N C E AND T H A T U P O N T H E T R A N S M I T T A L OF S A T I S F A C T O R Y P R O O F T H A T H E H A S C O M P L I E D WITH S E C T I O N 2 I N T H E C O U N T Y O F H I S R E S I D E N C E , THE A U D I T O R O F A N Y O T H E R C O U N T Y ^ S H O U L D ALLOW THE E X E M PT IO N A G A IN S T THE P R O P E R T Y O F THE DISABLED V E T E R A N I N T H A T C O U N T Y TO T H E E X T E N T OF THE B A L A N C E R E M A I N I N G A F T E R D E D U C T I N G ANY P AR T OF THE EXEMPTION PREV IO U SLY ALLOWED. I AM FURTHER O F T H E O P I N I O N T H A T T H E C OU NT Y A U D I T O R WHERE T H E E X E M P T I O N I S C L A I M E D MAY M A K E R E A S O N A B L E R E Q U I R E M E N T S T O I N S U R E A G A I N S T A L L O W A N C E OF MORE EXEM PTION THAT THE S TA T U T E A U T H O R I Z E S . N EW S OF T H E S I C K WE R E P O R T T H E I L L N E S S O F I VrtN H I N E S , J A M E S T O W N WHO U ND ER WE NT AN O P E R A T I O N FOR A P P E N D I C I T I S IN A H O S P I T A L AT H U N T I N G T O N A P R I L 2 2 , T H E DAY A F T E R OUR M E E T I N G . L A T E S T R E P O R T S A R E THAT I V A N R E T U R N E D TO WORK E A R L Y T H I S MONTH AND I S DOING N IC E L Y . R O S S T E C K E M E Y E R , ON L E A V E , WHO UNDERWENT AN O P E R A T IO N FOR G AL L ST O N E S IN I N D I A N A P O L I S S H O R T L Y B E F O R E OUR M E E T I N G , H A S L E F T T H E H O S P I ­ T A L AND I S NOW R E C U P E R A T I N G AT H I S H O M E , INDIANAPOLIS. GOOD L UC K AND B E S T W I S H E S TO B OTH T H E S E B O Y S . WE W E R E G L A D TO S E E T H A T HOWARD S W A I M , T I P T O N WAS A B L E TO L E A V E H I S HOME LONG E NOUGH TO ATTENO THE M E E T I N G . H I S C O N D I T I O N I S SUCH THAT H I S D O C T O R H A S NOT Y E T G I V E N P E R M I S S I O N F O R H I M TO R E T U R N T O W O R K . GOOD L U C K , H O W A R D . NOTICE A R T I C L E S F O R U S E I N N E X T M O N T H ' S E X A M I N E R ARE D U E FROM WM. S T E I N S B E R G E R , H A R O L D T A L B O T T AND JOHN C . THURMAN. I F Y OUR A R T I C L E H A S NOT YET B E E N M A I L E D TO T H E S T A T E E X A M I N E R , P L E A S E M A I L AT O N C E . X X X X X WAR N E V E R D E T E R M I N E S WHO | S R I G H T — ONLY WHO IS LEFT .

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S tate O ffic e s, I n s t i t u t i o n s , and E stablishm ents S ta te Benevolent I n s titu t io n s C en tral H o sp ital E p ile p tic V illag e E v an sv ille S ta te H ospital Ft* Wayne S ta te School Logansport S ta te H ospital Madison S tate H o sp ital Muscatatuck Col, Richmond S ta te H ospital S o ld ie rs & S a ilo rs C hildrens Home S ta te S o ld ie rs Home Southern Ind ian a T* B. H ospital S tate Penal and C o rrectio n al in s t itu ti o n s Boys’ School G i r l s ’ School Reformatory S ta te Farm S ta te P rison Womens’ P rison E ducational I n s titu t io n s B all S ta te Teachers College Indiana S ta te Teachers College Indiana U n iv ersity E xtensions Kokomo Mishawaka Calumet South E astern The Daily Student School f o r Blind School fo r Deaf S ta te J u d ic ia ry Supreme Court A ppellate Court S tate Board of Law Examiners C lerk, Sp* and App. Courts R ep o rter, Sp, and App* Courts

349 Executive George Rogers Clark Memorial Conservation Department S ta te Highway Commission Revolving Fund—H enderson-Evansville Bridge Funds Supft . , B uildings and Property World War Memorial Hew Harmony Memorial Motor Fuel Tax D ivision O il In sp e c tio n hand Department Store License D ivision Department o f F in a n c ia l I n s t, A uditor o f S tate Insu ran ce—se cur i t i e s , r o ta r y , ad m in istra tio n Teachers* Retirem ent Fund—inventory of s e c u r itie s S ta te L ibrary H is to ric a l Bureau S uperintendent o f Public In s tru c tio n Common School R e lie f Claims Academy of Science Insurance S ta te F ire M arshall Indiana S tate P olice Bureau Crim inal I d e n tif ic a tio n and In v e stig a ­ tio n Radio Safety R e sp o n sib ility T rust Funds S tate A th le tic Commission S ta te P olice B enefit Fund Inventory of S e c u ritie s Public S afety Department of Public Welfare Board of S tate C h a ritie s T rust Funds C iv il A ir P a tro l T reasu rer o f S tate Motor V ehicle D ivision Revolving Funds Weight Tax D ivision Board o f Tax Commissioners In h e rita n c e Tax In ta n g ib le Tax Gross Income D ivision S ta te Board f o r D epositories Inventory of S e c u ritie s f

P u b lic D e p o s its In s u ra n c e Fund and S in k in g Fund U n e m p lo y m e n t C o m p e n s a tio n D i v i s i o n E m p lo y m e n t S e c u r i t y M o to r V e h ic le D iv is io n D iv isio n o f A g ric u ltu re I n d u s t r i a l B oard S t a t e L iv e S to c k S a n ita r y B oard M in e s a n d M in in g P u b l i c S e r v i c e C o m m issio n B o a rd o f H e a lth — -C o u n c il f o r M e n ta l H e a lth D eep W a te rw a y s L iv e s to c k B uyers* L ic e n s e D iv is io n M ilk C o n tr o l B o a rd C o rn G ro w ers A s s o c ia tio n D airy m an s* A s s o c i a t i o n H o r tic u ltu r a l A sso c ia tio n L iv e S to c k B r e e d e r A s s o c i a t i o n P o u ltry A sso c ia tio n V e g e ta b le G row ers A s s o c ia tio n L ie u te n a n t-G o v e rn o r-F ru it m a rk e tin g D iv isio n o f P u b lic ity A tto rn e y G e n e ra l L e g i s l a t i v e B ureau I n d ia n a N a tio n a l G u a r d - T r u s te e s R e n ta l A c c o u n t; T ru s t F u n d -D iv isio n o f L abor I n d u s t r i a l B oard A d ju ta n t G en eral Cam p A t t e r b u r y A r m o r y B o a r d C o lu m b u s A rm o ry B o a rd C r a w f o r d s v i l l e A rm ory B o a rd D a r l i n g t o n A rm ory B o a rd D e l p h i A rm ory B o a r d E lw o o d A rm o ry B o a rd E v a n s v i l l e A rm ory B o a rd F t . W ayne A rm o ry B o a r d F r a n k f o r t A rm ory B o a rd F r a n k f o r t R i f l e Range G a ry A rm ory B o a rd G r e e n s b e r g A rm ory B o a rd Kokomo A rm o ry B o a r d L a f a y e t t e A rm ory B o a rd L e b a n o n A rm ory B o a rd M a d is o n A rm ory B o a rd M a rio n A rm ory B o a rd M a r t i n s v i l l e A rm ory B o a rd M t. V e rn o n A rm o ry B o a rd M ic h ig a n C i t y A rm ory B o a rd N ew A l b a n y A r m o r y B o a r d

351

Mew C astle Armory Board N o b lesv ille Armory Board P o rtlan d Armory Board P rin ceto n Armory Board R e n sse la ie r Armory Board Salem Armory Board She1b y v ille Armory Board South Bend Armory Board Spencer Armory Board S tout F ie ld Armory Board Terre Haute Armory Board T ipton Armory Board Wabash Armory Board W hiting Armory Board In d ia n a p o lis Naval Armory Board Michigan C ity Naval Armory Board Muncie Armory Board In d ia n a p o lis N ational Guard Armory Retirem ent Bonds and Coupons Board o f P ublic P rin tin g -P rin tin g C ontracts S tate Probation Department A lcoholic Beverages Comm.-Cigarette Tax Governor—Inventory of P roperty of Govfs. Mansion S ales D iv isio n -In d ian a In d u s trie s D ivision o f Public Work and Supply S ta te Commission on Clemency S tate Board of Accounts—F. E. S a la rie s and Ex­ penses S tate Board o f C e rtifie d Accountants Indiana Year Book F ield Examiners1 Retirement Fund Budget D irecto r S ecretary o f S tate Law Book D ivision A rc h ite c ts Barber Examiners Beauty C u ltu r a lis ts Dental Examiners Embalmers and Funeral D irecto rs Engineers and Land Surveyors Medical R e g istra tio n and Examination Nurses R e g is tra tio n and Examination Optometry R e g istra tio n and Examination Board of Pharmacy P o d iatry Examiners Watch Repair Board of Examiners Personnel Board S ecretary of S tate Economic Council

I n te r s ta te Cooperation J u d ic ia l Council A eronautics Commission Indiana Council f o r Mental H ealth S ta te S o il Conservation S ta te S o il Conservation Commission P r a ir ie Clark Daviess E lkhart Fountain Grant Greene-Clay-Gwens Ja sp er Lake M artin Monroe Newton Spencer S u llivan S w itzerland Tippecanoe Vanderburgh and Southwestern Warren F ulton Knox Montgomery Noble Wabash I n d u s tr ia l Aid f o r Blind D ivision of Public Works and Supply S ta te P u b lic ity and Public R elations T ra ffic Safety Commission A rb itra tio n Board

TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES’ BULLETIN ” ' ■

ISSUED MONTHLY BY THE STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

3 53

INDIANAPOLIS____________C. E. RUSTON, STATE EXAMINER_________________ INDIANA September 1, 1948#

No. 27

REMINDER OP ORDER OF BUSINESS September 8

F ile Poor R elief Claims

with County Auditor.

September 11

Last day to f i l e copies of annual budgets w ith CountyA uditor. (F ile 2 copies of each form)

September IS

Meeting of County Tax Adjustment Board.

September 30

On or before t h is date, State Aid Townships f ile second period or whole year s ta te aid claims w ith S tate Department of Education.

September 30

Receive docket fees from Ju stices of the Peace (Receipt to Township Fund) x x x x x x x x x x x x x

ANNUAL BUDGETS--As stated above, September 11 is the deadline for f ilin g copies of the annual budget w ith the county au d ito r. The lo cal tax adjustment board meets on teptember 13 to consider the budgets and tax rates of a l l municipal corporations of the county. When you appear before the tax adjustment board, you should be fam iliar with every item in your budget and be prepared to explain the need th e re fo r. Be sure th a t you can explain any increases or decreases in the budget and tax ra te as compared to the budget and rate established a year ago. x x x x x x x x x x x x x ’'INSURANCE—Questions have reached th is o ffice as to whether or not municipal corpor­ ations may purchase p o lic ie s of insurance from mutual insurance companies. The ans­ wer is found in Sec. 97-a of the Indiana Insurance Law of 1935, wherein i t is stated* "Any public or p riv a te corporation, board or asso ciatio n in th is s ta te or elsewhere may make a p p lic a tio n s, enter into agreements for, and hold p o li­ cies in , any mutual insurance company. Any o ffic e r, stockholder, tru ste e or legal rep resen tativ e o f any such company, board, asso ciatio n or e sta te may be recognized as ac tin g for or on i t s behalf fo r the purposes of such membership, but sh a ll not be personally lia b le upon such contract of in ­ surance by reason of a ctin g in such representative capacity." It is not the purpose of th is a r t ic le to compare mutual insurance w ith other kinds of policies, but to merely s ta te th e law on th is su b ject. x x x x x x x x x x x x x •ABANDONED CEMETERIES—Boards of county commissioners may s o li c i t your assistan ce in determining what, i f any, cemeteries are to be considered as abandoned and come within the meaning of Chapter 337, Acts of 1947 and which are to be maintained by the county. This law is d i f f i c u lt to in te rp re t and th erefo re d if f ic u lt to adminis­ ter by the county commissioners. Please co-operate and give the board of commis­ sioners any inform ation you can regarding the cemeteries of your township.

BUS DRIVERS-LIABILITY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE INSURANCE REQUIRED— The in s u ra n o e r e q u ire ­ ment f o r bus d r i v e r s i s s t a t e d i n S ec. 2 , C h ap ter 210, A cts of 1945 and i s i n p a r t a s fo llo w s s " * * * s h a l l be r e q u ir e d t o c a r r y p u b lic l i a b i l i t y and p r o p e r ty damage in s u ra n c e i n a company a u th o r iz e d t o do b u s in e s s i n th e S ta te o f In d ia n a i n such am ounts a s t h e t r u s t e e may deem n e c e s s a r y t o a f f o r d re a s o n a b ly a d e q u a te p r o t e c t i o n i n th e o p e r a tio n o f th e r e s p e c tiv e b u s s e s in v o lv e d ." Such p o l i c i e s in s u r e th e in s u r e d a g a i n s t lo s s o f sums w hich th e in s u r e d may be r e ­ q u ire d to pay by re a s o n o f l i a b i l i t y im posed by law . I t a p p e a rs t h a t th e prime re a s o n f o r th e re q u ire m e n t t h a t a d r i v e r p ro v id e in s u ra n c e i s so t h a t th e d r iv e r can m a in ta in a s t a t u s w h e re in he can c o n tin u e u n d e r th e term s o f h is c o n tr a c t and th e b u s in e s s o f th e to w n sh ip w i l l n o t be i n t e r r u p t e d i n c a s e o f a c c id e n t. We know o f no law r e q u i r i n g e i t h e r th e d r i v e r or th e to w n sh ip to c a r r y in s u ra n c e on p u p ils w h ile on sc h o o l b u s s e s n o r w h ile a t s c h o o l. I t i s o u r o p in io n t h a t when th e d riv e r has f u r n is h e d a' s ta n d a rd p u b lic l i a b i l i t y and p r o p e r ty damage in s u r a n c e p o lic y in a n amount a c c e p ta b le to th e to w n sh ip t r u s t e e , he has met h is f u l l re q u ire m e n t of th e law w ith r e s p e c t to in s u r a n c e . x x x x x x x x x x x x x SCHOOL EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES ACCOUNTS—The premium on t h e o f f i c i a l bond of th e t r e a s u r e r o f th e sc h o o l e x t r a - c u r r i c u l a r a c c o u n ts and th e c o s t o f p re s c rib e d form s and r e c o rd s may be p a id from t h e S p e c ia l School Fund of th e to w n sh ip . Each to w n sh ip t r u s t e e sh o u ld r e q u ir e t h a t p ro p e r bond be f u rn is h e d by th e one appointed a s t r e a s u r e r o f th e s c h o o l e x t r a - c u r r i c u l a r fu n d s and f i l e th e bond i n h is o f f ic e a s o th e r r e c o rd s a r e f i l e d . P le a s e i n s i s t t h a t p r e s c r ib e d r e c o rd s be u se d ; tim e and expense w i l l be sav ed . x x x x x x x x x x x x x CLERICAL PERSONNEL TO ASSIST SCHOOL PRINCIPAL—A o le r k may be employed by th e town­ s h ip t r u s t e e to a s s i s t th e sc h o o l p r i n c i p a l i n h i s c l e r i c a l w ork i n s c h o o ls i n which tw e lv e (12) or more te a c h e r s a re em ployed. See C h a p te r 53, A cts o f 1947, x x x x x x x x x x x x x TRANSFER OF PUPILS—P u p ils may be t r a n s f e r r e d from one sc h o o l u n i t t o a n o th e r i f th e y can be b e t t e r serv ed i n th e c o r p o r a tio n t o w hich t r a n s f e r r e d . Upon a p p lic a ­ t i o n f o r t r a n s f e r , th e to w n sh ip t r u s t e e may g r a n t th e t r a n s f e r o r r e j e c t i t . Upon r e j e c t i o n th e p a r e n t may a p p e a l to th e co u n ty s u p e r in te n d e n t. The d e c is io n o f the c o u n ty s u p e rin te n d e n t i s f i n a l e x c e p t f o r r i g h t o f f u r t h e r a p p e a l to t h e c o u r ts . T his d ep artm en t has b een o f th e o p in io n t h a t when p u p ils a r e a c c e p te d by one school c o r p o r a tio n from a n o th e r c o r p o ra tio n w ith o u t p ro p e r t r a n s f e r , no d e b t i s c re a te d a g a i n s t th e c o r p o r a tio n i n w hich th e p u p ils r e s i d e ; t h a t th e a c c e p ta n c e o f such p u p il s w ith o u t t r a n s f e r i s u n la w fu l. x x x x x x x x x x x x x 1949 REASSESSMENT OF REAL ESTATE--The e n t i r e c o s t o f th e re a s s e s s m e n t o f r e a l prop­ e r t y in 1949 i s to be b orne by th e co u n ty and no ite m r f o r t h i s expense sh ould a p ­ p e a r i n th e to w n sh ip b u d g e t.

COUNTY ISSUED M ONTHLY BY 1 " n0. 46

September 1,

AUDITORS' THE STATE EXAMINER

BULLETIN

m

IN D IA N A PO LIS, IND.

. REMINDER OF ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR COUNTY AUDITORS FOR MONTH OF SEPTEMBER

September, 1948

Balance your ledger accounts, both cash and appropriations. Make the monthly balance sheet, and prove the same with the county tre a su re r, both by funds and in totals* Should any error ex ist i t is easier to find now than la te r in th e year or at the end of the year. On or before th is date the county o ffic e rs, employees and depart­ ment heads must f ile th e ir estim ates and th e ir req u isitio n for a ll m aterials and supplies which w ill be necessary fo r the operation of th e ir o ffice or department during th e calendar year 1949. These re q u isitio n s w ill be used in th e preparation of the specifications for p rin tin g and supplies by the Board of County Commissioners a t th e ir October meeting. (See special a r tic le herein)

September 6,

Holiday.

(Labor Day)

This is the reg u lar monthly meeting of the Board of County Commis­ sioners, for the allowance of claims and other business which might come before said board* September 7,

F ir s t day of th e regular annual meeting of the county council for the consideration of the budget fo r the year 1949. Under the s ta t ­ ute the county auditor serves as secretary of the county council, and as such he should attend a ll sessions in person or by deputy* A complete record of the proceeding should be kept by th e county auditor, and entered in the council record. The cpunty council must be in session a t le a s t two days, be­ cause under the s ta tu te i f th e requested appropriations are more than $15,000*00 they must be read on two separate days. The e n tire requested appropriations should be read to the members of the coun­ c i l on the f i r s t day. The council may consider th e d iffe re n t re ­ quested appropriations on the f i r s t day, but fin a l action can not be taken on same u n til the second day of the meeting. The county auditor should have a l l the estim ates of th e d ifferen t county of­ f ic ia ls in readiness for consideration and action by the council. The ordinance fo r appropriations and ta x lev ies should be pre­ pared in advance except for f illin g in the amounts approved by the council. I t i s a good idea, i f possible, to have the council record completed and signed by each member before adjournment.

September S,

Second day of the meeting of the county council.

September 11,

Last day fo r a l l taxing o ffic ia ls to f i l e th eir budgets, ordinances and other work papers with the county auditor for consideration by the Tax Adjustment Board,

September 13,

Meeting of th e County Board of Tax Adjustment, September).

(Second Monday in

Vol. 46 , Page #2 COMPENSATION OF COUNTY COUNOILMEN: I f there haa been a misunderstanding a b o u l-^ J salary and per diem payable to county ccuncilmen, the following is an a t t e i r t ^ ^ c la rify such misunderstanding. Bums 1933 , 26-503 fixes the regular salary regular compensation for special meetings. The regular sala ries are fixed lows: Population Range (Last O fficial U. S. Census) Counties of 35,000 or le ss Counties over 35,000 but not more than 75,000 Counties over 75,000

Annual Salary $10. 00,, 15.00 20.00

By the terms of th is same law, IN ALL COUNTIES $10.00 per day is payable to each councilman for each day of service at any special meeting law fully convened. The $10.00 per day for special meetings must not be confused with th e $10.00 additional per diem allowed by Chapter 272, Acts of 1947. I t is to be noted that although said Chapter 272, Acts of 1947 grants a per diem to other county.O ffic#| in counties with populations of not more than 75, 000, i t nevertheless grants tfe $10*00 per diem to county councilman in ALL counties of the s ta te . The per d n g s law lim its payment of th is per diem to councilman to “not exceeding three suB dw sive days in any one month", which language has been interpreted by the a t t o r n ^ general to mean any three days in any one month. When a county councilman has held the office fo r a year, he is en title d to his annual salary according to the salary schedule above s ta te d . In a d d itiq n j| salary , for example, i f the September meeting is for 3 days and one of those days is for a special meeting each councilman present is e n title d to receive $10.09 regular compensation for the one day of special meeting and in addition, $10.00 per diem for each of the 3 days in attendanoe, provided of course th a t the number of days per diem claimed would be diminished by the number of days of per diem" claimed for any meetings held e a rlie r in the month of September, i f any. ; .4^3 I t is repeated, the per diem allowance granted to members of the county coun­ c il by Chapter 272, Acts of 1947 applies equally in ALL counties of the s ta te , ' XXXXXX PRINTING SPECIFICATIONS: As mentioned previously in th is b u lle tin , each officer or the head of each department m u st'file h is req u isitio n for books and supplies which he w ill need during the year 1949 with the county auditor on or before September 1, 194#♦ These requ isitions are then used by the county auditor in preparing the specifications upon which bids w ill be received and ccntracts awarded. We suggest that you impress upon each o ffic ia l the importance of lis tin g a l l the needed supplies and records in these re q u isitio n s, and fin a lly in the specifications* I f some needed supplies or records are omitted from the specifications then no bid is received on th is same item. Vilhen these omitted supplies or records are b illed to the ccunty the following year no contract is available, and in nearly a l l cases the items bought out of contract are more expensive to the county than i f the same had been included in the contract and bid received. Probably some of the other o ffic ia ls are not fam iliar with th is proceeding, and do not know the importance of lis tin g a l l needed items in the specifications but with only a word or a suggestion from the county au d ito r, we are sure most of them w ill understand and be w illing to cooperate, XXXXXX SHERIjF MILEAGE- RABIES* Certain duties are imposed upon s h e riffs when quarwji rentines are established to control the disease of rabies and those duties may require the s h e riff to tra v e l about the county, but there is no statu to ry au­ th o rity under vhich the sheriff may claim mileage for his tra v e l in the per­ formance of th is duty unless such duty e n ta ils the service of a w rit issued~bv*a a court in a case before the court arising out of a complaint file d in such court • X X X X X X

Vol. 46, Page #4 . EXPENSE OF PREPARING AND FILING NOTICES OF CANCELLATION OF VOTERS1 REGISTRA­ TIONS; The l a s t paragraph of Sec. 8, Chapter 120, Acts of 1947 s ta te s :

355

“The county commissioners, without appropriation, s h a ll allow and pay out of the general fund of th e county to th e clerk of the c irc u it court or board of r e g is tr a tio n , s u ffic ie n t money to prepare and mail the no­ tic e s of c a n c e lla tio n of re g is tr a tio n as provided in th is se c tio n *11 Although th is item may be paid w ithout appropriation, some counties have found i t advisable to include i t in th e annual budget so the sum may be embraced in the annual lev y and ta x r a te . With th is theory we agree. The point th a t should be c lea rly understood i n th is connection is th a t Sec. 71, Chapter 208, Acts of 1945 fix es a compensation for each clerk of the c ir c u it court fo r his duties as re g istra tio n o ffic e r and the po rtion of law above quoted (Sec. 8, Chapter 120, Acts of 1947) does not contemplate additional compensation to the clerk for pre­ paring and m ailing n o tices of r e g is tr a tio n c a n cellatio n . For th is reason, in passing on an estim ate for th is purpose, i t should be determined th a t no p art of the proposed sum is intended as compensation of the clerk of th e c ir c u it court. Likewise when a claim fo r t h is expense is presented fo r allowance and payment, i t should be itemized in complete d e ta il with receip ts attached v e ri­ fying the a c tu a l expense incurred by th e clerk . x x x x x x BOARD OF CANVASSERS: We have many in q u iries concerning whether or not the board of ele ctio n commissioners, who may also serve as th e board o f canvassers in can­ vassing the vote o f an e le c tio n , are e n title d to compensation as such board o f canvassers, This question is answered on page 58 of the election laws of Indiana as published in 1948 which reads as follow s: "Members of the board of canvassers shall receive for th e ir services such amount as may be fixed by the board of county commissioners". In other wards, i f i t is the in te n tio n of the board of commissioners to allow the board of canvassers who may also be the board o f election commissioners, compensation fo r th e ir services as members of the board of canvassers, the board of commissioners should f ix the amount they wish to allow for th is serv ice. There should, of course, also be an appropriation. XXX XXX CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES AND FUNDS THAT MAY BE USED FOR SUCH CONSTRUCTION: Sec­ tion 26-2002 of Burns makes provision for the construction of county bridges with the expense th e re o f to be paid from the county general fund. C igarette tax funds re c e n tly received may a lso be expended for the construction of bridges. Gasoline ta x funds may also be expended for the construction of bridges. In each of th ese provisions, however, the funds must be appropriated prior to the sa id expenditure fo r each bridge to be constructed. XXXXXX COST OF 1949 REASSESSMENT OF REAL ESTATE AND POST OF REGULAR ASSESSMENT OF PER­ SONAL PROPERTY: Under presen t laws the e n tire cost of making assessmavts is to be borne by th e county. Township budgets should not include any item fo r expense of assessment. Please pass th is information along to the Tax Adjustment Board so th at board may tak e whatever action i s necessary to cause any such items to be removed from township budgets. XXXXX X SHOW LICENSE: Since an a r tic le appeared in the August B u lletin about the collec­ tion of show lic e n s e s , in q u irie s have reached th is o ffice as to how many years tax should be collected i f th e th e a tre had not paid for a lic e n se in former years. There is no ru le to follow , however i f the th e a tre v o lu n tarily pays the current fee, or upon n o tice pays i t , we should perhaps be content and not exact the fo r­ mer y e a rfs lic e n se fe e . X X X X X X

Vol. 46 * Page #3 ' ABANDONED CEMETERIES: I t is suggested th a t before any county, expends money 'M ^ the care and maintenance of an abandoned cemetery th a t a finding be made b y J lfff commissioners that the cemetery to be cared fo r is one contemplated in Chapter* 337, Acts o f 1947 and such finding be recorded in the minutes of the commission­ e rs. We have suggested to township tru stees th at they cooperate with the board of commissioners in determining what cemeteries, i f any, qualify under the terms of the law as those to be cared for by the county. XXXXXX STATE TAX RATES; At the time of preparing this b u lle tin the s ta te tax ra te s -' ■ have not been o ffic ia lly reported to this o ffic e . I t is presumed th a t the-rates w ill be the same as for 1948, i . e. a tot^L of 15$ on r e a l and personal property and a $1,00 s ta te revenue p o ll ta x , and a 50$ school revenue poll tax. Inasmuch as many auditors w ill give a published no tice of tax rates charged before anbtltlr b u lle tin is issued, i t is suggested th a t the foregoing rates be used in such n itii „ XXX X X X ^ " NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS OF TAX RATES CHARGED; You M il re c a ll th a t Chapter 41 o f m the 1947 Acts requires the county auditor to give a notice of ta x ra te s f i x e d * , by the Tax Adjustment Board of your county. The notice should be given as sbc® as possible a fte r adjournment of the County Tax Adjustment Board, I f you w illw re fe r to the September, 1947, issue of th e County Auditors* B u lletin , you w il|^ find a form suggesting the type of notice we believe meets the requirement oPX* th is law. I t appears th a t the purpose of th is p a rt of the law intends th a t the process of g ettin g tax ra te s fin a lly established w ill be expedited as much as]® possible. The n otice sh a ll be published one time in two newspapers of opposite p o litic a l fa ith having general circu latio n in the county, i f there be that m sip I t is of course suggested th a t you read Chapter 41 of the 1947 Acts in its tir e ty and be in a position to properly advise the Tax Adjustment Board of i t r contents* x x xx x x •• *v’ INSURANCE: Questions have reached th is o ffice as to whether or not municipal"1', corporations may purchase policies of insurance from mutual insurance companies* The answer is found in Sec. 97a of the Indiana Insurance Law of 1935 wherein i t is provided: “Any public or private corporation, board or association in th is sta^e 1: or elsewhere may make applications, enter in to agreements fo r, and hold policies in , any mutual insurance company, Any o ffic e r, stockholder* : • tru stee or leg al representative o f any such company, board, association or estate may be recognized,as acting for or on i t s behalf for the pur- " ; poses of such membership, but s h a ll not be personally lia b le upon such contract of insurance by reason of acting in such representative capacity1?'. I t is not the purpose of th is a r tic le to compare mutual insurance with other kinds of p o licies, but to merely s ta te the law on th is subject, XXXXXX PEDDLERS1. LICENSES: Burns 1933, 42-510 authorizes the county auditor to issue ■ free peddlers' licenses to honorably discharged members of the armed fo rces. } The license may be issued to the person who exhibits his honorable discharge. This law requires presentation of " c e rtific a te and papers of discharge" and no reason can be seen for the auditor to accept any other paper as evidence of entitlem ent to a free licen se, XXXXXX

Vol. 46 , Page #5

31

COUNTY TAX ADJUSTMENT BOARD; The County Tax Adjustment Board must meet and organ- * ize on the second Monday in September {September 13, 1948). Organization includes electio n of a chairman and vice-chairm an. The county auditor acts as clerk of the board but has no vote in th e d elib eratio n s of th e board. Members o f the board serve w ithout compensation. Meetings are held from day to day from the time of organization as business may re q u ire . A ll duties must be completed on or before the f i r s t day of October. I t is th e duty of th e board to examine, re v ise , change or reduce, but not in ­ crease any budget, ta x levy or r a te and to keep each budget w ithin th e to ta l amount of revenue to be received. Changes or reductions are to be made by w ritten order of the board, signed by the chairman and f ile d w ith the county a u d ito r. Reductions made by the Tax Adjustment Board are lim ited to change made only in respect to the to ta l amounts budgeted fo r each o ffice or department w ithin each of the budgeted c la s sific a tio n s as prescribed by the S tate Board of Accounts. Tfe take th is to mean fo r example, th a t the Tax Adjustment Board can reduce "Operating Expense" in a budget, but may not reduce any p a rtic u la r item or items co n stitu tin g the to ta l of Operating Expense, The same meaning should be applied to a ll other major clas­ s ific a tio n s o f the budget. This understanding of th e lim ita tio n s on actions by the Tax Adjustment Board is supported by th e fa c t th a t Sec, 9, Ch, 119, Acts of 1937 (64-315) provides th a t a fte r the budget, ra te and levy has been fin a lly f ix ­ ed the appropriating body of each municipal corporation sh a ll allo cate the funds to be derived from the le v y in a manner th at th e expenditures w ill not exceed the budgets as fix e d . I t is th e duty of th e Tax Adjustment Board to undertake to lim it the aggre­ gate tax ra te s to $1.25 fo r tax in g u n its outside of incorporated c itie s and towns and to $2.00 w ithin the c itie s and towns. Not included in the lim itatio n s of $1.25 and $2,00 a re the follow ing; a. P rincipal and in te re s t fo r funding, re ­ funding or judgment funding o b lig atio n s, b. P rincipal and in te re s t for a l l out­ standing obligations issu ed p r io r to March 9, 1937 and for p rin c ip a l and in te r e s t on any judgnent a g ain st the corporation, c. P rincipal and in te r e s t on any obliga­ tions issued to meet an emergency growing out of a major d is a s te r, d„ P rincipal and in te r e s t for obligations issued pursuant to p e titio n of 50 or more taxpayers as provided in 64-313. e. To meet the requirements of the county welfare fhnd. I f th e board determines th a t the leM es and ra te s as lim ited to $1*25 or $2,00 are inadequate or th a t there is necessity for increase of the aggregate ra te , they s h a ll submit recommendations in w riting, together with an analysis of the aggregate tax r a te recommended by them, to the S tate Tax Board. The recom­ mendation should be in d u p licate, one copy being file d in the o ffice of the coun­ ty au d ito r. Complete minutes of the actions of the board should be kept by th e auditor and upon completion of the d u ties of the board, a tra n sc rip t thereof should be prepared and mailed to the S tate Tax Board, As soon as p o ssib le a fte r adjournment of the Board of Tax Adjustment, the auditor is required to publish ' and post a notice of tax ra te s charged. See a r tic le elsewhere in th is b u lle tin . O fficers o f th e m unicipality or ten or more taxpayers may appeal or object to the le v ie s and ra te s charged. The appeal must be in conformity with the pro­ visions of Chapter 41, Acts o f 1947* Appeals should be addressed to the S tate Board of Tax Commissioners and f ile d with th e county au d ito r. The county au d ito r must in tu rn forward the same to th e S ta te Board of Tax Commissioners, Every e f fo r t should be made to keep budgets w ithin reason, and adhere to sta tu to ry lim ita tio n s imposed on each fbnd, where a sta tu to ry lim it e x is ts . Be­ fore harsh reductions are made in any budget, the budget should be very carefu l­ ly weighed. The fa c t is inescapable th a t governmental units are not exempt from in fla te d co sts fo r services and m a te ria ls. XXX XXX

Vol. 46, Page #6 COUNTY COUNCIL: The county auditor* and his deputies can not have too muchknowledge about thq laws governing the making of budgets, appropriations, and the fix­ ing of tax le v ie s. The county council, in most cases, depends upon the a\riito r's office for a l l i t s information re la tiv e to these m atters. The council may not always act exactly in accordance with the recommendations of the county auditor, but we are sure that in most cases the members have a high regard for his judgment and advice in matters pertaining to the budget. We suggest th at a l l county auditors observe the following during the council meetings 1, Know the governing statu te and advise the council accordingly, 2, Know each item in the budget and be prepared to explain the same thoroughly. 3, Give them the facts concerning each questionable item i n the budget, '4, Give the actual figures as reflected in the au d ito r's records, 5, Ask the’council to hear any o ffic ia l or other person who might be interested in any budget item, 6, Make your records and your knowledge available to the county council. 7, Accept the fin a l decisions of the county council, and endeavor to operate the business of the county during the year 1949 according to the budget as approved. There may be other good ru les or suggestions which might be applied, but our thought is th a t the meeting should be a business meeting a t which each per­ son should exercise his best judgment in the in te re s t of a ll concerned, x x x x xx REGULAR WORK: We know th at most of your thoughts and a tten tio n a t th is time is given to the preparation of the budget and the fixing of th e ta x levies payable during the year 1949, however, we must keep in mind th at the regular work must go on ju st as usual. The tax duplicates should be made, and ready to compute the taxes as soon as the rates are available. I t would be excellent i f every county auditor could have his current taxes payable in the year 1949 computed and on the duplicates prior to the time he has to stop and make the December Settloaent, After the December Settlement is completed the old delinquencies are transferred to the new duplicates, and the duplicates placed in the hands of the county trea­ surer on or before January 1, 1949, as by statu te provided. We again ca ll your atten tion to the December Settlement: I t w ill NOT be as simple and as easy to make as the June Settlement. A complete audit of the dup­ lic a te s must be made before the settlement can be made. These are only a few reminders, X XXX XX CONCLUSION* We conclude th is issue of the b u lle tin with our Very Best Wishes to every county auditor and his deputies, for a most congenial meeting with the County Council and the Tax Adjustment Board, also may each of you get an early hearing on your tax levies from the State Tax Board, x X X X XX Respectfully submitted, C, E. Ruston, State Examiner, T, m. H inton, Deputy Examiner.

Byron B, Nickels, Deputy Examiner.

1-

C O M PA RATIVE SU M M AR Y ST A T E M E N T OF R EC EIPTS A N D D IS B U R SE M E N T S : A.

A L L G O V E R N M E N T A L U N I T S , 1946-1947

R e c e ip t s by R e v e n u e Sources and Collectio n A g e n c i e s

Ci vi l Town. -hi p:-

School Tnwnshl ps

|

\

School Ci t i es

Total Al l Uni t s

School Towns

Pe r Cent, of To t a l

Pe r Cert Ye a r Ago

Tot al Ye a r Ag o

I nc r e a s e nr D e c r e a s e Over YTtar Ag o Amount

i KeVel l l l f Ret e i | d s 44, 4 0 4 , 1)1 9

75

1 0 . Ofi

Nun- Rc ve nue Recei pt s

7 7 1 H! .i-in 2 0 722 173

i,

1 0 2 , 8](i

oo;

09, 003

50!

728 20 i 2 4 so;

i

ii:i7 r.o 304

. F e d e r a l Ai i i a n d I l i s t r i l u i t i m t ................................. . I t r p n i I III III S l i c e A - e - nil - l i t - .............................. . C u m e r - i . i n i . f S e r n r i l i , - .............................................. . I ' 111■111r■111y m e m I n i nj i i u: . . i ’ i n n F i n n ' s ...................... , 13. n i l - a n d R i i a n . s .......................................................... . M u n i c i p a l i t y Ov e n, (I F t i l i l i "> . I t u i t l l i i Ver 11t t i ei i l T r a n . - f e r s .................................... . S-' l fe! V [ i e - | i n t | d l i i l i t y T i u - l I ' u : ,' I - ...................... . S a f e t y K e . p n r i d l i i l i t y A d m i n , l l e j m h u r . - i rit et i l . S e R n n l Fl ui d. - ' i n Ci i s l i n l y o f S l a t " , . R e f u n i l , - , T r a n s f e r s , A d j u s t m e n t s ......................

loa, 012, 20

X2.3 4 6

080.171

-I-I

210 8.1

47

7 3 0 , ll i n

8 7,

18 j

>00. 1 Oil

0 1

07

t o o , I'ldo 0 2

j

1 o. 0 0 2 . 0 0 6

14!

0 0 1. 3 0 1

>81, 9 9 0, 112

l ul

. u: ; x , 0.7 0

B. C i v i l Tuvv n. - l i i p-

Counti es

N e w Buildings, L a n d s and I mprovement s

Cur r e nt Ope r at i ng Ex pe ns e s

Cur r e nt Operating Cxpe ns e - '

Cur r e nt Operat i ng Cxpi ' i t si s

New Buildings L a n d s a nd t ni j i r nve i ne nc s

A mo u n t

229 , 9 66

74

2,343.525

58

18.591.909

94

14, 9 2 3 , 5 9 0

43

$ 6 0 , 4 3 1 , 151

64 1

Cur r e nt Op e r a ! i ng Kx p c i i s e s

N ew Buildings La n d s and I ni p r uv e n i e nt s

Cur r e nt

(literal ing Fx|ien.-es

37 33 S3 20 57

G, 0 7 5 . 2 0 2 232 , 72S 117,124 3,053.822 21, 407, 02S

82 20 S3 Si 49

$71,891,

145

94 |

14

190 . 2 S0 , 7 54

88

43

8 7 3 4 , 3 S 5 . 523

14

1 I n c l u d e d i n e a c h u n i t a r e ba nk , b u i l d i n g a n d l o a n t a x e s i m p o s s i ­ ble to separate.

30,822.412 00

2 I n c l u d e s p e n a l t i e s f or v i o l a t i o n o f fish a n d c i t y ordi nances. • ' ( I nc l ude s I n d i a n a Un i v e r s i t y Ba n k L o a n . V d e s , Veterans' Loans, 587,126.17; Pos t - War $596.00.

g a me s

l a ws ,

a nd

82.250,000.00; Planning Lo a n s ,

D i s b u r s e m e n t s b y G overnm ental F u n c tio n s School Ci t i es

. School T o w n s h i p s

N e w Bui l di ng. - : La n d - a n d I i 111, i ni \ e i r i e i i t s

F.xp

59, 8 S2 , 54 1 717,452 046.550 16.000,145 10, 0 0 0 , 1 7 2

i

Avuiaile.

• Ci vi l C i t i i s

w Rti tl ' i ti i y. I . and- a n d I l i . prmi i Mi rnC-

55

1

. Re g i n n i n g ( ' as h I t a l a n e e - . . Tntal

2 7 , 7 0 ‘J

Ne w Bui l di ngs, Lands and I mpr o v e me nt s

Cur r e nt Operat i ng Expenses

School Towns

Ne w Buildings. L a n d s and I mpr ove me nt s

Cu r r e n t Op e r a ! i ng Expenses

Per cent of Total

Total Al l U n i t s

New Buildings, Lands and I mprovement s

Pe r Capi t a

Tn t a l Y’ ear Ag o

Te r cent Ye a r Ag o

I n c r e a s e or Decren. se Over Y’e ar Ag o

Gove r nme nt al P a y m e n t s * 212,687 165.059

81 It7

3(H)44 8 622

06

'I, 7 7 0

77

88. 416. 12, 5 2 7 , 5 5 5. 1. 86. 26, OH,

S00 625

74 89

611 17 050 OO 876

14

92( 1 950

00 56

99 1 . 8 6 9 98 4 3 4 . 6 7 4 75 2 3 0 , 0811 2 5 2 0 1. 9 2 7 272.146 6 8 7, 9 0 1

92 49 59

11 0 , 9 0 2 57.372

S I 97

t-ld 5 8

$118.

586 8 4 . 241 2 1 . 673

30 61 90

12.033

70

860. 8 6 9.

50

1 . 2 6 6 . 5 5 2 77 5 2 8 , 5 0 9 82 9 1, 0 2 1 5,9

5 $ , 5 1 2 53 37 9 4 3 5 4 . 3 5 0 9$ ‘1 . 9 16 0 5

871

29 94

0 74 19.895,8.84

$ 6 1, 8 7 6 , 4 1 1

3 8 7 , 8 4 9 , 8 , 99

98

3,0 2 2 9 , 3 16

HO 211

806 7 I 53 1 4 9

92

30

. Fd t i e a t i n n ............................................................................... . H i g h w a y s , S t r e e t s a n d B r i d g e s ......................... . C h a r i t i e s a n d C o r r e c t i o n s ......................................... . Ge n e r a l G o v e r n m e n t ...................................................... . P r o t e c t i o n t o P e r s o n s ani l P r o p e r l y ............ . H e a l t h a n d S a n d a l i o n ............................................... . Re e r e a t i n n ............................................................................ C o n s e r v a t i o n a n d D e v e l o p m e n t of N a t u r a l R e s o u r c e s ......................................................................... , M i s c e l l a n e o u s ...................................................................... ....Total

$8. 652.

Go v e r nme nt . P a y m e n t s .

$1. 121, 2 3 9

90

■44, 6 7 1 . 8 3 6

40

$1, 0 9 9. 773

$36,440,491

94

$45, 7 7 1 , 6 1 0

$ 1 , 8 9 5 , 067

54

$5,218,60S

S2

$3,826,984

56

22

$3, 977, 575

35

$311,605

$150,590

25

69

$128, 42. 42. 28. 22, 18, 4,

930. 003, 483. 603. 498, 904, 048,

287 S99 783 259 670 3 06 390

50 7i 2-' 21 I-' 40 51

44.92 14.68 14.80 9 . 96 7.84 4.S4 1.41

$37 62 12.25 12.40 S. 34 6.57 4.05 1.18

4. 2 6 0, 1 60 380, 771

Of 70

1 .48 .12

1.24 .10

■8287. 0 6 8 , 8 8 8

Of

1DO. 00

$83.75

3 1 0 1 , 7 1 4 , 907 34.018.65S 87,985.872 28.1 15,070 23.896.452 1 2 . 0 1 1 . 4SS 8.807.434

38 OS 25 G5 26 67 29

8 . 1 9 9 . 3 4 7 5$ 9 6 , 2 8 1 09 $ 2 3 8 , 8 15 . 1 6 2

85

42.59 14.24 15.90 9.68 9 . . XII 5 . 08 1.88

2U

380 211 910 188 7S2 677 9,4(1

17 IF 9: 51 II 7: 30

— 3! 84 1 5 . 76 22.40

1.34 .04

I , 060.812 234, 3 40

41 63

33.1 6 243.73

100.00

$ 4 8 . 217, 9 23

7. 4. 5. — 1.

PS5, 497. 488. S97. 892. 74 0.

25.4 7 . 1. 1. 84

$ I

No n- Government al P ayme nt s $ 5 8 3 , 71 4 8 , 0 1 8 , 780

22 03

$1,409.30$

2

[,$37,38 1 41

$6. 977

508

50, 9 07 71, 2 0 1, 78 7 60.085,890 1 6. 0 7 1 . 5 7 6 : 13. 2 1 6 , 1 4 3 3 5. 4 77. 6 6 2

79 " 8f i 7 62s 59 22

78,255 155.04 2 62(1,993

1] 29 43

138.72!

99

4 98, S 79

$6

6. 5 9 5

(66,6 16,015 15,350,096

90 50

3$. 069, 202 8.969,74 7

14 98

4.8 4 , 8 9 5

225 777 604

49 04 82

$878. 485

99

(15 7 0 9 8. 6 5 6 . ’ 64

Hi:!

11 5 6 1 51 001 829

.81 42

$7. 247 1, 4 5 2

760 808

71 9]

. B o n d s a n d L o a n s ................................................... . I nves t m o l d s ............................................... . . M m i i i ' i p a l i l y Ow n e d U t i l i t i e s ................... . P a y m e n t s t o / f o r Ot h e r Go v e r n me n t a l . F e d e r a l F u n d s D i s h u r s i - d ............................... . Re f unds , Transf er s, A d j u s t m e n t s . . . . . Tot a l D i s b u r s e m e n t s . . Cl o s i ng Ca s h Bal anc e s

1 5 9 , . 931 3 0 1 3 , 1 7 6 , 8 6 4 26 4 8 , 2 7 0 33

$41,71 5,125 18, 7 1 6 , 3 2 6

37 27

927, S32

321

8 0. 1 0 1 7 4 3 6 9, 761 87 $52.3(48,024 19,523.421

50 4-1

28

3$. 750

$]'"

27. 709 47. 7 82

55 55

$4. 403, 462 2, 0 8 9. 8 8S

94 49

$18,561,406 8, 5 8 9 . 6 1 4 .84.091.022 74.590,132 60. 3 5 6 . 9 5 9 24,738,218 >508.

390.741 ’9 4 . 7 8 1

61 16 39 15 50 46 90 18

( I n t e r e s t p a y m e n t s on b u n d s ; R o a d s , $ 4 8 , 8 2 4 . 1 1; P o o r A d v a n c e m e n t , $ 9 7 . 2 3 1 . -16; Su n d r y B u n d s . 879.678.20. -1 I n c l u d e s $ 3 0 7 , 8 7 7 . 6 8 f o r s t o c k k i l l e d o r m a i m e d . 11 I n c l u d e s U n e m p l o y m e n t C o m p e n s a t i o n F u n d s t o F e d e r a l G o v e r n m e n t , $ 1 6. 0 0 5 , 9 2 7 , 0 9 . 7 I ncl udes U n e m p l o y m e n t Co mpe ns a t i o n benefit p a y me nt s . $ 32 . 133. 898 . 8 1 . 8 I ncludes Institutional Rotary payments, $ 2 , 4 8 9 . 44 0 . 7 4 : Co u n t v Ai d , $1. 448, 0 6 2 . 4 3 ; r e t u r n of T i ux t Funds $224,845.85. * Go v e r nme nt a l p a y me n t s , i n eac h u ni t , do n o t i nc l ude Fe der al F u n d s di sbursed. ** 1 9 4 0 census, 3, 4 2 7 , 7 9 6 . t P a y m e n t s for a ux i l i ar y e nt e r pr i s e s .

358

H.l.Y

W X L1 H X

“ a & ^ (T> ju

GO

w o w *-t a.

o

2 Co" 3 P3 £*.

> *t3 rh—( o > y-1

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r+

O ots‘ 3? CO n a> a

o § o hr)

DEPARTMENT OF INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF PUBLIC OFFICES OF INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS Application for Field Examiners’ Examination As Provided by Ch. 55, Acts of 1909, Page 136 Each applicant must fill out this blank in his own handwriting, and mail same to Otto K. Jensen, State Examiner, Room 305, State House, Indianapolis, Indiana. Applicants, whose applications show they are qualified under the law, will be notified of the time and place of holding the examination. The examination will be an open, competitive examination to test the fitness of the applicant for ap­ pointment as a Field Examiner. When an appointment is to be made, applicants between 25 and 50 years of age, who have successfully passed the examination, will be given preference. To OTTO K. JENSEN, State Examiner : I hereby make application to take me examination for field examiner of the Department of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices, and submit for your consideration the following information: 1. Full name of applicant..................................................................................................................................... 2. Residence address................................ ............................................................................................................ 3. Business address............................................................................ .................................................................. 4. Mailing address....................................................................... ......................................................................... 5. Date and place of birth...................................................................................................................................... 6. Single, married, widowed or divorced,.................................................... No. of dependents.......................... 7. State present business or occupation............................................................................................................... 8. How long have you been a resident of Indiana?............................................................................................. 9. Where have you resided during the past five years? .................................................................................. 10. Have you taken the Field Examiners’ Examination before ? ........................... ........................................... If so, when? 11. Education: (a) Graduate of High School a t

When.

(b) If not a High School graduate, what equivalent education have you?.

(c) College or University 1. Attended.

.years.

2. Where 3. Did you graduate?........ 4. Major subject............... (d) Other educational training

Degree.

DEPARTM ENT OF INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF PUBLIC OFFICES OF INDIANA ST A T E BOARD O F ACCOUNTS Application for Field Exam iners’ Exam ination As Provided by Ch. 55, Acts of 1909, Page 136

Each applicant must hll out this blank in his own handwriting, and mail same to O tto K. Jensen, State Examiner, Room 305, State House, Indianapolis, Indiana. Applicants, whose applications show they are qualified under the law, will be notified of the time and place of holding the examination. The examination will be an open, competitive examination to test the fitness of the applicant for ap­ pointm ent as a Field Examiner. W h e n an appointm ent is to be made, applicants between 25 and 50 years of age, who have successfully passed the examination, will be given preference. To O T T O K. J E N S E N , State Exam iner : I hereby make application to take me examination for field examiner of the D epartm ent of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices, and subm it for your consideration the following information : 1. Full name of applicant—

-.... - ..... .......... ........... .........................................

.... ................................. ...........................

2. Residence a d d r e s s .......................... ................................ ..... .............. ................................ ...................................... ............... 3. Business a d d r e s s ............................................................................ 4. Mailing a d d r e s s

.................................................................

5. Date and place of b irth

--------------

— ........... ...... .......

-.......................................... ....... ....................

___________ ____ _________ ________________ ___ ____ ____ ____

6. Single, married, widowed or divorced,.. ........

________

No. of dependents_________ _____

7. State present business or occupation.......................... .................................. ............................................. ...................... 8. How long have you been a resident of Indiana?......................... .................................................................................... 9. W h e re have you resided during the past five years? ....................................................................................... ......... 10. Have you taken the Field E xam iners’ Exam ination b e f o r e ? ....................... ............................................................ If so, w h e n ?

.............................................

11. Education: (a) Graduate of H igh School a t (b)

—................................................................. ..........

W h e n ...... ....... ......... .

If not a High School graduate, w h a t equivalent education have you?_____________ ___

(c) College or University 1. A ttend ed

.................. years.

2. W here .......................................... .......... ......... ..................... 3. Did you gradu ate?_______

Degree

4. Major s u b je c t............................. ...... ....... ............... ............ (d) O ther educational tra i n i n g ____________ ____________ _

12. Public Office Experience :

Office

W here

Title of Position

W hen

13. Give the natu re of the work performed by you 111 aforementioned public offices

14, H ave you been employed in an accounting capacity, other than in a public office ?. State how long, where, and nature of w o rk

....... ......................................... .............. .

15.

Have you ever opened and closed a full set of books? State in general terms nature of same-

16.

H ave you ever been adjudged guilty by any court of com petent jurisdiction of violating any of the laws of the United States or the State of Indiana? (If so, give nature of the c h a rg e)...................................... .......

17.

If you receive an appointm ent, will you be able to take assignm ents in any part of the state?.

18.

State briefly the condition of your health during the past five years and list any physical deformities.

19.

Give names and addresses of three reputable Democrats and three reputable Republicans, as reference.

DEMOCRATS Name

Occupation

Address

Occupation

Address

REPUBLICANS Name

Signature of Applicant

S T A T E O F I N D IA N A ss C O U N T Y OF.

...... .

I, ..................... ............................ ....... ......... ............ ........... of ....... , do solemnly swear th at the answers and statem ents m ade over my signature as above set out in this applica­ tion are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

A p p lic a n t

Subscribed and sworn to before me this.

.day of............................

(N otary Seal) My commission expires..................—......... N otary Public

,

193.

359

STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

FIELD EXMINERS* REPORT

OF

EXAMINATION

OF

TRUSTEE JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP SWITZERLAND COUNTY INDIANA 1945 - 1947

FILED May 9 1949 Otto K« Jensen • S ta te Examiner

360

STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

C# E. Rust on, State Examiner In d ia n a p o lis, Indiana Dear S ir: Pursuant to your in stru ctio n s we submit the follow ­ ing report o f our examination of: OFFICE EXAMINED:

TRUSTEE OF JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, SWITZER. LAND COUNTY, INDIANA

Period Examined:

January 1, 1945 to December 31» 1947

O fficer Examined:

Wilmer Shadday

Address:

Vevay, Indiana

Present O fficer:

Same

President o f Advisory Board (Now Serving):

Elmer Krall

Address:

Vevay, Indiana

John G. W illis Donald E. H ilt F ie ld Examiners#

361

TOWNSHIP TIiU311,b FXi'-SAi'IGXAIj blDvTin-liidT b alan ce Ja n , 1, 1946

la n d

Tow nship, O p ec ial o ciio o l, T u itio n , F re d o n ia Cemetery bog, Oalem Cemetery Xo t a l s .

- 1252 29 2721 65 365 45 102 10

b alan ce J a n » 1 , 194 0

Township, O pecial s c h o o l, T u iti o n , Dog, F re d o n ia Cemetery Fund Oalon Cemetery Fund s.

lo 4 4 9609 12027 60 202 29

6 0 f„ 1995 10 77 12244 10 20 11156 50 00 60 00 00 304 10 29 00 00

901 99

/

294 92 536 15

re c e ip ts 5756 1936b 13966 611

33 4 3945 97 59 16695 4 l 52 13111 00 ?0 611 70

60 00

b ala n c e Ja n . 1 , 1947

Township, O p ecial Ociiool, T u itio n , Dog, F re d o n ia Cemetery Salem Cemetery

^ 2712 35 2961 63 1404 67

T o tals." Dess w arran t wo. 1 7 7 -ii d o t P o ste d

: 7do5 05

*

901 99 294 62 536 15

b ala n c e D isb u rse ­ ments nee, 31> 1946

30 00

60 00 30 00

n t

.,•34461 15

• YpyT^oB

Fund

D is b u rs e b alan ce raonts Dec, 31*

2 )7 7 2 77 w a . j b i f o

, ■ 444-5 09

Fund

1ot a l

0

re c e ip ts

re c e ip ts

4

2712 35 2961 63 1404 67

D isb u rse ­ b a la n c e ments b e e . 31» 1947

w 3e37 11394 15961 1612 60

59 0 4141 16 40 23101 65 72 I 090 G 33 00 1612 00 00 60 00 30 00 30 00

39o95 71 ainry

J) 100 00

9 5 } .50 1 0 0 >0

1 20 O.)

LoO 00

ip o

90

111 43

30 00

3? 50

500 00

264 01

/ 3 O-.. i

/ 5 5d

J

Clerk L ire ji l i e u !,euh i ’r a v e x i / i ;

j

3

'

■ -a-a; u s e s ,

.k:ie a anno T o l l s

p i‘n,as OH*>d i e 3 0 UoLlCC OX 1/lJ.Cy 1V-IC0 T ele

k o o k s , -»t a t l o n e l y , T r i n t ­

in:

end

,m ;rtl;.;in p

r a y ol' . . d v i s o r y b o a r d

. X;1•tUOjt'S ,UirO 0.1 PC iiOtCi'xG 3 X SCO

Xi

s

■k

'

. OOS

i j 0 50

03

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X0 )»')'■) ly • O X

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15*90

vs.• uj, P.O. vorvxCS t.i •

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Ju

m t u l j*o /.*

'■. .1^.-1

yOe )o

v/O «

T reas♦ 1 , vj.ihIce

2194*00 p iles -..-;

11*00

’ 4, Liiici

2344 .,

p e c ia l sc h o o l ^ miu •.v.epaix* o l b u ll Lillies and. h are o l Grounds j.\.Gpaii'* ox otiiOi' u q u ip — tiea t LencJOl i - u r a i t u r e and .equipaient u c io o l ou 'p l i e s J a n i t o r 9s s u p p lie s

00

o-5 / 9 00

300 00

00 00 00 00 00 00 75 00

3 dO 300 10 ) i ue l 400 5000 T en n arary Loans I n t e r e s t on Temporary Loans 225

in su ra n c e T eachers* . a e t i n p s ray o f T each ers

120 00 300 00

J a n it o r L o r v i c e x 1 ci./1S ‘ )O i t ■.i G X . j ,il

450 92

150 92

30 00



f*w t'*9 2rj 70 375 50)0 20? 62 ■-’■n

/. tV v 00

■)1 14 00 00 32

00

600 00

^ j J }' }

5390 00 .15390 00 60 00

lyoO 43 IpoO'kt 43 y 00

Ox,

C h ild re n h a t e r , i.ii; ;ht L ip ;er . d s c e ila n e o u s Appi'opx’i a tlo n s a*CoiaaeuoeGeiit i^xp# 30.13 t) «*_'fii i i t ctg x011 19*92 c • T:4 )ot h r i 6 ye 3 3 • 20 d . Labor 4*00 e • sray a ^ e 3 *00 f . a d v . B u s. L o u t e s 9*36

T o ta l O pecial sch o o l Lund.

210

00

93 o l

,5 23460 00

9 23101 65

-L

G

-.acceded

3 90 43

y

549 35

io n

370 DETAILED SCHEDULE OF APPROPRIATIONS AND DISBURSEMENTS Continued 1947 T otal A ppropriations I 2B039 00 T u itio n Fund Pay o f Teachers Pay of School T ran sfers T o tal

4

A ppropriation Exceeded

27249 &L 4

549 35

97^0 00 4 10127 09 4 347 09 6920 00 6$33 24

$ 16700 00 4 16960 33 I 347"09

Fredonia Cemetery Fund Care o f Cemetery T o tal Dog Fund Stock K ille d o r Maimed T o tal Salem Cemetery Fund Care o f Cemetery T o tal T o ta ls .

#

D isbursemeats

$ 44739 00

$

60 00

I

So 00

#

1612 00

4)

l6 l2 00

4

30 00

■#

30 00 45912 14

4

^96 44

371

SCHEDULE OF SCHOOL TRANSFERS

Date

School C orporation

For School Year

Amount

DISBURSEMENTS 1945 9-15-45 12-13-45

Eagle Township Boone Co. Vevay School Corpora­ tio n

4 4 .4 5

|

3504 13

4 4 -4 5

T o tal 1945

39 23

$3543~45^

DISBURSEMENTS 1946 7-27-46 12-23-46

Eagle Township - Boone Co. Vevay School Corpora­ tio n

45-46 rt

T o tal 1946 DISBURSEMENTS 1- 6-47 7 -3 0 -4 7 9 -2 2 -4 7 1 2 -2 4 -4 7

Vevay School Corpora­ tio n Eagle Township - Boone County Vevay School Corpora­ tio n ft « ft

$

71 63 4000 00 #4071 63

1947

45-46

# 1363 40

46-47

117 29

46-47 if

3347 55

T otal 1947

2000 00

i 6333 24

D ISB U R SE! 1EMTS FROM S P E C IA L SCHOOL FUND FROM TRANSPORTATION A PPR O PR IA TIO N

9-15-45 7-27-46 7-30-47

Eagle Township Boone Co. ft

ff

h

44-45 45-46 46-47

5 2 03 71 63 34 30

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