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Show THE PUBLIC LAND BOARD. The more the business entrusted to the Stato Iand Board is looked Into, tl)o more appalling docs the loose methods heretofore in vogue appear. Money amounting to a hundred and fifty thousand thou-sand dollars and more is entrusted to an ofhcial whose bond is but ten thousand dollars. Securities and valuable papers of tho value of over a million dollars are turned over to the Governor, without with-out careful regulations, and without any security, and by him entrusted, also without bonds, to a bank clerk, who transacted the business connected with them. It Is admitted, of course, that no mismanagement has occurred, so far as known, and no defalcation or dishonesty. dishones-ty. But It is certainly a dangerous situation, situ-ation, and an indefensible manner of conducting any form of the public's business. We note that the Legislature ha3 awakened to the peril . of allowing this careless method to continue, and Is disposed dis-posed to require a bond from the custodian custo-dian of the moneys, and securities that come to the Land Board. Yet it. does not seem to be fully alert to the situation. situa-tion. Thus far, tho disposition appears to be to make, the secretary of the board the custodian of the money and securities, securi-ties, which amount to about a million and a quarter dollars, and will doubtless doubt-less Increase yearly In value. Prom him It Is proposed to require a bond of threo hundred thousand dollars. That Is, about one-fourth ot the values entrusted en-trusted to him will be held under bond, and three-fourths without bonds. But If we are to require bonds at all, what Is.the argument against requiring bonds, for the full amount Involved? If It be, said that a considerable amount of the securities Is in the form of non-negotiable notes, not to be disposed dis-posed of without assignment, the reply Is. that when It comes to a question of rascality, should that ever arise, the rascal who contemplated the robbery of the fund would find no difficulty In forging forg-ing assignments. If it Is held that a bond to the full amount, or something over to allow for growth of holdings, Is too great for an individual to give, two ways are open: there could be a division of the securities securi-ties on lines to be drawn by law. .and. the custodian In each case could give bonds for what he holds; or, the whole could be turned over to one or more of our large banking institutions, which would no doubt be willing to pay something some-thing for the account, and could give bond to any amount that might be required. re-quired. The State Land'Board Is probably the most extensive and Important of our official bodies. Its transactions aggregate aggre-gate In the millions. It Is not too much to expect that In a few years It will be in charge of public interests amounting In value to ten million dollars. It Is time that some definite and sure business busi-ness policy were established by law to direct In detail its operations " and to fully protect the State. Along with the realization that has come upon the present Legislature that a change In Its methodB must be required, Bhould come also a determination that those methods shall be fully up to the best business standards, and that they shall be so guarded and defined as to leave no known loophole for public loss. |