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Show PEIffll FUNDS i INTACT NEW YORK. Dee. 24. Improvement in methods of book-keeping of many colleges has been brought about through the activities of the general education board, it is claimed in the fifth installment install-ment of the forthcoming annual report of the board, made public tonight. The business management of colleges applying apply-ing for contributions has been carefully scrutinized, the report states, and in many cases totally inadequate records of gifts -were disclosed. "All this is being changed," the report re-port sayB. "Book-keepers are being installed in-stalled by a thorough-going svstem of book-keeping; an annual aurliting of accounts required by the trustees, and the issuing of financial reports to boards of trustees and to others interested. inter-ested. ' ' The board declares also that, it has frequently found that colleges hard pressed to meet current expenditures have "borrowed" from permanent funds to tide the college over. "Whenever," "When-ever," the report states, "this state of affairs has been disclosed, the opner1 education board lias insisted upon the restoration of such trust funds before making payments on its pledge." The board has received many assurances assur-ances from colleges that in the, future trust funds will be more strictly regarded re-garded and that under no circumstances will encroachment upon permanent funds be allowed. The board has been made to believe that, apart from rendering ren-dering direct aid to colleges, it has been of service in throwing safeguards about funds contributed by other's. The board likewise claims that its gifts have been the means of arousing new effort, and cites instances to show that the board's initial help led to the acquisition of lands, buildings and other equipment for institutions of learning, and to the payment of debts, creation of new departments, increase of salaries salar-ies and additions to the teaching forces. |