Salt Lake Telegram | 1934-06-15 | Page 4 | Milking Taxpayer

MILKING 1 THE TAXPAYER THE middleman in American business is IS an 1 institution As an expert or as an au agency is 1 accepted that of f convenience it generally he is entitled to compensation for the service service he lie renders in bringing buyer and seller to to to- gether However there ar arb are circumstances es where his activities so closely touch the public pub pub- lic ie welfare as to require some sonic special consid consid- era cation tion Such Sucha a case casc is presented by br State Auditor Julius Tulius Andersen An official statement from his 1 s office asserts that based on a survey o of bonds bonds bought by the state for sinking fund purposes the state has paid far in excess of what are arc worth because of premiums p paid id to brokers brol Thc The auditors auditor's chief account account- ajit alt disc discloses that since February 1928 the state has paid in premiums on purchases purchases purchases pur pur- chases of of worth o th of bonds or about 6 71 per cent One case casc was ferreted out in the premium was 1988 per cent The Tha high premiums created a n deficit in the sinkIng sinking sink sink- ing ilig fund which had to be made up from irom the g general fund Lund Instances ar are arc cited in which brokers rokers involved did not pay a penny forThe for forthe the he securities until after they had been paid 1 by the state remitting to the sellers only the difference between the price received and the premiums and charges It seems strange that in more than six ars no official has brought this amazing state o oj affairs to public notice It is an unconscionable milking of the taxpayer As a are result re re- stilt sult of the uncovering of this wasteful practice practice tice of state agencies the suggestion comes forward forward for for- forward ward that middlemen be bc barred b by 1 law lil participation in transactions of this character It is a proposal a-proposal al t that at should d find r ready ance on oil tha the part jart of fhe legislature lature In the capitol s surely ely there here are arc are officials Is who olio should be DC capable of consummating such deals without calling in outsiders J Nothing was said at the state te auditors auditor's office of of- 0 lice face regarding securities which th the state may ma mahave may have pur purchased l in the past and which are tare are t today day Th This s suggests the desirability ity iy y of a further survey of the thc states state's invest invest- ments The TIle taxpayers ers do ao not yet know the f l extent to which they have been been made been made t the c ims of practices sorely in need of over over- Ruling A deep probe of the whole matter should be completed in time to be available at nt the forthcoming session of the legislature If ij is is clearly apparent that th re are some sizeable size size- able le leaks from irom the treasur treasury in need of stop ping