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Show Published Every Saturday BY GOODWIN8 WEEKLY PUBLISHING CO., INC. JAMES P. CASEYBusiness Manager F, p. GALLAGHER, Editor. 8UB8CRIPTION PRICE: Including postage In the United 8tates, Canada and Mexico $2.50 per year, $1.50 for six months. Subscriptions to all foreign countries, within the Postal Union, $4.50 per year. . 8lngle copies, 10 cents. Payment should bs made by Check, Money Order or Registered Letter, payable to The Citizen. Address all communications to The Citizen. Entered as second-clas- s matter, June 21, 1919, at the Postoffice at 8alt Lake City, Utah, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Phone Wasatch 5409. Ness Bldg. 8alt Lake City, Utah. 311-12-- 13 DEMOCRATS SPEND THOUSANDS IN FUTILE PROBE Delving desperately into the land board records with the hope of discovering some discrpancies which may, at least, distract atten-tio- n from the mass of Democratic maladministration and corruption which The Citizen has laid bare, Auditor Riries special auditors are working overtime to earn a bonus they have been promised for com-- . pleting the work at an early date. The wTork has been progressing since last March- at a cost of $1,000 a month to the state, but. nothing has been unearthed. The money is from the funds furnished by the Democratic legislatures in the hope of disclosing some sort of scandal. Up to date the inquisition has been a failure and, therefore, nothing has been made public. But while there's life in the fund there is hope and profit. Why has nothing been given out by way of publicity concerning the special audits ? Honesty required that month by month the results should have been made public. When the present Democratic governor was seeking the office of chief executive of the state he ranted up and down the land that he could afford to serve without a salary by reason of the savings he would make for the state by economical administration. He said that his own taxes were about $35,000 a year and that he could save personally at least his salary every year by the general reduction in taxes that was bound to follow his induction into office. Kn passant it may be remarked that the present total debt of the state government, including $1,000,000 in temporary loans and $1,000,- 000 of authorized but unused bonds for soldier settlement purposes is $10,410,000. The bonded debt on December 31, 1916, which closed Governor Spry's splendid administration, was $2,810,000. But more - : : ; ; .i ; i : : f that later. When the present executive took office he announced in a most public manner that if the legislature would give him $25,000 for investigation he would return to the state $100 for every dollar of the appropriation. As yet he has not returned a single dollar. Ilis boast was that he would return $2,500,000 to the state from amounts that had been misused or purloined. Think of it He has expended ! ! about of the appropriation up to date and has not discovered and returned a dollar wronglv diverted from the state fund,-- four-fift- hs . he governor's boasts have cost the state dear. Up to January of this year about $15,000 had been expended with no results. special auditors are at work to consume the total appropriation of about $27,000 before the Republicans can take office. 151 a way, however, the governor has made good his boasts. 'Take for example, that $3,568.75 which was paid the Bamberger 1 ; j S i i J road in excess of what the state would have paid had cement shipments been routed by the steam roads. That was quite a saving, of course. And then there is the costly viaduct over the Bamberger road at Farmington, which is being built for the governors road at great expense to the state, the Bamberger line graciously paying 50 per cent of the cost, although it was always the custom to make the railroads pay the entire cost of such bridges and viaducts. You see, the governor could not save in taxes, because taxes are higher than ever, but he did not want to go back on his pledge and so his railway saved at public expense. The contract for the special audit is interesting and The Citizen is pleased to be able to give it to the public: f Salt Lake City, Utah, March 26, 1920.IT IS HEREBY AGREED between Joseph Ririe, State Auditor, and R. E. Davis, President of the Board of Land Commissioners, acting in tlieir official capacity for the Governor of the State of Utah, who arc hereinafter referred to as The Committee, and L. E. Mainor, hereinafter referred to as The Auditor, as follows: For valuable considerations hereinafter noted the Audi- - . tor agrees as follows: To assume charge of, conduct and carry to a successful completion, a careful and complete audit of all the books and records of the State Board of Land Commissioners for the entire period of its operation from Statehood to an including November 30, 1920, to submit a complete report setting forth the findings of the audit, with recommendations for and exhibits of the revision of the present system, or the installation of a new system of accounts, or a combination of both, and to turn over at the close of the audit to the committee all the records compiled during the audit. It is agreed that the valuable consideration tibove mentioned shall be as follows: $1,000 per month, payable to the auditor for nine consecutive months, on the last day of each and every month, the first payment to be made April 30th, 1920. Provided that if the work is completed in less than nine months, the payments to be made at the above rate only to date of completion, the Auditor to receive a bonus in cash for the time saved, computed on a basis of $500 per month, less deductions for any additional help furnished by the committee. Such deductions to be based on the proportion of time the additional help was furnished to the total |