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Show Published Every Saturday rY GOODWINS WEEKLY PUBLISHING CO.t INC. A. W. RAYBOULD, Manager lNK E. SCHEFSKIp Editor 8UB8CRIPTION PRICE: Including postage. in. the United 8tatesf Canada and Mexico, $2.50 per year, Subscriptions to all foreign countries, within the Postal for six nonths. n, $4.50 psr year. Payments should be 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 Act of under March 3, 1879. the City, Utah, 3 Phone Wasatch 5409 Ness Bldg. 8alt Lake City, Utah 311-121- . TRUE PUBLIC SPIRIT made of public offices, as a rule, reveal much sometimes graft, the manipulation of accounts and moneys n which rightfully belong to the local, state or federal govern- Bribery, greed and lust all combine to undermine a business inistration, and it has often been said that unless you agree to be the graft ring you will not get anywhere in rty to the ring Investigations in-:ienc- which Auditor Holden asks to be straightened out and the people are behind hint in his demand. If there are any who have used public funds to their own benefit, let us have the facts, no matter who is hit. Let us go further. Let there be an examination made of every department and the public given the real facts, and it need not be said that there will be several y, sur-pris- s. tics. Specific duties have been imposed upon the auditors office by the constitution and subsequent legislation, namely, the control and accounting of the fiscal affairs of our state. It is the particular function of the state auditor to supervise the receipts and expenditures of all state moneys. He is not merely the disbursing agent of the state, but in his department are the only authentic records of all the financial transactions of the state government. In order that he may properly comply with all the duties and responsibilities imposed upon him, it is absolutely necessary that sufficient and efficient deputies be employed. In connection with his other duties, the law according to ParaIt graph 13, Section 5715, Compiled Laws of Utah, 1917, states: is the duty of the State Auditor to inspect at least once a year the books of any person charged with the receipt, safe keeping and disThe only source of income to the bursements of all public moneys. state for administrative purposes is taxes collected and fees remitted, these together with interest derived from redemption fund, investments, loans made from school land funds, make up the entire revenue of the state. The responsibility for the disbursements of state funds rests upon the officials of the seven institutions and approxidepartments of state government. Complying with mately twenty-fiv- e the law the responsibilities of verifying not only the receipts and disbursements but the accuracy and legality of these disbursements rests upon th state auditor with the stipulation that these accounts shall be verified at least once a year. In making a survey of the work accomplished by the previous administration, particularly in the matter of these various audits, Mr. Holden found that the seven institutions had been audited as follows: U. A. C., three times; U. of U., three times; Branch A. C., once; Industrial school, three times; Mental hospital, State Prison, twice; thus showing that fourteen audits had been made whereas the law required interests and corporations force their methods upon politi-- s for favors. There appears to be a certain cut where large Big are handled and there are always those who are more willing to take a piece of the pie. When John E. Holden, our present state auditor, asked for an t, he did not do so because he was anxious to spend some of the He had been in the state capitol long enough to ayers money. information which justified him in asking for an audit. When lade this request, he was told that it was childs play and unneces-- , but Auditor Holden did not propose to serve his time under a d and it was this cloud which he proposes to turn into a ray of s of money line. auditor is not given sufficient funds to audit For instance the state road commission actnever been audited by the state auditor; he has neither. first place the f the state accounts. In the s have nor the funds at his command to do so. handles millions of dollars and yet here is business? ielp The state road com-o- n it is without an audit, . Four years ago the state road commission had an audit and it about 825,000 to make that audit. To make an audit of the tors department, it will take all of $30,000 to give the people the information of how their finances have been handled, but was done? The small sum of $1,000 was voted to make an which amount was not sufficient to make a start. R. R. Carey appointed to make that audit and he found nothing to report information which he learned at the capitol from some of :torks and that information he incorporated into his meagre re-- t r Holden is not satisfied with that audit because it shows nS and he will go before the legislature in 1926 and ask for the er audit, and such audit to be made by a public certified account- ex-ao- me twenty-eigh- r Holden says that he will follow the law in the conduct of his regardless of influences to the and he expects to give contrary, e die best service at his command. e kte W. D. Sutton uncovered some irregularities when he . lnto office as state treasurer. It had been the custom by some predecessors to accept interest from banks on state money. Mr. as a rich man and did not want any more money. It was an at 8 l ta!l: reasurer and he refused the interest. An audit of S.ih Pixton, bank commissioner, revealed the names l accepted this interest interest which Mr. Sutton pla.-einto the state treasury. It is things of this nature k y e T ' t. Of the twenty-fiv-e departments to be audited each year, the following audits have been made: Department of Agriculture, Industrial Commission, State Board of Examiners, State Insurance fund and Secretary of State, once; Bank Commissioner, Board of Health, Public Utilities, State Engineer, Fish and Game Department, Insurance Commission, Land Commission and State Fair Association, twice; Department of Finance audits have been made and Purchase, three times. Or twenty-fou- r instead of one hundred. Other departments, such as the Road Commission, having the disbursing of large sums of state funds; have not been audited during the past four years and they now are insisting |