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Show CHARGE AGAINST I ST. PAUL ROAD B" Serious Irregularities Found in Bfe Report Made to Interstate M' Commerce Commission. I i Washington, March (J. "Serious ir- I " regularities" in the accounting of the I Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- way anil its subsidiary, the Chicago, Milwaukee & Pugct Sound, were charged in the report of an inter I state Commerce commlsslou lnvestl I . gation today by Commissioner Har lau, which makes the direct allega- i tlons that irregularities in reports of vS operations submitted to the corhmls- f Bion were made for the purpose of ' influencing, favorably, disposition of m ' St. Paul railroad securities, j The Irregularities disclosed by this m' lnquirv, Commissioner Harlan points ; DUt, are similar to those disclosed by '' s- the commission's investigation into M the financial operations of the New . Haven and the 'Frisco systems. It Is asserted that the "Income or the W. ,'. Puget Sound was greatly overstated, fc , K variety of expedients being resort-By resort-By , Ed to for this purpose": and that "the Wj i fictitious showing of income was used WjM by tho officers of the Tuget Sound company to aid in the sale of its bonds." I Strongest Condemnation. Deserved. In the language of Commissioner Harlan, "such delinquencies merit the strongest condemnation." No reflection Is made on the financial finan-cial condition of the two roads, as the results of their operation "must be regarded as very favorable," but the report says that the accounts of these companies have not correctly correct-ly shown the facts, a conditidn of affairs af-fairs not creditable to the St. Paul lines or to their officers." The report offers as an explanation explana-tion of St. Paul officials that they were not sufficiently familiar -with the requirements of the commission In accounting, but that explanation Is not accepted. The report points out that "recent years have witnessed the exposure of glaring Instances of the financial wrecking of transportation agencies by those in positions of authority," au-thority," and that much of this trouble trou-ble might have been averted had proper accounting methods been followed, fol-lowed, t Report Sent to All Carreers. Tho report will be served on every common carrier In the United States with notice that tho penalties of the law will be Invoked not only against the accounting officer who shall make a wrongful report, but those penalties will be visited "with even greater severity on any' one above the accounting officers in authority, who may share In the responsibility for any violations of the accounting rules and regulations which have been prescribed," |