4.2!‘ E; Ilu ‘ VOL. XIX, NO. 5. > “THE FARMER IS OF MORE CONSEQUENCE THAN THE FARM, AND SHOULD BE FIRST IMPROVED.” \. J‘ J'- LANSING, MICHIGAN, MARCH 1, 1894. WHOLENO. 437. WHERE THEJONEY GOES. JOCHIM, HAMBITZER, BERRY, ELLIS, AND TURNER EVIDENTLY CON- SIDER “PUBLIC OFFICE A PRIVATE SNAP.” We have been perusing a most entertain- ing volume recently, and our readers may enjoy a few extracts from a book that will soon be famous. The book is that belong- ing to the board of State Auditors, and contains the precise copy of each bill allowed by the auditors during 1893. It shows that certain state officers have been bleeding the state treasury to an extent entirely unsuspected by the average citizen. And although the amounts are small, relative to the expenses of the state government, there is no hiding the principle, or lack of principle, displayed in seeking to get out of the state all the money possible. We have for a week past had most of the following facts and figures in our possession, but unfortunately for our enterprise, our date of publication did not come before the dailies secured a portion of the facts in the case. The Detroit Journal complains because its “expert accountant” was ill treated by the clerks of the board of Auditors, and that only a portion of the accounts could be secured. Our request to look at the accounts was courteously granted, and as the books are kept in a clear and fine manner, we had not the least difficulty in getting all the . information we chose. Mr. lIambitzer’s Bills. We present below the bills allowed Mr. Hambitzer, State Treasurer, during 1893. We have omitted a few minor bills that were for oflice, etc. All the bills for attending board meetings and extra ser- vices are given. ‘V6 use Mr. Hambitzer’s bills, as they were the first examined: Jan. 2, Board of Auditor-s——R. B. fare. Hancock to Lansing and _return ...................... .. $39 50 3 days hotel bills............_.._........._.. 7 50 Feb. 18, Board of Canvassers—R. R. fare. Hancock :0 Lansing and return ................... .. 39 50 2 data hotel bills .-. ....-..-...... .__. . .__-- 10 00 Jan. 25, Board of Auditors—B.. R. fare, Hancock to Lansing and return ...................... _. 39 50 2 days hotel blllfi . _ . . . . . . . _ . . . _ . . . . . . . . _ . -. 10 (N) Mar. 29. Board of Auditors——R. R. fare. Hancock to Lansing and return ...................... -- 39 50 (inlays hotel bil 15 00 Apr. 25, Sriite Board of from Lansing 39 50 Hotel 6 days. .- .. 15 00 25, Meeting board of Canvasser llancock to Lansing and return. 39 51) Hotel 4 days ...-......‘...-....-..__.--...... 10 00 May 16, Meeting buarrl of (anvassers—Rsilroad Llaucuck to Lansing and return ......... -. 39 50 iilotei 4 dip’; .E..; .i_.£ ...... --I--C ————————— .- 10 00 1-, 26, anti!) 0 ti -9 rr 1 ors an: anvassers. AD railrogd, Hancock to Lansing and return ................................... -- 39 50 Hotel 6 days .-..- _ —————— --_ --------------- -- 15 00 May 10, Board of State Auditors, railroad, Hancock to Lansing and return .. 89 50 ot ........... . .f. -A-- 10 U0 31, Meeting board 0 u Lansing and return ... . 39 50 Hotel 6 d':ly!l.__ ------------------------- -- - 15 (X) Junelfi, Expenses, Chicago and return to consult electrical engineer. f8lll'08dy 9“? --------- -- 35 00 Hotelfi davs ..-.----——-------2----—-——;--—-» 15 99 July 7, Special meeting b iard of Auditors, railroad Hancock to Lansing and return.-.....___. 89 50 Hotel l days ........... --’ --------- -- 10 00 7, Meeting of board of telephone and telegraph 2 25 22, Expenses examining of telephone and H mlegmpii 'l'i"'}i'£6feiiEi'¢iiié"""" 15 27, otel. etc., e esrap an ---- July , of Auditors. railroad Hancock to Lansing and return -'10 Hotel 5 days ......-.. - 11 50 21, Examining telegraph and telephone co - anies during mouth of July. railroad hotel. etc., Lansing to Chicago and uiiwaiikoe __. ........................... .— 111 70 One day‘s B&'Vlc(’5_i etc... 5 1-5 28. Expenses at Lanai 9 5° 30, Meeting of board, iipemms to Lansing andrelurn ....-....--.------——--------- 39 50 Hotel $10.00; sleeper.‘ $l.(])_ ____ .-_. ........ - . 14 00 Bop. 6-10, Investigating May s claim—railroad Ish- peining to Ironwood and return, hotel and liver)’ ------------------------------- —- 00 Two tnlegrums ..--.. - 3 35 27, Meeting Hf D08|'d. Lansing and return ....... _. 39 50 Hotel 4 «la s. $10 00: sleeper, $4.00 . .-- 14 90 Oct. 24. Railroad ancock to Lansing and return .. 89 50 Hotel 4 days, Sl0.U0:,v~|eep6I'. -00 14 00 Nov. 10, Threeudmeetings with State swamp land 12 00 b0 ---------------------------------- -- Bowl 3 dave ....... --—----, ---------------- -- 9 0° 29, Railroad Hancock to Lansing and return . B9 50 “°‘°i,.‘ ‘...“""..i"': """" "1.'.;.'.1 """ "i‘;‘iI.'.;a;; ” °‘-’ 1- o swam comm s D°°'27' F‘,’,~,93 ______________ __'f ____ _______________ __ 72 00 Mr. Jochim’s Travels. Mr. Jochim, Secretary of State, pre- sented approximately the same bills as Mr. Hambitzer for attendance upon meetings of board of Auditors and Canvassers. -\Ve give only a few of the bills, to show the methods followed. Notice the dates: ' b d t Cnnvassers. R. R. sleeper, Apr‘ 25' Meeuliiiie tldadnd) from Lansing via Chicago, including extras, $15.40 Hotel 4 dnyfl ------------------------------ -- Apr. 25, Meeting board of Additors, R. B. sleeper, and meals, to and from Lansing _______ __ $35 (Kl Hotel 6 days._.-....._._._.......... __. .__.. 15 W Apr. 26, Meeting board of Auditors, R. R. Ishpeming to Lansing and return.. ............. .. 35 00 Hotel 6 days _____________________________ .. 15 09 Sept. 7, R. ll. Ishperning to Washington and return 160 8:: Dec. 27. F0; board of swamp land commissioners 72 W 1 93 . _ _ _ . . _ _ _ . . . . _ . . . . _ . . . _ . . _ _ . . . _ _ . . . ._ Mr. Berry’s Necessities. We have here a few of Mr. Berry’s bills, as Land Commissioner: Apr. 25, Meeting of board of Canvassers. railroad anderbilt to Lansing and return ..... .. $12 24 Hotel4da,\s _.._-........... ........... 1000 Apr. 25, Meeting of board of Auditors, railroad Van- derbilt to Lansing and return.._....... . 12 2! Hotel 6 days _____________________________ .. 15 00 Apr. 26, Meeting of board of Auditors. railroad Van- derbilt to Lansing and return _________ . . 12 24 Hotel 6 days . . . . . _ . _ . . . . , . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . .. 15 00 Aug. 26, Examining telegraph and telephone compa- nies during month of July, hotel, R. R. Lansing to(‘.liicago and Milwaukee, Wis. One day’s services and hotel _____________ .. :1 277 Sep. 1, Work from Aug. 27 to Sept. 25 ____ _. Sep. 15, 24 days work ______________________________ .. It will be noticed that three different bills were presented on April 25 and April 26, including railroad fare and hotel bills each time. The round trip rate from Lansing to Hancock is $32.35; Ishpeming, $26.70; Vanderbilt, $10.70. The difference between these amounts and those charged will hardly account for meals and sleeper, especially as Mr. Hambitzer included “sleeper ” in a number of his bills. We can not now prove that these gentle- men had railroad passes, but we do not believe they dare deny that they had them and used them on these trips for which they charged full fare. It may be significant that Marcus Peter- sen, clerk of the board of Auditors until recently, made out and approved most of these bills. Mr. Pete-rsen,’s salary was raised from $1,600 to $l,800, and he was granted an extra months’ salary, $150.00, by the board of auditors. It must be remembered ma‘.-ti... latte!- half of the year Mr. Jochim was drawing $2,000.00 salary, Mr. Hambitzer $2,000.00, and Mr. Berry $2,000.00. These salaries were sufficient to keep the gentlemen at the Capital, yet the state had to pay for transporting them to and from their busi- ness. They also accepted per diem for work on the swamp land" board, while the constitution expressly declares that they shall have no fees or perquisites whatever. Adolphus ioes Home. Attorney General Ellis drew at the rate of $3,000 per year during the greater part of 1893. He lived in Ionia and in his accounts the following item appears fifty times during the year: “ Lansing to Ionia and return, $2.05.” Once the entry is Lansing to Ionia $l.l5. The dates are about a week apart, usually Monday or Tuesday, and it is quite evident that when Adolphus drew nigh the bosom of his family, he also drew on the state treasury to pay for the pleasure. Here is a sample month, the items being picked from among other entries; Oct. 2, Lansing to Ionia and return .............. .. $2 (if- .. 13' ll .. .. ll .. :: M" g It 23. 55 H H H I‘ _ _ V ‘ . — . _ - _ _ _ . ” ~ _‘ 2 The total amount for the year is $103.65, not so large a sum as that drawn by the auditors, but the principle is precisely the same. Mr. Turner and His Son Harry. But the richest, juiciest bit of fruit on the capitol tree seems to have been picked by Auditor General Stanley W. Turner and his son, Harry 0. Turner. The auditor general receives a salary of $3,000 a year. Mr. Turner made his son Harry his private secretary at a salary of $1,600 per year. Mr. Harry Turner is also clerk of the board of review of telephone and telegraph lines, at a salary of $200 per year, and clerk of the board of control of St. Mary’s ship canal at a salary of $100 per year, a total of $1,900 per year. Mr. Turner and his son, then, draw in salaries $4,900 per year. But that isn’t all. The auditor general is allowed necessary ex- penses for traveling when absent from the Capital on state business. But Mr. Turner drew, in addition, several hundred dollars asper diein. His bills are not good in- dexes of his actual expenses, because they are not itemized as required of all bills against the state. It is rumored that Mr. Turner refused to itemize to any greater extent than he did. It is also rumored that the board of Auditors cut down some of his bills for traveling. The following are the bills, as allowed, as they appear on the books of the board of state Auditors: 1893. Jan. 9, Harry 0. Turner-— To Detroit to purchase linoleum for office, hotel hill and railroad fare, etc ______ .. Feb.15. Stanley_W. Turner- '1‘o railroad fare. hotel bill, and expenses in collecting railroad taxes ._...._. . expense to D -I roit. hotel and railroad 1 bottle machine oil _________________ ._ 14, telegran 3 ,______ ,_ , printing circulars .... .. Apr. 5, railroad fare, Grand Rap 6. hotel bill ____________ _. 19. Detroit and return... 20, hotel bill ____________________________ __ 25. Harry l‘urner—~ To railroad fare, Detroit and return. col- lecting mining tax__‘ ______________ ._ hotel bull _____________________________ _, May 30, Stanley W. Turner~ To services on various boards for months of January, February, March. April, May. hotel bills and traveling ex- penses _ __ 4 days examining telephone and tele- zraph_....... ._.__..._ fare Detroit and return and parlor car carriage, $1.54»; hotel, $12; street car, we 3. fare Baitle Creek and reIurn_._. . .... examining telephone and telegrapli.. . hotel. $7.510; hack. 50c; carriage, $l.7:').. 20, fare Detroit and return and parlor car 6 days examining telephone and tele- graplu. .. ______ .. 6 days hotel, $18; carriage, $2.75 . .... 28, at tending board meeting. railroad fare, hotel, etc., month of June .._.. Apr. 29, Harry 0. Turner- To railroad fare Chicago and return, col- lecting mining taxes ______ .. sleeper. $4; hotel, $12; car fare. 30c July 1, Stanley W. Turner- To telephone meeting and hotel bill ____ . . telephone meeting and hotel bill.. 7, Elllilmd fare, Detroit and return.. ac an :- O 8 St? 8E8§%2§;"u%§ y5—‘.‘V O‘-U"O3IFl\'« 4:».- UIO if. 518 '5‘388%"o‘8 ‘-5 June 9, i— N>— >4 be m cm. ‘.)l:DtChdpSU'l\'.« 5:: UIUIUI 15, hotel bill ______________________ _. 27, attending meeting and hotel bill ...-. No date, attending meeting. railroad fare and hotel bill, month of July. 1893...... paid for special tel in ..... .- railr are Grand u-E2‘-L-“L' 8 8.‘? 53188 289531 88 E June 27, 88 hotel. __.. .... ..._-___._.. ___-.__. .__. .. Aug. 25, expenses incurred in collecting spe- cific taxes of mining companies -.- 246. examining telephone and telegraph companies during the month of J uly, 1893, rail fare. per diem, and hotel expenses, from Lansing to .... -,C9:icv:'c.r.‘v.1 Miheruknc Wis _ .. ..- onl;a_gay’s service on board and ’hotel i ............................... -_ railroad fare, hotel bills for attending board meetings during J uly, 1893 ... paper and stationery ................ .. , collecting specific taxes, railroad fare Detroit and rel urn, parlor car .... -- hotel, $7; hack, 5Uc .................. _. 5, Detroit and return, parlor car, hotel bill, collecting specific taxes... .__.. 16 10 4 days services on telephone and tele- graph board.._..._ ._._....._.._.-.. 12 00 12, railroad fare to Detroit and return, parlor car ......................... .. 5 60 13, hotel bill, $11.50; hack, 50c . 15 00 21, witness in Parsell case, Ioni . railroad fare, $2: hack, 50c; carriage, $3.75; hotel, $2.50 .............. .. 7 75 28, witness in Parsell case. Ion $2.30; carriage, $3.50; hotel. $3 .. .. ... 8 80 9, visiting Jackson rison to inspect books. railroad are, $2; hotel, 54; carriage, $3.75; hack, 50c ....__.-._.. attending board meetings, railroad fare, hotel bill, etc., for September, except telephone board _ attending telephone board meeting, per diem, $3; he-tel_bill, $2.25 ...... _ . 5 25 expenses in collecting specific taxes from Iron King Mining Co ________ _. expenses Marquette and Pacific rolling mil .............................. .. No date, Harry 0. ’l‘urner~ To railroad fare, parlor car, Chicago and return, collecting mining taxes .... .. supper on train and hotel bill... ... expo-use at Hillsdale ________________ .. Oct. 3-6, Stanley W. Turner- To 4 days services on telephone board. ... 4 days hotel bills ....... ... .......... _- railroad fare, $4.30; carriage, $3.75: hack, 50c ......................... ._ 5 days services on telephone and tele- graph matters ..................... .. 5 days’ hotel bills 16, expenses collectiu mining Co. .... expenses, Merchan portation Co. ......_.........._...... 25, attending board meetings, railroad fare. hotel bills 24. ex 3 3&9 -5- [W5 Q 93 13.2 “J! 5 25 18 42 16 25 510 750 No date, .33 DD ‘CE N :3 r-i-4 n-I»- UJ KVKO P-‘(MC Ell 38 888 11-16, uses collecting taxes of Mountain ron Co. ........................... .. Swanzy Mining Co ............... .- -. 41 25, attending telephone board. hotel .__.. 5 4 days, 20, 21, 23, 24, and hotel ....... -. 21 21-23, Harry 0. Turner- To railroad fare Detroit and return, tele- phone reports . ................... .. 4 hotel. $7; parlor car 50c .............. .. 7 Nov. 2, Stanley W. '1‘urner—— _ _ To expenses collecting, specific taxes. De- troit, Cleveland, §aginaw,_Jackson. 29, services in collecting specific taxes, by order of the board of 8I.ldl_I0l'B-.. No date. expenses attending board meeting.--. 1 day telephone company ............ -. Nov. 24, Dec. 27. ..s§ E 8: see a as sea uses collecting specific taxes. ieconsin Central R. R. Co ....... .. services on the land board. 18 . Total ............................. -- $1.439 34 The total amount received by Mr. Tur- ner and his son during 1893 will come close to $6,000. There is no means of tell- ing how much of the expense is legitimate. Mr. Turner will no doubt claim that all his charges are entirely legal. Perhaps they are. But if so the people will soon see to it that such plundering is made illegal. -1 mt: This condition of things is not pleasant to contemplate. Next issue we shall hope to make comparisons with former years. The gentlemen involved may claim precedent for their actions. If they do, it will not justify the methods. And we doubt, from a cursory examination, if past records .W1ll begin to approach in amount those given above. Fa GRANGE T0 CONGRESS. VVASHINGTON, D. C., ' :7anmzr_y30, 1894. i To the Senators and Represem‘atz'1'es as- sembled in the Congress of the llnited States: GEN'rLEMEN—We, the undersigned, have been appointed a committee of the Nation- al Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry to urge before your honorable body such legislation as is deemed by our Order es- sential to the prosperity of the agricultural interests of our country, and in attempting to discharge this duty we find it necessary to emphatically object to some of the changes proposed in the agricultural sched- ule by the so called Wilson tariff bill, and in so doing We have iioth- ing to say for or against protection as a policy of the government; but as a revenue measure, every American citizen is inter- ested. \Ve deem it the true policy of the na- tional government to collect its revenues, as much as possible, from duties on im- ports, as being a system of taxation more equitable and less burdensome when justly distributed than direct taxation upon the industries and property of our people, thus leavingthis class of subjects to the states for taxation for the collection of their rev- enues, as they can not levy an import tax under the constitution of the general gov- ernment. Another reason why foreign trade should pay import duties is that our government must maintain wharves and warehouses for the accommodation of their trade, and this trade should justly pay for this privilege out of which it is proposed to gain a livelihood. - 1. e. ~..ii.'.n‘ners of -our Order, of course: difier in their views upon the details of equitable tariff legislation. It is not the duty of the Order to interfere with the free exercise of the rights of our members as citizens. When the people at the ballot box decide any issue raised by the political parties on general principles, our Order cheerfully accepts the situation, and only insists that the policy thus endorsed shall be fairly car- ried into effect without any discrimination against the farmer, or any class or interest in our country. When the people decided for the pro- tective policy at the polls we asked con- gress that in the proposed tarifi revision agriculture should receive the same con- sideration as did other interests. Our de- mands were respectfully and fully consid- ered, and,with one exception, all that we asked was incorporated in the tariff laws of our country, and the farmers were largely incidentally protected in the Ameri- can markets, and as a result realized better prices for hay, barley, vegetables, potatoes, beans, live stock, poultry, eggs, tobacco, fruits and many other products, which were not oppressive to those engaged in other vocations. In the change of the political situation of our country our farmers had reason to believe that in the revision of the tarifl’, placing it on a new basis, it would be so adjusted that duties would be imposed largely on luxuries and such products as might be imported that would directly come in competition with American agri- cultural productions and American manu- facturers, which were essential to give em- ployment to American labor and capital. In fact this was guaranteed in the Chicago platform of the present party. The legislative committee of the National Grange, at the special session of congress advised the committee of Ways and Means, of the importance of taking care of the agricultural interests in drafting a revised tariff bill. Had the committee reported a bill in strict conformity with the decision of the people at the polls we should have nothing to say against it, but because the proposed legislation is very unjust, in so far as it pertains to the farmers, and unfairly dis- criminates against the interests of agricult- ure by virtually abandoning the New En- gland, New York and coast trade to Canada and other foreign countries, by reason of proximity and cheap water transportation, which in effect bring the producers in for- eign countries closer to these markets than Continued on page 5. .. v- ‘.3’ .4 -..L.._..._ . £:?.i'sdv:l" .9?-.' - ' “