Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 January 1910 — SENATE RECORD TELLS ACCOUNTING LAW STORY. [ARTICLE]

SENATE RECORD TELLS ACCOUNTING LAW STORY.

Let Us Consult it-and See Whose Bill It> Is and How Senator Halleck Voted When It Was Up. Recently the Republican offered some criticism against the Indiana accounting law under which 100 socalled expert accountants are now working in the state of Indiana, charging $lO per day and traveling expenses. to the tax payers and going into any community where they want to work and spending as much time as they choose and charging the expense up to the unwilling taxpayers at the unreasonable rate of $lO per day. In the same article the Republican said that Senator Halleck had voted against the bill, that the bill was a democratic measure and that Governor Marshall had made it possible for these leaches to parade about the state upon the unwilling taxpayers. The Jasper County Democrat came out with the statement that it was not a democratic but a republican law, that every democrat in the senate had voted against it and every republican had voted for it, and that Senator Halleck of this district had voted for the present measure. Editor Babcock goes so far as to say that the vote is shown in the Senate Journal

on pages 544 and 545. If Mr. Babcock now wishes to be either honest or • fair to his readers and to Senator Halleck he will acknowledge that he is entirely in erro is so stating. And if he will again consult the Senate Journal he will notice that on page 535 an amendment was offered by Senator Mattingly (republican) that entirely reconstructed the original bill, provided that the new accounting system be supervised from the office of the secretary of state, with the assistance of the "gbvernoi and treasurer of state who are to serve without extra compensation, and that the amendment provided for the reduction of the number of experts from 100 to 10 and their pay from $lO to $6 per day. He will observe if he goes further that this amendment reducing the cost of operation and the number .of employes and tfieir salaries was voted upon as reported on pages 544 and 545 and that every republican member of the senate, including the author of the original bill, voted in favor of the amendment and against the high salaries. He will se6 that instead of the vote there reported being a final vote it was a vote on the* amendment and that Senator Halleck supported the amendment in the interest of economy and against the ridiculously expensive bill, which is the most inexcusable blunder ever saddled on the tax payers of Indiana. If this editor who has frequently assailed Senator Halleck wishes to be honest with his readers he will find that after the bill was thus amended by the support of every republican senator and opposed by every democratic senator it was again sent to the democratic house which refused to concur in the amendments and that the democratic house refused to appoint a conference committee and that finally in the closing days of the legislature the senate concurred in the house bill and it was passed but that Senator Halleck voted against it, as can be plainly seen by reference to page 1419, that he was one of only 6 to vote against the fiqal passage, and that the Republican was right in its original article stating that Senator Halleck had voted against the bill but in favor of the amendment to reduce the expense of its operation. We are -wondering whether Editor Babcock who has thrown a challenge to all the republican editors of the district will no-w have the courage to come out and acknowledge his blunder and be fair with Senator Halleck, whom he has, so long 'impugned. Look it up, Editor Babcock, and then tell your readers that Senator Halleck voted to amend the bill, making its operation less than one-twen-tieth as expensive, and that he voted against the bill as it now stands.

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