The Auditor's Ledger Scandal
After an investigation into King County's books, the county auditor is indicted for forgery following a chaotic attempt to clear the ledger before his term expired.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The King County Grand Jury returned two indictments for forgery against H. O. Harris, the former county auditor. The charges allege that on March 3, 1887, Harris falsified records regarding county warrants. Specifically, the indictments claim that Harris marked numerous warrants as 'redeemed and cancelled' on the county register to facilitate a settlement with the County Commissioners, even though many of these warrants had not yet been processed or were later paid by the Treasurer. Harris appeared in court and was released on bail in the sum of $1,000 for each indictment. In a statement, Harris attributed the errors to a frantic rush to close the books on his final days in office. He claimed he instructed his clerk to mark warrants as redeemed based on an incomplete registry to ensure the books were ready for the commissioners' inspection. Harris insisted the errors were purely clerical, maintaining that neither the county nor any individual lost money due to the mistakes, and expressed full confidence that the charges would be dismissed upon trial.
“Owing to the rush of work, I was unable to be present at the settlement between the Commissioners and the Treasurer... I instructed my clerk to mark as redeemed all the warrants which were so marked on my register.”
This 1887 story highlights a recurring theme in Seattle governance: the intersection of administrative chaos and fiscal accountability. Much like modern debates over public records and transparency, the incident shows how bureaucratic 'rushing' during administrative handoffs can lead to long-lasting legal and political consequences.
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