2000 VETOES.

STATE AUDITOR.

Chapter 813 (Senate Bill 404). The State Auditor sets forth,
in a communication to me, various reasons for the vetoing of
this measure which seeks to change the procedure relating to
the duties of this official, I quote the following pertinent com-
ments from the State Auditor's letter:

"From the standpoint of effectiveness, I believe the proposed
setup tends to weaken the value of the work of the office through
the wide dispersal of its reports and the absence of require-
ments or responsibility for effective action by any of the
agencies reported to, with the exception of that imposed under
the present law in connection with the reports rendered under
item No. 1 listed above. (See Note below. )

"From the standpoint of actual performance at the present
time, the Bill would work a great hardship upon the office.
For years the office was greatly understaffed and it was im-
possible to complete annually the work of the department.
Within the past two years, appropriations for nine additional
auditors have been secured, six beginning October 1, 1941, and
three more beginning July 1, 1943. However, in view of the
present drain on the manpower of the country, it has been
impossible to secure and maintain the authorized staff and it
is doubtful if conditions will improve materially in the imme-
diate future. During the past year, I have lost eight men, six
of whom were Certified Public Accountants, and have been
able to make only one replacement. Consequently, the arrear-
age in work has increased and only great effort on the part of
the remaining staff members has enabled the office to accom-
plish the work it has done. To impose upon the department
at the present time and under the present circumstances the
additional reports would retard the examination work still
further and, in my opinion, would lessen to that extent the
value of the work which the department is still able to render
to the State government. "

In view of the aforegoing, I feel compelled to veto this Bill.

NOTE: The Item No. 1 referred to by the State Auditor is:
Report to the Comptroller or to the Governor annually before
December 1 of each year, with recommendations for the im-
provement of records, installation of systems, etc.

TYPHOID CARRIERS.

Chapter 723 (Senate Bill 339). The passage of this Bill is
opposed by:

1. The State Health Department.

2. The Commissioner of Health of Baltimore City.

3. A large group of citizens of the State who are followers
of the Christian Science faith.