The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-04-29
THE sPRER DEFALeATION.
s1oO, 900 Of Government Funds Gone

Some years ago John Speer, of the
Lawrence Daily Tribune, had the mis-
fortune to be appointed q. S. District
Collector for Kansas. In the course of
time he was removed. Since his remo-
val reports have been rife that Speer
was a defaulter. The amount at first
was stated to be about $4,000. But it
has grown so rapidly that it has reached
the enormous sum of 100000, accord
ing to extracts below from our leading
dailies at Leavenworth, Lawrence, To-
peka and Fort Scott. We are of the
same opinion in relation to this matter
as some of our contemporaries, that Speer
did not steal this money. He cannot
even tell where it has gone. 1t was sto-
len by shysters in his employ. AT least
we shall always think so. But Speer
gets the blame and the loss comes of
from him, if it can be recovered. He
ought to have known that he had not
the first qualification for u. S. Collect
or, and given the place a wide berth.
Mr.. Sidney Clarke, we believe, was
Speers' hacker in getting the place. He
is also one of the snreties upon his
bond, and hence his anxiety to six" the
matter with supervisor Mari short
time ago. MARI, it seems, steadily re-
fused to be "fixed," preferring to work
for the interests of the government. He
is right and will be upheld by the peo-
pie in his refusal to make false reports
to cover this thing up. Clarke, we are
told, has always encouraged Speer with
the idea that the defalcation should be
fixed up TO save him in some way, but
he finds himself unable to do so, unless
he succeeds i'm getting tool in Marr's
place. Will the Government allow
him to do this?
Let what will come, we hope the rob-
bers of the Government and the viola
tors of the cOuntry's law will be
brought to justice, Let no one escape
who should be properly implicated,
Let the money be returned 10 the Gov
eminent If the principal and snreties
are good for il, and we have no doubt
but that they are, If honesty Is made
the rule in settling the matter up.
Below we publish what several of
our more influential contemporaries
have to say shout this matter:
From the Times and Conservative. 90
We pity Mr.. Speer, and ali whose
names are used in this transaction, and
have no i'll will towards any of them.
But the honest deputies are in a very
unfortunate position. They did their
duty, collected their taxes, and returned
the money with their sworn statement.
They were then called upon to sign a
new statement in blank. A false return
and an affidavit were written above the
signature, and these bogus papers were
sent to Washington as genUine. There
was n heavy dedication; the money
had been stolen and used and then this
new crime, involving every deputy aud
the whole business community, was re-
sorted to to cover 1t up, and to make the
Government believe that the money
which had been stolen had really never
been collected. We do not know how
far Sidney Clarke advised this course,
but this part of the transaction is the
most unfnyorable one to Mr.. Speer.
He has been used by scoundrels, and
suffers with them-oP rather suffers
alone, for they are destitute of con-
SCIENCE and of remorse. or
Mr.. Spear has been treated with the
utmost Blindness by Us, and by the Re-
publican press of the State. He was a
pioneer printer, editor and publisher In
this State, and has always been a Free
State man and Republican, at the time
of the Lawrence massacre, his Office was
burned, and two of his boys-Yery
promising young men-were probably
burned in that terrible slaughter, for
| they were never heard of more. To
this unspeakable calamity another Il
| added. and his old friends have not fell
like increasing his sorrows by any un.
necessary cepsure.
From the Topeka Record
Rumors have been rife for some time
that j ohm Speer, ex-United States Col
lector for Kansas. was defauiter to q