The Placer herald., 1872-03-16
THE BOND SUIT.

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the tia,e by the Grand Jury. The robbery
occurred on the day the old Treasurer, Mr..
Dickinson, was passing over the Office TO his
successor. The bond Of the Treasurer was
good for ten times the amount; in fact, many
| of the bondsmen came to Auburn and offered
| to pay their pro rata at once, and save costs.
Had the Supervisors and District Attorney
then said, as was their duty, the deficiency
must be at once settled or suit will be brought,
the money would have been Immediately
paid into the Treasury. J. ID. Pratt, VIM.
Duck and Ii. NJ. Power were then Super
visors, and +. l.. Craig, District Attorney.
These officers temporized in the matter 1--WE
believe Mr.. Power opposed the action), and
gave the Treasurer some eight months in
which to make the loss good. We said at
the time, and now say, that this bargain for
ever released the bondsmen from all liability,
and this fact ought to have been known to
the Supervisors and their legal adviser, the
District Attorney. The limitation of this
contract expired, and the Treasurer had
raised and paid in, we believe, something
less than half the money. Subsequently
the District Attorney brought suit against
the Treasurer and bondsmen for the deficit,
we think something over 50 900; but, by
some means, let the suit 60 against the
county, by default. Thus the matter rested
until about year ago, when the late Super
visors, Pratt, Van Vactor and Kinder, ia
nous for blundering on the side of sharpers
who desired to rob the county, ordered Hale
and Craig to commence new suit against
the Treasurer and his bondsmen for the
money; which they did, after studying over
the matter many months. This order stipu-
lated no special sum or percentage to be paid
these attorneys, and consequently, we sup
pose, the county is in for a round sum
for their services over this "dead horse ="
The queerest thing is that one of the at
torneys who failed in the prosecution of the
case, when acting officially for the county,
has again been selected in this suit at the
countys expense-on the principle, we sup
pose, that a special fee will brighten his
talents. We recall these things from mem
ory, and give them to the public that they
may know what has, has not, and is now
being done in this dead horse" case. We
assert that had the then officials done their
sworn duty under the law, this money would
all have been in the treasury four years ago.
1t is only financial fools that send good
money after Dad money" That the Gaze
was compromised away, the bondsmen re-
leased, when this money was at command
and every dollar spent, and to be spent,
since the first fatal errur-to call it by no
worse namc--is money thrown away, is our
deliberate opinion. An old lady's husband
got drowned, some men found him, and a
bushel of fish in his clothes, feeding on his
carcass. They reported to the widow, and
asked what to do. She said: bring up the
fish and set the old man again. " Simon $
wife's mother lay sick of fever" The gen.
tleman who heard this text read at an inter-
val of twenty years, said: "For Gods sake,
aint that old woman dead yet" We have
been reading of the Treasurer's bond case for
four years, and now they have set it again
for more attorney fees and costs, as did the
old woman her husbands dead carcass for
suckers. Hon. Henry Long, Assemblyman
from this county, evidently feels the proper
disgust that we do for this dead carcass,
over which our officials have been paving,
believing and bleeding the people for four
years, and seeing that it could not otherwise
be stopped, has introduced bill to bury its
dead bones-to dismiss all the cases, save
the tax payC>s further expense, and rob at
torneys and officials Of all further use Of this
bait.
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