The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1873-02-20

IS menced, in the language OF ex-Go
o Merrill, to 'spreal OUT, and it ",
l, during tins year that he commencv
that series of drafts on the "Collea
|. box" which led 20 the final catast 4,
phe-~lis bankruptcy, exposure an
rum. 1t Is only fair to presume tn,
+ had tho Board OF Trustees done /,
g duty by requiring from him .n
ticient bond, and the usua! oath (
t office, he would have hesitated Ions
g aud perhaps never have yielded t
. the temptation to which he was es
. posed by their negligence. IL,
r bond, signed by friends, his oath @
t office, would each have been warn
: ing and check upon him. But NJ
such guards were placed around him
and when the voice OF the temple
whispered III hls ear, You have Civ
On no hnnds. Won lrave taken no oa,I
OF office" he yielded anal tell; ant
once having yielded, his puculation
were only limited by the amount o
College funds which came into hi
. hands.
} Again, in 1871, was Major Rankin
unanlmousl Y re elected Treasurer by
the Board; yot the same ignorance
stupidity OF negligence seemed To
have pervadcd the counsels and to
have influenced the acts OF the Board
as heretofore; no bond was required
or given, no oath of office was ad.
minlstered, the great interests OF the
College were neglected, and he was
criminally allowed to control tens OF
thousands OF dollars belonging to the
State for educational purposes, with.
out Il particle OF security tor its
safety.
From all the facts developed in
this investigation, the committee
teel compelled, however unpleasant
the duty may be, to say that in their
opinion, while Major Rankin has
male himself, probably, crimlnally
liable tor an iiitractio,i OF the law,
yet the several Boards OF Trustees
who were entrusted by the people to
execute the laws in regard TO the
SoitCSp, d'c III d : c'so iitcbSui y iilOt
ally responsible for the losses Gus
tanned, and should be 80 regarded bv
the people. While each and every
member OF the Board of Trustees IN
office AT the time, and every officer ot
the College should be held to some
extent liable at the bar OF public
opinion, tor the embarrassment eaus
ed aud losses sustained by the dcfil-
cation OF the late Treasurer, yet wa
are constrained to say that some oil
them should be held TO moro rigid
accountability than others. AbonJ
midsummer, 1869, the then chiet ex-
es oHcio member Of the Board Of
Trustees, had his suspicious aroused,
and opened correspondence with
the President Of the College, and
Secretary ct the Board, i'll regard to
the official bonds of the officers. In
this correspondent, he received in
formation which should have led hun.
rs Go,ernor Of the State, and a
member Of the Board OF Trustees, to
act pl omp,ly and r!etcllly; bu.
he let the matter drop, and we hear
no more at him in this connection un
til some time in Decembcri 1872
when, at meeting between a com
mi,tpe OF the College Board ani
Major Ra.kin, he very lnnocenlly
told them that the responsibility was
theirs, and they must shoulder IT :"
(See ex Governor Merrill's teslmo
n.y. The President OF the College,
although chief executive OF the in
stitutlon and its laws, seems to have
paid but little or no attention TO the
warnings he had received from Gov
ernor Merrill.
The College then had plenty OF
money, all drafts were duly honorsd,
and the President seems to have
thought it no part of his duty to see
to the safety OF the fund from
whence his supplies were derived
The then Secret ry of the Board,
the Hon. II NJ. Thompson, was also,
in the opinion Of the committee, dere
lict 10 his duty lie was the proper
custodian OF tho Treasurer's bond, his
attention was expressly called to the
tact that the bond then on file was
tor "last yearf-1S6S--and not Tor
1869; yet he does not appear to have
moved in the matter. He neither
reported to the Board OF Trust ees,to
the President OF the College, Execn
tive Committee, or any member OF
tn. Board, the Information that he
had, but allowed tho Treasury to
take care of itself. In laying the
chief responsibility for Major Ran
kin's failure to give bonds in 1867
and 1871, as College Treasurer or
ex Governor, the President OF ths
College and Hon. Hugh M. Thomp
son. We do not mean to exonerate
from blame the Trustees in office a,
the time. They each were sworn OF
ficers, each had duty to perform be
sides that of receiving regularly tncl
mileage, and each one should b'
] held accountable for an ignorant O
r willful neglec, of du'y.
/, The position OF II Trustee OF th
. Agricultural College is designed ant
. intended to be honorary IN its char
t aeter, and tho committee IS OF IN
J, opinion that the "offiae should see
' the man, and not the man the office.
. Men should be chosen tor that pos
J. ton who have peculiar fitness 10
tho place, and not TO satisfy loca
4 pride or political predllections.- =
Q Hence, we recommend that the la'