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

The balance went for miscellaneo o,
purposes, aud to various persons wh
were dealing with him in good faitl
and who had no knowledge, or OF
portrnities Of knowledge, or susp
clon that the iaoney they receive
was public funds.
As to the second branch of our i,
quires, cts, The "ofilcial acts of tn
Board OF Trustees Of the Agrlcult,
raj College" our information is nc
so complete nor 80 tull as could b
desired yet careful examinatio
OF the testimony will scarcely fail t
convince any one that tho laws TO
the organization and government Q
that institution ought to be material
y amended and revised, in orde
that the purposes tor which the mu
nlticant grant OF land which wa
''sss~de~ the General Goyernmen
and aceepted by this State may no
be msapplied, and finally wasted an,
frlttered away.
Tho testimony taken by the com
mitteee vii! further show that tn,
laws that are and have been IN force
tor the organization Of the College
and disposition OF the various fun u
have been but partially observed; and
that in many instances they have
been in some material part directly
violated.
The execution Of these laws is
committed to a Board OF Trustees
consisting OF one member from each
judicial district, and the Governor
and President OF The College, who
are er-oescis members of said Board
1t is to this Board of Trustees alone
that the people are to look tor the
faithful execution of the laws, and
the preservation OF that portion OF
the fund which is permanent, and
the proper disposition Of those por-
tions which are in their nature tenn
porary.
In the discharge of these duties it
Is apparent that the Board of Trus.
tees has in many instances. "done
those things winch it ought not 10
have done. and it has left undone
things which it ought to have done"
As instances wher-in the Board of
Tru ,tees has stepped outside and
gone beyond the law, the committee
cites the expenditure by it Of large
sums of the interest fund IN the pur-
chase Of improved and uni,nproved
lands; in building a residence for
the President Of the College, at a
oost Ia the fund OF sl2, 600, and the
of large sums in repair
ing the heated apparatus o. the Col
Iege building, and for other purposes
not only in violation Of the spirit, but
!" RE tt'cn shbunt OF
lie interest fund thus expended, the
tor want at time, and for
want Of access to all the books Of
the institution, have been unable to
ascertain with exactness; but they
think that the sums thus misappro
priatod in violation of law, aud III
violation ofsworn duty, will approx
innate $4,000, and perhaps exceed
that sum. These mlsappropriations
have been gong on. more or less,
every wear from 1868 down to the
present time, and unless the General
Assembly shall interfere IN some
effective way the whole inter- g. fund
NAV ultimately he diverted from Its
l.gal and Legitimate purposes 1t
will not do for these gentlemen TO
say that they were driven to this
cours, from necessity. No neces
sity will justify the violation of the
letter ana spirit OF tho law, IN a State
where law is supposed to be SUI
creme, and where officers take a
solemn oath to support the laws and
live ap TO their requirements.
As an instance where the Board
of Trustees has lett undone those
things which it should have done, we
NAV cite the facts connected with
the several elections of Major Ran
kin Treasurer of the institution.
Tho law in force at the time, ard
ever since his first election, provides
in substance, that the Board Of Trus-
toes shall elect Treasurer, who
shall give bond to he approved by
the Board, and who shall hold his
office one year. As before stated
the Board a. it's January session
1868 elected Major Rankin Treasur
er. and fixed his bond at $4,000
The bond was drawn up, recitins
the fact ,ha: tho Major had beer
elected tor t,Vo years, and IN this
shape was presented TO the Board
and approved. Upon the approva
of this bond, Major Rankin assumed
the duties of the Office, and continu
ed to act in that capacity for tvo year.
without an additional bond, when il
January, 1870, he was reelected, bu
failed to give a new bond, and still
with the consent ot the Board contin
ued to act as Treasurer until May
1870, when new bond, in the pena
sum of one hundred thousand dol
lars. was filed by him, and approves
by the Board ofTrustees. This wa
the last bond executed by Majo
Rankin, aud it appears to have bee
entirely lost sight of Ivy the officer
and Trustees Of the College, and wa
only d,.cov prvd and brought to lish
nv the exertions Of this committet
assisted by Mr.. Roberts, Secretar
Of the Board OF Trustees, when tn
committee was about ready TO sui
init to you this report.
Major Rankin was agaln eiecte
Treasurer OF the institution at tf