Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1875-09-17

Of Section 5, Chapter g. of theRevised Stat
utes, which reads as follows: S.
He-the Secretary of state-shau when required
by any person 80 odo make out a copy of any law,
resolution deed record document paper deposited
kept in his Office and shall attach his certificate
certified, shallin all be equally aud in like
the original, and he shall receive there
for. the sum Of twelve cents for each folio.
The demand was refused Comment is
unnecessary. Any citizen has a right to
see any document in the Secretary's Office
that has been open to all. a portion of
the returns received this fall have been
furnished the argus and Democrat office,
and published i'll that sheet. Those of
certain counties are kept back, and for
what reason? Is not suspicion justly
aroused til an unheard of thing that
citizens are refused right ofpubllc papers
Deposited in the State Offices. We are
becoming accustomed, however, under this
administration, to seeing the rights of pri
vate citizens and the laws of the land
spur ned with contempt. We are a pro-
gressive people.
We refer to the letters now published,
with the following brutal paragraph
from the last issue of the Madison DEM
ocrat, official and family organ Of the
Governor, to show HOW 1T is UN-
DER TAYLOR:
1t is reported that fellow was ''mous-
ing" around in the Secretary of States Of
fee, on Wednesday last, when Secretary
Doyle was absent. The chap was a
stranger to Assistant Secretary Cadwalla-
der, and the latter suspectiDg the prowler
and not liking his looks, CANE VERY
NEAR PLANTING AN ACRE AND A
HALF OF BOOTS WHERE THE FELL
LOW LIVED. 1t was found that "Boss"
Reyes sent ''smeller" in there to hunt up
a mares nest" If "Cad' had raised"
him, wouldn't there be a chance for a To-
cal item
We publish below the letter Of e. s.
Mcbride OF this city, to show that he
has been repeated yrefused information
He says:
MADISON, Sept. IS, 1875.
EDITORS STATE JoURNAb;-The Demo-
crdt o yesterday in reply to the letter of
Col. Monteth, in the Journal of the 18th,
has the following:
IfMr. Monteith has asked for the information re-
ferred toas matter of courtesy, he would doubtless
have obtained it, but hen he insisted examinin
the account books for mouths past a matter OF
right, which he claimed under the law, he prop
erly refu sed permission to do no.
Having had some experience in an at
tempt to obtain Information on the same
subject, permit me to say that about five
weeks since called at the Office of the
Secretary Of State, and asked Mr.. Doyle
to furnish ne with certain information re
lating to the receipt of moneys into the
Treasury through the Treasury Agent. as
shown by the official books of his Office
Mr.. Doyle replied that the information
was such as | had right to call for, but
he would prefer to see Mr.. Ebert, thu
Treasury Agent, before giving me the
figures. lie then called on Mr.. Cadwai-
lader, Assistant Secrctary,to consuii, which
consultation resulted in my berg assured
by both Mr.. Doyle and Mr.. Cadwalader
that if would call the following Monday
[ should have all the information their
books would afford. called as agreed
upon, and was met at the door by Mr..
Cadwalader, who said: "Ifyou will go
he will tell you all about that business
This | declined doing, claiming that the
information. to be of any service whatever,
must be had from the official books. as
kept by the Secretaryof State. But final
ly did so with Mr.. Cadwallader to see
Kuehn, who refused to give any informa-
ton, looking badly frightened, as though
expecting bumb shell to explode and
blow him through the sky-light. Kuehn,
referred me to DR.. Ebert, Treasury Agent
and followed me into the ball into Eoert's
Office and back to the Secretary's office,
appearing nervous and excited. am told
that Jeff. Kuehn is one OF Eberts Depu-
ties. I afterwards saw Ebert, who gave
me line to Menges, a clerk in the State
Treasurer's office, saying ''he will tell
you all about it."
have repeatedly called at the Secre.a>
RVS office, requesting the information, even
as late as Saturday afternoon last, but
have never been able to obtain it, one sub
terfuge after another being made use of to
evade giving it.
/, at least, did not ask to examine the
books or records, or to make any invests
cation whatever; but, in a respectful man.
ner. asked it from the Secretary and his
assistants.
The actions Of these officials would cer>
tainly give any one the right to believe
that there is something about the Treasu-
ry Agents business which this admins
tration does not intend the general public
to have knowledge of. E. S. McBRIDE
AS the Demoerat,wit its usual alac-
rity, in doing the work Of Taylor,
denied our statement respecting the
practice under Republican rule, we
the following letter to Hon.
ohm S. Dean, and We append his re-
ply.
OFFICE STATE JoURNAL,l
September Is, 1875.
Hon. John s. Dean:
DEAR SIR.-The State Journal of Satur-
day said: "Under the practice estab-
lished and carried out by successive Re
publican administrations, ANY citizen of the
State, for any purpose whatever, is entitled
to an inspection of the records of any Of
fee in the State Capitol"
To this the Madison Democrat respond
ed by saying that Col. Monteith, citizen
Of Wisconsin, and formerly employed in
the Office of Secretary of State, 'was prop |
erly refused permission" to examine the
account books in the Secretary's office, and
adds: "The allegation in the journal
that different rule has ever prevailed in |
the Secretary's Office, is untrue
Will you please inform us what the
practice of the Office was, while you were
Assistant Secretary of State from Novem>
Der, 1870, to January, 1874, when the
Democratic Secretary of State assumed |
control.
Yours, respectfully,