The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1876-11-02
Judge PreseoI,-s Letter TO the Herald.

SALlNA, Oct. 20, 1876.
EDITORS OF SALIVA HERALD: | haze
stated in JOURNAL and Advocate, that
the Administrator tand in my hands
which you have been talking of-does
not belong TO the school fu.d, and Civ
ing reasons therefore that the statute
you have quoted on the question does
not apply, and again, that If it does not
belong TO the school fund ut all, it be-
| longs to the State School Fund and not
the county, that the constitution governs
this, and / will not here repeat what
have there stated, but on the question
that D. r. Wagstaff and others are re-
porting that there is false account with
said estate, | wish TO say few words.
| That according TO law and the prac
tice, and annual report is made 10 the
/ Probate court by administrators. In my
| first report on this estate there were
several items, and among them the one
/ talked about. Ii was simply mistake
as amp man would. make a mistake in
his accounts. How it happened | can
not say as did not know OF it till day
before Yesterday. | see by dates of pa
pers that eleven months have elapsed
between the date of payne of this
item and the date of my report TO the
court. During this time had hun
! dred lawsuits and other matters passing
through my head and when | made this
report | probably made it from memo
ry rather than careful examination OF
papers, as should have done. And as
all land in this section WAS At this time
called double minimum | careessly and
probably thought this was SO and put
it down at this price; this is all the way
| can think OF that the mistake could
have occurred. | had not examined this
report that | remember OF, after it was
made. The next report was started with
the balance due from the first, and so on
through reports. | had not examined
the records and orders of the Probate
Court, bIt will say further that so
much was being said about this estate
during last week, and there being a mo-
ton pending before the Probate Judge
on the oath inst, about what should be
done with the school fund on hand, it
became necessary that should examine
the records and papers and | thought
would do so from beginning to end.
did so and discovered the mistake men,
toned and corrected on that dag, before
the Court and on the records, charging
myself with the amount OF the said err
ror. This is all that could be asked Of
anybody. This is all the law or good
morals require. This is all could do.
If any of these gentlemen who are
talking OF this matter knew Of this error,
why did not they come to me, tell me
of 1t and..ask me,,to correct it? This would
have been honorable, and if | had re-
fused 10 correct il they might have com
planned if they did not discover the
error till | made the correction they
have nothing TO complain of.
have had errors before in my ac-
counts with men, as | suppose every
merchant, banker and business man
might have. If they correct them when
brought to notice, who complains, and
who should rise up and call them vii
laiEs. Ny reports have been passed upon
and approved On this estate, by Judges
Beebe and Logan and they did not dis
cover the mistake il seems, SO three
men have make mistake and not one
If had intended to cheat anyone
don't think should have started out on
the sum Of two hundred dollar, and then
put the whole thing on public record,
and where it would pass from hand 10
hand, from one Judge TO another. !
haved lived eleven years in this county
and | appeal to those with whom haze
dealt and TO all men, to say If have
dealt dishonorably, and if not why have
turned thief in one instance four years |
ago, and not before nor since.
Very truly, J. Ii. PREscoTr.