The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-01-17
THE A., T. & S. F. STOCK TRANsAC.
- TInN

EDITORS News: In a recent number
of your daily you published a statement
of the cancellation of one hundred and
f1fty-one bonds of Lyon county of one
Thousand dollars each with coupons at
tached, as result of sale of A, T. & S. F.
stock, and then you sang p9ans in praise
of the county commissioners, without
any foundation therefor, so far as what
you published was concerned. What
you published simply amounts to the
fact that one hundred and fifty-one bonds
of Lyon county for one thousand dollars
each, with coupons attached, had been
Cancelled with the proceeds of the sale of
two hundred thousand dollars, at par
value, of stock of Lyon county in Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad COM
pany. Only this and nothing more.
Where do you get your foundation for
your laudatory comments about the COM
miSsioners?
How DO you know that 1.-The work has
been done in. a straightforward, business
like and economical way by the board of
commissioners" to quote from your ar
ticle. Your superstructure rests on en-
tirely too small base. There are sever
al questions back of the mere fact of can
ceiling one hundred and fifty-one thous-
and dollar bonds of Lyon county. For
instance: Was the price at which the
railroad stock was sold the highest at
talnable price at the time it was sold :?
Was the price at which the county bonds
were bought the lowest price at which
they could be bought? Was the money
realized from the sale of the railroad
stock Immediately used in the purchase
of bonds, so that the interest on the bonds
should be at once stopped, and the mon
ey arising from the sale of the stock
should not be used for the benefit of
somebody at the expense to the county
Of the interest the bonds were drawing
in the meantime, that it ought at once to
have been invested in? / write this with
full knowledge of the report of D. S.
Gilmore to the county board, contain
ing the date of sale of stock and amount
realized from each parcel sold; date of
purchase of bonds and amount paid
therefor
All the talk in your article about
irresponsible parties attacking the board,
and the necessity for the mystery that
has surrounded the stock and bond trans
action, is the veriest bosh in the world,
and you knew it when you penned it,
| nola mn cbarrac or iDsinuatiOnS avar
that everything is not just as it should
be, but there are some things that require
4 further explanation; and there is food
for thought in Gilmore's report. Don't
you think you went off half cooked in
your extremely Mandatory article about
the commissioners Don't, now, fly off
the handle, and say this is political
move, and irresponsible parties are at
lacking the commissioners. No matter
who was the original drawer of the bill
you shall have plenty of responsible en-
dorsers. /, as a tax payer of Lyon coun-
ty, and as representing at least twenty
five of the largest tax payers in the coun-
ty, am not satisfied with the transaction
as it stands. Those represent, with the
exception of myself, all belong to your
party, and certainly can have no polite
al axe to grind adverse to their party in
terest. / shall recur to the subject again
Neither myself nor any of those l rep
, resent has aught but kindly feelings to
wards the members of the county board
personally.
Very respectfully,
r. NJ. RUGGLEs,