Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1883-04-28
Belongs superior embroidery silk in all |


Some sacreligious wretch or wretches stol
from Edenview church, near this city, som
time last week, the pulpit cover, gla>
pitcher and two glass goblets. The pulp
cover was of black velvet, trimmed wit
hea'y black fringe, and was Of considsrabl
value. An entrance was effected through th
front door, the key having been carelessl
left therein by the sexton.
St. Louis grain market, Thursday :-Grai
Wheat active and higher; Noe red, 81 IL
@1 II 1-2 cash 81 lOa@1 1874 May;s1 12S-
al IA June; 81 1l4@1 u 7-s July; 81 0s4@
1 10 "a August; 81 Os@1 O94 the year; No
red, 81 O6@l O84. Corn active and higher
5O4@50sc May; 524@52sc June; -541@55
July; 534@564 August; 45s@4s3c the year
Oats better and slow; 42ac bid cash; 42a@
423c May: 42ac June; 4Osc July. Rye slow
574c bid. Barley quiet at 55@75c.
| 8. Il. 8. writes from slater:-"Col. Vaughl
supersedes Mr.. A. Beatty as assistant genera
freight agent. The congregation of the ST
Joseph Catholic church is holding fair an,
| festival in Smith & Garretts hall during tn
| whole Of this week Mr.. W. P. Casebol
decided not to go to Oregon, and has openet
out drug store on the corner of 10th ant
Main streets, Kansas City Mr.. Georg
Roebuck, late of Randolph county, has pur
chased the property formerly owned by HE
johnson in North Slater, and will improve it
Butter and eggs very scarce and high. .Th
Odd Fellows are commemoratfng the found
ing of their order to-day, (26th of April). IL
the U. S. by grand picnic In the grove o
Mr.. W. II. Gillaim. Public speakers in at
tendance.n
Our county judges are at last tasting the
bitterness of Imprisonment in q common jail
for simply having done their duty by the peo
pie who elected them to Office. The judgment
under which this outrage Is perpetrated is IL
the name of one Cochrane Fleming, If not 8
mythical parsonage at least one who has
never materialized Sc thas our representa-.
tives could be certain that he was not q resi-.
dent of Lafayette county, disguised in order
to enable him to bring suit in the United
States court. In November, 1875, the alleged
Mr.. Fleming obtained judgment against
Lafayette county, in the U. s. circuit court,
for $4,000. In 1877 he procured mandamua
for a levy of taxes to pay his Judgment. The
county clerk, Mr.. Steele, made. special tax
bills for the collection of the amount levied,
and the collector seized some personal prop
erty to sell under it as the taxpayers refused
to pay thetax. This personal property was
put up for public sale, but for some mysterious
reason there were no bidders, the property
was not sold, and 1t was returned to the own
ers. In 1S81.the continued-to-be alleged Mr..
Cochrane Fleming, or his attorney, Mr..
Skinker, who docs msterialize very material
ly in suits against this county, obtained an
other mandamus requiring our county court to
make levy at the ensuing May term to pay
the judgment in question. The county clerk
was at the same time ordered to place the
levy upon the regular tax book and include it
with the regular taxes. This would have
had the effect of forcing the taxpayers either
to pay this judgment or to neglect to pay the
compromised bonds and provide for the ne
cessary expenses of thecounty. The county
court, therefore, very properly refused to
make the levy. In November, 1881, the court
was commanded to make levy, with all the
above named provisions, of $1,000, toward
paying this judgment. This they also re-
fused to do. In November, 1882, the judges
were ordered to appear before the U. S.
circuit court at Jefferson City to show cause
why they had neglected to obey the processes
of the court, and why they should not be
punished Tor contempt. An answer to this
writ was fled, when the order was modified
so as to require levy of only 81 600, or the
payment Of $4,000 on the judgment on or be-
fore January /. 1888. The county judges. as
before. refused to make the levy or to pay the
amount demanded. They were, accordingly,
last Tuesday, summoned to Jefferson City,
Messrs. j. A. Prather, j. W. Harrison and j.
A. Lockhart-where their answer being con-
sidered insufficient Judge Krekel ordered
them to be put in Jail until they should de-
termine to obey the mandates of his court.
Messrs. Blackwell and Steele went down with
,he judges and returned Thursday morning. As
We said in the beginning Of this article the
Judges are now prisoners. Constructiyely, If
not literally, they are placed upon plane
with felons, because they refuse to pay this
alleged Mr.. Cochraue Fleming 100 cents for
his bonds when 90 per cent. of the creditors
Of Lafayette county have consented to re-
,eive and been paid 80 cents. 1t is unneces-
'ary to go over the history of this matter.
Dur readers remember that when thetotal of
our immense debt Of million and half dol
ars was piled upon us our people were dis
depressed. Lands went down
n price; the population Of the county for sew
'ral years absolutely decreased people ran
away from our burdens and our quarrels.
The people and their creditors came together.
Many of the bonds were plainly Illegal;
'thers were fraudulent; the burden Of tho
lebt Was recognized to be crushing. The
lebt was compromised, the principle mostly
It 10 cents, the interest reduced from 10 to 6
Der cent. These new bonds are as good us
money. as they are worth more than par.
fhe innocent purchaser allegation In bond
'ases is such miserable trash as an argument
hat even the newspaper organs of the inves-
ors in the east are beginning to complain that
he courts have carried it too far. Lafayette
county was generous In the terms it offered
o its creditors. All but seven per cent. of
hem have compromised their bonds, and it
eems from what we can learn that behind
most OF these prosecutions is Mr.. Thomas x.
'ktnker, OF st. Louis, rs attorney. Other at
orneys who are in the habit of representing
'ondholders concede the lberality of this
ounty aud have advised their clients to com
promise, but Mr.. Skinker and his alleged Mr.. |
Fleming continue obdurate. That he is act
ng unjustly and unfairly In doing SO Is easily
lemonstrable. Not only has he done this a.
o county bonds, but after having taken part
n the meeting in st. Louis to compromise
ownship bonds, which meeting came to al
'greement, only last week, we ure told, he |
brought suit against Sni-a-Bar township. We
re also told that Mr.. Skinker is employed as
ne reporter of the state supreme court. A
udge, of course, must decide law as it is, re-
'ardless of who may be affected, but as the |
eporter Of this court Mr.. Skinker is a ser.
amt of the people of Missouri. We do not
'eleve that d per cent. OF the people of |
Missouri would indorSe the vexatious suits
which are being pressed against this county
low, on account of the fact that its prosperity
las been re-established by the liberalitv Of |
'ondholders and attorneys who did possess |
'owcls OF compassion. The court which Mr.. |
'kinker serves as reporter has declared some
# these bonds TO be unconstitutional. It ia
he court which In a proper administration of
he affairs of this country should decide what
the law OF Missouri. We do not say that
1r. Skinker has not the right to
iffer from that court, or even to