Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1883-12-13

county, through his agents, should furn.
ish the turning point in his career OF cor
ruption. A price was demanded for the
appointment of county commissioners
and the town which paid the highest was
made the favorite in locating the county
seat. The Faulkton Times, in comment.
ing upon the transaction, says:
The deal was public one, and much
OF it, q matter of record. 1t was consum.
ated IN broad day light-as matter of
fact barter-without blush of shame
and the participants candidly state about
the amount of land and money paid
The people of the county are disgusted
and outraged that their interests should
hAve been made an article of merchan.
dIse--and their most sacred rights should
have been put up by the governor and
sold to the highest bidder as an article OF
speculation.
Fau!k countys residents are entirely
excusable for the part taken BY them in
this piece of open bribery. because it
was impossible to procure an organiza-
tion OF their county without yielding to
the demands OF the organizer. There
we're at least $500 people in the county
at the time of its organization and they
were suffering great inconvenience and
expense for want of local government. A
Mathematical calculation has been made
by resident and his figures show that if
Faulk county had paid $4,000 in cash
six months ago for an organization
the people of the county have been ahead
to-day in financial sense. 1t can. there
fore, be readily seen that after so long
experiencing the disastrous consequences
of delay the citizens of Faux county
were ready to resort to any process
which would give them government.
They were forced into bargain by the
procrastinatiou of scheming executive.
That they do not enjoy the situation is
indicated oy these further remarks by
the Faulkton Times:
Governor Ordway to-day stands in.
dicted by the people of Faulk county
and for that matter, by the people Of
Redfield, who have no more respect for
Ordway than for horse Jockey who had
beat them as badly in q 'deal"-as an
executive who. by the assistance OF
emissaries, has trampled under foot the
rights and interests Of 5000 people by
having sold the temporary location oi
the county seat, through the appoint
ment Of commissioners agreed upon, fol
section of land, an interest in town
site and large sum of money, and g
grand Jury can be possessed with all the
facts necessary to make the indictment
official.
The foregoing reference to Redfeld
which is in Sphinx county, is explained
by the fact that two of the commissioner!
appointed Tor Faulk county we're resi-
dents of Redfield. This, of itself, ren
ders the governor liable for a violation
Of the statute.
Another newspaper, the Jim Rive
Pilot, has been investigating the sam
case and from its comments we clip til
following:
"How mnch is bid for the location /,
the county seat?' was the cry that ram
out upon the still air of Faulk count
county, Que day last week. The organ
cation wagon in passing over the terr
tory came to a staudstill, aud word wa
sent out that bids would be in urde
Faulkton put in her bid. LaFoon "a,
: her haud and raised her way out.
Offering $1,000 cash, seven hundred arr.
of land 10 close proximity to the tow
aud one half interest III the tuwnsity.
LaFoun. We are Informed by u gentle
man who claims TO know all the facts au
, Inside workings, that the money WAS pal
to enc Tibbitts, who by the way, is II
emissary of Ordway, that the deeds
!. the real estate were first made To iii
same Tibbitts, but as these deeds van,
become matt of record and thus |
r nude public, the deeds were DESTROY.
: and the scheme abandoned, ai.erwu.
: the deeds were made to a MIR. Miller,
banker, in trust tor-who?
= The man Tibbitts, referred to by Il
Pilot. is an old family friend of the Or
ways, a former resident Of Denver. whe
I he was the business partner of Geor,
L. Ordway, son of the governor. l
could be trusted to perform the busiue
in the interest OF the executive robb.
1t ia further a matter of history til
after Tibbitts had secured the bids fro
IS La Foon and Faulkton,
made no decision, but went to Pierre
few days later Fsulkton man fnlioS
him and asked him what conclusion
had reached regarding the orgap,zati
be Of the county aud the location OF /
g county seat. His reply Was II
he had sent his report to the q