Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1884-01-04

BOWEN KINGSBURY. Prop'ts.
The Washington correspondent OF the
st. Paul Pioneer Press is kept tolerably
busy now telegraphine Ordway's deniaIs
OF the charges against him in connection
with the organization of Potter county.
1t is to be expected that he will deny
participation in any Of these disreputa.
ble transactions and it will be difficult to
fasten any Of them upon him, because in
each instance the work has been done BY
bis agents. Still the responsibility for
the acts must rest upon him. % the
power which creates the officers who do
the bidding Of his agents after tho price
demanded has been paid. Governor
Ordwav asserts that no attempt was
made by Commissioner Shaw, of Potter
county, 10 bribe him and that on the day
when the alleged bribery was made he
(Ordwaw) WAS not in Pierre. where the
act Is said to have been committed. II,
as is stated in the complaint of General
Gilcbrist, Mr.. Shaw did pay o sum of
money for The organization Of Potter
connts, he paid it, not to Ordwsy,
but to some one with au.
tbority to represent him. So Ordway' q
statement is probably technically correct.
In the case of Potter county no tangible
evidence of corruption has accumulated,
though it has been a matter Of common
notoriety that county seat sale was
being arranged. 1t is always best, how.
ever. to possess the testimony upon
which to base such serious charges before
endorsing them, as they involve the
honor of the parties against whom their
directed. We therefore express no
opinion in regard to the Potter county
transaction at present.
But the governors Washington scribe
in his defence of that official, goes
out of bis way little to reflect the fol.
lowing gubernatorial sentiment:
This cry of corruption and fraud !.
raised in every comfy. The governor
alleges it is raised by disappointed
county seat speculators, aud is eagerly
caught up by newspapers in southern
Dakota which have q grievance against
the governor for signing the capita
removal bill.
Why is it, the public will ask, that thi
"cry of fraud and corruption" is raiset
in every county that is organized b!
Ordway? 1t was not so in the days gon.
by, when other governors organized
counties, and great many counties
were given local government before Mr.
Ordway came upon the scene of aston
If the cry of fraud and corruption ii
raised in every county ther,
certainly must be some cause TO
it oin at least occasional instances
Most prominent during the later months
in the category of complaints have beer
the counties of Hyde and Faulk. Rela
tive to the charges emanating from thes,
sources direct evidence has been given
under oath. which is certainly damaging
to Mr.. Ordway's reputation as an official
In the case of Fsulk county the testi
mony shows that one Vim. B. Tebbett,
received price for the location of th,
county seat at La Foon-that he also
received bids from Faulk.on-that aftel
securing the propositions 10 person b.
went to Pierre and said that he could mo-
make any decision between the tive
towns until he had sent his report t,
Ordvay and received reply--that h,
afterwards decided in favor of La Foo,
and that town was made the county seat
1t should be remembered that ell this il
not mere hearsay, but is taken from th,
sworn statements of men who know tn
facts. This Wm. B. Tebbetts was form
erly the law partner of George l.. Ord
way, in Denver, which fact is link il
the chain of circumstances conneotip,
the governor with the transaction. Ac
companying the evidence in this instance
are certified copies of deeds given in Sep
tember aud October for real estate lyinl
in township lis of range 6S. the township
in which La Foon is located. One O
these deeds runs from Louis Kiusel I,
VIM. B. Tebbetts, consideration one dol
lar. Nine other deeds run to D. R. Mile,
a Reddeld banker, and the evi
dence states they we're to be held in trus
for Mr.. Tebbetts. They were given re
spectlvely by VIM. T. Hensley
Joel @. Booth, Lee NJ. Sprowli
Andrew Greenwald, Jane
P. Rathburn, Darius S. Smith, James "
Johnston, Lawrence w. Hurley an,
Alexander La Foon. In seven of thee
deeds the consideration named is one dol
lar, in one of them three hundred an,
in the other, four hundred dollars. O
the 9th day Of November . deed convey
ing the property described in the afor.
mentioned nine deeds was given BY I
r. Miller and wife to Wm. B. Tebbstt
the consideration named being $3.50,
It is not supposed by those interested i
the donation that Mr.. Tebbetts paid apy
thing for the land. the foregoing amour
being inserted for the look of the thin
!. We have given this outline of the fact
in regard to this particular county tha
the public may be convinced that thel