The Osceola times., 1886-06-26
Mississippi COuMty TPOM-
bles.

MsssIsstppt NOuWt! hFOU'
PRosEcuTING ATTORNEY EDRING.
ToS CONES BACK AT SHERIFF.
w. Is. HAsKiNs.
LITTLE Rock, ARK June Is, SO.
To the Editor of the Gazette:
In the GAZETTE Of tins morning is
a letter signed W. Is. lIaskins pur-
porting to be an answer to my state
m-nt made in the GAzKTTE Of the
9Th. His attack upon me is the va
poring of shameless liar aud black
guard, aud according to the records
'lefaulter. who is angry at me becaus.,
AS prosecuting attorney have pur-
sued him to removal from an office
which he has disgraccd for almost
eight years. When this miserable
apology for men was elected to the
office of sheriff of Mississippi county
she lacked but 5000 of being en-
tircly frue from debt, now she is al
most *o0,0tW in debt aud going IN at
the rate Of $1,000 each year, and not
a single public Improvement to show
for it except an 5000 courthouse.
which think is not included in the
last financial statement of the clerk.
"No thief e'cr felt the halter draw
with good opinion of the law" we'll
represents the attitude in which w.
Is. Haskins stands in his objcctioa to
the commissioners of accounts APP
pointed under the law by Judge W.
II. Cate. These commissioners were
Jos. w. Rhodes, expert, Is. l.. Hill,
J. T., and James Schnabel, republi-
can, three as good citizens as this or
any other state can boast, and as an
evidence of their fitness for this posi-
ton were by Judge Cato reappoint-
ed with the exception of Mr.. Selma
bel, who declined, aud Norman l..
Avery was appointed in his place.
The report of both commissioners Of
accounts and grand jury show con-
clusively that lIaskins has been sys-
tematically filching lrcm the county
ever since his first term of office as
sheriff and collector, and in trial
upon one Of his Jail accounts at the
last May term oi the circuit court of
Mississippi county, to which court the
case came by appeal taken 10y Mr..
John l.. Driver aud other citizens, il
was shown by his book keeper (Mr.
k'lctch-r) on oath that he QIaskins)
directed him to add two.iii'ihs to the
price Of each article purchased, and
vet this creature made oath that the
account represented dollar for dollar
as the law requires it should. There
are several other accounts pending
an appeal which are in the same CON
di,ion but for larger sums. The ac-
count tried was cut down more than
tw,-ffths. Every cndea,or was
male by lla,kins to stiil. the lnves-
,igatinn by the commissioners of ac-
counts; he even threatened to kill
Rh,"lrs if he attempted to take pos
scssinn of the books neccssarvsto IN
investigation of his conduct and dur
ing the sitting ofthe commission one
.\Gam lircdrr, deputy sheriff, was
found by the commission in the attic
over their room eaves'lroPping, and
upon making search, found quilts and
other evidences that either .ccdcr
or other Irrsons had been concealed
there for some time listening to every
thing that was sai,l. An attempt
was also made to blackmail Mr.
Schuabcl of the commissions; somc-
one signing himself "llawk Eyc,"
wrote letter to Schnabrl threaten
ing to charge him with various crimes
il he did not dcsist from investigation.
In the article referred to in your issue
of the 9Th, the recapitulalion to re-
B'ito VI DbtH IuiililisslDlltIs Va az
counts and grand jury were given,
and also quotations from the grand
Jury report showing that llaskius had
collected large sums of money on
these delinquent lists aud had never
accounted for them. ! may have
been mistaken as to the exact mum
Der of acres cleared on the sixteenth
| section school land spoken Of (but ]
think ! am not), yet the material fact
at issue is that the grand jary found
him 5000, and the commissioners
over $500 short Oh account of rents
from this section. made the state,
ment that he had only paid in $3.50
and was forced by me To do so, aad
he does not deny it. llaskins pur-
poscly misconslrued my statement
about the number of his bondsmcn
on the grand jury, and that tried by
a jury of his own selection. NJ.
Goodricl aud Mr.. Williams are on
his present bond aud there were four
Others (as Ilaskius knows) who were
ON his former bonds aud stood in the
same attitude as the two on his pres
cnt bond, as the investigation extend
ed to his entire time as sheriff. The
facts about the jury are these: {. X.
Trout, deputy sheriff, was on trial
for enbezzling funds belonging TO
the town OF Osceo!a while he was
marshal, and feeling that If the sl,cr-
III was allowed to summon jury it