Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-21
TATE'S TREAClss Cs:r:s;s: g: e ;:,s:: 8:
ny having
Kentucky's State frssss.::s
urer a Defaulter. 'ss < 81
NJ
AN EN0RMOIIS SIru Mfccri .
AN ENORMOUS SUN MlssIhs;
The Peculating officials Where
abouts Unknown Curious
Developments
Associated Press Dispatches to the H..Au,p.t

Developments
Associated Press Dispatches to the Hrrx1nf
FRANKFoRr, KY, March 2O.-Gov-
ernor Buckner this morning suspend
ed the Treasurer of the State, James
W. Tate. Tate is charged with defal-
cation in his office, and it is said has
fled the State. The defaulting official
has been Treasurer twenty-one years.
1t is thought that Tate's shortaee win
amount to between $50, 600 and $780,
600.
An investigation was Immediately
instituted on recommendation Of Gov
ernor Buckner, and disclosed before
noon a deficit in Tate's Office of $15,-
600, irregularities of eleven years.
HOW IT WAS DISCOVERED.
The discovery of the shortage in the
accounts Of State Treasurer Tate Is
the result Of an examination of Tate's
books, commenced some days ago BY
an expert accountant. Tate's bond
was for $500, 900, and is well covered.
He was in Louisville on Saturday night,
where he was observed to be drinking
hard-an unusual thing for him.
Since that time he has not been seen,
and his whereabouts is unknown.
LATER DEVELOPMENTS.
Up to tonight it is impossible to
state the exact amount OF the short
age, but it is now fluctuating between
$4,000 and 100000. The first in
timation of the shortage came yester-
day when the comparison Of the au-
ditor's statement of what should be
in the bank showed that such an
amount was not there. This, coupled
with the fact that the Treasurer has
not been seen since Friday at Frank
fort, caused an examination to be
made, with the result that the States
money was discovered to have been
squandered in large amounts. Since
the investigation was thought Of
stories about the strange conduct Of
Tate has been made public. State Sena-
tor Wright says that on Saturday last.
Tate questioned him closely and at
great length as to the exact provisions
in the extradition treaties between the
United States and Canada, and also
with Mexico. Wright did not pay
much attention to it at the time.
What has become of the money, no
one knows. Tate never speculated,
and is said not to have been an ex-
travagant liver. Year by year money
had leaked out, however, and the
MORTGAGE seems to have been running
back dozen years. Mr.. Herndon, a
this city, who was at one time teller
in the bank at Frankfort, says that
Tate's defalcation will
INVOLVE STATE OFFICIALS
And citizens Of high standing. He
says that it was the custom Of many
state officials to 60 to Tate and get
him to cash notes for them, promising
to pay as soon as their vouchers were
due. When they secured the vouch-
ers, however, they would defer pay
ment, and the good-natured Treasurer
failing to push The claims, accumulat-
ed a mass of such securities that must
by this time be simply enormous.
There is no indication that Tate took
any money with him. It is thought
that the report of the investigators
will furnish definite light as to when
and to whom Tate loaned the money.
1t is said that memoranda in his Office
shows
A LOAN OF $4,000
To certain whisky trust and $25 600
to Louisville Company. 1t has been
Tate's custom to settle up every year,
and never until now was there the
least hesitation on his part to square
the accounts with the Auditor. This
time, however, there was much pro-
crastination, and he had been putting
the Auditor off since January. Last
week the Auditor grew urgent.
On Thursday Tate went to
Louisville, saying that he would
be back on Friday. Not
having been heard from on Saturday
night, his family grew uneasy, as also
the Auditor. Telegraph correspond
ence elected the fact that he left
Louisville on Friday morning on the
Cincinnati train. Then Auditor
Hewitt ordered balance taken, and
it was found that there was in. the
bank $l24, 900, less than the vouchers
called for. Tate's wife and daughter
are much prostrated. No one seems
to have any idea where he has gone.
| TATE's RECORD.
i Tate was elected State Treasurer III
1867, having been nominated by the
Democrats. He has been reelected
continuously at each election since
then, making his term Of Office TWEEN
ty years on August 3lst last. In the
last Democratic campaign Tate had
no opposition for the nomination.
Everybody laughed at the idea Of op-
posing "honest old Dick Tate" He
received the nomination for the tenth
consecutive time. His majoritiee
have always stood among the largest
on his ticket and merry, honest, jolly
"Dick" Tate has been one of the most
widely known and universally liked