Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1888-09-12

wv oso Uy law. w uclDeI I0eS
, other l29 names have been droppe
: from the record, lost in the shuttle. O
were never there, l cannot say. Nc
Carty at any rate satisfied Governo
J Osborne that he had 600 bona fide in
habitantS on his list, or could get then
III few minutes if neceSSary. for OF
April 18th 1873, Governor Osborne pro
ceeded to issue his proclamation. desip
mating Medicine Lodge as Temporary
county sest of the new county of Bar
Der; and G. G. Bemis, ID. Updegraff ant
w. h. Hutchinson, special county com
missioners, and George Ellis specia
county clerk of said county.
BemIs and Hutchinson. who seem tt
have been the leading spirits in thi:
organization, were Immediately Oh
hand with otherienterprises. Mr.. Bemi.
became president and w. E. Hutchin
son secretary of the Nebraska, Kansa:
and Southwestern Railroad. In the
fall of 1873 these worthless had an elec
ton called and gnlled the inhabitants
OF Barber county into voting bonds t.
this scheme. In consideration of this
donation of 100000, the railroad pro.
posed bound itself by it's own bond tC
locate and grade a railroad from some
point on the east line of Barber county
to the town Of Medicine Lodge, and
from said town to Sun City In sald
county, the Whole of said work-the
location and grading Of said railroad.
TO be done III reasonable length OF
time, but should circumstances arise to
prevent said parties of the second part
from proceeding to work on said line OF
railroad III a reasonable length of time,
then said parties are to have three
years from the date hereof November
10th 1873 TO finish and complete said
work on said line of railroad, to-wit:
the location and grading thereof.
To quote the words of Archie Will
llamS, For this transparent fraud,
however, the people of Barber county
are alone to blame, for at concededlv
fair election, they voted by a majority
of three to one to issue the bonds.
These bonds, too, in the hands of in
nocent purchasers, are, l fear, valid
| obligations against the county" A
fact which we have since learned to
our sorrow.
But enterprises were not confined to
building paper railroads alone. The
| Board of commissioners elected, con-
| Sisting OF BowluS, Ulmer, and Kirk
| patrick, among other items of expense,
ISSUED $4,000 10 Geo. w. Crane, of
Topeka, as advertising agent, and $1,000
to w. b. Hutchinson as immigration
| agent, Questions of authority never
troubled that Board of commissioners.
Ii it mad been suggested to them that
| it would be good thing to issue scrip
to fit out an expedition to the North
Pole III the interest of science, they no
| doubt would have issued it with cheer
full alactity.
1t is to be supposed that few months
| OF this sort OF management would fill
xHrffh SC
surprising, therefore, that on NOvem-
Der 18th 1874, Attorney General Will
liams reported as follows:
The affairs of Barber county in a
financial point of view, are not flourish
ing. | have read every line of every
record ever kept by the county (being,
l believe, the first man that ever ac-
complished this feat but the books
furnished very unsatisfactory evil
dence to me as they had very recent
ly been written up' from mere frag-
mentary and detached inmates of the
Board. kept on loose sheets of legal
cap. From these records, however.
and the information gathered from the
county clerk, | gathered the following
items:
The bonded indebtedness of the
county is
rundlng ponds. ..........-- 81, 3OO.GO
hallroad " ......- ................ .1OU,OOO.0O
Total $I4I. .OCO 90
Out standing scrip issued since
January 1st 1874 74......................$7 $7S5. .43
Out standing scrip issued prior to
January lst 1874, but not funded. -. $4,000
OF the scrip converted into funding
bonds (S4l ,3001 S25, 600 was for building
court house; about 5000 for blank
books; 5000 to Geo, w. Crane as lad
vertislng AGENT" $1,000 to w. E.
Hutchinson as immigration agent, ;"
and the balance seems to have been
taken by the officers of the county as
feeS.n
1t will not be out of place here to
give the first report as l suppose ever
made by Probate Judge of Barber
county OF his examination of the coun-
ty treasury. 1t is part of the recorded
history of the state, and as such will 90
laundering down the ages. 1t reads as
follows:
To the County Clerk, Barber county:
l, ID. l.. Sheldon, Probate Judge of
Barber county, Kansas, in accordance
with the provisions of an act entitled
IAN act to provide for the publication
of statements showing the condition of
county treasures, and examination of
the same, and to prevent the improper
use of public moneys, and for the pun
ishment thereof" have on this 18th day
of September, A. d. 1874, made the ex-
animation as contemplated by the law
above referred to, and have the follow
ing report to make, to-wit:
FIRST: That the county treasurer of
said county of Barber and state of
kansas.J. L. McNally by name .decamp-
ed from the county aforesaid, on or
.ah do of ltalx a.
that he left no one in charge of said
office of county treasurer, as we are
able to ascertain. If dead we are un-
able To find his eXecutors-without any
county treasurer or treasury in the
county. The committee consisting of
the Probate Judge) is able to make no
further report than that the said j. Il.
Men ally, county treasurer of said
county, has, like the Arab. quietly
folded his tent and silently stole away
from said county the treasury.
SECOND: The committee consisting
of the probate judge alone) would
further report, that sections 3 and
of the law referred to, make it the
duty Of the board of county commits
sioners of the county. to appoint two
citizens TO assist in the examination
provided for by said act; that the COM
mittee is informed by the county clerk,
on this tne 18th day of September A. D.,
1874. that the citizens to be appointed
by the county commissioners, as the
law cOntemplateS, have not been ap-
pointed by the said commissioners. the
committee is of the opinion the reason
that the citizens have not been appoint
ed. as the law directs, is by reason of
the very great distance that the said
board of county commissioners of
Barber county, live from the county
seat of said county, to-wit: IS miles,
that being the distance from the coun-
ty seat of Barber to the county seat of
Reno county, where the board of coun-
~ commissioners of Barber county
reside.
THIRD: The committee consisting
! of the probate judge alone) also further
report that they 1.-THE committee) are