The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1888-05-23

ais, which shall state the amount of such
bonds for sale, and the party or parties
offering the highest price therefor shall
be entitled to receive the amount OF said
bonds which he or they may offer to buy;
but no bonds shall be sold for any price
less than the par value thereof.
Now that we have given the law bear
ing upon the question at issue we VIII
state the circumstances and facts as near
as we can gather from records
When the county commissioners Of Cas-
cade county held their first regular meet
ing their published official proceedings
made no mention of any provision for the
payment of the county's Indebtedness to
Chouteau and Meagher counties. But
an order was issued that $4,000 In bonds
should be sold for the purpose of securing
money to pay running expenses, and the
same were duly advertised. No mention
whatever was made of any intention to
issue county warrants in payment of the
$4,000 due the two counties; no order
was issued providing for sale Of bonds to
get cash to pay such warrants 1t they
should subsequently conclude to issue
them. The RIVER PRESS at the time
called the attention Of our Cascade
friends to this to us very important item
of $4,000 and demanded to know why the
law had not been complied with. The
Tribune, the official organ of. the county,
lodged the question and told US to be
patient, that the "trifing matter" would
be attended to in due time and according
to law, and intimated that the $4,000 was
a mere bagatelle to such county as Cas-
cade.
When court convened at Fort Benton,
and quite number of Great Falls legal
lights came down in attendance, County
Attorney Geo. w. Taylor being among the
number, it leaked out from some of them,
we cannot exactly say whether from one,
two or more, that the commissioners OF
Cascade county had secretly, 1--WE say Sc
cretly because the fact was never pub
lished in their official proceedings as re-
quired by law-and has not been to this
day. ordered $4,000 in 4 per cent coupon
bonds printed, which they proposed to
tender to Choteau county in payment Of
their debt. 1t became an open secret,
and when the RIVER PRESS gave publicity
to it and demanded to know if the report
was true, not word could be got from
the official organ Of the county ia relation
to it, The RIVER Press tried time and
again to get the Cascade county officials
to make public their acts on this question
but not word in affirmation or denial
either officially or otherwise would they
utter through the Tribune or privately,
that the citizens Of their own and Cho-
teau county might know the facts.
In the meantime the commissioners of
Chotau county, not being able to learn,
officially or otherwise, what steps the
Cascade officials had taken in the matter,
determined If possible to ascertain the
facts, as the $4,000 was not as much Of a
trife to them, coming into their county
treasury, as it seemed to be going out Of
the Cascade treasury, according to the
Tribunes very complacent way of putting
it. They therefore instructed the county
clerk to write to Mr.. Matkin, clerk Of
Cascade, and ascertain if any steps had
been taken to issue the warrants as the
law directed, and the following letter was
forwarded:
FoRT BENTON, March 16, 1885,
Jas. W Mdtkin, County Cterk, Great
Falls, M T.:
DEAR S1R-Was there issued at the
March term of your board of county com
missioners warrant or warrants payable
to the order of w. J. Minar, county treas
urer, or to any other person, aggregating
the sum of $4,000, due this county from
the county of Cascade. An early reply
will oblige. Yours truly,
ALFRED E. ROGERS, County Clerk.
In answer to the above the following re-
ply was received. It will be noted the
rate of interest the bonds were to draw
was carefully left out, as it was, officially,
up to the very last day it could possibly
be kept secret:
GREAT FALLS, March 10, 1888.
A. E. Rogers, Esq, County Clerk, Fort
Benton, III. r.:
DEAR SIR-Your favor of the 10Th at
hand. The county commissioners have
decided to issue bonds to pay the indebt-
edness of Cascade county to Choteau
county, and have taken the steps towards
that end. Yours truly,
j. w. Matkin.
The commissioners then ordered that
letter be addressed to the county officials
demanding the issuance of warrants ac-
cording to the terms Of the act creating
Cascade county, and the following official
letter was then sent:
FoRr BENTON, March q, 1888.
James ". Mdtkin, Esq, Clerk and Re
corder Of Cascade County, and er-of
Clerh Of the Board of Commissioners,
Great Falls, Mont:
DEAR STR-Rv ordnr of tho hoard of