The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1891-12-08
THE TREASURY DEFICIENCY a.
STAFFORD COUNTY. 4,
Is Z. 4. LANDES THE EMBEZZLER?
Attempts Made to Blow Up the Safe.
The County in Good Financial Con-
dition-The Alleged Robbery Nos
Reported For Several Weeks
-Prelimin airy Examina- a
ton Set for Dec. 10. <.

ST.. john, Kan, Dec 5.-The treasurer
OF Stafford county is short SIS 100 90.
Treasurer E III. Landes was arrested last
week on charge of enlightenment and is
now under 81 100 bond to appear at l
o'clock Wednesday, December, " for pro-
liminary examination. He claims that the
missing money has been stolen from his
safe.
The first attempt at robbery was made
last January, when a number of books were
stolen and the safe tempered with. No
money was taken. Sunday night, Novem-
Der D. the treasurer claims that the Office
was again broken into, the safe drilled
and about 5000 taken. The treasurer
didn't report this robbery to any
one except his chief clerk until
last Tuesday, when rumors Of crooked
ness began to get uncomfortably thick
An investigation was Immediately ordered
and the exact sum of the shortage discov-
cred Guards were appointed to keep
their eagle eyes on the little safe TO save
what remained Of the county's cap
ital At 5 o'clock last Monday night
they discovered the business end Of a
fuse hanging out of the back window and
they found upon hasty and perilous invcs-
tigation that the other end Of the fuse was
Inside the safe, attached to a piece Of
dynamite about the size of banana,
marked NO. la per cent nitro-gly-
cerine." This dynamite was evidently
put there TO break the time lock, but il
it had gone off it would PROBABLY have
broken the 5000 court house, too The
fuse had been inserted through the hole
drilled on the night ol November 6. and
dynamite by opening the outside door,
which was secure5 1y a combination lock
about Is easy to work as piSs-in-clover
puzzle.
A Hand Bag With Dynamite in It
The other night some one found q new
hand bag under bridge here with three
such pieces of dynamite and LOO feet Of
fuse inside.
Tuesday morning when the examination
of the treasurer began, Treasurer Landes
exhibited TO the county commissioners an
empty, stained tin box, which he said had
been robbed Of about 1900 on the night OF
November & The commissioners We're
why he had not reported the
robbery and he replied that
there had been 80 many attempts at rob-
come SO numerous that he feared he would
be charged with the robbery himself, SO
hoped to keep it under cover long enough
to replace the money and then he would
explain all and set about an investigation.
The commissioners then employed j. H
Tudor and Henry Rohr to assist the coun-
ty clerk in an examination Of the books,
and they have just found, beyond doubt
- &. han hnl h0
sum gone. Again the commissioners
asked MIR. Landes 20 explain. He
did so and paralyzed them again.
He said there was an error in the examin-
alton, though all the duplicate accounts
and vouchers balanced to cent. MIR.
Landes asked that W. H. Moore, an expert
who was once with the state
treasurer, be called To examine the books.
and they are looking for MIR. Moore now.
Treasurer Landes Resigns
In the meantime MIR. Landes resigned
and Joel Miller, the treasurer-elect, was
called into the office before his time.
The treasurer is generally criticized for
keeping his money, which sometimes
reaches the sum of SlJ0, 900, in small Of
fee safe with time lock that was about
as unreliable as Waterbury watch, but
II wasn't his fault; he had no other
place to keep it and the commissioners
ordered him to keep it there. At first he
deposited it in one Of the little banks here,
but the banks refused to give bond for
safe keeping of the money and it was
withdrawn and put back in the treasurer's
safe The banks even refused to pay in
terest on deposits by the county.
The County's Condition
The county is in a reasonably good imam
cial condition and it has probably the best
agricultural resources Of any county in
this section. County seat troubles have
been load on Stafford county
As they have on Stevens county
and Wichita county and SO
many others of the new counties along the
western boarder, only they don't fight
here the same way they do in Stevens
county. ST John is the county seat Of
Stafford county and it has population Of
about 1000 Stafford wants to DO tho
county seat and it has about
the same population. There are about
{, 600 people in the county and the east s.cs
and the west side are the dominent politi-
cal parties. In Stevens county the north
side and the south side are pitted against
each other The citizens OF ST. John
county built q $4,000 cours house
here by personal subscription when
they were all bidding for the county seat
Afterwards they voted bonds to repay
themselves. They got the county seat,
but Stafford did not give up the fight Tor
IL, and has not yet.