San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-10-26

committee 10 investigate county HHduCeS.
The appointeeS were Charles Hugo, w.
&. Rote and A. s. Thompson, gentlemen
that stand so well in this community that
if any one desires to impugn their report
desire him to come forward. This COM
mittee among other things reports that
County Treasurer FroboeSe, OIL the 18th
day of June, 1892, had on hand county
funds as follows
Cash in safe. ...................S SIS 81
Deposit at T. C. Frost's. .... 19s, 473 AZ
Deposit at +. Groos & Co..... 6S,292 81
Alamo National Bank......... 1O,O95 81
San Antonio National Bank. 1858 4G
This is a large amount OF trust funds
for any treasurer to have and the thought
struck me to examine what security the
guardians of our public affairs took for all
this money. The county clerks office is
the proper place to make this examna-
tion as that is the place where all official
AT that Office | found no treasurer bond
whatever recorded, and there is none of
record. 1t is due, however, to Mr.. Thad
w. Smith, county clerk, to say that a
deputy of his advised me that Mr.. Smith
had bond in some pigeon hole and that
he would no doubt show it to me when he
came in, that the bond had not yet
The bond, if any, was given
in December 1890 but not recorded
in October 1892, twenty-five months af-
terward Then went to County Treasur-
er FroboeSe for information upon this mat
ter. This gentleman assured me that he
gave two bonds that were approved, and
aggregating sixty thousand dollars: one
bond being for school funds the other for
county funds proper.
NOw hnu thaca tbipns ,,oss;lIo
our officials are eally such model officers
as claimed?
The clerk haScertainly drawn his salary
for the services rendered the county, but
has not, after the lapse oftwenty months,
recOrded'the treaSurer'S bond.
The law makes it the duty of the COM
miSSiOnerS court to require the treasurer
to give new and additional bonds when
ever necessary. Is it possible that our
commissioners court has done its duty
when the records show balance in the
hands of the treasurer of say S30O000 and
that officer has given total bonds of only
$50 600. say twenty per cent? This is not
q question of Mr.. FrobOese personal hon
esty and | am not here to say one word
against that. If any one can make the
legal bond of say 100000, Mr.. FrobOeSe
can, if he is inclined to
But you will say this is an oversight;
If you do | say there should be no such
overSightS, and our county commissioners
are unworthy of the high trust conferred
upon them by the people. For myself |
am unwilling to accept the theory OF
oversight, not only because 1t is INSULT
cient but because / doubt its truth.
/ have never yet been persuaded that
the last issue of county bonds were in fact
ever sold. The reported sale in my opin-
ion is fictitious and is part Of the Court
House job now being perpetrated upon
the taxpayers of this county: In the
investigation of this matter | find too
many indications of fraud, too much fabri-
cation of testimony to meet anticipated
accusations.
These are my opinions and further than
this will not for the present discuss the
new court house. Ii the administration
ticket desire it | will recur to this subject
another time.
Now MeSsrs County Commissioners,
what ext use can you offer for thus neg
lecting public duty? Ignorance of law
does well enough in criminal court but
not in the tribunal before which you
are now on trial. You are before your
constituents for reelection and your
hireling fill columns Of newspapers to
show that you should be again honored
with high office. Let US dismiss this sub
ject and take up another: Appropriat onS
of public money that you have made.
The law allows you to fix the salary Of
the sheriff for eX-otficio services at not
exceeding three hundred dollars per
annum." That being so, how is it that
the sheriff draws twice that amount or
$500 per annum and you stand by and say,
well let it go, suppose IL is all right,
the sheriff of this county has more work
than most sheritfS Oh account OF two
district courts" When the law
art. 239S) says most positively that
the sheriff
exceeding three hundred do lars per an
mum for SummOning jurors for the Dis
trict and County Courts" plural, not
Singular.( Where do you get the power to
amend this act of the Legislature? so
much for this misapplicaton OF public
funds, for it is nothing less. Let me next
| take up the patent index scheme. Inc
law most positively forbidS contracts be-
tween any county and its officers, yet the
commissioners court Appropriated thou
sands of dollars to Thad w. Smith, coun-
ty clerk, in satisfaction of a supposed
contract for patent indexes. If orr com
misSiOners have forgotten 1t can turnlSh
the date, number and amounts OF the
| warrants drawn, and | repeat that thou-
sands of dollars of public money have been
paid out TO Thad. w. Smith, clerk,
in furtherance of this scheme.
According to Sam Joue3 there IS but one
way for us all, county commissioners not
| excepted, to escape conviction ana udHl-
nation, that we must escape either by law
or by record or through pardon. differ
with Mr.. Jones, and am willing to apply
a more liberal rule to our county commls-
sioners, to wit: that they should not be
condemned except by both the law and
the record that is the fact, referring the
question of pardon to the tribunal before
which they are now on trial-the peo-
pie.
They cannot escape by the law for that
net only condemns such contracts but
Art. 1904, Revised statutes Of TeXas)-
say; that the county clerk may not bes-
| 4 rnnro Ahn m -, -, 4 I'D dnllnrs npr