Telegram-herald., 1892-01-01
Mat lRlY COULD FIND
sepss shown Up BY shD Invsstiga
ting Committee
rlglR DAgs NAVY G CoIPLIIEsIs
ue eDenk Three Dsys In coaesaiing His
xnt4aisy. MAT Lsft rissty In sight
"a Let ~ intsrssfiag and sag
gestivs Lsttsr&

for EtsDert of the investigating commit
teo ~ ne 6oper case has become re-
Atty ~ last, having been submitted to
t,tAe governor lzss evening. While
noe szset<y whitewash, il 10 not looked
upoo - a,very weightydoerment. But
1t nuot b considered that the powers
OF the iItestigatIng committee were
limited. There were too many OF the
present sfne inlstration who were in the
ring and when the charges were pre-
pared. th$ys were so fixet that every
body would be let down as easily as
posstbis. the eiull tnud being only used
IN Soper'b case. The report Is very
lengthy, the testimoRo, letters. and re-
pors stseif nlllpg come sixty typewrit-
Ten pages Tie report which Is ad-
dressed " the governor, starts OF rs
fellows: "tlon conferring together,
we AZ once coisciuded that al action
could only he advisory % your honor
and of service 10 the public by putting
II, through you, in possession OF such
information ~ ought to be general IN
view VI the serious charges made and
the hasty resignation OF the secretary.
Hence we have epdeayored to make
our examination thorough, ard venture
20 cffer such suggestions as have been
pff m )ted ny our exanlnstloa."
''we have examined all such records
and files within our reach as we we're
led to think would throw light unon
the matter. and Glso taken such volan-
tsry statements as we're easily accessl'
ble."
Gave Away 81 .o73 In Manuals
Regarding the first charge, that of
distributing manuals without Suthcr-
-ity, the committee finds that total OF
70i volumes were thus illegally distrib-
.uted, valued at total OF $3.50. Print
ing name OF recipient IN gold leaf.
rane with compliments on 592 vol
umes (as per blh of state printer) so
cents per volume, si71.6o also liz vol
unes at 15 cents each, $3.50, makes a
sent out illegally by the ex-secretary.
In . few cases, ne received pay for
THESE books that should have come to
the state.
Fifty sets OF HowelPs statutes three
10 a setj were sent out: and Of this the
committee Gays: I'VE find IN regard
to tina that there are thirty or more
letters upon file in the Office books Of
the secretary, showing where he has
disposed of these books with his COM
p!iments-"
The following arc samples of there
letters, and the public will notice that
the dzpper secretary had several ways
Of dealing with the Same subject:
I. All but two volumes of these books
were sent ous unstamped, and with the
compliments of the secre tary. IL will
he borne in mind that the state pays
$3.50 per volume for these books; that
they are not 10 be disposed OF at any
piice, bet put IN the hands of state OH
cials, and arc stamped estate proper
~" The committee also found that
large Numbers or public acts and ses-
son laws had been cent out and all
with the secretary's compliments.
From statements flied with the re-
port IL Isfound he purchased thousands
of dollars worth OF supplies without
authority, the following being but q
few items:
Folding beds ct 500 each, mattresses
a. si5 each, Administer rugs, towels.
tides, etc, bed spreads, blankets,
desks, ETC., etc.
From the report, as to tie personal
prciit connected with the purchase of
these supplies, your committee Is IN
possession OF only ono fact throwing
light upon thIs matter. an answer 20 q
letter from Nelson, Matter q Co.,
.Gsand Rapids. as follows:
sapsr sadly surprised.
"NEiscs, MATTER & Co.. Grand Rap
ids, Mich.
"GrSTrExzy:--In reply 20 yours Of
the 2ud. cannot understand why there
was any Misunderstanding regarding
the hair. as mentioned the matter in
particular and WAS shout 10 look else
where when used the following SEN
tencc, that II you would throw IN the
chair, hamper and backing hox, tina.
you could fill The bill, ordering the
char and bsackiDg box to be sent TO
Newsygo ard the hamper 10 Lansing.
I also advised Mrs. So2er that she
would receive the chat. being c0r-
pilmentary from Nelson, Matter Il Co.
Imagine my surprise ou my return
home. when Mrs. sopsr handed me the
bill and asked what il meant. | said
evidently il was an error made by the
clerk. Very respectfully.
DAME. L. sorEE.
Secretary Of State.
As 10 the charge OF sppfopriatn9
money belonging TO the state, the COM
nasttee report they waited on the secTe-
tary and asked for information on tie
subject in hand. The secretary re-
pied that 10 . certain extent. perhsps
he had been extravsgsrs, hut that II
was SIMPLY = case OF . man having a
large heart and q small poekethook.
He strongly asserted that he bad never
at any time had ons penny of public
funds that was not promptly and in the
regular manner turned over to the
state through the regular channels,
Yet the committee find conciussve evi-
dence through letters which are sub.
fnitted with the report, and compared
with ths cash book IN the efflce. Num-
erous Sans that were never entered or
the hook ',r susned into the state treas
ury in the regular way Testimony
from CITY Clerk Potter subssAnflstss
the sfove point.
on December f5 The committee talked
w,th the secretary about immediately '
wacatinx HE Office THAT they might have
free access 20 hls tiies aud letters. Dan
lei wss agreeable, bet be renamed
three days and thres nights after that
csvevsns mis Trail.
He retained the keys To the
efscs snd tho csssicc, and ths
committee cay il ~ their judy
mert he tosk away during that
tine go letters. and that they arr
therefore unable 30 state The aisiouni
cf monev taken from letters ccmirE
into the secretAry's h&uds.
Regarding the sixth and seventh
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