The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1893-12-22
THOSE WARRANTS.

sooner have we punctured one of his
lies than .he proceeds to concoct an
other equally as false. But SO far 1t is
an easy task to refute them. In
his issue of November 3Oth he stated
substantially that during our term of
Office us county attorney the county
had some $4,000 of warrants out
standing that were bearing interest at
Z per cent and because of the fact that
the county treasurer Was obliged to
pay outstanding warrants as fast us
there was any money i'll the treasury;
the county was unable to pay cash for
its supplies and rs its scrip was so far
behind and worth only eighty-fve cents
it was compelled to pay about Is per
cent more for everything it bought
than if it was able to pay cash. That
at this time bond broker came along
and offered if these warrants were re-
funded into per cent bonds to take
them all at par. That this would have
saved the county at least $500 year
in interest and by getting rid of the
outstanding warrants enable 1t to pay
cash for everything, thus saving many
hundred dollars annually in addition.
That we, as county attorney, were
subject to fits and Immediately had
one and prevented the funding and
that by that act tile county lost thou
sands of dollars, etc. That within
week our fit had worn off and we were
IN favor of refunding but it was then
too late for the parties would not take
the bonds.
- We have given this lie in detail in
order to more conclusively prove to
our readers either that the editor of
the Mercury was ignorant of the facts
upon which he attempts to write OF
that he is wilful liar and knowingly
perverts the facts in his despicabIe
attempt to smirch our record as an
officer. 1t is true that there were
about 500, 900 of warrants outstanding
at the time referred to, but it is not
true that We blocked any proposition
for the refunding OF the warrants or
prevented the refunding of them. On
the contrary we were anxious to see
the warrants refunded and made
several efforts to induce parties hold
ing warrants to have them refunded.
Smith as usual has got things mixed.
Sometime after we became county
attorney we were Informed that the
question of the validity of the railroad
bonds that had been issued to the
branch lines of the Santa Fe railroad
com.oan III several counties, had been
raised in some of the counties east of
us, and that the parties holding the
bonds were quietly having them re-
funded in order to avoid their defects
Shortly after this, being in Topeka,
we consulted with the Attorney Gen
eral of the state upon the matter and
gave him what information we had
obtained. lie requested. us OIL our re-
turn home to send him a copy of the
bonds and certain other information as
to the proceedings in which the bonds
were issued. On our return We sent
him the information desired. Before
we had received the opinion of the
Attorney General ON the validity of
the bonds, a party appeared represent
ing the holders of Il large amount of
the railroad bonds and proposed to the
commissioners to take refunding bonds
for them under certain conditions.
The gentleman came to see us upon
the matter and we explained to him
the question that had been raised,
stating that the whole matter had been
referred to the Attorney General and
that rs soon as We received his opinion,
which we expeo ted in a few days, we
would let him know. Afterwards the
Attorney General in answer TO other
inquiries, Us well as ours, pronounced
the bonds valid.
Now we ask if any honest, sensible
man would find fault with such a
course.
Was it not our duty when the ques-
ton of the validity of the bonds had
been raised in other counties, before
allowing refundiDg bonds to be issued
to the amount of over $50, 900, to sub
init the matter to the highest officer of
the state who was in much better
position to pass upon their validity than
us, and whose duty it was to give
opinions in such cases? Any honest
man with grain of brains will an
swer that it was.
That is all the foundation Smith had
for the first lie i'm his article.
The editor of the Mercury also states
in the same article that we boosted
that We had saved the county thou
sands of dollars by advising the county
treasurer to redeem each year that
years warrants, when we know that
the county treasurer long since had to
abandon that course because the old