The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-07-01
BAD AS BREIDENTHAL
High State officials Have ViO-
lated the Law.
Sauce for the Goose is Sauce for
the GandeP.
THESE PESKY LAWS
Which 1t Is So Easy to Break
Technically,
Make Officials Appear Guilty of
EmbeZZlement.
Technicalities Seem Likely to Be
PyrOtechnicalities.
PRINTING is ORDERED
That the State Has No Money to
Pay For.
By a Recent Law This is a
Penitentiary OffenSe.

Attorney d0neral t. d. OdWoSs OCC1O'
tary of State w. c. Edwards and Treas
urer of State Otis [. Atherton seem to
have technically violated the law in or
dering the state printer to do work in ex-
cess of the deficiency appropriation for
state printing.
The last Legislature passed deficiency
appropriation, allowing $64,000 for state
printing for the period between January
/, 1895, and the close of the fiscal year,
June 80
The state printing committee has or
dered the state printer to do work
amounting to about So, DC in excess of
the deficiency approprl, 10"
Receiver A. D. Hubba the Ham
iIton Printing company n does the
printing for State Prl E II. Snow.
said to a STATE JOURr reporter this
morning: "This work ch we have
done was all ordered in regular way,
and we have regular rec di-itions signed
by the secretary of state + d attorney gen
eral for all of it. Now IL 1t We have done
the work, we are told n. there is no
money left il the defciap appropria-
ton to pay for it, but propose to
commence mandamus pre- 3 Jdings the
supreme court either afternoon or
tomorrow and compel tne payment of
our claim"
The legislature of 189, passed law
making a state printing I'd composed
of the secretary of state, attorney gen
eral and state treasurer ard it was made
the duty Of this board to order all print
ing to be done by the state printer for the
state. This law giving the printing
board their authority reads as follows:
Sec. 2. All printing done under the
provisions of this act shall have first been
submitted to and approved by the sec
retary of state, who is hereby made the
sole authority to issue acquisitions upon
the state printer for printing required
by any officer or any institution of the
state of Kansas, subject to the approval
of the attorney general
All printing, book making and bind
ing, required by any state officer, state
institution, board, or commission, shall
be done by the state printer:
Provided, That no printing shall be
done except such as in the judgment of
the secretary of state, attorney general
and state treasurer, are necessary for the
general information.
Provided further, A majo.ity of said
persons may decide as to what shall be
printed
In addition to this the laws of 1895
provide that all printing done under the
deficiency appropriation bill shall be or
dered by the secretary of state with the
approval of the attorney general
Inc members of the state printing board
seem to have violated law which makes
them liable to imprisonment for embez-
Element for ordering work done in excess
of the appropriation
This law which they seem to have vio-
lated is as follows:
SEC. 6675, 6. s. 1889, page 2036-That
eff Cro nf the af1fQ who an0Ii
be empowered to expend any public
moneys, or to direct such expenditures,
is hereby prohibited from making any
contract Tor the erection or repair
of any building, or for any other
purpose, whereby the expe lditure of any
greater sum of money shall cOntem- :
plated, agreed to or required han Is ex-
pressly authorized by law,and any officer
or agent of the state viols ting this law
shall be deemed guilty of embezzlement
of the amount in excess of chat expressly
authorized by law, and UP IN conviction,
shall be punished by confinement and
hard labor not exceeding five years, or in
the county Jail not less than six months.
(Laws 1886, ch. 103, S 1, Feb. 27
Secretary of State Edwards was not at
his office this morning, but Assistant
secretary of State T. s. Slower. who has
charge of all the state printing orders,
| said to a JOURNAL reporter: 1t is true
that this work has been ordered done and
! it was ordered in the regular
way and there is no money to pay for it,
but it is something no one could help.
| We could not tell how much this~work
was going to cost and for that reason
more was ordered than we now have
| money to pay for. The session laws cost
| 80 much more than ever before and the
enormous size of the house and senate
| journals made them cost more than any
one anticipated and that all had to be
paid for out of this deficiency appro-
| priation which is now exhausted"
Attorney General Dawes is also out of
the city, but Mr.. A. a. GODDARD, the as
sistant attorney general, was seen by a
JOURNAL reporter. Mr.. GODDARD said;
'sThis work which has been done in ex-
cess of the deficiency appropriation is
all work which the law says shall be
done, and the printing committee could
| not do otherwise than order it. However