The Forrest City times., 1895-05-10
SERIOUS CHARGES.

rrAnt sworn Out Against Gov. Morrfll
 AAnsas On . Charge of Obtaining
 Money From the State Treasury Under
 raise Pretenses-The Grounds for the
 Charge-His Technical Guilt Seemingly
 Apparent.
 TOPEKA, Kas., May 7.-warden s. W. Chase of the Kansas penitentiary this afternoon swore to a complaint against Edmund NJ. Morrill,, governor or the state, charging him with ob- tainlng money from the state treasury under false pretenses. The warrant will be served on the governor to-mor- row morning, unless the plans now de- cided upon are changed in the mean time.
 It Is probable that Chase's object in causing the governors arrest is to be revenged on the governor for having caused an investigation of Chase as warden of the penitentiary for alleged misconduct in office, although there appears to be good grounds for the complaint made to-day, and there is no doubt but that the governor is at least technically guilty as charged.
 Prior to his inauguration as gover- nor and during the time intervening between his election and inauguration Morrill, ingaged rooms in an office building in this city and employed a corps of clerks to assist him in his large correspondence and in preparing his message to the legislature which was delivered immediately after he assumed the duties of the chief executive of the state. On March 2, last, the governor issued three vouchers on the contingent fund of the executive department in payment of salary for J. l.. Bristow. beginning December 14. 1894. amount ing to s166.65; for Miss Kate Adams. clerk. for the same period, S60; Charles Bull, stenographer, Ss3 35, and voucher for S65.71 was drawn on the same fund for office rent, telegraph tolls and office supplies.
 The vouchers were presented to Wiley Cook, assistant auditor, for payment. and he drew warrants for the amounts without question dur ing the absence of the auditor. Then Auditor Cole returned to the city and saw the vouchers, and, question ing their legality, referred them to Attorney-General Dawes. who wrote him an opinion. in which he said that the warrants were drawn without authority of law, and that the governor had no more right to use the money in his contingent fund to pay bills contracted before he became gov ernor than he had to pay the clerks in his own bank with the states money.
 Three weeks after this opinion was rendered, and after the transaction had been made public in the local pa- pers, the three employees of the gov ernor's office who had received the money paid it back into the treasury by refusing to draw their salaries for the month of April.
 When the matter was first made pub- lie, the governor said that he had of- fered to pay his employees out of his own pocket, but they insisted that they be paid by the state for the rea- son that their work had been in the interest of the state, and that he had consented in violation of his judg- ment.
 The voucher for office rent and office supplies was not made good at the time the other amounts were paid back into the treasury, and it is not known that it has yet been returned. To each of the four vouchers the governors name is attached with the following affidavit: "I do hereby certify that the within was contracted for the state under au- thority of law, and that the amount herein claimed is correct according to such contract and is unpaid"