The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-05-02
Seems Impossible to Get Amy
thing Out
Of the Office of State Oil In
spectOr for Kansas.
Inspector Kelly Follows in the Foot
steps of His Predecessor and
Disregards the Instructions
of the Governor.


/ lating this Office it is possible for the
/ incumbent to clear all the way from
/ 5000 to $4,000 yearly. The manner
/ i'm which the business is done is for
the inspector and his deputies to in
I spect barrels of oil that come into the
4 state, making reports to the state au-
/ ditor and state treasurer at stated
times Of the business they are doing.
1t is a very easy thing for the In
/ spector and each one of his deputies
/ to make their inspections and then only
report on a portion of the work done
| There is nothing which viii keep them
/ from doing business in this manner and
it has been said time and again that
this is the regular way of conducting
the business.
I Under the Lewelling regime, the state
I oil inspector was Colonel H L. Taylor
/ of Wichita Tt has been repeatedly
/ charged that while Inspector Taylor
/ grossly misused this office to swell his
| personal income. 10 the extent. it is
said of $4,000 per year
A statement was once prepared. so Il
is generally understood, showing the
way IN which the Office was run under
TaylOr's administration. making out his
/ profits yearly to be somewhere near
1 that sum. The statement was iU the
] office Of the secretary Of state at one
\ time, but was turned over, later on,
I to Governor Morrill, for the use, 1t was
said. Of Accountant Challinor. This
/ was the last heard of it and it is now
I almost forgotten
When the Populists went out and the
/ Republicans went in in 1895, NJ c. Kelly.
! better known in Kansas politics as
/ M ul berry Kelly, was appointed as
l fee under the Humphrey administra-
I ton and is said to have grown fat upon
\ the proceeds He made a strenuous
I night for the position and was success
Z rul IN obtaining fonnnGnH Fn al
/ in the scramble for the Office was Lit
I Crum Of OsWegO, the well known poll
tieian from the Third district and lieu
tenant OF " Leland Crum wanted
I the office bad, 'and it looked as though
he would get it for awhile
Even IN his desire TO secure the ap-
/ pointment. Crum is reported to have
/ said once that he did not care so much
about it, as the odium attached to the
office was such that 1t would jeopardize
I his chances for being United States
marshal Of Kansas for which Office he
is working.
Kelly has six deputies They are. B.
L. Sllne, T. w Cochran. T. H. Perkins
T. P. Bone A. Drumhiller and @. II.
I Wyatt.
The Inspector himself is supposed to
draw SlUO per month salary and gets
all ms expenses paid while making in
spectlons- he also gets mileage The
/ deputies get S5c per month and ex-
! penses and mileage. The inspector and
most OF his deputies have transporta-
q
ASIDE from this, there is very little
travelling done at all, and sometimes the
mileage is charged up just the Same.
several months ago Governor Morrill,
instructed Inspector Kelly to turn into
the state treasury on the first davs of
/ January, April, July and Septem Der. an
money on hand at the close of thar
quarter, after the payment of the e,x-
penses of the Office. The governor also
instructed the inspector to file with the
state AUDITOR monthly statement of
collections made and the expense &C
count for each month.
Inspector Kelly has kept the latter
instruction. but not the former He
has made his monthly reports but not
a cent of money has been turned in to
Treasurer Anterior by Kelly since Jan
uary J.
A Journal reporter, after ascertain
ing this fact. asked Gov Morrill, why it
was no money had been turned in. The
governor said
Mr.. Kelly came to me about April /.
when the time was at hand for him to
turn in for the quarter ending that
date, and told me he would like to not
make his return until July I.
III asked him why it was, and he said
the summer months were such as to
make the inspections very dull and that
every cent he collected. he needed for
the expenses of the Office.
He said that when the money was
once in the treasurer's Office there was
no way of getting it out and there has
to be some funds to run the business
with.
Upon that explanation allowed
him to wait until July 1, when he prom
ised me he would make returns for the
six months from January to July L.
Are you satisfied that Mr.. Kelly's
statement was correct2" asked the re-
porter.
II had no reason said the governor.
ito believe it was incorrect and let it
You did not take the trouble to look
the matter up and see if there was any
mistaken statements in what Mr.. Kelly
said"
No. 7 did not; I supposed he knew
what he was talking about
Mr.. Kelly told Gov Morrill, according
to the latter's statement that there
was not enough money left to turn in
without running the office entirely out
Of funds.
Here is the statement according TO
the inspectors report for March, which
shows a balance at the end Of the
month of March Of S1.29425. Yet this
was boarded up, this amount of over
thousand dollarS because the business
might run down during the summer
and it might be needed for expenses
The report shows that B. L. Slime
collected during the month of March
S253-9qi 4. II Perkins collected S1I5. T.
wv. Cochran collected S66; IT, r. Bone
collected 1920 and M. c. Kelly himself
collected $3.50. 80.
For that month. the salary. mileage.
ana incidental expenses of the deputy
inspectors was as follows. Slime. s102-
30 Perkins, S64.49; Cochran s6l %.
Drumhiller $50: Bone. s67.79. Kelly him
self. s2S618; Wyatt SS.45
The total collections for the month
were SS42. 40; the balance on hand March
I, S1.026.45, making a total Of 81. 93s IS.
The salaries an expenses for the month
of March amounted to S644. CO. leaving q
balance after the payment Of salaries
mileage and expenses of S1. 29425
There are 15 cars of oil shipped bv the
STANDARD OIL company from Whiting
Ind, every week, consigned for Kansas
consumption The inspection from
these IS cars would amount to thou
sands of dollars a month, let alone the
inspections Of other oil. Where does