Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1896-09-16
A LETTER TO BoNDHoLDE Rs

County Attorney Beals has prepared
the following letter and mailed one to
each of the holders of bonds against
Barber county. Since 1t is matter
that interests all the people of Barber
county we publish it in full in order
that our citizens may know what the
county. through her authorities, is say
ing in regard to our bonded Indebted
ness:
DEAR SIR: AS one of the holders,
or agents of holders, of bonds of Barber
county, State of Kansas, 1 address to
you in common with others the follow
ing letter, having been requested to do
so by our board of county commission
ers, and duly advised and assisted in re-
gard to the contents thereof by a COM
mittee of responsible representative
citizens selected by the said board for
that purpose.
There has been for a long time a
feeling among our people that.we would
never be able to meet these bonds and
the time is near at hand when we can
not fully meet our interest payments
1.-THE causes of this growing feeling
are many, and can scarcely be pre-
sented on paper so that you can fully
understand and appreciate them. Our
people have no desire to repudiate any
thing that they justly owe; they are
willing to pay every honest obligation
so long al they are able. And while we
know that many of these bonds were
unjustly placed upon our territory by
schemlng defrauders and spectators
aided by the loose drifting element that
so largely constituted the early settlers
of this country, yet we realize that
some of these original bonds have been
declared legal by the supreme court OF
the United States, in the hands of Inno-
cent purchasers, and there now rests
upon us, in all probability, legal obli-
| CATION to pay them; and our only desire
is to make such terms with you as we
feel will rebound to our mutual benefit
and advantage.
''Some time since there were placed
before our board of county commission
ers propositions looking toward re-
sisting the payment of all refunding
bonds, comprising bonds amounting to
some $500, 600, on the ground, mainly
that their issuance had not been au-
thorized by vote of the people. Pend
ing their consideration of this matter
an injunction which had been run on
the county treasurer was allowed to
stand, to prevent further payment of
of interest. Upon considering the
whole matter the commissioners
thought best to appoint committee of
leading citizens to confer with me with
a view, chiefly, to see what could be
done toward compromising our existing
indebtedness. The committee consist
ed of Messrs. G. q. Chandler, j L. B.
Ellis, A. J. Bentley and II. B. Steck,
bankers; Mr.. L. l.. Lindley, real estate
agent; E. II. Nixon, cattleman; Mr.. j
u. Fair, merchant; Messrs. G. M. Mar
tin and E. Sample, attorneys; Messrs
l.. Maxine and Clayton Herr, editors.
| To confer with these invited the lead
ing citizens of each township. l give
you this list to assure you that the COM
mittee has no special political complex
ion, and that l am voicing the senti-
ment of responsible and representative
men. The assurance that this is en-
tirely untainted by politics would,
presume, be wholly unnecessary were il
not that in these times of campaign ex-
element there is some reason to fear
that business and politics may become
mixed.
To give you some idea of how mat
tiers are drifting here send you copy
of verified statement of our county
clerk showing the assessed valuation
and population and the tax assessment
for term of years. From that state.
ment you will see that our assessed val
uation has decreased since 1888 over
nine hundred thousand 1000, 000) dollars
and that our population, at one time
over niEe thousand 10000, has de.
creased to trif1e over five thousand
$4,000.
[ would also call your attention tc
| CHO ldCG CIIdI Luc IOtdl Guilty luu0DI6u
ness IS near S375, 900, while if you ado
our township, city and school district
Indebtedness it is near 5000, 900, or one
fourth of the assessed valuation of oul
county. So that, taking our assessed
valuation, the actual valuation of oul
property is only hree-fourths what il
appears to be. know that 1t may be
urged that our assessed valuation is on
ly supposed to be one-third of our rea
valuation, but that ia not correct. Oul
personal property is assessed at perhaps
one-half it's real value, while real estate
is assessed at. much more than it will
bring on the market today. Much Of
our land that is being assessed at S2.O
and $3.50 per acre is being offered fol-
sale at fifty cents per acre, and as g
matter of fact not much is being solo
even at that price. Of course we have
some better land. But most of oul
land is range land and rents mostly fol-
ten dollars per quarter section of one
hundred and sixty acres or for a little
more than half enough to pay the taxes
and much of it rents for five and one
half and seven dollars.
Il present you also a statement oil
|