San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-09-06
CARLISLE'S DEFENSE
ANENT THOSE BORDEN COUNTY
BONDS IN DISPUTE.
he Had Nothing Whatever to Do With
Their Rejection Which Was In the
Hands Of the Educational Board.

| By Special Wire to the Sunday Light.
Austin, Texas, September B.
The following Letter form State Su-
perintendent Carlisle with reference
to the Borden county bond squabble
was issued today:
Austin, Tex, Sept. ., 1896.
1t has not been my custom TO make
replies to campaign statements re-
speeding my actions, but when charges
made and not contradicted is some
times urged as evidence of the truth
of the charges that they are not de-
MED Lest such inference might
be drawn from further silence on my
part in reference to the charges re-
Gently made against me, deem it
not improper to make statement in
regard to the Borden county bonds
which the state board of education
once rejected and afterwards pur-
chased.
The gist of he\complaint against
me is found in the following extract
from a letter published in the Hous-
ton Post of August 31st:
In my answer to his excellency 1
quoted from j. NJ. Carlisle's letters,
where he stated to me that the school
board had considered these bonds
twice and had both times rejected
them as undesirable. The governor
can find no record of their considera-
ton by the board, yet Carlisle, the SUI
| peIintendent of public instruction
and secretary of the board says they
We're twice considered and twice re-
| jected. Both of these honorable gen
tlemen cannot be correct Mr.. Swain
knew that the board or Carlisle had
rejected these bonds. He proved the
| truth of his assertion by selling to J.
NJ Carlisle, the superintendent of all
the schools of Texas, the rejected
bonds in about three days after he
got hold of them"
Referring to the above, l have to
say that / have never stated that the
| state board of education rejected the
| Borden county bonds twice. 1 have
never referred to but one rejection
of these bonds. That there is no re-
cord of this rejection is due to the
fact that the board desiring not TO dis
credit any bonds offered to it, direct
ed the secretary to keep no record of
! the rejection of bonds.
Referring to the charge that pur-
chased these bonds, makethe follow
ing emphatic and specific statements:
! /. am not a member of the state
board of education, although, as state
superintendent of public instruction,
1 am eK-officio secretary Of the board;
1 have no choice in the deliberations
| of the board and no vote in the de-
! termination of any question by the
board. The state board of education
and comptroller have exclusive au-
thority to buy bonds for the state
school fund; have no such authori-
| ty; have never attempted to exer-
else any such authority, and l have
never presumed to undertake, direct
ly or indirectly, to influence the decis-
ion of any one having voice or vote
in the purchase or rejection Of bonds
of any kind.
q When the Borden county bonds
We're rejected by the state board of
education / had absolutely nothing
whatever, directly or indirectly, to
do with reaching the decision by
which they were rejected.
3. When the bonds were again pre-
| scented to the board and purchased, l
was out Of this city, and state most
emphatically that did not at any
time say or do anything that directly
or indirectly contributed to the decis-
ion reached by the board to purchase
these bonds.
4. have never. in any manner,
assisted Mr. Swain, or any other per-
son to make any sale of bonds to the
state board of education; l have new
| er undertaken to effect directly or in
directly, any sort of negotiation in
bonds with the state board Of educa-
ton for Mr.. Swain or any other per
son.
In conclusion, deny every charge
made against me in regard to this
bond transaction and state most posi-
lively and without any equivocation
that have never had anything to do
with making any sale of bonds to the
| state board of education or with the
management or negotiation of any
bond transaction for either myself or
any person and all statements to the
contrary are untrue. 1 invite thor
ough and exhaustive investigation of