People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-11-26
The COunty's Money.

1
the advisa5ility, Of bringing suit on
the bonds to recover the county
money on deposit in the First National
and Sumner National banks at the
time they failed. They have given
considerable time and thought TO this
subject, but are still undecided as to
what to do.
We still stand by our original propO-
sitiOn that it is worse than useless to
bring these suits-at this time. The
United States government, through
its officers, is pursuing the usual
course of collecting this money for
the county, without any expense
whatever to the taxpayers. A divi-
dend of ten per cent, has already been
declared upon the amount due from
the Sumner National bank. In due
course Of time, the greater part Of
both claims will be paid by the re-
ceiver of each bank. In the mean
time the county is not needing this
money for immediate use and it is
bearing interest while the cash the
county has on hand is not.
But the commissioners seem to have
decided to bring suit, notwithstand-
ing these considerations. A new idea
was preselted TO them this morning
however. 1t is now known that Ivan
D. Rogers and Judge j. T. Herrick
are to form a partnership and that
Judge Herrick will be deputy county
attorney. This forenoon Mr.. Rogers
came before the board and stated to
them that i'll smuc' gs L. W..'' 't
county attorney after January II, 1897,
he considered it only fair to say to
them that in his opinion the county
attorney had tie legal right to take
charge and control OF these suits, no
matter what court they might be
pending in, and that the Commission
ers had no authority TO exclude him
from the suits: hat while the county
attorney could not collect any ad-
ditiOnal salary for any services
rendered outside of the county, yet
he could not be deprived of his fee of
five percent, Of the amount OF money
collected uOpn these bonds if he saw
fit to take charge Of the suits. He
further said that when lie became
county attorney he expected to take
charge of and to attend to all the
business pertaining to that Office.
The injection Of this point into the
question put an entirely new phase
on the whole situation. The c0unty'S
claims against the Two banks will az
gTegate $4,000 by the time they are
collected. Five per cent of this
amount would be 5000 in round
numbers. If the county attorney
has legal right to this 1900 in fees,
indpendentO of the boards wishes, then
the idea of paying outside attorneys
$1,000 to $500 in special fees would
show up in an entirely different light.
The board heSitated and called on
County Attorney Woods for legal ad.
vice.
Mr.. Woods advised the board that
the county attorney alone and not
the county commissioners had the
authority to decide whether these
bonds should be sued upon and that
the county attorney had the legal
right to bring the suits irrespective
Of the wishes Of the board in the
premises. On the presumption that
the suit wOul1 be brought in the
United States court to start with and
all the services of the county attorney
would necessarily be rendered outside
of the county, he was unprepared tC
say whether the county attorney
would be entitled to five per cent Of
the amounts collected, but thought
he would have a very good fighting
show for it.
Mail, Saturday.
Another chapter was added yester-
day afternoon to the history of Sum-
ner county'S $4,000 that is tied up in
the defulct First National aud Sum-
ner National banks. When the coun
ty commissioners met in the Afternoon
County Attorney Woods advised then
that if suits should be brought on thu
bonds of these banks in the UniteC
States court at Wichita that wher
Ivan D. Rogers became county attor
ney in January he would have noright
to take charge Of the cases and that i
he did go into them he could not co.
lect the statutory commission of fv,
per cent on the money collected b.
reason of the suits.
A question by Chairman Griffith
brought an answer from Woods tina
struck US as announcing a very pecul
lar proposition. 1t was that he a
county attorney has the right to SUI