Omaha daily bee., 1897-11-18

GOVERNOR HoLComBS EXPLANATION.
The Bee chcerfully gives space to the
letter of Governor Holcomb, in which
he attempts to answer Its criticism by
restating his views with reference
to the farming of state school funds
by the late defaulting state treas
urer. The governor, however, does
not appear to help his case or
strengthen his unenviable position
On the contrary, while processing to
take exception to The Bees structures
he concludes by admitting the conten-
ton of The bee that there Is nothing
in the law or the decisions of the courts
that prohibits the state treasurer from
placing school money in the care of
banks that have given bonds for the
safe-keepng of state deposits
The trouble with Governor Holcomb
is that his present letter does not tally
with the testimony he gave in the Bart
ley bond case. Neither does his conduct
ip approving the BARLEY bond and al
lowing BARLEY to settle by showing a
cigar box filed with pieces of paper pur-
porting to be certificates Of deposit agree
with the only rational construction of the
law. On the witness stand in the Bart
ley bond suit Governor Holcomb testi-
fed under oath as follows:
o.-what did you conceive 1t to be your
duty with respect to compelling the state
treasurer to produce in cash exhibited to
you of all funds in the treasury OF the cash
itod In otata
Al did not understand that to be my
duty and regarded 1t as a farce and sham.
That has been my experience, especially
with county treasurers-1 had nothing to do
with the state.
Q.-Then to require the state treasurer
who succeeds himself to produce the money
the cash-with which he is chargeable other
than that in the state repositories you con-
sdered farce and a sham, did you? A.
The way it had been done considered 1t So
and considered it could be done the same
way in any Instance.
Odd you decline to require Mr.. BARLEY
to produce the cash in the cash account
other than state repositories for the reason
that you considered it would be farce and
a sham to require him to do so? Al did
not decline 1t was not required Mr.. Bart
the currency-that his books called for.
Q-On the Sth day of January, 1895, Gov
ernor Holcomb, did you consider that the
state treasurer Of the state had right to
use the permanent school fund in such way
as to scatter it around in banks that were
not state depository banks? Ale could
not under the decision of the supreme court
deposit it in depository banks. The court
said 1t was unlawful to do it. l conceived
it to be his duty to protect it.
Q.-Did you consider that 1t was proper for
the state treasurer, say on or before the
Sth day of January, to protect the deposit
Of the permanent school fund by scattering
1t around in banks not state repositories? |?
Ale could not have protected it any other
way without keeping it in the treasury
vaults and that was unsafe
Governor Holcomb now says in his
letter that the state treasurer could have
protected the school funds by placing
them as Il special deposit in banks Sc
cured by depository bonds and that the
fact that bank had been designated a
state depository would not preclude it
from receiving school moneys. In other
words, if the school moneys We're to be
placed on deposit for safe-keeping there
was nothing in the law or the court de-
cisions to prevent their deposit with
reputable responsible banks rather than
with irresponsible, wildcat concerns
Yet according to his own testimony Gov
ernor Holcomb acQuiesced in the farm
ing out of these trust funds by BARLEY
to tottering banks and accepted as cash
alleged certificates of deposit without so
much as inquiring into the solvency of
the banks, or even making memoran-
dun which would show where the school
funds We're kept.
Instead of making his position tenable,
each explanation of the governor makes
it more untenable.