Omaha daily bee., 1897-02-01
INVESTIGATE STATE TREASURY.

Fremont Tribune: The supreme court will
In a few days pass upon the question as TO
whether in transferring the state treasury
from one treasurer to another the settle
ment shall be only by counting out all the
cash, or whether paper, chips and whetstones
will be accepted. 1t is a good plan to know
just where we are at on this vital ques-
ton.
Adams County Democrat: We do not see
how any responsible state or county treas
urer can receipt for money received" when,
as q matter of fact, he receives only a slip
Of paper indicating that on a certain day
there was deposited by the treasurer In a
certain bank a certain amount Of money.
II 1t wa deposited there II should be gaia
table and turned over by tn outgoing treas
urer in cold cash. That's business,
Grand Island Independent; Over half a
million Of dollars Of state money is deposited
In the Lincoln banks, to say nothing of the
hundred thousand gone to seed in the
Mosher depository" When 1t comes to
looking after Lincoln's institutions, Lancaster
county Is a unit in all things. There are
those who believe that the only way to
clan on the Aegean stables so to speak,
Is to move the capital buildings to Grand
Island. There is n fine plat just north of
the city that is being reserved for that pur-
pose.
Tekamah Burtonian: Ex-State Treasurer
BARLEY frightfully abused the state deposit
CRY law. 1t has been discovered that about
twenty banks too many are handling the
states money. 1t was shown that eX-Treas-
urer BARLEY completely ignored Governor
Holccmb in tho naming OF banks to handle
the state funds. Governor Holcomb refused
TO allow several banks to hold any of the
funds, but BARLEY would go ahead and let
them have 1t. If one Of these banks should
fail to come to the scratch when the money
was wanted, who would be responsible? OF
course. the state would have to suffer the
loss. Tho bondsmen of MIR. BARLEY should
not be released until all Of these pet
banks fork over the money belonging to
the state.
Holdrege Citizen: A resolution has been
introduced to investigate the Office of the
state treasurer. By all means let the office
be investigated and see If there has been
the croOkedness going on that some, who
claim to know a whole lot, say there is.
We have heard the claim made so often that
we would like to have the matter cleared
up. II officers have been crooked they should
be punished, and If a lot of fellows for po-
litical effect have been bowling about cor
ruption and robbery, where there was none,
they deserve to be severely dealt with, al
though there is probably no law that can
touch them. Some things have been made
public in regard to the manner in which
the money has been placed in the depository
banks that have an ugly look and there Is a
whole lot of people who would like to have
the whole matter made public just to know
whether the matter has been misrepresented
by political enemies or that affairs have
not been conducted as they should.
Fremont Leader The Leader a number Of
times during the past years has called atten-
ton to the unbusiness-like methods of eX-
State Treasurer BARLEY, and to the fact that
the public moneys were used for his own
private benefit and not applied to the pay
ment of obligations against the state. 1t
looks very much as If the state treasury
under republican administration had been
looted from the inside, like the banks nova
days. Take the temporary school fund. 1t
was apportioned more than a month since
and duly certified that $3.50, 900 was ready to
be divided among the different districts in
the state. 1t seems this money was not in
the treasury, but had been loaned out by the
treasurer for his own private benefit, and the
present treasurer so far has been unable to
get but a small portion of that amount.
Promises he has received in abundance. but
the cash Is not in sight. So with the perma-
nent school fund. Where is that? AS yet
we have heard little from it. Some $500, 900
Of the permanent school fund has been loaned
by BARLEY for his own personal benefit. Be
sides there are hundreds of thousands of
dollars that have not been accounted for.
Are we to have another great defalcation in
the state treasury? 1t looks like it at present.
Not a republican paper, except The Bee, has
condemned the reckless manner in which the
treasury has been handled under republican
rule.