Omaha daily bee., 1897-11-18
uorcoMB nEsrArrs MS POSITION.
Tho Governor Tries to Reconcile His
Cnurao with the Inv

Course with the Lnv
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER. LINCOLN, Neb.,
Nov. 1e. 1s97.--To the Editor or The Bee:
Yesterdays issue Of The Bee contained an
editorial under the caption, "Hocomb's I'm
tenable Position" in which the correctness
of my position w,s challenged In the state
ment made by me to the effect that the
supreme court, in It's opinion handed down
in February, 1894, "held that the provisions
OF tho depository law had no application to
educational aud trust funds and that 1t
would be unlawful to deposit these funds in
| state repositories" This position says
the editorial, "is absolutely untenable," The
writer then proceeds to nrgue that under the
construction given by me the strongest banks
which might be designated as state deposl-
tories would be prohibited from receiving de-
posits of educational funds and the treasurer
thus be compelled to place this money in the
weaker banks.
! Experience has proven that tho weak as
well as the strong banks give depository
! bonds, and also that some of the strongest
blnks In the state decline to give the re-
quifed bond and pay interest on deposits and
| thus become state repositories. But this is
not the question at issue.
| am more than ever satisfied that my po-
sition In this respect instead of being un-
tenable Is absolutely unassailabe, aud | ven
| ture the assertion that there is not reput-
lablt, wei lllOTIubu plWyeT Ill lne Slble WIG
would hold different l desire only that the
decision should speak for itself. Sections s.
6 and of the syllabus OF the case, prepared
| by the judge who wrote the opinion and
which under the rules OF the court act as a
guide to the points passed upon in the
opinion, read as follows:
| Section 5. Under section Q, article viii. OF
the state constitution moneys belonging to
the several permanent educational funds OF
the stlte cannot be Invested loaned ex-
cept on United States or state securities OF
registered county bonds
| "Section 6. The depositing in banks of pub
| lie funds under the provisions of the de-
Qository law constitutes loan and invest
ment of the moneys invested.
| section Z. Held: That the said law, In
sofar as it requires the deposlting of the
moneys belonging to the permanent educa-
| tional funds of the state in banks, contra
venes section 8, article Will. of the consttu-
| ton, and said law is imperative as to said
| funds
| The views thus expressed in the syllabus
| are fully borne out in unmistakable language
| in the body of the opinion. / wish to quote
| only one sentence of the opinion, which is In
| no way changed effected modified by any
other language in the decision. Says the
| court: I'VE are satisfied both from reason
| and upon authority that the depositing OF the
| moneys belonging to the permanent educl-
| tional funds Of the state in banks, under the
provisions of the depository law, lis in effect
| a loan and investment of the funds so de-
| posted and is therefore inhibited by the CON
| stitution." l submit that language could not
| be stronger; that If a deposit of funds of the
| kind mentioned is "inhibited by the constitu-
| ton" 1t would be as unlawful to make such
| deposit as it would be to loan this money to
| individuals on personal security-which is
| clearly contrary TO the constitution.
| In order to avoid further opportunity for
| cavl or to misconstrue my language l per-
haps should say that have never contended,