The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1897-10-22

His Largest sureties/ Have Left tn.
state.
Meserve's Record il Red Willow County
The condition/bf the state trcasur.
was the one particular thing InosI
talked about by Governor Holcomb IL
has campaign for governor three years
ago. He would reform the business oil
the state treasury. That's what he
would. He canvassed the state and al
tile farmer picnics he was a bold re-
former He taught the people that the
treasury had not been properly pro
tected. hat it's funds were not properly
managed, and that he was the one par
ticu;ar man who would attend TO that
particular business IL elected. So per-
sistent was he IN his discussion of The
state treasury and SO proIigal was he
of brave promises thai the public
learned in that campaign 10 look upon
him and to Sty.o him as The watch
dog of the public money" Whatever
grievances had ben Ia the past, lIol-
comb would reform The treasury when
he got into power. Enough Of the peo-
pie believed in this proud boaster to
elect him, and the farmess said among
themselves, Now the treasury Is safe,
for Holcomb is in the chair" The
farmers understood then, ~ they do
now, that the business of securing the
public money by a sound t%reasurer's
bond was the governors business, and
they knew that if that business was
properly attended to there could be no
loss to the taxpayers whether the
state treasurer was honest Or not. The
people had elected the treasurer believ-
ing him to be an honest man, but they
did not depend upon his honesty, they
depended upon the bond, and they had
elected a governor whose duty it was
to require a bond, and they believed
that he would perform that duty. He
was commanded to do it by the law,
and he would surely obey the law, but
he was bound to perform this duty,
and it rested upon his conscience with
tenfold force by reason of his promises
at the country picnics, and because he
was nc ordinary governor but a reform
governor, the leader of a reform party,
and it's only representative in the state
house. The treasury was the n par
ticular thing which he had discussed
in his campaign-WaS the n part1cu-
lar thing above all others that needed
reform-and now, as he entered upon
the duties of his first term the first
thing presented to him for his official
action was an opportunity to reform
the treasury. If any part OF the pubic
funds had been miSappropriated, here
was the opportunity for him to. MAKE
the discovery by counting the money,
as the law directs, and il the treasury
had not been properly secured in the
past, as he had charged in his speeches.
here was an opportunity for him to
commence his reform and to make the
treasury safe in the future. 1t now
tr~anspires that Bartley's half million
default had commenced then, and that
the governor knew it. Not only had
the default commenced, but the gov
ernor, knowing it, permitted BARLEY
entering his second term to file a
spurious bond, from which not 4 dollar
can be collected, and he permitted this
defaulting treasurer to continue in
office two years, himself remaining
silent, refusing to count the money as
the law directed, holding out to the
people by his certificate on the bond
that it was genuine. A few days ago,
at Omaha, Hon. Frank, T. Ransom, pop
ulist senator from Omaha, president
pro tem. of the populist senate, chair
Of the %so-called free-silver re-
publican state committee, while acting
governor, charged in open court that
Governor Holcomb had committed this
fraud, and gave that as a reason to
the court why the innocent sureties
who had signed the bond should be ex-
"a fraud has been commit
said Ransom. THAT fraud was
by the governor CT the state
Of Nebraska and by Joseph S. Barley"
John Fl. Ames, one Of the sureties.
stated to the court that he had signed
the BARLEY bond relying upon the gov
crnor, that he was a lawyer and knew
his duty, that he was an honest man
who would keep his oath, that he had
the money as the law directs,
and that the condition of the treasury
then sound. Here we have Act
ing-GoVcrnor Ransom charging a
upon Acting-Governor Holcomb
which calls for his impeachment and
from office.
The last republican state convention
BARLEY and Moore who
had betrayed the republican party. The
press of the state has been
unsparing in its criticism of these re-
publican b%etrayers. and no republican
voter has offered to excuse or palliate
one iota of their guilt. In this the re-
publican party shows its honesty of
conscience. We will now see whether
The reform press and the voters of the
party will longer stultify their
cause by covering up and apol-
for the governors rascality,
IS they have covered up and apollo
yized for this shameless administra-
ton from the very hour which it took
charge of the state government the
first of this year.
But this is not the only bond fraud
which Governor Holcomb has perpe-
upon the Nebraska people.
Meserve's bond is as rotten and
worthless as Bartley's second bond.
The governor knew it when he ap-
proved it and when he certified to the
the falsehood that it was a gen.
line bond. Not only was it worthless