People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1898-03-10
Stale House Frauds.

Topeka, Kan, March 2.-All the
evidence secured by the committee
appointed to investigate state house
steals is now in the hands of Attorney
General Boyle and he is hard at work
Considering it. His first object is to
recover the mOnev to the state
treasury and then prosecute the Of
tenders under the criminal laws. He
is meeting with great difficulty, and
it may be some time before he can
bring the suit.
He has already confronted a great
obstacle in locating the guilty parties
in the line'Of a system of contracting
and Su0c0ntracting so intricate in its
nature that is almost next to i'm
possible to locate responsibility for
the crookednesS that is visible every
where. What is desired is to get,
back about $4,000 of the money
Stolen and turn it into The treasury.
The full amount of the steals will
never be known, because the com.
mittee has gone back only a few years.
During that time the treasury was
plundered to the extent Of at least
100000, and maybe more. 1t being a
volunteer committee that made the
Investigation, it necessarily could not
dig as deeply after evidence of jobbery
as if it had been a cOmmittee provided
with funds and power to escure ey!-
dence Of witnesses.
SOME OF THE DISCOVERIES.
The dome of the capitol was a fruit
full field for steals, because it was not
anticipated that the work done there
would ever be closely examined
Among the latest discoveries was one
that twelve foe costly doors were
paid for that never were put in.
Twelve windows were also nailed into
saShes that should have been hung on
weights. A large door was abandoned
add filed up with brick but for all
that the door and the brick were both
paid for, and the cost handsome
price, too. 1t is said that John Sea-
ton of Atkinson solo a tiny little
stairway to the state for 500, and it
has STAGE been discovered that it cost
the state finally either 5000 OF S625.
When one stands in the rotunda
floor and looks up at the dome. $50
feet above thirteen feet of plaster
ing all around does not look much
larger than lady's belt. Another
circular strip seven feet high was
paid for, but the work was never
done. These deficiencies are not
easily noticed by the average man.
and 1t is wonder they were ever
detected from work paid for but
never done.
The plaStering of four light shafts
whose area would be as great as ten
average dwelling houses, was paid for.
but the work was never done. A fine
vestibule was paid for, but the eve of
mortal man has Fever yet discovered
it. A gOOdly sum was paid for the
plastering of the old Dunsmore house
in the basement, but the work was
not performed. Old windows were
painted over and rumOr has it that
they were paid for as new ones. Little
things eight inches long were put in
as twelve inches and paid for ac-
cordingly. The difference 10 the price
of the window weights used and
those contracted and paid for is 81 500
The termination of discrepancies,
such as are mentioned 10 the fore
going, I'LL thirty-three sheets of
closely typewriter pages. Any one
who reads the list will not be surprised
that the treasury was bankrupt when
the present administration took
charge of it aud that subsequently,
the warrants of theSiate were marked
mot paid for want of funds,