Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-02-10

resolution accepting Mr.. Blgger's pro
posal. The resolution was as follows
Be it Resolved, That L. A Bigger II
hereby appointed agent for the county
of Reno, State of Kansas, for the pur
pose Of negotiating with the holders OF
sundTy bonds in the sum of seventy five
thousand do lars, (S75,OO0, issued In
aid of the G. X & N. X T. and is
authorized to tender payment for same
at the tlScal agency, New York, at their
face value and accrued interest thereon
as provided by law and to demand the
surrender of said bonds and the can
collation. of same This authority to
be and remain in force according to
a certain agreement in writing of even
date herewith made between the board
of commissioners of Reno county and
said l.. A. Bigger.
The above resolution was signed by
all the members of the board and &C
knowledged before W. S. Yeager,
county clerk
We believe we have now all the facts
in the case before the people. The
significant part of the agreement with
Mr. Bigger is that at the close, which
we have put in small caps, to the EFFECT
that If a lower bid than his is accepted
he still is to receive his commission Of
one fourth of one per cent. The facts
are that others are willing to bid for
the bonds and a New York firm repre-
sented by NJ. r, Cain, has offered to
take the new bonds at four and one.
half per cent. This is three-fourths
per cent lower than MIR. Biggers bid,
but under this Internal contract en-,
tered into between Bigger and the COM
missiOners, if Mr.. Gains proposition
to take the bonds should be accepted.
Mr.. Bigger would still be paid his
commission of one fourth of one per
cent. This for the thirty years as stip-
ulated in the contract on $4,000 would
amount to $685.. 1t is true that there
is an option on the payment of the
bonds after twenty years but as the
bonds are on their face to run thirty
years Mr.. Bigger would naturally ex-
pect his commission for the whole
thirty years. The contract says plainly
that the bonds are ito run thirty
years" and that his commission is to
be estimated for the time the new
bonds shall run"
There are $4,000 in the treasury
which might be applied toward lifting
An equal amount of these bonds, save
interest, and prevent it laying around
for some bank to use and perhaps lose
through due course of dustin" We
are told that Mr.. Rutledge claims It was
the understanding with MIR. Bigger
that twenty thousand dollars Of bonds
might be liquidate ], and only the bal
snce Of $4,000, refunded, in which
case the commission would only be es-
timated on the 5000 and would only
to S4,125. But we find no pro-
vision of that sort in the contract.
Even surprising that to be the case,
%, l25 is sum it requires some time to
earn with a pickax and shovel, and it
goes to MIR. Bigger, simply because the
entered this agreement.
The most lenient view that can be
taken of the transaction is that they
did it ignOrantly and we're hOodOOed.
The only other explanation is that it
was done corruptly, or that it was done
corruptly on the part of one or two
and ignOrantly on the part of the 9th
ers. In any event, a man who would
enter such an agreement is unfit to do
business for the public. Mr.. Miskimen
claimed to understand that the bonds
could not be paid for ten years yet, and
that it was simply the good fortune of
the county to get hold of them any
sooner, and as we understood him, it
was tor getting possession of the bonds
not yet due, and which he presumed to
be difficult to locate, that they were al
lowing Bigger the commission. Fur
thermore we are told that he under
stood that the commission was only
one-fourth Of one per cent on the face
of the bonds instead Of one fonrth of
one per cent on their face for thirty
years, which would make the amount
only $lS7 so instead of $685.. In a
transaction Of such volume and impOr.
lance as this it would be supposed that
the commissioners would have coun.
ciled with the county attorney and
other county officers, but they did not.
They are now in session and the mat.
ter will be disposed of in a few days.
1t is largely, perhaps entirely, due to
John Meyers the new pOpulist commits
sioner, that this matter has been I'M
covered in its rottenness and laid open
to the light of public scrutiny. He will
fight the deal to the bitter end. He
will insist on accepting the lowest bid
for the refupding bonds and the repu-
diation of the entire contract with Big