The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-05

stances Which Give Rise to the
Suspicion That There Has Been
Wrong Doing-startling Story of
Misappropriation of Public Funds.
Only fourteen taxpayers of Lacka-
wanna township responded to the call
for an Indignation meeting, at by
mond's hall. Moosic, last night to pro-
test against the manner i'm which the
affairs of the township are being ad-
ministercd but these fourteen brought
along with them indignation enough
to supply dozen meetings. ten times
as large. That the attendance was
not large was due TO the fact, one of
TIE projectors of the meeting said,
that the written notices, pasted here
and there throughout the township,
had been torn down.
Owing to the small attendance. it
was decided to postpone the contcm-
plated steps until "a week from Mon
day next, when, il is expected. full
representation of the taxpayers will
be on hand Dodgers announcing the
meeting and requesting all taxpayers
to attend will be distributed all
through the township. and the leaders
in the movement viii make personal
efforts to bring about a full atten-
dance.
From The tenor Of the informal talks
at last nights meeting there Is no
question but that the people of the
township arc thoroughly aroused to the
situation ana that they are after the
! officers with n sharp pointed, tagged
edged stick.
&. w. Thompson called the meeting
to order and proceeded to outline the
purpose for which it was assembled.
The disclosures OF the school board in
Vestigation, the frauds that are being
unearthed at the hearing before Com
missioner Quinnan, the questionable
auditors report recently filed and tn"
theft and probable destruction of the
township records on the night follow
ing She day or which the clerk was
subpoenaed TO bring them before the
commissioner, all tended, he said. to
put foundation beneath the suspi-
cions the people have all along held
that there was something rotten in
Denmark and that at this particular
time ii is in decidedly advanced
state of putrefaction.
1t is high time he contenGed, for the
| taxpayers to assert themselves and put
Il stop to the corrupt practices which
they have every ground to belieV-
ing exist and have existed for years.
The courts offer the means to that
end. he said, and If the citizens will
only stand together furnishing the
oil I,p
ter will be run down.
A BRIEF OUTLINE
As there were some present who prob
ably had not given the scandal any
close attention, Mr.. Thompson outlined
some of the circumstances on which the
suspicious of wrong doing were based.
He told that one supervisor admitted
to him that he went into office $500 in
debt. In two years time that super
visor built three houses in Taylor,
| bought "A property on Lincoln heights,
for which he paid 81, 200, purchased a
| lot in Mooslc and some other property
| in Minooka.
Relatives of a supervisor. he also
went on to relate, he'd in their possess
sion large orders which they admitted
were 6lNth lHcul IbI pltStlllE. Hdl
| they were telling the truth was evil
denced by the fact that they had never
done a tap of work for the township.
One supervisor, it was shown from
| the auditors report, put in a bill for
| 81 days labor for himself and 22l
| days for his team. The other credited
| himself with 3l2 days labor and claim
| ed 224 days for his team. 1t was posi-
| lively known, Mr.. Thompson said, that
one supervisor had worked with his
| team during a good part of the year
hauling stone. Both supervisors charged
50 a day for their services, when tho
| law, he claimed only allows them 81. so
| A suspicious item in Supervisor Toole's
account. according to Mr.. Thompson
| was a claim of $3275O for "blacksmith-
| ing. lumber, damages and inCidentals. n
Peter Mullen. of MinUoka, who is
| foremost i'm probing into the alleged
| steals and who filed exceptions to the
| auditors report. next made an address
| in which he openly charged the most
| barefaCed frauds on the part of the
| township officials. The auditors report
shows that $4,000 was expended dur.
! ing 1897 he said, while 81, 1884 80 was col.
| lect,L, the duplicate thereby being cX.
ceeded by over $4,000, an evidence in
itself, he contended, that the affairs OF
| the township were at least not care.
| fully administered.
LARGE INDEBTEDNESS
He then went on to tell that the in.
| debtedness of the borough according tC
the stubs was fully $4,000, but thai
only half that amount was represented
by the orders presented To the commits
sioner. The other orders are SO palp,
ably fraudulent, he said, that the hold
ers. through their friendship for those
from whom they got them, will no.
| present them.
1T is easy for anybody to have Lack
awanna township orders" said Mr.
Mullen, "when they have printing
press up there i'm Minooka, turning
| them out as fast as they need them"
| ---------------------