The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-04-25
THE OTHER SIDE.
Regent Vrooman Gives His Version
of the Investigation

OF the AnVeStiSat 1On-
Carl vroonan of Parsons, a member
OF the board of regents of the State
Agricultural college says of the in
vestigation of c. B. Hoffman and ]. N.
Limbocker:
For four days the investigating
committee at Manhattan has taken
evidence and ransacked records with
the object of finding a mares nest, but
in vain On Thursday night they
thought they had it, when the minutes
OF the board of regents were produced.
neatly copied in the regular board min
ute book, and it was found that they
mad but recently been copied, and that
three leaves had been cut out and re-
placed.
Immediately the cry went up that
the minutes had been 'doctored,' and re-
porters for Republican papers even
went SO far as to say the original rec
ords had been destroyed A statement
of Private Secretary Lee that by order
of President Will the records had been
carefully guarded was twisted into the
story that President VIII had given or
ders that no one should be permitted
to see the minutes.
When When the question was raised on
promptly announced that the original
minutes would be on hand the follow
ing morning. and they were. The at
tOrneyS for the prosecution thumbed
and Ogled them through the forenoon.
but without finding a single discrepancy
or defect upon which to base a bubble.
SATURDAY forenoon president VIII,
secretary OF the board OF regents and
custodian of the minutes, was placed
on the stand All remaining doubts as
TO the authenticity of the minutes were
dISpeIled- His story from beginning TO
end was straight as a yardstick, and a
mercileSs discrimination at the
hands OF Attorney HeSSin failed to dis
close a single weak spot in mis- account
President VIII stated that as secretary
OF the board he took the minutes in the
course of each board meeting in an alb
breviated hand and in the shape OF
memoranda; that Immediately on the
adjournment Of the board, some times
at spare intervals in the course of
board meetings, he dictated from the
minutes TO a stenOgrapher, correcting
the English and extending the memo
randa into full statements; the stenog-
rapher thereupon wrote UP the minutes
with typewriter on loose sheets;
these sheets were next critically ex-
amined by the president, the necessary
corrections written in with pen or
pencil, the sheets fastened together. and
the packages of minutes thus made up
placed in the vault until the next meet
ing OF the board, at which time they
were read to the board, such corrections
as were deemed necessary by the reg
entS were made. with erasures inter
HneatiOns, and the like; and the min
utes thus corrected were thereupon ap-
proved.
The minutes for the year and three
quarters OF the present administration
consist now of several packa ges; these
it had been intended from the first to
nave copied in neat, business-Iike form
into the large minute book. This copy
ing could have been done with a pen:
but the pen age had passed in the col
lege Offices, and President VIII desired
that they be copied in with a type
writer.
On finding that a wide gauge ma
chine could be rented, samples of wide
sheets Of paper were ordered with the
idea Of having the matter copied first
and then bound Shortly after came the
investigation Then came the ma
chine, but no paper. On examining the
old minute book which had been used
by the preceding administration, il was
found that the leaves had been stitched
into the volume in such a manner that
they might be ripped out and sewed
back President VIII now ordered that
blank leaves be thus ripped out, the
minutes copied neatly on the leaves
received, the copied sheets carefully
proof read, and then sewed back into
the book from which they had been ia
ken out blank. This work was done. and
in excellent style, except that by blum
ders three leaves were damaged. These
blank leaves cut from the back of the
book, and these new leaves pasted into
the place OF the damaged ones. The
damaged leaves, however, were care
fully preserved to produce in case any
question should arise, and were in the
minute book when it was brought into
court.
Examination of the original type
written minute sheets failing to dis
close any irregularity, the prosecution
were driven to shift their ground. They
now declared that neither the latest
typewriter copy Gin the large book
nor the original typewriter sheets
were the minutes, and demanded in