The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-07
GEN. POPE MAKES A FORMAL
STATEMENT To THE MANkATO
CITY COUNCIL
FACTS and FIGURES ARE GIVEN
EXPLANATIONS MADE BOTH BY THE
PUBLIC EXAMINER AND BY
HIS ATTORNEY
SWORN STATEMENT AS WELL

Interest Transactions Between Man
katO and Its Library Board Gone
Into in Detail to Show That
There Was No Juggling With the
Public Funds-BOth Sides Given q
Chance to Be Heard.
MANKATO, Mimi. Nov. 6.-(SpeciaL)-
The following sworn statement was sub
mitted tonight by Public Examiner E. NJ.
Pope to the Mankato city council:
E. NJ. Pope came before me personally.
and being by me duly sworn, deposes and
says that during his term of office as
president of the Mankato public library,
from April 1894, TO May, 1887, every order
drawn by the library board on the CITY
treasurer was duly authorized and was
signed by the president and secretary CT
the library board; that they were properly
PAID py the city treasurer and reported
py MIN to the city recorder; that at no
time was the library fund Of s.. 600 annu-
ally, appropriated by the city. overdrawn;
that the library board never named q
treasurer or other agency to hold funds
OF the library board after they were
drawn from the city, but that they were
always placed at the disposition of the
president, and in every case, as 1t hap
pened. were deposited by him in one CT
the city banks to the account and credit
OF the Mankato public library; that the
proceeds of every order ever drawn by
this atf1ant were placed in the various
banks in the City Of Mankato to the credit
OF the account of the Mankato public Ii
brary, and subject TO its exclusive control;
that no orders of the hoard were ever Civ
en- as TO the disposition of the boards
FUNDS; that the interest account between
the city Of MankatO and the public Ii
brary shows large balance of interest
due TO the library from the city; that the
report Of Accountant Donaldson showed
that the public library accounted for ev-
cry dollar ever drawn from the city; that
Iaree or the SIX payments made during
Mr.. CoXS term as secretary were not
entered on the library records: that six of
the orders paid by the city cannot be
found.
The statement was accompanied by
certificates of former city and library
board officials, corroborating the facts
set forth in Mr.. Pope's affidavit.
The council deferred action in the mat
ter until after the next meeting of the
library board, Dec. 4.
DEBT DENIED.
Mr.. Pope's attorney, Mr.. Taylor. stated
at the outset that Gen. Pope denied any
Indebtedness, and cited the resolution
creating the library board and fixing the
first tax levy for the board The entire
levy, he pointed out, would be due Oct.
l, or in small sums, from time to time
making the aggregate for the year s., 600.
He presented then a system of account
ing of interest between the library board
and the city, charging the board inter-
est on sums drawn before Oct. l and
crediting it with interest on sums drawn
after Oct. l. Mr.. Taylor figured that
the city owed its library board interest
on 800 for 1000 days.
The list of orders was then presented,
as Aid. Meyer wanted to be sure the
list Of orders was correct in detail. That
settled, to Mr.. Tayor's mind, the ques-
ton of interest accounts between the city
and its library board. He presented also
the certificate of former Secretary U. S.
Cox, to the effect that all the orders
drawn between April, 1894, and May,
1887, were properly signed and duly au-
thorized by the board He presented a
number of orders, but the $500 order of
April was not to be found. Nor was il
accounted for by q minute in the record
books He cited similar orders to show
that this was not the only case Of the
kind.
When Mr. Taylor finished, Gen. Pope
made a statement, aJtrfbuting the attack
TO the St. Paul Dispatch and to 7. A.
Wise, the editor of the Mankato Review,
He asked Mr. Wise, who was present. if
he had ever been in the library. Mr..
Wise replied that he had not. but that he
had contributed TO the fund
Mr. Pope continuing said that he had
shown that every dollar turned over to
the library beard by the council had been
accounted for. He would make to the
library board a full statement as to what
had been done with the money. This
statement he would make at the next
meeting Of the board and the board could
present it to the public He felt that he
had been attacked uujustly and he want
ed to be cleared in the eyes of the public.
Mayor Currier assured Mr.. Pope that
the council intended no injustice.
Aid. Meyer said that the board had on
one occasion drawn $500 more than the
levy for the whole year, although not
more than $4,000 for the five years. AS
to the order of April 6, 1895, il had not
been stated that the library had the use
of the money from that time until May,
1899 The facts were, he asserted that it
had not had the use of that money.
The money was not turned over to the
new president by Gen. Pope, as it seemed
to him it should have been. He believed
it should be explained why this 800 had
been in hiding.
Aid. Meyer said the city had paid the
interest on some of the library orders,
and when it was paid back the city
should have It..
was compelled TO borrow was in advance
of tax Ievies made for its benefit the
city ought to pay the interest, as the
city enjoyed the benefit from the funds.
Aid Meyer asserted that the $500 in
question had been deposited in the bank
April II, 1896, and withdrawn April Is of
+he same year. The present board had
had no knowledge of the $500 until May
last, and did not then know that it was
library money until July. He wanted to
know what had been done with the
money.
Gen Pope responded that it had been
used for the library. He would explain
to the library board what had been done
with it.