The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-06-08
.DORAH CASE AGAIN
County's Effort to Collect
From BondSmen Failed.
SMALL SUMS PAID IN
Emil Werner Was the Heaviest
Loser.

Talk OF the Doran case is revived and
people are now asking what it was al
about, anyhow.
When Mr.. Patterson made his report Of
the examination Of the county treasurer s
books and reported that John a. Doran
was short in his accounts with the county
over thirty thousand dollars It created
one of the greatest sensations ever known
in this county.
What followed people VIII remember
Mrs. Doran, heartbroken. sold her home
| and left the county, and then came the
| long lawsuit to recover from Doran's es-
/ tate and his bondsmen, and Just how
much the county ever got Of that large
amount of money few people ever knew.
Many of the farmers hav the impress
sion that the county collected over $50 COZ
from the Doran estate and the men who
signed Mr. Doran's bond as county treas
urer, but when the records are looked up
it is found that the county did not get
very much money. There is no doubt in
the minds Of some whether the county
collected enough to pay the costs Of the
lawsuit that followed the exposure Of the
shortage.
Mr.. Doran had some OF he weaIthiest
men in this county on his bond besides
a number Of well-to-do farmers. 1t was
claimed at the time that an enforced col
lection OF the bond would ruin some
mighty good men, and there We're not
few who said that collection by the coun-
ty ought not to be attempted.
There is generally politics in a public
matter Ike this. and hence the demand
for the collection Of the shortage. A Re
publican attorney said last night that
there had been, in fact. two political cam
paigns fought in this county on the Issue
of the Doran shortage. He said it was
not in the party platforms, but it was IN
the campaign among the people just the
same.
What did Dorans bondsmen have to
pay? is what a good many people have
recently been asking. In order to be able
to answer this question intelligently a
reporter for the Eagle yesterday looked
over the files in the district court. There
are enough Of them to I'll one Of the
drawers IN the fiIe frame in the Office Of
the clerk Of the district court It is SIM
ply astounding the amount Of work that
was done in this case. All of the bonds
men had their own attorneys, and all Of /
them filed answers. There were special /
venires Of jurymen, and the cost piled /
higher and higher. Il would be hard to I
tell the exact amount of the costs in the /
case because Tor days and weeks the I
whole court was occupied with this case.
Some of the county officers estimate that /
the costs to the county was between three
and four thousand dollars. But this is. OF
course, only an estimate and it may be
more than that.
There is nothing remarkable in the fact
that some Of the bondsmen were alarmed
about this case when It was first fled
Among the bondsmen we're such men as
Emil Werner, Dent Mccormick, s. w.
Balch, J. H. Reese, s. H. Hoover. Charles
Bull and others. any one Of whom was
worth a good part OF the shortage.
The suit was fled against the Doran es-
tate and ". r. Tucker as administrator.
Charles Bull, S. H Hoover, Z. p. Hutch
Inson, J. II. Rhodes and II. Stcver as ad-
Of the estate OF I. D. Slower.
John Westfal, Laura 2. meyers. D. Nc
Cormick. "a. W. Marshall, S W. Balch,
p Mcdonald, Bruce Manamee, w. W.
Hays. J. P. Mahan. J. +. Farris, Emil
Werner. F. Holm. C. Koch. c. NJ. Miles.
". J. Pittinger, Jacob Sewer, J. F. Hume
and J. +. Reese. The exact amount OF
damages claimed and for which judgment
was secured was Sc. 1S7. That was the
amount OF money this legal fight was for
md what the bondsmen would have had
% pay fl addition TO the costs OF the
,ase. II VIII be in place to ere remark (
hat they did not pay that amuont
The county commissioners were induced
% make some kind OF a compromise by
which they agreed 20 take less than the
amount OF the judgment IN the records
Il the board it is stated that It was neces-
iary TO compromise, and as fast as the
,ondsmen paid up their proportion they
we're released. The recor4s of the county
show that Charles Bull
,aid the sum OF $50 TO settle the judg- .
nent against him D. Mccormick paid 7
90 s. W. Balch was let OF with so.
. r. Reese put up an even 500. and S. ~.
Hoover paid $3.50 D. Hutchinson. T.