The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-27
SURPRISED At Van SAINT
PEOPLE AMAZED AT HIS UNDER
TAKING 81. INVESTIGATION
OF ALLEGED FRAUDS
LAW SAYS WHAT HE SHALL DO
Call for Special Commission If
POpe's Discoveries Only Cover
One Month, How Much Is
There Yet Uncovered:

| "A BOOU Qedi OF surprise Is expressed III
political and official circles at Gov Van
SAINTS undertaking, in person, an investi-
cation into the official conduct of County
Auditor w. H. Johnson. 1t is we'll
known that the governor cannot give the
time necessary to a complete examination
of the numerous questionable tran
sactions in refunding payments which
have been discovered under Auditor John.
sons administration. The handsome
amount Of $4,000 has been paid out by
Mr.. Johnson in the refundment of such
certificates, during the past two and a
half years. How much of this sum was
checked out OF. the county funds fraudu-
lently it will be necessary to determine,
if the examination is to be at all effec-
tive for it's purpose. Examiner Pope s
investigation only covers a single month
of this year.
A leading attorney of the city pointed
out to a reporter for the G l o b that
there is no warrant whatever for the
governors conducting that examination
personally. The law calls for the APP
pointment Of special commissioners for
the purpose. Here is the section of the
law:
Section Whenever charges are made
against any officer, under chapter 9, of
the General Statutes, and acts amenda-
tory thereof, relating to designations, va
cancies and removals, the governor shall
| appoint special commissioners to take
and report testimony for and against
such officer, to be used in determining
his guilt or innocence.
The evident intention is to protect the
law to be represented by counsel. The
fees, duties and powers OF the special
commissioners are set forth with great
detail, in the law, and the most exhaus-
tive provision is made in every direction.
The evident intention is to protect the
accused official at every point. and to
make the fullest examination possible
| just as full as if the official were being
| tried under a criminal indictment-and to
| hear anything and everything that can be
| urged for and against his guilt.
There does not seem to be any DISPOSE
ton to question the desire of the gov
ernor to be just to the public and to the
| accused official alike; but it is ppFhted
out that the conduct Of any eXaminati ton
| by him can result neither in the estab-
lishment of guilt nor innocence. If there
| is a movement on foot in state official
circles to have Johnson removed from
| office or to eXonerate him, as the evidence
may call for, the only way, It is insisted
to go about the work is to have special
commissioners appointed and the exam
| ination conducted as the law prescribes.
GRAND JURY SHOULD ACT.
The general opinion throughout the city
is that the matter is more properly one
for the fullest examination by the pres
ent grand jury. The frauds charged have
been perpetrated on the taxpayers of
this county. The offenses We're, If at all,
| committed in the county,. Whether Au-
ditor Johnson is guilty of criminal COM
plicity in the frauds, or not, or whether
any one or more of his deputies we're In
with the frauds, it is generally recognized
that there existed a criminal conspiracy,
! or, perhaps, a number of such conspira-
| ctes, to secure money on false pretenses.
The consDirators. IL they are SUCH
should be prosecuted. The pressure on
the county attorneys Office to take the
matter up and prosecute those most
| prominently mentioned thus far in the
| transactions is increasing every day, and
| it is expected that action will be taken
early the present week.
1.-THE county funds" said a former
financial official of the city. who desired
| his name withheld shave been jugglod
with in the most shameful way 1T could
! never have been done if somebody in the
auditors office had not stood in 1t IS
/ inconceivable shat the county warrants
should be issued time after time inno-
Gently or ignorantly before any surrender
was made of the tax certificates
you understand, of course" continued
the Globes informant, "that this refund
ing business is a perfectly familiar one to
! every financial officer The law says per-
emptorily that no warrant shall be is
sued until the certificate is surrendered.
! Every other county auditor before John
son knew all about that requirement and
lived up to it. Johnson has lived up to
1T, too, and insisted on it's fuI6llment IN
/ all cases where the known standing Of
the parties could not admit of any pos
sibility of fraud. Why did he not do so
in the other cases? There are other re-
quirements in the law which must be OBJ
served before the county warrant is is
sued to take up the certificate; but this
one requirement of surrender of the GER
tihcates is vital and fundamental 1t
cannot be dispensed WITH and it never
was dispensed with until Johnson came
into office.
'Of course it was dispensed with In
most or nearly all the deals that Pope
has shown up. Indeed, each and every
requirement OF the law to protect the
public against just sucn frauds had to
be violated before such transactions
could be carried out
THESE violations of law could not have
been accidental. Nor could they have
arisen from Carelessness alone The re-
fundment of moneys on tax certificates
is familiar transaction. Moneys have
been honestly and lawfully paid on re-
| Qurln2
Johnson's term although the frauds al
legged are now shown to have begun I'M
der him. Take that one referred 10 in the
examiners report as No 2,1S4, effected By
the National Bond & Surety COMPANY.
That was an honest transaction. Every
step in it was taken honestly. The law
was fully complied with in CARRYING il
out. There are others like it. Is it Likely
that the county auditor and his deput es
We're all ignorant OF what ought to have
been done to comply with the law when
they had such examples as this before
them every day of how to do the thine
honestly and lawfully? Why Gil he and
they not apply the same requirements
to Burns, Ducius, Cassidy and the resi-
OF them? Why make fish of one and flesh
OF another. If ignorance and neglect rep.
resented the height of the offending OF
Johnson and his deputies?''
The belief finds universal expression
among city and county officials that Il
these tax certificate transactions are
thoroughly examined into good MANY
whose names have not yet appeared viii
be found to have been benefiting bv the
peculiar methods shown to prevail in thu
present county auditors office.