The Elk Mountain pilot., 1901-07-16
STATE TREASURER CHIPLEY
PRESENTS HIS STATEMENT

Denver, July 11.-State Treasurer j.
n. Chipley yesterday sent to Governor
Orman his promised report in regard
to the recent payments of $4,000 of
warrants drawn on the revenues of
1889, about which so much has been
said in the way of criticism. The full
text of the communication is as fol
lows:
Denver, Colo, July 10, 1901.
James Il. Orman, Governor.
Dear Sir:-Although there is neither
cule nor law requiring me, as state
treasurer to report to you my actions
In the daily transactions of business of
my office. yet | volunteered in a letter
to you of July 1st, as chief executive
of the state, to furnish you n full and
complete statement of my authority
for paying and cancelling certain war
rants drawn for the salaries of the
state officers, and the members of the
Legislature and their employees for the
year 1889. l now at the earliest pos
sible mon: ent take pleasure in submit
ting for your examination the follow
ing:
mo. 1. Letter to your excellency.
mo. .. Communication by myself
to Attorney General Post.
NO. 3. Opinions by Attorney Gen
eral Post.
NO. 4. Opinions by Calvin E.
Reed, Esq.
mo. 3. Opinion by e. Il. Richard
son, Esq.
mo. e. Opinion by Byron L. Carr.
mo. Z. Letter to ID. II. Moffat, Esq.
NO. s. Copy of Twelfth General AS
sembly resolution.
NO. 8. List of warrants paid.
81 call your special attention to these
legal opinions, for upon examination
you Will find, that not only do they ad-
wise me to pay said warrants, but also
state that it is my duty under the law
to make said payment, and that for
me to refuse makes myself and my
bondsmen liable under the statute. As
you will see, the conclusions to the
opinions are, in part, as follows:
Attorney General Post.-The pri-
mary purpose then, is to pay the valid
warrants drawn on the revenue for the
year 1889. but at the same time, hav-
Ing in view the order of preference
given by law under the decisions of
our courts to the order of payment.
you should select those issued in pay
ment of the expenses of the three de-
partments of state. to-wit: the legisla
tive, executive and judicial. While it
is your duty to investigate the legal
ity of every warrant before payment.
yet the presumption is that warrant
which is valid upon its face, drawn
upon the state treasurer by the auditor
of state, was lawfully issued.
Calvin f. Reed.-You are advised
that 1t Is your duty to apply that por-
ton of said $4,000 now held by you,
TO the payment of the 1889 warrants.
and in doing so, you are further adj
vised that X is your duty 90 pay the
said warrants in the order of their reg
istration, emitting. however, all de
fered, or non-preferred warrants which
cannot be paid, If there are a sufficient
number of registered preferred war
rants of that year to exhaust the
money in your hands. The statutes of
this state expressly provide that If the
state treasurer shall refuse or neglect
to pay any warrant in the order in
which the same ought to be paid. he
shall be deemed guilty of n misde-
meanor and liable to fine, imprison-
ment and removal from office.
He further says: 1t requires no ar
gument to convince any person of the
necessity from business standpoint
of paying this money ont. If possible
and stopping the loss to the state in in-
terest, amounting at the present time
to more than $1,000 annually, and
which amounted to more than $4,000
annually from 1889 to 1896
"E. f. Rchardson.-lt is my opinion
that it is your duty as the treasurer
of the state To forthwith disburse the
funds in your hands.
Extract from opinion of Byron L..
Carr: Warrants We're issued for ser
vices rendered. They are now first in
order for payment out of the revenues
for the year 1889. There is -- dol
lars appropriated and collected for the
very purpose of paying these war
rants: there is no reason why payment
should be longer delayed. the services
being performed by reason of the legal
appointment. the warrants being is
sued in strict conformity to the law,
they became valid charges against the
said funds, and should be paid out of
the money appropriated and collected
for that special purpose. We concede
no reason for any other position being
taken by the officers of this state, aud
we respectfully submit that such pay
ment would not in any wise ieOpardize
the state treasurer or any of those re-
sponsible for his acts
"The attached list of warrants paid
contains the number of each warrant,
its date, to whom issued. for what pur-
pose, to whom assigned. amount and in
terest. If you will examine the list you
will find that they all belong to the
preferred class. being for the salaries
of the executive, Legislative and judic-
al departments of this state, to-wit
"Alva Adams. governor; Beck. Helm
and Elliott supreme Court judges; De
France, Rising and Stallcup, Supreme
Court comma Asioners; Yeaman, Decker.
Goddard, ct al, District Court judges;
Hurlbut Rhodes. Elwell, ct al, district
attorneys; and for James a. McCand-
less. j. w. McCreary, Sam V. Newell,
John II. Poole. Adair Wilson, NJ. Il.
Carpenter, Casimiro Barela, William
II. Adams and others. state senator's;
II. II. Eddy. w. b. Ebbert. |. w. Chat
n. LII :. L a. IL L