The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1902-05-09
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION LIED.


sive prerogative on behalf of party
conventions be allowed, still. even
i'm that case, the intruder could not,
in common fairness, be charged
with impertinence OF arrogance
and denied further hearing. 1t
was the convention that nominated
Mr.. Dockery that lied in its plat
form, and the extent OF the editors
oiicnse was that he did not be-
lieve that lie nor intend that IL
should mislcad the public unchal-
lepgcd.
Nor Is he to be deferred by this
afterthought OF his exccllcncy that
sin contemplation of the constitu-
ton" there was no change in the
investment of the assets of the
school fund, however clearly that
contemplation may be In contra
diction of his own party platform
when II states the sum total of the
bonded indebtedness still To be
paid at s2,637, 900; for, in fairness
to the democratic party, IL ought
to be reminded that II could not
know Mt that time what its candi-
dates contemplation might make
OF the constitution n whole year
afterwaid. All they claimed was
that they had reduced n debt OF
s2i, ,7ss, 200 to 50, ,037, 200 by ccono-
mic administration OF public al
fairs. They could not know that
that their candidate, when drawn
in n corner by the question:
"What became of the assets of the
school fund.-" would deem IL the
shortest way out to say that II had
been merged with the bonded debt
OF the state, and that In contcmpla-
ton of the constition. the convcn-
lion either did not know what IL
was talking about or did not care (;
that, In point oi fact, the boadcd
debt consisted, at the time the con-
vcntion spoke, OF s7,03i, ,2Si53, in
stead OF 2,637 900; that the boid-
ed debt was not reduced to 81, 2,637, =
900 by economic administration of
public affairs, but by taking s2,-
397, ,j3, minus s3,iij.95, out OF the
school and seminary fluids, lcav-
ing a deficit In these two funds, as
Witnessed by certificates OF in
dcbtncss, OF 81, 1893, ,539.i3.
SCHOOL FUND ASSETS.
Now, whoever may be correct in
this contention between the con-
vention and its creating, his pre-
sent exccllcncy, one thing, the cdi-
tor believes, Is perfectly correct,
and that Is that the present assets
OF the state school fund consist
not OF s3,i5S, ,937.i0, but OF the
magnificent sum OF S073. In the
currency OF the realm, and deficit
OF 50, 10000, and this, we belivc,
not because the present auditor
says 20 In his statement, vouched
for by Chicago and New York cx-
perts, but because the democratic
general assembly did, in the year
oi our Lord, 1901, submit an
amendment to the constitution
asking the people to vote upon
themselves n tax of three cents on
the 800 to make good this deficit.
For the same reason we do also
believe that the assets OF the semi
nary fund consist not of the sum
of SO, ,iS2 .06, and evidences OF a de-
felt for the balance-that Is, for
81, ,235, ,S30.I2. While we believe
this for the reason stated, we do
not believe that the deficits in the
assets OF the school and seminary
funds, amounting to 81, 1893, ,5S9.43,
were used to redeem bonds of the
state, OF in the reduction OF the
bonded debt OF the state; nor that
the funds ever had assets consists
ing in bonds OF the state to that
amount, and for this belief we
have nothing to offer but the state
ment of the present auditor, vouch-
ed for, of course, as stated above,
and the act of March 81, 1885,
Mo. S. X.