The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-09-24

supporting and maintaing these very
schools.
And, again, in this connection,
there has been 30 much said in the
county about what is known as the
Chart money for the public schools
of the county. We have investigated
this matter also, and find the follow
ing facts to be true conditions of af-
fairs. Various School Trustees of the
county were over reached by certain
agents, and by them induced to pur-
chase Charts for their various schools.
And in addition to the misrepresen-
tations made by these agents, when
the charts were received they did not
prove to be what had been ordered,
and in fact some were never received
at all. There has been issued by the
different district boards vouchers
upon the County Treasurer for these
Charts aggregating the sum of
$2,423 Is.
The Treasurer was notified of the
fact as to how these claims or vouch-
ers were obtained by the agent, and
at the request Of the various School
Districts he refused to pay these
vouchers when presented for pay
ment.
The different School Districts had
employed Hon. W. 81. Sharpe to
represent them in the matter, and
Treasurer Shealy, when sued by the
parties holding the vouchers, en-
ployed Messrs. E6rd & Dreher and
T. G. Sturkie to represent him and
the county's interest for which he
paid them the sum of seventy-six
dollars.
The Treasurer was successful in
the proceedings in court, and there
by saved to the public schools of the
county the said sum of $2,423 IS less
the fee of $76 90 paid to his said
Attorneys, together with the sum of
1913 90 paid to Hon. W. 81. Sharpe
under the contract made with him by
the various school districts interested
in the matter. We certainly think
the Attorneys should be commended
for their services in the case, and
especially do we think Treasurer
Shealy should be commended for the
part he took in the matter, for there
by the schools of our county are now
not only on cash basis, but have
the benefit of over $4,000 90 saved by
this law suit.
Upon an examination of the Treas
urer's books We found that the total
indebtedness of the county on April
the 5th 1902, amounted to $4,000 90
principal, 1925 81 interest, aggregat-
ing $4,726 81. At this time the
Treasurer having on hand the sum
of $3,627I32 in what is commonly
known as the Crosson Sinking Fund,
and having sufficient funds on hand
belonging to the county, which the
demand of the county did not imme-
diately require, he supplemented the
Crosson Fund with $1,O99.15 out of
the county's fund and settled the
entire indebtedness of the county.
And he tells US that he will have
sufficient funds on hand with which
to meet the current expenses of the
county, except he will have to borrow
between 100000 and S2,5OOCO for
forty or sixty days, and that he has
made arrangements to borrow this
money, when it is required, at the
reasonable rate of Z per cent. per
annum, for the time it is actually
needed, thereby saving the county,
in interest, about $4,000.
According to your instructions We
employed T. G. Sturkie, Esq, as our
expert to assist US in making these
various examinations. He gave US
valuable service, and We recommend
that he be paid the sum of $4,000