The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-17
KELLY WRITES A LETTER

noted that coupon was detached from
each bond / referred the matter to
| Mr. Kelly and he stated that he was
not satisfied with the way the bonds
and coupons had been handled and.
that, in the future, whenever a bond
came into the office with a. coupon de-
| tached to make a notation on the bond
of the number of coupons detached be-
| fore being deposited in the state treas
urer's office. 1 made this notation on
| these bonds which corresponds to the
action of the bond clerk in the auditors
office in stamping the coupons. and
have made that notation on every bond,
where coupons were detached, which L
have registered to the permanent school
fund, since 1 have been connected with
| this office. The books are so made in
| this office that there can be no record
made of the number of coupons on a
bond when it is purchased by the school
fund commission, and this is the only
way by which the treasurer can be pro-
! tected against this practice under the
present system
1.-The state treasury has been a col
| lecting agency, not by law, but by
custom. for many years. 1t is a place
where men come to have checks and
| drafts cashed; to get New York and
Kansas exchange, because it costs
nothing. Bond brokers, when permit
1 ted to clip coupons from bonds oc-
| casionally ask the state treasurer to
make collections for them. These cou-
| pons are always payable to bearer at
| the fiscal agency. Business done with
| the fiscal agency can be shown where
| the state has no interest. Charges
and credits are made there that do
/ not concern the state, and there is
seldom an interest paying period in
| the state but what accommodations
of this kind are done for somebody.
/ W men the collection is made of draft
check, bond or coupon, the money
Is paid to the parties presenting them
| for collection.
THE office has made collections for
Il w. 4
NO record is kept of these transac-
tions. 1t is merely a complimentary
II am unable to account for everv
pond and coupon that belongs to the
state since | have been state treasurer.
ed to answer charges that are
| it took six months to make, and
Tor political purposes, without having
time and opportunity to make full
ana ralr investigation of them.''
Treasurer KelIy's explanation sounds
very peculiar in places He asserts
that the state has lost nothing in the
Garoen CITY matter and therefore he
sees no reason for making such a fuss
about It.
OF course Mr.. Kelly does not like to
nave such a fuss about it. And the
state has not lost anything for the
reason that the person who wronEfully
got the 81, 40250 interest on the Garden
CITY bonds got frightened and myster-
1ously returned it to the state treasury
IN letter to Assistant Treasurer
Richey when it was found that the
state accountants were looking the
matter up. This was done. too. over a
year after Garden City paid the mon
ey to the fiscal agency.
Only a very few people knew the
state accountants were on the trail of
then, did "A. r. Brown" find it out
and hasten to send the missing money
to the state treasury.
Again, Treasurer Kelly says that he
has frequently made collections of in
terest coupons from the fiscal agency
for bond brokers who have had clip
ped coupons. This, he says, has been
done as an accommodation, but he has
no record of such transactions.
Supposing "A. r. Brown" had clip
ped the first coupons from the Garden
City bonds believing he was entitled
to them, and had had them collected
for him from the fiscal agency, would
he now pay the money into the state
treasury in mysterious manner just
because he hears that the state ac-
cOuntants are looking the matter up?
If Mr.. Kelly had collected 81, 4O2. so
for "A. r. Brown from the fiscal
agency and had then paid it over to
Brown, would he not produce some
cancelled check or some other evidence
of such payment. If he had made the
transaction without any record, simply
carrying the data in his head, would
he not now remember something about
it-at least for whom it was done-so
that he would be able to trace the
mysterious "A. r. Brown2''
Mr.. Kelly claims that this coupon
must have been clipped before the bonds
came to his office, otherwise the missing
coupon would have been stamped as
the property of the state. He also says
Walter Payne, the chief clerk in his
office, made a note on the bonds that
one coupon was missing at the time
they were registered in the treasurer's
office.
Just before that Mr.. Kelly states
that these bonds were bought by the
old school fund commission. This is a
fact They were registered in the aud
itors office on January Z, 1908, while
the new officers did not come into Of
fee until the following week. 50 Mr..
Payne was not chief clerk in the treas
urers office at that time. Again, If this
notation was on the bonds, why was
not the attention of the state account
ants called to it.
state auditor when these bonds were
registered. and for four or five days
afterwards, was asked about the
stamping of the coupons, he said:
Il don't remember as to these par
ucular bonds, but I recall that shortly
before I went out of Office the school
fund commissioners purchased some
bonds which 1 refused to register be-
cause according to the records in my
office there was no money in the per-
manent school fund with which to buy
the bonds. 1 was informed that the
treasury had an abundance of money, |
but it had not been reeeipted for and
reported to me because the treasury
was being checked up preparatory to
being turned over by Mr.. Grimes to
Mr.. Kelly. Upon this the bonds were
registered, but my recollection is that
they were turned over to the treasurer
with out stamping until after the trans
fer was made. The stamping was to
be done after the funds had been
nrnnPrlX credited that thew cOIld he |
drawn upon"
The cancelled warrant for the Gar
den City bonds show that it was issued |
on January IL, 1903, in favor of c. E.