The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-11

which occurred in the Grtmes-Kelly
administration, these three items ag
gregating a shortage of $4,2S5. There
are still others which have not been
made public.
The largest of these three short
ages is an item of $2,625 of interest
paid by johnson county July 1, 1900.
This money is still missing from the
state treasury. When will Kelly re-
turn it!
Reno. county paid $3.50 interest on
one lot of bonds on December IL, 1900,
and $140 interest on a smaller amount
on December 26, 1900. All of this
money is still missing from the state
treasury. When will Kelly return that!
The Bourbon County Incident.
State Accountant Rowett's report
and the shortages which he tells about
which date back to the time when
to mind the shortage in the state
treasury accounts with Bourbon coun-
ty, which the State Journal unearthed
about two years ago.
AT that time T. T. Kelly was assist
ant state treasurer, and it was Kelly
who looked after the Bourbon county
case. The county treasurer of Bourbon
county sent about 81 300 to the state
taxes and small amount on school
land. 1t was not receipted for at the
time.
Two years later George E. Cole, who
urer of Bourbon county 20 account for
not remitting this school land money.
The Bourbon county treasurer replied
that he had RENTED the money two
years before Mr.. Cole took the matter
up with the state treasurers office, with
the result that T. T. Kelly and not Mr..
Grimes, Immediately issued receipts to
Bourbon county for the money and gave
Bourbon county credit for it.
Accompanying the receipts Kelly sent
a letter saying that ''it was one of those
things which cannot be explained" and
that 1.-The money had been credited to
the wrong county, But when Mr..
Grimes was asked to what county it
had been wrongly credited after an
hours search he said Kelly had made a
mistake-that the money had no. been
credited to some other county but had
been carried in a "long' fund for two
years, from one term of office over into
another.
No such '1ong'' fund had ever shown
up in the treasury examinations, how
ever. The truth was that there was
shortage and that when it was discov-
cred somebody hastily got the money
and put it into the treasury.
T. T. Kelly handled the state money
during the Grimes administration.
Some people believe that Mr.. Grimes
had knowledge of the shortages in his
office and others believe that he did
not.
Burton and Grimes.
In this connection the story of how
treasurer is of interest. When Grimes
first came to the slegisla ture from Wich-
ita county he identified himself with the
political fortunes of J. r. Burton, at
that time a standing candidate for
United States senator. One day when a
number of Kansas men were in Wash
ington, several months before the
Hutchinson convention in 1898, when
Grimes was first nominated, Burton had
a talk with q group of Kansas men in
which was Cyrus Leland, ]. NJ. Simp-
son, Morton Albaugh and two or three
others. He demanded that the Repub-
lican nomination for state treasurer be
conceded I Frank Grimes.
Some of the others objected to
Grimes on the ground that he had had
no experience in an Office of that ma
ture. They suggested to Burton that
Grimes would be more suited to the
office of state auditor and pointed out
that the salary was the same.
Cyrus Leland, who tells the incident,
says that Burton would not have it
that way THE only office worth a
-" said Burton, is state treasurer.
The salary doesn't amount to anything
in any state Objects what there is
on the side that counts. 1 must have
the state treasury for my man.
And Burton got it.
Grimes appointed T. T. Kelly as as
sistant treasurer, and within two
weeks after he took the office the
$1,000 shortage in the Bourbon county
remittance occurred.