The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-12
HOW 1T ALL HAPPENED.
Dodge City Certificate About VaIua-
ton Was False.

As was suggested by the State Jour
( nal last week might be the case. ac-
can the certificate presented at the
state auditors Office to secure the reg
istration of those Dodge City bonds
\ in the state school fund, was really
la forgery. 1t appears that the certif1-
cate was made out correctly but two
\ figures were transposed, largely in
creasing the alleged assessed valua-
/ ton of Dodge City. The certificate
as the county clerk of Ford county
intended 1t. was that the assessed ValU-
alton of Dodge City this year is $34S,-
126. AS presented to the state audi
tor by ID. f. Dunn, the broker who
was negotiating the deal. the certifi-
cate placed the figure at S3S4,126.
The latter figure was enough to allow
the purchase of the bonds by the
state school fund commissioners, pro-
vfded il had been found that the 500
600 of city warrants had been legally
charged off.
The parties who have been manipu-
lating the deal were shrewd enough
TO take this certificate away with
them Where it is now is not known.
1t was intended to be used only to
get the state auditor to register the
bonds. and but for the timely ar
rival of the official abstract from the
county clerk of Ford county, the state
to register the bonds and the deal
would have consunmated, by which
$4,000 of bonds worth IS cents on the
dollar would have been unloaded on
to the state school fund at par. and
some body would have cleaned up near
" $4,000 profit on it
The people of Dodge City are not
interested in the matter as has been
explained by the State Journal The
city does not own the bonds and has
no interest in their ownership. They
are in the hands of spectators, who,
with the aid. unconscious or otherwise,
g. to-,
expected to make a good thing out of
them
The Dodge City Republican pub
fishes the following about the mat
ter. which indicates that a forgery was
committed in changing the figures on
the county clerks certificate:
Some of the people here may not
understand the big fiuttering agita-
the Topeka papers regarding what
they call in Topeka the Dodge City
bond deal. The articles as a matter
of fact should all be labeled the
Bond Buyers. The matter has nothing !
whatever to do with Dodge City or |
Dodge City people any more than
that the bonds were originally issued |
will have to be paid by Dodge City. |
The case is this: Dodge City issued 1
and sold some bonds The parties
now holding them have been trying |
mission. A bond broker who owns 1
or is agent for the parties owning |
the bonds, came here to get a GER |
tifcate of the assessed valuation and |
of Dodge City. This was |
given him but in getting it to To-
peka the figures $34s.126 appear to
have received such a jolting up that |
the s got in front of the so that it
now reads S3S4,126. The bond deal is
to Dodge City, to the city |
clerk. county clerk or any other per-
son here 1t does not matter to us
who owns the bonds. 1t was to some
persons interest. however, so il seems,
to get the bond deal through No sane
person would suppose that County
Clerk Reynolds would certify one val
uation to the bond broker, an act
which was a mere courtesy, and an
other almost at the same time, so far
different and as a public record too.
The information given from here was
solely as a courtesy. the same as any
one would give an answer to a civil
question. Judge Madison while in To-
oeka was asked about the bonds and
because he gave a civil answer it was
attempted in this Topeka agitation
to connect him, too. with this Tope-
ka-Wichita bond deal
Dodge City simply hasn't any chips
IN the game. There is no one here
who is not willing for Wichita and
Topeka to be wallopped thoroughly
JTer this bond deal. If, as the State
journal hints, it looks like a conspi-
-acy Tor some one to clean up S12.-
100 we, here at Dodge are neither
buying nor selling any of the bonds.
md have no chance to get at the rake
IN, and don't care bond brokers'
anathema what they do to the parties I
Who are interested in the DEAL