The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-20
KELLY'S DEFENSE.
Its Weakness, Evasions and Shameless
ness Pitiable.


countant Rowett. which absolutely
proved the fact that Kelly got the
money in the Garden City shortage,
doas not help Mr.. Kelly. 1t is shown
bcytnd the possibility of a doubt and
he does not attempt to deny it, that
the money was paid to him on his
personal request Mr. Kelly tries to Gre
ate the impression that when the COL
lection was made the money was evi-
IDENTIFY paid to some person who pro-
cured the coupons" but he does not
pretend to remember any such person.
If Mr.. Kelly collected $1.402.50 for
some person, writing a personal letter
to New York for that purpose and
asking that the draft be sent to him
personally, does any one suppose that
he would have no recollection for
have to produce the person to whom
he paid the money before he will get
even sympathy.
Mr.. Kelly says the state has lost no
money on this transaction. This is in
line with the triumphant statement of
one of his defenders that lit has not
been proved that Kelly kept the money"
On the contrary it has been proved that
Kelly did not keep the money-after he
became afraid Accountant Rowett
would find out about it. The money
was kept out of the treasury only Il lit
tie over a year and when Rowett got
too near on the trail "A. r. Brown re-
turned it.
Kelly says that Rowett did not dis
cover the irregularity until "A. r.
Brown" returned the money to the state
treasury. Rowett began checking up
the Garden City bonds, however i'm
mediately after J. D. Buckingham came
to Topeka to assist him, which was on
August Is. The only persons who knew
what the accountants We're working on
were the persons in the treasury and in
the auditors office from whom the rec
ords were secured, and Governor Bailey
and the accountants themselves. On
August 26 the mysterious draft from
"A. r. Brown" in payment of the Gar
den City coupons came into the treas
ury. How did "A R. Brown"-if such
a person exists-find out that Rowett
was investigating the Garden City
bonds?
Kelly also says he does not believe
the state had any interest in those Gar
den City coupons because they
were not stamped as the property of
the state. This ''beIief'' of Mr.. Kelly
is shattered by the fact that the next
coupons on the Garden City bonds,
due January 1, 1904. were also not
stamped as the property of the state,
but the money on these was turned into
the state treasury in February, 1904,
shortly after it was due and collected.
Kelly further says that a notation
was made on each bond that the first
coupon was missing on each bond
when they were received here" He
argues that this is proved by the fact
that the first coupon was not stamped
as the property of the state and he
would have people believe that it was
clipped before the bonds and coupons
were stamped. If the first coupon was
so clipped the second must have been
also. for it was not stamped either
but Mr.. Kelly had it in his possession
and collected it for the state last Feb
ruary.
Here are the facts:
C E. Foote says that there were so
on the bonds when he turned
them over to the state.
11n
there were so coupons on the bonds
when they were registered on Janu-
ary Z, 1903.
The first coupon was not due till
T. T. Kelly sent the first coupon
from each of the sixty-six bonds to
the fiscal agency for collection some
time prior to August 8. 1903, asking
him personally.
The draft for $1.4O2.5O, the amount
OF the coupons, was sent to him per-
Sonally on August s, 1903.
Kelly cashed the draft at the Mer-
chants National bank, Topeka, be-
tween August 8 and August %, 1903
On August 26, 1904, more than a
year later, "A. r. Brown. mysteriously
sent draft to Roy Richey in payment
of these coupons.
Kelly carefully ignores mentioning
the personal letter which he wrote to
the fiscal agency in New York asking
coupons should be sent to him per-
sonally- His statement is as follows:
Il desire to say to my friends and to
the Republican party of the state of
Kansas that every dollar, bond or
coupon, that has come into my possess
sion as state treasurer is now in the
vaults of the treasury, or accounted
for in legal and proper manner in
strict accordance with the statutes
governing such matters. and that the
state has not lost a Denny
Concerning the Garden City mat
ter, 1 wish to state that Mr.. ROwett
never discovered that irregularity un-
til the money was returned to the state
Brown Mr.. ROwett then made a trip
to Garden City and, afterwards, one to
New York at the expense of the state
in order to find out the manner in
which this collection was made. He
has brought back from New York a
copy of a check made payable to my
order which applies to this transaction,
and makes an effort to convey the i'm
preston that must have appropriated
the proceeds of that collection to my
own use.
The fact that check has been pro-
duced that bears my endorsement is
proceeds of the Garden City matter to
my personal use. All drafts coming
to the Office are made payable to the
state treasurer, or the assistant state
treasurer.
The state has lost no money in this
or any other transaction since I have
been state treasurer, and, of the twelve
or thirteen millions of dollars handled
since the beginning of my term, this is
the only thing that has required an ex-
PLANTATION.
When the collecaaon was made, the
money evidently was pain to some per-
son who procured the coupons after the
bonds left the county and before they
reached the tate treaSurer'S office. We
probably knew the man who turned in
the coupons eo.- collection but, as it was
unnecessary to make a record of trans
action. we did not keep his name. When
he returned the money, he hid his iden-
tity under the name of "A r. Brown
Any persor famui n with Tho business
of the treasurer's office would not have