The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-05
ASK FOR MERCY.
State Pleads Guilty to $S, 200
Shortage in Military Supplies.
Wants Government to Start a
Fresh Account.
GOVERNOR APPROVES.
Attaches His Signature to
Board of Survey Report.
Blame All Laid on Former
K. N. G. Officials.
GOVERNOR APPROVES.

According to the report of the ad-
jutant geenraTs department of the
state of Kansas, the total shortage in
equipment of the Kansas National
Guard amounts to S8.228.4S, of which
S6,807-9S is quartermaster stores, such
as tents, clothing and camp equfr
ment, while the remainder, s1,420.4{
is ordnance stores such as rifles, re-
voivers and harness.
Governor Hoch late last evening
approved the report of the board of
military survey and the state aill ask
the government to wipe all the short
ages off the slate, and allow the state
to start in again drawing supplies for
the Kansas National Guard with a
clean record.
The s8,22S of shortages is the
amount of equipment which has been
4 lost during the past three years, and
which has not been accounted for in
any way.
Adjutant General Hughes says:
4 This shortage was due to the failure
/ to make proper reports and keep track
/ Of the equipment during years past.
/ The result was that the government
/ refused to allow US any more sup
/ plies for the guard until the reports
!
! have been engaged upon for some
time The shortages do not imply
/ that anybody was dishonest. It sim
/ ply means lax bookkeeping. I have
no doubt that the government will ac-
/ cept this report, and credit US with
/ the shortage, allowing us to go ahead
/ and draw out more supplies for the
guard from the government funds"
The work of compiling the report
/ showing the condition of the equip
ment OF the guard was placed in the
/ hands of Quartermaster General W.
! w. DenisOn. In an affidavit which viii
accompany the report to Washington,
! Mr. DenisOn says;
"Afiant further says that upon the
/ commencement of his official duties he
/ found that the books and records re-
| quired by law to be kept in the Office
/ of the quartermaster general had
| either been greatly neglected or had
not been kept at all, and the work of
obtaining a correct understanding of
\ the amount of public property on hand
| or the amount for which the state was
| responsible could not be obtained from
/ the records of this Office. Invoices for
/ a portion of the property were found,
\ but not for nearly all of it; probably
1 invoices were lacking for more than
/ half of the property in the possession
of the state
Col. Denison then goes on to state
how the work of checking over the
property was conducted by a personal
]
Adjutant General Hughes makes the
/ following affidavit:
when the present administration
I took possession of the ordnance stores
the foregoing items were deficient
which should have been accounted for
and dropped on the annual reports for
1 the years 1903 and 1904. The methods
of bookkeeping and accounting which
prevailed under the preceding admins
/ tratiOn were loose and unsat tisfactory.
/ 7 have little doubt that this prip-
erty was all issued to the Kansas Ma
I tional Guard and that this Organiza-
ton has received the benefit of it,
though there are no books and records
/ to show it.
The board of military survey, which
was appointed to inspect the work of
the quartern1aster general in checking
up the missing supplies, was composed
of Wilder s. Metcalfe, Capt. W. A. Pat
tiSOn and Capt. Clad Hamilton The
| boar mdakeS the following report:
'tThe board finds that a large por-
/ ton of the clothing in the foregoing
| list was practically worn out and
| worth hless when lost. The board finds
that under the administration of the
quartermaster generals office for 1902,
1903 and 1904 and up to and including
the 31st day of March, 1905, there was
an almost total neglect to keep books
and records concerning supplies re-
ceived from the war department, and
respecting the disposition of such sup
plies among the various organizations
of the National Guard. The former
ouartermaster general gave but little
personal attention to the duties of his
office.
1.-The board further recommends that
the state of Kansas be relieved from
the responsibility of the foregoing
property and that the governor Of
Kansas be authorized to drop said
quartermaster supplies from the return
of the year ending Dec. 81, 1904"
Included in the list of supplies which
have been lost and for which no ac-
counting can be made are the follow
ing items:
Eeighty-one Krag bayonets, mag
d tazine rifles, Is revolvers, Is revolver
holsters, > sets artillery harness, 2
sabres, 648 campaign hats, S17 leg
gings, 127 poncos, 221 blouses, 275
trousers, so Khaki coats, % khaki trou-
sers, IA overcoats. 264 Berlin gloves
50 gauntlets, 20 wall tents. 1S tent flies
13 common tents, 1929 hat numbers
IS blue trousers.