Mexico Missouri message., 1905-04-27
A RACY STORY.
A Man Well Remembered In
Mexico Makes q
Record.


unpleasantness" in politics Of
year since:
The investigation of the book.
of W. D. Thomas, former treas
urer of the state asylum at Fulton
will take a week or more longer
Until that time the extent of the
shortage, which he seems to have
left in the accounts of the asylum
cannot be accurately known.
At Fulton even the best friends
Thomas had say they do not ex.
pect him to return. A warrant
has been issued for his his arrest
and a reward of 5000 for his ap.
prehensiOn has been offered by
Governor Folk. The sheriff OF
Galloway county has posted no.
tices of the reward in the neigh
bOrhoods where he spent most of
his life and Fulton people are only
asking now how much he is short.
DISAPPEARED FROM WASHINGTON.
Thomas left Fulton on Febru-
ary 10, to go to Washington. He
knew at that time that Gov. Folk
would not consent to his re- election
as treasurer of the institution. He
had a contract with the old board
to collect some money from the
United States government. During
the Civil war soldiers on the Fed
eral side had been quartered in
the asylum building, and the in
stitutiOn has been pressing a claim
against the government for the
use of the building. This claim
amounts, with the interest to $4O,-
600, and the board of managers
had contract with Thomas by
the terms of which he was to re-
ceive one-third of the money col
lected. He had employed a law
yer in Washington to push the
case for him and went to Washing
ton ostensibly to help bring the
question before Congress. March
Z his stenographer, Miss Jewell
Howe, received a letter from him
saying he was going north and
would be gone week or more. He
instructed her to destroy all his
personal papers. This caused
wonder and boy working in the
Office looked over some of his
books as treasurer of the asylum,
and reported that he thought there
was a discrepancy there.
r. NJ. White of Mexico, chair
man of the board, went to Fulton
and, with D. P. BARLEY, assistant
cashier of the Galloway bank, ex-
amined the books, with the result
that they concluded that there was
a shortage of 5000 in his ac-
counts. They telephoned Gov.
Folk, who sent expert accountants
to check up the accounts. r. II.
Hudson, an experienced employee
of Haskin3 & Sells, has charge of
the work, and tits this work that
is progressing very slowly. A part
of the discrepancies show on the
face Of the books, but others do
not, and it is the amount of these
that causes the uncertainty as to
the extent of ThOmas's shortages.
EASY TO COVER THE SHORTAGE.
| According to a former officer of
the board the system adopted by
! Thomas was not hard to work so
long as he had the full confidence
of the board. The cost of board
ing insane patients is paid for
either by the counties from which
they come or by their friends and
relatives when the latter can afford
to pay it. A new patient is usual,
ly brought by an officer who often
takes in cash the amount necessary
to pay three months board and &
small fee for clothes, about $67 us
ually, This is paid to the treas
urer of the institution. Later pay
meuts are usually remitted il
drafts by the counties, but oftel
in registered letters or postOffic
money orders when the sender is
relative of the patient. Thoma
did not cash drafts that were sen
to him, but he turned. over to ih
bank so little money that it is be
lieved that he kept much of wha
, came to him in the shape of cash