Omaha daily bee., 1905-12-11
hartley BoNDSMEN FREE.


Nebraska City Tribune: The supreme
court has just decided that the state of
Nebraska is to lose over 100000 of the
BARLEY defalcation because of a technical
error in the certihcation of the documents
in the suit against the BARLEY bonds
men, Judge Prout appearing for the state
in his official capacity as attorney general
at the time the suits were brought to the
supreme court. 1t seems a little tough
that the people of Nebraska must stand so
hard a soaking for so trivial an error on
the part of the servant of the people, but
the court has so decreed.
Nebraska City News Cadet Taylor of
Omaha is an original thinker and a man
who is evidently disposed to look upon the
bright side Of life. He was one of Joe
Bartley's bondsmen, and in a recent inter-
view said that the decision Of the supreme
court Diminishing the case against BARLEY
and his bondsmen would give general salts
faction because it will distribute the loss
among great many people, while had it
been otherwise the loss would have been
sustained by just few of us" Perhaps Mr..
Taylor is right, but so far the News has not
heard any large number of people standing
UP and shouting on account of the courts
that they are privileged to bear portion of
the loss sustained by the embezzlement Of
Barley. Bonds seem to be given not to
protect the people, but to enable them to
stand a portion of the loss caused by dis
honest Office holders. AS reasoner Taylor
is success.
Grand Island Independent: In a way it is
to be hoped that the decision OF the su-
preme court, upon a technlcality, that the
bondsmen for former Treasurer BARLEY
have not to be held responsible in any sum,
is the final curtain upon this unfortunate
act in the record of the republican party in
this state The defalcation in an amount
of over $4,000 of the peoples money, and
some of the attending acts. among them
the pardon Of BARLEY. after short i'm
prisonment have long been a stencil in the
nostrils of many Nebraskans. 1t is true
that fusionist officials are not entirely clear
of all blame as to the loss-the Governor
Holcomb cigar box incident needs only to
be cited-but the brunt of the criticism has
fallen upon the republicans because the
principal criminal was a republican Office
holder and there has been a disposition at
times TO continue in power men connected
with the affair, or men who, though inno-
state recover as much as it might from the
loss. And to our mind 1t is in this respect
that the party is really more censurable
than as ITO the individual act of BARLEY
The decision itself, by the judges sitting
indicates that disposition, which, fortu-
nately, in the last convention was emphatic
ally turned down by a majority of the re-
publicans.
NH
always looked with suspicion upon many
of the court proceedings in this Barley
matter, and there has been foundation for
that suspicion at many stages I'm the great
farce But in this final decision the Her
aid finds no occasion for throwing clubs at
the supreme court. 1t rendered the only
decision that could have been rendered in
loyalty to the law. We have a Nebraska
statute which commands that when a case
is taken into the supreme court the at
torney must follow the rule laid down in
the statute, II he shall rail to be guided
by the statute his case must be thrown
out of court. In this case Mr.. Prout. the
duly elected adviser Of the state, defied
the plain mandate of the statute and tried
to take his case to the supreme court in
school boy fashion. Many will say that
the whole people of the state should not be
made to suffer because OF the Prout blum
der At first glance there would appear
to be some ground for such an argument,
but when we run it down 20 a legitimate
conclusion II assumes different light. Mr..
Prout was the lawful servant of the state.
A majority of the people elected him as
attorney general and thereby gave him
power 10 plead for them in the courts. A
private individual is bound by the plead
ings of his attorney. The state of Ne
bTaska must take place in court no bet
| ter than that occupied by the individual.