The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-11-12
MAKE COURT HOUSE
PROBE COMPLETE.

bold Safe and Lock company received
a notice from the treasurer of the
amount of taxes due from them. They
Immediately notified the treasurer
that the tax was not sufficient; that
their personal property should be put
at $135,000 rather than $13,600. II was
on the treasurer's books at $12,500, as
Mr.. Knobloch claims. Mr.. Knobloch
thereupon collected from the Diebold
Safe G. Lock Co. $3,221.12, being taxes
on their personal property and includ-
ing the personal property at $135, 900.
The treasurer thereupon turned in the
taxes on $13,500 only. The treasurer
claimed that on his book coming from
the auditor the personal property of
the Diebold Safe & Lock Co. was only
S13,500 but the books show S13,500
with an erasure where the last cipher
should be. The facts are that he col
lected taxes on $1S5,000 and only re-
turned as collected taxes on $13,50O.
He did this not only in December,
1907, but June, 1908.
Another item was the matter of
the taxes of Catherine Meyer. She
was on the tax duplicate for personal
property for taxes amounting to SIG
and some cents per year, making SO and
some cents per half year. The claim
is that when she first came into the
treasurers Office to pay her taxes in
December, 1907, and was told of the
amount, she said there is some mis-
take there. My personal taxes amount
to something over S120 per year.
Knobloch thereupon changed the
books in the treasurer's office, so far
as her taxes are concerned, charged and
collected from her sixty odd dollars,
her half-year tax, and then afterwards
erased the amount of her taxes and
put the figures back where they orig
inally were. He did that same thing
also in June, 1908.
"The question was put to Knobloch
by the commissioners, examiners and
prosecutor why he did this, and he
said because the auditor claimed he
was short In the last settlement some
thing like $70O, which he says fire.
quently occurs In errors made by his
clerks and afterwards found. He held
all this money, he claimed, in an en-
velope in the vaults SO as to make up
any deficiency growing out of the err
rors, should any of such occur. There
upon on Saturday morning at 1880
o'clock, the commissioners, prosecutor,
examiners and Knobloch went into the
treasurer's Office and the examiners
then counted the funds and found that
he, in fact, had IS, 100 in a private en-
velope in the safe and he was short,
according to the books, about $3.50.
"The examiners did find errors in
his favor amounting to between $3.50
and 5000 and now every dollar is in
the treasury. Thereupon Immediately |
after the treasury was examined, the
ers to examine money in the First !
National bank, the depository, and to |
the books of the treasurer |
with the books of the auditor and |
found everything exact; but the COM
missioners and the prosecutor, feeling |
it not advisable to continue Mr.. Knob |
loch longer treasurer of the county, |
called him into conference Saturday
morning, and after such conference,
We requested him to resign which he
did. The commissioners
thereupon appointed Clark w. Metz |
ger treasurer, who gave bond in the
sum of $50,00O."
These discoveries which have been
made by the examiners and then
pointed out by them to the commits
sioners were the reasons for enforc-
ing the resignation of Mr.. Knobloch. |
The commissioners and the prosecutor
have no hesitancy in saying that the
books had been tampered with at diff
ferent times. Mr.. Knobloch may not |
be alone in this work, so his friends
say, and while an examination is in |
progress the people should know all.
The new treasurer took charge Of
the oface Monday at noon and Dep
Uty Treasurer Ross w. AXE remains
In the Office. The bond given by Mr..
Metzger is signed by the Bankers
Surety company, of Cleveland. State
Examiner Ensminger says that the
examination is still in progress and
that there is nothing new to be given
Out at this time. He has no idea what
the future will bring forth.
County Commissioner James Y.
denied today that he had
made statement that the commits
5ioners we're aware of what was TAX
ing place in the treasurer's Office two
Or three weeks ago He says that
he must have been misunderstood in
regard to this matter.