The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-07-31
LeIand'S BuSineSSAbHity

private citizen says hing COM
plimentary of Cy Leland's business
ability, leaving the inference that
this same wonderful business ability
would be nice boon to the state of
Kansas if used in the governors
seat. Considering that he was boss
in Doniphan county for a lifetime
and for twenty five years was chair.
man of the Board of County Com
missioners, no doubt Doniphan
county's testimonial as to his busi
ness ability would be worth hearing
A friend sends us the following in
stance of his business ability:
"Leland has been in the saddle in
Doniphan county for almost gen
Grafton. This county today has a
railroad bonded indebtedness OF
471ooo, which is $1,000 more
than the original indebtedness Of
$500, 900, which should have been
paid off years ago. This indebted !.
ness has not only actually grown,
but the $4,000 of bonds refunded
in 1892 can not be paid off unfil
July I, 1922. They bear S per cent
interest, an excessive rate. Because
of the foresight of the Boss Donl-
phan county must continue to pay
s23,65o interest every year on this
batch of bonds till 1922. We would
like to commence paying them but
we can't. The cunning old boss
puts the bonds where they can not
be paid until after his days of poll
tical plunder,ng were past. And,
in truth, it has been burden enough
to keep up boss and his machine
without paying bonds In Donlphan
county. We know of no other
county where taxes have been so
high.
"Fifty thousand dollars OF Brown
county's bonds were refunded in
1899, at 4 per cent. The county
was given the privilege of paying off
S, 900 each year. Brown county
has only $40, 900 left to pay to wipe
out her railroad bonded indebted
ness, and they have money enough
on hand now to pay that.
"Think of it, Brown county has
practically wiped out her railroad
bonds, while those of Doniphan
county have Increased. And yet
the editor of Brown county paper
prates of the "business administra-
ton" we would have if Cy was gov
ernor.
elf we were paying 4 per cent on
that $4,000 worth of bonds, in
stead of S per cent. Doniphan coun
ty would save in interest S4,73o a
year. The other 81 900 of unpaid
bonds bear a modest 6 per cent in.
terest. after us the deluge' was
once the cry Of plundering French
nobility, and with like indifference
did the business ability of the great
and good boss shove off the paying
of the bonds onto an innocent gen.
Grafton.
"The record of the bond transac.
tion is very imperfect and obscure.
Purposely SO, some say. Scandal
has clung round their history. How
touchy a matter the bonds are with
the boss was dramatically shown
about four years ago, a; the Wathe-
ma Chautauqua, where Leland forci-
bly, threw his own brother-in-law,
Albert Perry, from the platform.
Perry was old and infirm, and soon
after was buried. He was lawyer
of ability. A man of high charac-
ter, an old settler, honored and re-
spected in Doniphan county, as Le-
land can never hope to be. Age,
ibfrmity, relationship, standing
among his countrymen, and the
large Chautauqua audience of Chris
tian people, meant nothing to this
vengeful and malicious old boss,
when his anger was aroused at the
mention of the forbidden subject of
the Doniphan county bonds. p
Cnanute Sun.