The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-10-15
THE CAUSE OF THE ECLIPSE

THE CAUSE OF THE ECLIPSE.
! For some reason persons, who APP
pear more anxious to get their hands
on 100000 worth of school bonds
than to keep the schools open. have
made The Sun the particular target
for their paper wads. We do not
know why. We desire only that some
means be secured for paying teachers.
and that the bond proceeds be ex-
pended. as Mr.. Earl Palmer says the
law directs. ito purchase sites and
erect and equip school, houses"
Mr.. Palmer suggests the business
like expedient" (Which we dare say
the REPRESENTATIVES. company would
hardly adopt Of Issuing bonds to
build school houses and then using
the money to make up a deficit he
icharges the school board with Great
ing by taking funds that belong t,
the teachers to pay other debts. II
the board did that we suggest that
the trustees be compelled to pay il
back. We cannot be forever Issuing
bonds to make up deficits they create
by using the teachers money for
something klse.
Now this deficit in the teachers
fund isn't a creation" at all. 1t is a
figment of the fancy: a legal fiction
evolved in the minds Of lawyers for
the school trustees. We throw over
Mr.. Palmer the mantle of ignorance
to cover his palpable ,misrepresents-
lions. He got his information from
the lawyers employed in the case and
not from the records. as we shall,
show by his own statement. He says
1t is a MATTER of RECORD that
the deficit which exists in the treas
ury OF the school board is directly
due to the fact that a FORMER
SCHOOL BOARD withdrew from the
TEACHERS FUND an amount ap-
proximating s22 900 and applied it to
the construction OF three new bui.d-
Iings."
We capitalized words, to which we
wish to direct particular attention.
Further down Mr. Palmer hedges:
"If the ACCOUNTS of the SCHOOL
BOARD are properly kept. the
BUILDING ACCOUNT stands charged
with the amount of the existing de-
| felt as the result of the transaction.
He says this is "a matter OF rec
ord" and then adds IF the accounts
are properly kept"
Now, we will enlighten Mr.. Palmer.
THE accounts are not properly kept"
The matter of record" he refers to
is a skillful,y drawn petition In a
friendly suit" in circuit court, which
says the deficit was created by bor-
rowing money from the teachers
fund.- in substance, and paying it t.
the building fund. There Is no teach
ers' fund and there is no building
fund. The school board never appor-
toned Its money. IL Mr.. Palmer will
go back to the former board, he will
find that expert accountants couldn't
straighten out the books OF the old
secretary.
Mr.. Palmer says the deficit was
created by former boari withdraw
ing approximately $4,000" We as
sert that since July the present board
has withdrawn $22. 1000. II this board
had left this $4,000 in there to pay
teachers, we assume there would not
have been this deficit in the teach
ers' fund" Doesn't Mr.. Palmer know
that the present trustees withdrew
$4,000 this summer. and ii wasn't
to build school houses, either? II
was to pay OF notes on which they
had become personally liable.
The lawyers, from whom Mr..
Palmer got his Information, are en-
p.oyed by the school trustees. and the
suit filed in the circuit court was not
contested. When the city solicitor
asked that he be permitted to go into
the case, he was told he could argue
II before the court of appeals, but
they refused TO permit him TO intro
duce the records of the school board,
showing that there never was teach
ers' funi and building fund, be-
cause the records would not jbe with
the pleadings in the case.
The first trouble the schools got
into was through the trustees spend
ing more money than they could an
ticipate in their revenue, aud the
creation of a floating debt withoul
> authority of the people or the law.
The second trouble was the board APP
plying revenue from the city and
= state TO a floating debt, instead of
} ho'iing It for the teachers. Now the
| same people, who are responsible for
this trouble, demand that the city
issue bonds Ito purchase sites and
, EJECT and equip school houses" and