The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-08-17
DEMAND THE Cash
County Orders Bank of Topeka
to Remit
Balance Due Shawnee on No. p.
Stock Sales.
IT'S UP TO SCHENCK
Opinion Of County Attorney to
Decide All.
Commissioners Have Shifted All
the Responsibility.

/ ceiVed by the bank for the certlIlcates
of stock of the Kansas, Colorado &
Pacific railway. The second important
action is the decision of the board
of county commissioners placing al
Il of the responsibility of the turthel
I proceedings upon the county attorney
and the statement by the commission
! ers to the effect that they will aolde
| by all that Attorney Schenck says III
the matter.
The first action is result of the
| discovery of County, Auditor j. Z.
! Larimer who found that the Bank OF
Topeka had only turned to the credit
of the county $22, When the
amount should have been $So,OO0-
The letter to John r. Mulvane from
the county commissioners, s. b.
Simms, Edwin O'Neil and ]. c. Shl-
mer which seems to have been die
| tated some time ago but Whlch mas
! Just found its way to the public reads
Letter to the Bank.
Report of our County Auditor, Mr..
]. E. Larimer, submitted to the board
of county commissioners this tnlr-
teenth day of August, 1913 settlhs
out amount of county funds on de-
post in the several county deposltor-
les at the close of business august
9Th, 1909, shows a discrepancy OF 81
500, between amount credited to the
county in your bank and the amount
for which our county ACoo q
taken credit.
According to the auditors report
this difference has arisen over the.
settlement of the proceeds der1Ned
from the sale of the Kansas, Colorado
g. Pacific railroad stock by you to
KelIv & Kelly, bond brokers who
were authorized agents of the COM
Now. we. the undersigned, consti-
tuting the board of county conlhnls-
respectfuIIy request of you, and mere
by make demands on you to pay INTO
the treasury of Shawnee County ran
sas, the sum of $4,000, the salo
amount being the full amount receiV-
ed by you or your bank for the
above named certificate OF stock TOT
Shawnee county, Kansas, to credlt on
YOUR books to Shawnee county, ran
sas, the sum of $50. 200, instead OF
500. 500 as shown by the county audi
tors report of exanlihatieA~efc ondi--
ton of your bank with Shawnee coun-
ty Kansas, August 9Th, 19Os;
In a letter dictated by the board OF
county commissioners to County Attor-
new ,John J. Schenck Monday evening.
the responsibility for the sale OF the
stock of the Kansas Colorado q Paclhc
Railway company was thrown upon the
shoulders of the county attorney anu
the course to be taken in the future by
the county will be under the dictation
of Mr.. Schenck-
The letter from the county commi5-
sioners. F. B. Simms, Edwin L. Omen
and J. c. Sinner, ordered and author
lied the county attorney to take what
ever steps were necessary to protect
the rights of the county in this manner
and decided that the matter would rest
as final after his decision
This move has been contemplated
for some time because 1t was through
the opinions of Mr.. Schenck that the
board was Influenced in the matter as
h1 n
thought that the complete action and
responsibility of the proposition would
be left with Mr.. Schenck-
Since this action has been taken,
however the question is-what Will
County Attorney Schenck do? Will he
start proceedings against the Missouri
Pacific at once and take the matter to
the federal court? BY taking the mat
ter to the federal court Mr.. SchenGk
would have to win his case over Kelly
& Kelly and then turn his guns on the
Missouri Pacific corporation to regain
the stocks. 1t is a well known fact
that the stock was purchased for Mis-
souri, Pacific representatives.
The general opinion around the court
house is that Mr.. Schenck will allow
the matter to drop and as a result the
county will continue to be the smaller
end of the stock transaction The mat
ter would have to be taken into the fed
eraI courts and the suits against both
Kelly & Kell- would not only be ex-
pensive but would be of the hardest
variety to fight. Recent opinions from.
federal officials have favored the Kelly
& Kelly side of the matter and this IS
another obstacle to overcome.
But the matter now stands altogether
with County Attorney Schenck- What
he says will be law with the commits
The letter of the county COM
n issioners written tc Mr. Schenck
reads as follows
Acting upon an opinion from you to
this board concerning & question of the
legality of the sale of $50 shares OF
ST. ck of the Kansas. Colorado & Pa
cific railway, owned by Shawnee coun-
ty, in which written opinion you held
that said sale of stock was illegal, that
the board of county commissioners of
this county had no legal authority to
sell the stock in the way it was sold, |
and that the contract entered into by |
he board with Kelly & Kelly, (author-
ling them to sell said stock and des- !,
gnating them to act as agents for
,tock) was illegal you are hereby or
Tered and directed to take whatever
teps may to you seem necessary and
xpedienr to fully protect the rights
# Shawnee county, Kansas, in this
natter.
bile will De fully concurred in by this II
,oard and you will have their hearty
cooperation N whatever course you II
nay pursue to fully protect Shawnee
county
From the very beginning of this
transaction the board has acted in the
:tmost good faith and we believe our
ction was for the best interest of the
ounty and at no time has any MEM
,er of the board attempted to treat the II
natter in an Indifferent and frivolous
manner"