Omaha daily bee., 1910-10-18
Light Wanted in Dark Places.

transactions with defaulting state
Treasurer BARLEY, out Of which has
grown Edgar Towards charge that
Hitchcock shared in the BARLEY treas
ury loot and has not yet put II back.
MIR. Hitchcock's excuse is, as we sur
missed it would be, labored attempt
to make out that be borrowed the
money from BARLEY personally and
not as state treasurer, and therefore
never owed the state any money and
is under no obligation to put It back,
although he admits he has not yet
paid BARLEY in full.
Congressman Hitchcock's statement
opens up a lot of dark places on which
more light would be most desirable,
especially when we remember that he
is the editor Of a democratic newsps-
per that once helped force the with
drawal OF republican nominee
charged with the same offense, and
now, himself, refuses to withdraw as
democratic candidate for United States
senator with proof OF similar benefits
from the BARLEY shortage staring him
in the face.
Congressman Hitchcock says that
the note to which the 'tell-tale letter
refers represented part of a larger
amount borrowed from BARLEY -four
years before he became a defaulter."
When was this original loan made?
Although BARLEY was without ques-
tion a defaulter at the time he entered
upon his second term, his embezzle-
ment was not fully disclosed until he
retired from the treasurer's office in
1897. If Hitchcock borrowed money
from BARLEY four years before that.
he still borrowed from him on the
original note after he had taken
charge as state treasurer in January.
1893.
Congressman Hitchcock says, orig
inally the loan was made at the time
Mr.. BARLEY was in the banking and
money-lending business at Atkinson.
Neb.," but tresds lightly on the fact
that he was at the same time state
treasurer, elected on the republican
ticket. Why should the editor of a
democratic newspaper, supposed to
have fought BARLEY ir the preceding
campaign, have applied to him for
loan at the moment he became state
treasurer if not with the idea that he
was to loan him state money?
Congressman Hitchcock tells a pitt
full tale of hard times and blasted
credit, now outlived. But in 1892 his
credit was not reputed so bad that he
would have to go to a republican poll
tician money-lender in the little
town of Atkinson, Neb., to borrow
$4,000 without security unless that
security was to be the silence of the
World-Herald on any crooked work
that might develop in the conduct of
the state treasury
Congressman Hitchcock refers to
another note of $4,000 held by Bart
ley, which he refused to pay, first, be-
cause 1t was Outlawed under the
statute of limitations, and, second, be-
cause 1t represented a second mort
gage on a piece of property foreclosed
on first mortgage with a deficiency
judgment. He insists that this loan
was not made direct with BARLEY, but
through a banker. Was this loan
made through a banker on a worthless
second mortgage in order to hide the
fact that the money really came from
BARLEY? The letter which Mr.. Hitch
cock quotes says that the money this
note represented was drawn out of
Bartley's personal account to that
amount in December of 1898. The
worthless second mortgage supposed to
secure this note was not put on record
in the register of deeds Office until
September, 1895 At any rate, the
records and the story do not jibe.
Still further, IL the note was given in
1893 and failed of collection because
outlawed by the statute of limitations.
1t must have been outlawed while
BARLEY was in the penitentiary and
hardly able to present II personally
for collection.
In a nutshell. MIR. Hitchcoek's story,
instead of disproving the charge
brought by Edgar Howard, gives 1t
some corroboration. Both BARLEY
and Hitchcock were smart enough to
know that state funds could not be
legally farmed out and that some
method had to be pursued to make it
look as II the loans we're out Of Bart
ley's private resources. When the
shortage was uncovered, however.
with the notes still unpaid, in whole
or in part. no one could remain ignor-
ant that the money was really state
money and should have been paid
back into the state treasury.
Finally, Congressman Hitchcock
tries to side-step responsibility for the
part played by his newspaper, the