The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-11-30
JAIL DOORS WAIT
Kansas County Clerks and Com
missiOners Liable.
Auditor Nation Says They May
Be Imprisoned.
HAVEN'T DONE DUTY.
Made No Arrangements to Pay
Public Obligations.
Also Applies to Nearly All City
Officials as Well.

State Auditor J. M. Nation has been
digging into the reports and papers on
file in his office in regard to county
and city bonded Indebtedness and has
found obligations of this nature totaling
some forty millions of dollars. The
law provides that a sinking fund must
be established to reduce this form of
Indebtedness year by year. and failure
to do so makes the county clerks and
commissioners in case of counties, and
city clerks and mayors in case of cities
liable to the bondholderS for the debt
in the sum of their official bonds and
also liable to fine and imprisonment In
Jail.
II find from consulting the records
of the various counties and cities Of
the state,'' said Mr.. Nation today,
that nowhere has there been any ef-
fort made to reduce this bonded in
debtedness On the part of the proper
officials who are required by law TO
make tax estimates providing for sink
ing funds to liquidate these bonded
debts. They have run on FOR years
and years and interest is paid annually
and that is all. Why Wyandotte coun-
ty and Kansas City owe a million
bonded debt and are making no effort
at all to reduce it by establishment of
a sinking fund. want to call the at
tention of the state at large to this
neglect and positive violation of the
| law"
An Enormous Sum.
The reports on file in the state au-
ditor'S office show that the total bond
ed debt of the various municipalities
| of the state the first day of July,
1910, aggregated 40,272.278. The same
reports for the year 1902 show a total
| bonded debt of $32,614,0 900. 1t would
seem that while the state has been
growing richer it has also increa sed
| it's bonded debt about $500 These re-
ports also show that there is only
about million dollars in the various
municipal sinking funds with which
to pay this debt of forty million dol
lars.
| The law requires an annual levy to
create sinking fund to redeem bonds
at maturity In the case of refundine
| bonds, upon the failure of the proper
officers to make a levy. the law re-
| quires the county clerk to make an
| annual levy of one twentieth of the
principal debt to be used to pay of
| the bonds at maturity. If the county
clerk fails to do this the law makes
him responsible on his official bond
together with the other officers, Ito
the holder of the bonds for the
amount of the debt
The reports of the county clerk.
| themselves to the auditor show thai
they are generally disregarding an6
violating this provision of the law. Fol
example: Allen county has refunded
county bonds outstanding to the
amount of $4,000. These bonds were
issued in 1898, due in 1928. Under
| the law it was the duty of the coun-
| ty clerk to make a levy in 1909 tc
raise $4,700 for sinking fund. Yet
the county clerk of Allen county re-
ports nothing in the county sinking
fund. The city of lola has outstand-
ing refunding bonds to the amount OF
$26,00 These were issued in 1901
| due in 1921. Under the law 1t wa:
the duty of the county clerk to make E
levy for sinking fund each year com
mencing with the date these bonds
were issued, and there should be il
the sinking fund of lola City at this
time $11,700, yet the county clerk re
ports nothing in that fund.
Douglas county has an issue of re
funding county bonds to the amount o
$4,000. These fall due the first of mex
January, and the county clerk. report
81, ,512s4 in the sinking fund with whicl
to redeem these bonds that fall due il
about month. The county commission
ers will likely undertake to issue nev
bonds with which to redeem the oil