The Topeka state journal., 1911-09-04
set IT ALL ASIDE
County Commissioners Repudiate
the Koning Report.
Also Turn Down His Bill for
Services.
WILL BE DONE OVER
Reliable Accountants to Check
County Offices.
WILL BE DONE OVER
Filing of Injunction Suit Causes
Change in Plans.

Reasons for refusing the State
Journal copies of the special auditors
report by certain county officials be-
came known late Saturday evening
when the county commissioners met
| in hurried special session and bodily
rejected the work of the special ac-
countant and ordered that KOning
pay checks, amounting to more than
$3.50 be held up by the regular county
auditor.
lowed the fling of a suit by Richard
L. Thomas, clerk of the district court,
asking for an audit under order of the
court; and the later publication in the
State Journal explaining condltlons
and circumstances under which the
audit was made Then E. R. Simon,
county attorney; Samuel Zimmerman,
county clerk; and members OF the
board We're forced to admit that kon-
ing'S work was so unreliable that the
county's defense would become abso-
Iutely hopeless in the open courts.
Previous to the numerous demands
made by this paper for copies of the
report these county officials had gal
lantly protected Koning's work. Simon
had even gone to the extreme of in
structing the board that it must ac-
cept the report bodily and as absolute
ly correct. Then Mr.. Simon had him
self interviewed in a morning paper in
which he stated that he would demand
from Thomas and others the money
said to be due the county
Thomas then went before Judge
Whitcomb with a petition in which he
said he had enough money in the |
banks to pay every dollar claimed and |
demanded a just and fair audit in |
which no individual would have a |
voice or suggestion. Even at that I
hour Thomas had not been provided /
with a COPY OF the report. For some
mysterious reason it was kept in the
background.
When papers in the case were served
the men back of the move realized that
they must stand on the audit and Kon-
ing's work to contest an application
for an injunction and an honest audit
by persons appointed by the court
Then it was that there was a hur-
ried conference in the court house.
Koning was called. He was shown
that even his footings were in error.
His attorey, Frank Dreaming, to whom
Konfng had assigned 40 per cent of
his pay, was of no assistance in the
hour of final decision.
There was but one move for the
county to make. That was to dump
Koning's report in the ditch. Norton's
heralded righteous record, Thomas
alleged misdeeds and charges of graft
against Wilkerson could not be proven
by anything that Koning had said in
this report to the board. The high
am bitions of the men behind the spe-
cial audit were shattered.
To be sure none of these five men
cared to carry the burden of defend
ing the report. Koning is almos' a
stranger mere. So the job became a
load on the shoulders of the account
ant.
Late that night Mr. Simon issued
more interviews. He explained that
himself and Mr.. Zimmerman, by zeal
Gus attention to business, found the
holes in the report that Mr. Simon
had "A hours earlier told the board no
one had right to question. 1t is al
so a matter of more than passing con-
sequence that the board and Simon
spent four hours reviewing the report
before giving the first interviews. It
is also a matter of record that the
discovery of error in the report did
not become public until after Judge
had issued restraining
order in the Thomas case. 1t is like
wise true that several misstatements
were made concerning the disposition
of the report before and at the time
the document was under considera-
ton.
Then the board issued an order
ousting Koning from his job Even
at that time Zimm and others
contended that the audit was straight
Koning, it should be remembered |
was fired from the job more than
hours before his report was rejected.
Preparations were made to demand
the money claimed to be due the
county. No one expected Thomas to
fight. But the clerk of the court did
the unexpected thing. He filed
suit in the district court asking for
fair audit. Then the board met and
admitted that Konings work would
not bear inspection.
Much stress has been placed on the ]
fact that the audit will continue and Il