The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-04-28

Wales such a large commission as 10
per cent. for collecting Florida IN
dian war claims"
Capt Inglis said: "You are right. l
know a good deal about that contract
and the cause for making it. / am as
tonished, though, to hear you say big
commission The state in her condi-
ton at that time could much better
have agreed to pay 80 per cent. than
not to have had that work done"
What were the facts found by Gov
ernor Drew when he went to Wash
ington to examine into conditions
there?"
"After his careful examination, Gov
ernor Drew said: old friend, you
know the state of Florida has no mon
ey Cher script then being worth only
forty cents on the dollar, and much
less in some places), and until the ev-
idence is secured to prove Florida's
claim to what is due, nothing can be
or Drew's investigation at that time
showed that Florida had borrowed
1872, 900 on her. coupon bonds, bearing
per cent. interest, and every time
dollar was passed by any department
of the national government for any
money due the state of Florida, it was
4 fI1e
United States treasury, and applied to
wiping out the payment of that $780,
900. Governor Drew said that the ev-
idence could not be secured for the
payments made, largely in 1856 and
1857, without great cost. The state
has not the money to pay for that
work, he said, and 1 can't see where
the money is coming from unless we
issue more bonds. | am opposed to
doing that. The evidence that was sent
to Washington by the Florida state
officials to Senator Yulee, to be filed in
the treasury, on which to base a
claim, was lost, as Senator Yulee had
left Washington on the breaking out
of the civil war in 1861, and it is now
impossible to trace the box of papers
containing the pay rolls and other ev-
idence of payment by the state for the
wars of 1856 and 1857
"What is best for me to do nova?
asked Governor Drew. In this emer-
gency Col WALES has offered to pay
the expense of securing the evidence
and prosecuting this case and pushing
this claim for payment on a commits
sion basis 1 urged Governor Drew,
if the cabinet thought it the proper
thing to do when he got back to Flor
ida. to make a contract with Wales.
If he didn't get anything, he was not
to receive a penny, and the state
would sustain no loss. If he did col
all attorneys charge when they pay
expenses-15 per cent. He Drew
made the contract Immediately after
returning to Florida, with the approx
al of his cabinet, and he told me after
wards that he believed Col. WALES
would succeed in making the collec-
ton. If he does make the collection,
said Governor Drew, no act of mine
would do more for the states benefit
1.-The action of Governor Drew in
contracting with Colonel Wales was
IT, -
ture by the message he sent to the
legislature, telling of the contract. The
legislature investigated the matter
several times, and always, in spite of
all the political bitterness of those
times confirmed Drew's action. Each
governor. including Drew, Bloxham,
in his second term, recognized that
contract, and the work Of getting that
payment went on. Not word was
said until the money was actually paid
into the state treasury (more than a
million dollars) with reference to ir-
regularity of contract.
mo one will deny that the state got
the money. She has not paid one cent
in expense to get it, but when the time
came for the state to fulfill her part
Of the contract a caucus of the house
of representatives offered to fulfill the
states part of that contract by Offer
ing to this aged man, who had spent
thousands of dollars and more than
twenty years service, the insignificant
sum of $12,500.
Can any honest man hereafter
think of the treatment given Col
Wales by this states officials and
claim that this state is honest? No,
not the state, but the officials who
have brought about this clear repudi-
alton.
i, for one, would feel mortified
should the state continue to carry the