The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-08-12
Oakland Not City of Second
Glass as First Supposed.
Deputy Assessor Made Mistake
Which Was Followed Up.
NO JUGGLING OF FIGURES
Even With Error Standing
Population Not Increased.
County Clerk Swayze Explains
How Mistake Came About.

A clerical error on the part of a
deputy county assessor is causing Oscar
K. Swayze to do considerable explain
ing. The error was in the taking of
the agricultural census and the popula-
ton. The deputy got Topeka township
and the city of Oakland mixed in the
taking of the agricultural statistics. A
whole lot of people living in Oakland
were put in Topeka township. This
part of the assessors work is recorded
in the front of the book. The popula-
ton figures are in the back of the same
book. Then Mr.. SwayZe, in looking
over the books and tallying things up
for his report to Secretary Coburn, dis
covered these OaklanderS enormously
placed in Topeka township. He sup
posed the error had been carried
straight through from the front to the
back of the book, and so to correct the
error, he estimated the number, sup
posedly wrongfully taken away from
Oakland and placed in Topeka town
ship ana added this number to the to-
tails for Oakland. Without this addi-
ton the population of Oakland was
only LAO. With the addition the num-
Der was over 2,000 which would raise
Oakland from a city of the third class
to city of the second class and call
for a lot of expenditures in the way OF
for her officers who as officers of
third class city serve without pay.
OF course a roar was started. oak
land people are getting along very we'll
without having their taxes increased
as would be the case were Oakland
made city of the second class.
Mr.. Swayze says that those who COM
planned took their complaint to per-
sons not friends of his and they added
to his trouble by saying that the
county clerk was attempting to boost
the population of the entire county in
order that the salaries of himself and
some other county offic ais, which are
based on the population of the county,
would be increased. Naturally a re-
examination of the deputy assessor
books for Oakland We're made by Mr..
Swayze and it was discovered that the
deputy, although he had made an err
ror on the agricultural statistics, had
not carried the error through to the
population figures, and that the popu-
lation of Oakland should be returned
as only lao.
The charge that Mr.. Swayze was
Juggling the figures to swell the popu-
latlon of the county falls flat, for even
mad the error stood, the increase to |
Oakland was taken from Topeka |
township andvthe total for. the county |
would remain the same.
That the population of Shawnee
county shows an increase over the |
previous county census is undoubtedly |
mostly due to the fact that all the |
deputy assessors were specially
charged before beginning their work |
to pay special attention to getting a
correct census, and they counted peo-
pie who were in the county before,
but who had been missed.
At the meeting of the Taxpayers
league in Lincoln Post hall last night
he county clerk took his books with
him ana explained just how the error
was made. He will make a supple
report to Secretary of Agri-
culture Coburn, correcting the error
contained in the first report