Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-05-02
CANT Find MARKET
FOR STATE BONDS
FAILURE TO PUNISH GRAi'TERS
HAS HURT OkLNIiOM
CREDIT.

OKLAHOMA CITY, May D. (Spe-
cialJ THE precarious financial con
uition of the state Of Oklahoma is
found in the fact that as yet no mar
ket has been found for the $4,000
600 issue Of funding bond by which
the state officials hope to change the
form of the state debt from six per
cent warrants to four per cent bonds.
The foregoing amount is only por-
tion of the debt that has ben piled up
since statehood. The state has been
paying out enormous sums for inter
est ON a warrant Indebtedness in
excess of 100000. This debt must
be paid off at once by direct taxa
tion upon the people or through
funding bond issue. The latter meth
cd was adopted, as It would enable
the state to pay off the debt during
the course of twenty-five years. thus
cquali2lng the burden and requiring
the payment Of a much lower rate of
nterst,
\ board Of state officers composed
of the treasurer and others started
over a year ago TO carry out the plan
Of funding the state debt, The legal
difficulties and court prelimnarics are
about completed, hut although the
state has been seeking assiduously
for market for these securities,
none could be found State bonds are
supposed TO be gilt edged securities,
but nobody seems to want Oklahoma
paper
OF I1fVr.sa
reveals the fact that the two demo
craft administrations that have had
charge of the affair in Oklahoma since
statehood have wrecked its credit.
This has been accomplished largely
through permitting fraudulent and
bogus state warrants to be issutd
from time to time, until the total has
amounttd to nearly 100000. Several
bankers inside and without the state
have bought these warrants which
have been repudWiatcd by the state to
the extent that they have not been in
cluded in the funding bond issue.
VIII McBrinc, one Of the former
employees of the state auditors office
who confessed that he was responsible
for the issuance OF many Of these
fraudulent warrants is still unpun-
ishcd, although the defalcatons oc-
CURED more than two years ago. As
yet no one who is responsible for
issuance of bogus warrants bearing
the name Of the state Of Oklahoma
has been punished by the state and
apparently no effort is being made
TO bring about such result.
When the agents of Oklahoma go
east seeking for a market for her
bonds, the big fnanciers laugh at
them, asking why the state don't set
about to punish the men who have
been turning out worthless warrants.
They ask the representatives of the
state how anyone is to know whether
he is investing in bogus or valid Sc
ourities when buying bonds or war
rants of the state of Oklahoma This
condition brings the blush of shame
to patriotic Oklahomans of all polit- |
ical parties.
As a matter of fact bonds of the
state of oklahoma are first class Sc
curity and would seh on eastern mar
kets at par even under the most un-
favorable conditions If Oklahoma did
not have the reputation of permitting
bogus securities to be issued in her
name and then repudiating them. All
state officials agree that every war
rant or bond issued by oklahoma will |
be paid, but they have not been able |
to convince the men with money Of |
this fact sufficiently to sell their
bonds