The Hartford republican., 1914-10-09
SEC. Of STATE
IS INDICTED
Crecelius Charged With
Selling Offices.
Grand Jury Says Methods in
Department Invited
Fraud.


+. Crecelius, of Falmouth, Secretary
of State, has been indicted by the
Franklin County Grand Jury on
three counts, charging him with OBJ
tanning money by false pretenses. II
Is charged that he farmed out and
sold public offices in violation OF
statutes.
Thomas s. Byars. Commissioner OF
Motor Vehicles was completely ex-
onerated of the charge of forgery
and mutilating State records, the
warrant charging him with these
ofrenses having been sworn out by
Secretary of State Crecelius.
The indictment of Crecelius is the
result OF an investigation OF his Of
flee and that OF the Office of Dyars,
which was reported by State Inspec-
tor and Examiner Sherman Good
pastor to have been short Sl,303 in
money due the State.
after investigating the charges
against the persons cinfined in the
County Jail. we directed our atten-
zion to the shortage in the Secretary
of States office. We very much re-
gret> to have to report that We are
unable to return any indictment
against the guilty party in this mat
ter. We have investigated every pos
sible angle, but we have been un-
able to obtain sufficient evidence up
on which to base an indictment. Al
tho we have been unable to fix the
guilt upon any party, we feel very
confident from the evidence produc-
ed that the charge against Thomas
5. Byars was unfounded. and we
therefore return the charge against
him as dismissed. We feel that this
matter should not rest where we
have left 1t and refer the matter to
the next grand jury in the hope that
the guilt may be fixed upon the prop
er one in the meantime.
Incidentally, we found evidence
upon which we have based three in
dictments against c. F. Crecelius.
Secretary Of State. which We here
with return. From the evidence pro-
duced we feel confident that the Sec
retary of State has violated Section
3.740 Of the Kentucky Statutes re-
lating to the farming and selling of
public Offices. We hereby call upon
the Attorney General to bring the
proper proceedings for the forfeiture
of the office of the Secretary OF State.
I'm regard to the shortage in the
Secretary of States Office we desir to
say that W believe that 1t would have
been impossible for this shortage to
have occurred without being found
out long before had 1t not been for
the very negligent manner in which
all of the affairs of the Office were
conducted and the very crude and
unsatisfactory method of making set
Elements frOm the various desks with
the Treasurer. This is again exempli-
fled in the shortage found upon the
Assistant Secretary of States desk.
We have not returned an indictment
on account of this shortage as 1t did
not appear that there was any at
tempt to defraud the State. but we
must say that II was the result of
gross negligence and can not be CEN
sured too highly. On this desk also
the method of making settlements
was very crude in the extreme and
Invited mistakes and fraud"
The only other indictment found
against persons connected with the
State Capitol was against C. L. Timb-
'erlake, a negro porter in the Office of
the Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion. He is charged with having TAX
en- from the Office Of the Superintend-
ent public records.
The turn taken by the grand jury
in bringing indictments against Sec
retary OF State Crecelius caused a
tremendous sensation here. 1t is al
legged he hired clerks at a specific
salary and kept part OF their salar-
les. One Of the alleged victims is a
woman. and it is said that out of a
salary OF 500 a month she only re-
ceived $25 a mouth.
Secretary of State Creceius broke