The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1914-05-21
JOHN ]. lee
MAKES REPLY
CANDIDATE FOR SHERIFF EX-
PLAINS THINGS CONCERNING
THE MONEY HE COLLECTED
FROM WARD COUNTY WHILE
IN PUBLIC OFFICE.
Editor Indepndent:


In the advertising space reserved
for my opponent for Sheriff of Ware
County, there appeared in last weeks
issue of the Independent lot of fig
ures purporting to show my income
during my two terms in office. These
figures, however, appear to have been
not only stretched far beyond the
truth, but were juggled in such way
as to make it appear that l had got
ten enormously rich out Of the sher-
ifs Office, even violated the contract
with the county commissioners, etc.
l never resorted to any mud-sling-
ing in my previous campaigns and will
also in the present battle let my OPP
ponent have monopoly on that kind
of warfare, if he thinks the voters are
80 stupid that he can benefit thereby,
which is very doubtful, however. But
I deem it only fair to myself and my
friends to show to what extent my op-
ponent will stoop down in trying, by
Juggling and classifying figures, to de-
feat an opponent.
He now comes forward and claims
that I, in four years, was paid by the
County the sum of $62, 1862. That
I, is quite a reduction from what my op-
ponents claimed years ago, when they
howled about Lee having drawn as
much as $4,000 per year! But even
the amount of $62,166.78, as now
claimed was paid me in four years, is
far from the truth, as the following
figures will show.
am perfectly willing that the peo-
pie should know exactly how much my
income amounted to while l was Sher-
if, and l will, before this campaign is
over, or as soon as the expert account
ants employed to go over the records,
have completed the work, give a full
and exact account of everything, in
order that the people may know the
facts. For the present, will give the
readers of the Independent what I
have on hand:
I have certificates from the County
Auditors Office, showing in itemized
form all receipts, or County money
going through my hands during the
four years I was sheriff, to be exact,
the sum of $54,370.99, not $62, 166.78,
as my opponent falsely states. Now,
If this had been net earnings, it would
have been a princely income, indeed,
but when we consider all that had to
be paid out again, the net income will
prove to be only a fraction of what
my opponents try to make people be-
lieve l made while in the sheriff's Of
fee.
For instance, out of the gross re-
ceipts mentioned above, s22 ,295.77 was
for boarding prisoners, at the rate Of
other sheriffs. This leaves 1872, O75.22
fo,, ~ fooc william M 1;1,orx1 !, Svo
railroad fare for prisoners, which I
had more than 800 of, and for jailors,
postage stamps, kilograms, telephones
and more than twenty deputies were
paid out of this amount. And just
stop to consider the size of the county
while I was sheriff; it took in besides
the present Ward also what is now
Mountrail, Burke and Renville, also
the few railroads we had at the time
meant expensive travelling. 1t also ap- |
peared as if all the criminals in the
land were heading this way at the
time. Taking all these things into
consideration any fair-minded person
can easily figure out that my admins
tration was not as expensive as that /
of other sheriffs Of this county.
My opponent says further that l
received $8417 for receipts issued in
collection of delinquent taxes. Now, if
you are going to figure that actually
received a fee from everybody who
paid taxes, it could be true; but what
about all those who did not pay me
any fee, also those for whom I adj
vanced the tax money out of my own
pocket and which has not been paid
back to me to this day, perhaps never
will be? These amounts, remember,
are also included in the $8417.
When my opponent charges that I
received as commission on 1908 and
prior years personal property delin-
quent taxes on a so per cent basis, the
sum of $2558.79, that statement is
not true either, according to the Coun-
ty Auditors statement. And remem-