Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-12-12
PROBE At WORK
ON REFUND CASE
GOV. HALL TESTIFIES THAT He
CONSIDERED SALE OF BONDS
A WISE MOVE.
DR.. YORK NEW SECRETARY
When This Is Concluded the Commits
sion Will Begin Work on the Ten
sas Land Case and Other Matters.


Western Newspaper Union News Service.
New Orleans.-By a vote OF four to
three over w. c. Howell Of West Fell
cana parish, DR.. J. S. York of Rayville,
was elected secretary to the state
probe commission at its first session
here Monday. DR.. York succeeds
Thos. q. Harris Of Shreveport, recent
ly resigned.
Representative Duncan Buie, who
heretofore has voted with Senator l..
r. Smiths side OF the commission,
cast the vote that gave the secretary
ship TO DR.. York.
The probe commission took up the
Investigation Of the recent refunding
OF Sl1,O0O,000 state debt
Gov. Hall, the first witness, made
a full statement of the steps leading
up to the sale of the bonds. and said.
when asked his opinion of the wisdom
of the sale of the SI1,567, 900 of bonds
at 96.142: Il considered il the wiser
and better course to accept that Of
fer and the majority of the board
agreed. The bid was accepted and the
2onds issued. and January 1, 1914,
every dollar necessary to retire the
bonds of the state was in the banks.
and no holder Of one of those bonds
had to wait one minute for his
money"
Since most of the witnesses wanted
for the bond investigation are in New
Orleans, 1t is believed that the COM
mission will be ready in a few days for
the Tensas Lands case and other mat
tiers brought to its attention. Legal
obstacles were thrown in the way OF
previous attempts to probe the Ten
sas affairs.
The bond deal investigation will
have to do with rumors that the state
could have saved about S45O,OOO, if
the bonds had been held for the right
price. 1t has been said that a straw
bid was submitted to the board of
liquidation for the ostensible purpose
Of misleading the board with regard
to the money market at the time the
bonds were offered.
Reports current in local financial
circles were to the effect that the
maker OF the alleged straw bid was
interested in the winning bid, a higher
one.
Among the local bankers to be
asked to appear before the commits
sion will be Lynn Dinkins, president
or the Interstate Bank. While the
negotiations for the debt refundiug
were on and while the measure was
pending before the constitutional con-
vention last fall. Mr.. Dinkins acted
In an advisory capacity to the govern
or. He helped to frame the law which
authorized the state to issue at 4 1-2
per cent S11,1OS,3OO worth of serial
bonds.
This entire issue, practically, was
taken by syndicate composed Of
New Orleans and New York interests.
The price accepted by the liquidating
board has been supposed to have been
influenced by the alleged straw bid
A few weeks after the syndicate
secured the Louisiana bonds, it sold
them in the market at a fraction of
point below par, realizing for them
selves profit OF nearly half million
dollars. This was all profit as the
syndicate did not have to make any
investment.
The probe commission now is try
Ing to find out why the state could
not have had this s45O,OOO the syndi-
cate split up In profit.