Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-09-28
LIVELY TILT ON
COFFIN CLAIM At
BOARD MEETING
Members of Land Board Elk
plain Their Position on
Paying Former Assistant
Attorney General.

Like a spectre or phantom the Coffin
salary-fee stalked into the state land
board conference late yesterday AFTER
noon and ruffled what gave promise
of being just an ordinary business ses-
sion. After wrangle of over an hour
and a half about the only definite con-
clusion the board reached was the pas
sage of a resolution, That 1t is the
sense of this board that the compen-
sation allowed T. c. Coffin in the fore
closure cases and the votes recorded
by the land board at that time (Mon-
day. are in no way connected with the
Allen embeZzlement case, and is not
to be considered in such way" NO
! votes were changed although there was
great deal of explaining done. one
fact seems to be established and. that
is that Coffin, enjoyed to foreclose
state loans, accepted in settlement for
his work of $3.50 in place of the origi-
nal 10 per cent fee which he insisted
Mt first he was entitled to on all fore
closures and which ran INTO seVeral
thousands of dollars.
SAY PROCEDURE UNUSUAL.
Probably the most unusual proceed
ure OF the entlTe tDlSONt was lilS NdSh-
ing by Coffin of a check for $3.50 drawn
on the l per cent fund of the land de-
partment, without the check bearing
the signature of the chairman of the
land board, the governor of the state.
This is said to be the first instance
where a check has been cashed on this
fund without the signature of either
the governor, or in the case of his alb
10 ,ft ha
This check bore the signatures of three
members of the land board, or a ma
jority. Governor Alexander refused to
issue a check to Coffin other than for
services as assistant attorney general
for three molths. In other words, he
declined to sign check giving him
$3.50 a month as fees for foreclosing
the loans. Coffin secured the sigma
lures of Secretary of State Barker,
State Auditor Huston and State Su-
perntendent Miss Mccoy to it after he
had called them from the land board
meeting, and unknown to the governor
who had directed the clerk in the land
department to take the check to his
office, cashed it, securing the fee" he
claimed for his services.
AGREEMENT WAS KNOWN.
It was announced by the Capital
News when the restraining order was
secured by Coffin in the district court
to prevent payment Of the fee he
claimed in the Allen bond case, that
there was an existing agreement with
him to accept for such services $3.50
as well as $3.50 for his services in fore
closing the loans. A majority of the
members of the land board who con-
stitute the state depository board, the
governor, attorney general and secre-
tary of state, made this agreement. At
yesterdays land board meeting Miss
Mccoy resented an attempt on the part
of the depository board to make an
agreement for the land board. She
demanded TO know what right the de-
pository board had to enter into such
an agreement and informed the land
board she was ready to vote $3.50 to
Coffin for his services because the
board had authorized the attorney gem
eral to call in any outside attorney to
assist in handling the foreclosure cases.
BARKER EXPLAINS.
Secretary of State Barker who voted
to pay Coffin the $3.50 and signed the
check for that amount. explained to
the board yesterday afternoon that he
give Coffin $3.50 a month for three
months. or $3.50 for his services in fore
closing the mortgages and not as
fee" 1t was over the question of
Services" and fee" that the storm
broke Monday and the same issue
caused the trouble yesterday afternoon.
The secretary of state explained the
agreement reached by the depository
board regarding the amount to be paid
Coffin for his services in both the fore
closure and Allen loan cases. Miss
Mccoy introduced the above resolution
and all members voted for it except
Governor Alexander. He offered to
support it if Miss Mccoy would agree
to add THAT T. c. Coffin was never
employed by the land board" This she
refused to do.
The minutes of the land board and
the explanations made were taken
down by a stenographer. Upon inquiry
at the land department today it devel-
oped the minutes had not been tran
scribed. Secretary Of State Barker was
insistant on making it clear yesterday
that in casting his vote Monday for the
$3.50 payment to Coffin he did not want
it to appear he had voted to give Coffin
$3.50 fee while employed in the at
torney generals office.
NOT GOVERNORS COFFIN.
Governor Alexander took the same
stand yesterday as on Monday, o-wit:
that Coffin had been employed by the
attorney general and not by the land
board and that the $3.50 he was to be
paid was for salary and not a fee. He
told Coffin plainly at that time that
he would never sign a fee check for
that amount unless under court order
and that Coffin could accept the $3.50
for three months salary or refuse it
just as he liked. Coffin contended that