Meade County news., 1916-05-11
TO PAY AS THEY GO.
State Supreme Court Makes
New Rule for Control of
County Finances.
MUST MAKE BOTH ENDS MEET
Under a Recent Decision Warrant
Can Only Be Issued When
Money Is on Hand.

County officials in Kansas who han
! die the money of the taxpayers must
make debts and income keep pace
The recent decision Of the Kansas su
| preme court, which has perturbed the
Wyandotte county commissioners and
the Kansas City board of education,
APPLIES to every county of the state
The court held warrants for salaries
could not be i.sued unless the money
to ray them was in the treasury.
Attorneys for both the county board
and the board of education were busy
try to find some way out. The
county may ask to have the case re-
opened. Attorneys for the school
board were trying to find if 1t could
slip by a $4,000 expense with only
100000 in its treasury
The decision not only stops the is
suance of warrants in excess OF funds,
but prohibits the transfer OF money
from one fund to another. The opin'
ion, which was written by Justice
John S. Dawson. says:
That taxes levied for the general
purposes of county for any one year
must be devoted to paying the ex-
penses of that year, and can not be
used to pay the expenses of any pre-
vlous year
That the county commissioners
have no right to contract any indebt-
edness in any year for which they can
not reasonably expect the revenue OF
the county to pay.
"If the commissioners draw war.
rants for more money than they can
reasonably expect will reach the coun-
ty treasurer within given year, they
make themselves liable to a fine Of
not to exceed $4,000 and custer from
office"
The case grew out of the refusal of
the treasurer of Leavenworth county
to pay $50,000 worth of scrip drawn
for 1914 out of the taxes that came in
for the following year. He offered
to pay $4,000 worth of the warrants,
that being the back tax collections
for 1914, but refused to touch the
1915 money. The holders of the war
rants brought mandamus action.
X X X
Auto Turns Over.-J. w. Russell of
Burlington was badly hurt in an auto
mobile accident near there when the
new car in which he was returning
with Lloyd Taylor from Kansas City,
struck a rut and turned completely
over and down an embankment at
Wolf Creek. His lung was punctured
and several ribs broken.
X X X
Found a Body at Pratt-The body
of man was found at the Rock ISL
and stock yards at Pratt recently. He
weighed 100 pounds, was about 25
years old, feet inches tall and had
brown curly hair. A scrap of paper
with the name Lee Camedy, Guymon,
Ok, was found OF the body.
X X X
Spider Bite Brings Death-A spider
bite caused the death at Independ-
ence of Mrs. Andrew Jackson, rs
years old. She was stung on the
cheek. Her face Immediately swelled
and chills followed
X X X
Successful Tractor Show-ThrCe
thousand farmers attended big trac.
tor show at Great Bend recently.
Farmers came fifty miles to see seven.
teen tractors in plowing demonstra.
ton. They plowed fifty acres in one
hour. big show for those attending.
X 4 4
Hutchinson Grew 1,032-Hutchinson
has population of 2l,027, according
to the figures made public by George
M. Lee, county clerk of Reno county.
This is gain of 1882 over the cen.
sus of last year.
X X X
Triplets to Kansas coupIe.-Mr and
Mrs. S. N. Miller of near Haven Reno
county have triplets, born recently
Two boys and one girl make up the
trio. They weighed about eight
pounds each at birth.
X X
Rushing Feeders to kanasas.-Be
cause of the unrest of the railway EN-
ployes the Santa Fe has been notify
ing stock shippers that if they want
to get their stock to market or to the
pastures they should ship at once. The
heaviest cattle shipments in the his
tory of the road have been made the
last ten days. The most of the stock
is going to the Flint Hills for grazing
4 X X
Muscotah scorchsd-Three build
jngs were destroyed in a $4,000 fire
at Muscotah the other night. Severa
other buildings were damaged. The
origin of the fire is unknown.
X X X
Train Kills Small Boy--A Frisco
northbornd passenger train struck anC
killed a S-year-old boy four miles nortl
of Columbus recently. The child wa.
the son Of Jim Morris, laborer IL
the powder works at Turck, and wa
Dlaying on the track