The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-12-14

this point by correction of the min
utes of November II, at meeting on
December IL, the day before the hear
ing opened. They cited law to prove
that this could legally be done. The
opposition contended that corrections
of this kind were only permissible
when the correction was made for the
purpose of making the previous min
utes speak the truth. The minutes of
November II they claimed did speak
the truth as originally written by
County Auditor Syfford and approved
at a subsequent meeting of the board
While these two points were inter
esting from legal standpoint and if
either is sustained by the plaintiff
the proceedings of December will
be null and void, the real interest,
however, centered around the third
question, that of fraud. It was in at
tempting to uphold or shatter this
contention that most of the testimony
was introduced.
The first witness called was County
Auditor Syfford, who testified that on
Sunday, December 3, Mr.. Clements
came to him and told him that a bond
issue had been prepared, that the
bonds had been signed by himself and
County Treasurer Harper and asked
that he (Syfford) sign them. He
quoted Clements as saying: "f you
will do this. Monday morning we will
put thru a resolution authorizing the
issue, sell the bonds and then the sons
Of -- can holler." Mr.. Syfford
testified that he refused to sign the
bonds and telephoned to Mr.. Moulton
to come to Prosser on the next train.
He told what happened at the meet
ing Monday morning and furnished
copies of the proceedings together
with copies and the bids for the bonds
which were placed in evidence.
Commissioner Clements testified
that he went to Prosecuting Attorney
Fristoe on November 5, told him he
wanted to build a court house and
asked him how it could be done. After
investigating Mr.. Fristoe advised him
to consult someone else. Then later
in the month, after. Commissioner
Bash had gone home he and McNeill
passed an order sending themselves
to Spokane to investigate concerning
a renewal of the lease on the present
court house. They went first to Pasco
and conferred with E. A. Davis, who
accompanied them to Spokane. There
they consulted Zent & Powell and
waited four days while the attorneys
Investigated as to what should be done
to keep the bonding proposition from
becoming known to the taxpayers un-
til after the bonds had been sold. AZ
ter the attorneys had outlined their
plans he and McNeill turned the whole
matter over to them and came home
He admitted that he had never made
any investigation of the bond market
knew nothing about the sale Of the
bonds, but thought that under the con-
ditions the bid Of Keeler Brothers was
a pretty fair bid. He admitted that
at no time had the matter ever been
considered by the board as whole
and that Commissioner Bash had been
kept in ignorance of the plans.
While Mr.. Moulton was questioning
the witness Judge Zent interrupted te
say: eff you are examining this wit
ness for the purpose of ascertaining
whether or not this bonding proposi-
ton was framed in secrecy, you are
wasting your time. We admit that
all our plans were laid so that the
public might know nothing of it until
the bonds had been sold because we
realized that because of Kennewick's
hostility it would be impossible to put
it thru in any other way"
Mr.. Clements admitted that under
Judge Zent's orders he had signed the
bonds on Sunday and excused the ac.
tion by saying that he was a slow
writer.
Commissioner McNeill's testimony