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VOLUME XVI.
O’NEILL, HOLT COUNTY, NEBRASKA, OCTOBER 10, 1895.
NUMBER 14
v SUBSCRIPTION, SI. SO PSR ANNUM.
-r—r- • ——
CLYDE KINO AND D.( ML CRONIN, EDITOR* AND MAMAOER*.
. :
STILL THEY EXPLAIN.
The court-house editorial bureau last
week furnished the Sun another column
in explanation of Treasurer Mullen’s
overdraft on fees. The editorial bureau
is in hard lines, surely. Each additional
explanation brings a clear confession
that the preceding explanation was
entirely erroneous and the subject be
comes more interesting as the discussion
continues, because they cannot even
begin to figure the overdraft out of
existence. Last week in their desper
ation they called upon Expert Stitt to
certify as to the practice in other coun
ties. Mr. Stitt has had a fat thing in
Holt county since the pops secured
.control and he would be an ingrate in
deed, if he refused to come to
their rescue at this critical time. But
f-JpUttV* testimony in this case is not
f much consequence, as he has expertcd
*lbut a limited number of counties in the
State of Nebraska and is therefore not a
Competent witness to testify as to the
practice elsewhere. The duties of the
county treasurer, are clearly set forth in
the statute. %
“No account is made of commissions
until the end of the year," says the Sun.
We admit that seems to be the practice
ot Mullen, but it is not the law. The
law says:
The county treasurer shall on the first
Tuesday of January, April, July and
October of each year make a report to
the board of county commissioners
under oath showing the different items
of fees received, from whom, at what
time and what service, and the TOTAL
AMOUNT OP FEES RECEIVED BY
SUCH OFFICER SINCE THE LAST
REPORT, and also the amount received
for the current year.
is*
A commission is a fee,. It Mullen had
complied with the law bis April state
ment would have shown the amount be
earned on collections up to that time;
his July statement would have shown
the same, and his October statement
r would have Shown the total amount of
all fees earned by him during the first
nine months of the year. But here is
another most interesting point. The
treasurer has flagrantly violated the
- , '.bove section of the statute. He filed
kno quarterly statement on April 1; he
> Vfitted no quarterly statement on July 1;
he filed no' quarterly statement on the
first day of this month, as the law says
he shall do. The law not only says he
shall do this, but it provides a penalty
if he fails to do so. The language of
.the law is as follows:
Any of the officers named in section
■one of this act, WHO SHALL OMIT
TO COMPLY WITH THE PROVIS
IONS OF THIS ACT, or should fail or
neglect to keen a correct account of the
“ " fees received by him, or shall
neglect to make a report to the board of
county commissioners as herein pro
vided, shall be deemed guilty of a mis
demeanor, and upon conviction, shall
f.vr each offense be fined in any sum not
lea.* than $25 nor more than $100.
Fc'r failure to file quarterly statements
of fee i received the treasurer is guilty of
a misd smeanor and liable to a fine and
impeach, cent. Where is John Robert
son? Wh.V does he not come before the
county boa rd and institute proceedings
at once?
The court-h ouse editorial bureau says
I Treasurer Mull'-n has asked The Fhon
\tikb for no advfce as to the manner of
conducting his office. That may be
true, but it doetr not prevent us from
' Volunteering a little now and then. The
*~Agood Lord knows he- needs it.
WISHES HE HA DN’T SAID IT.
O’Neill, Neb., Oct, 1.
Mr. C. Moulton, Atkinson, Neb. Dear
Sir—I have been inl'ormed that my
friend, Mr. J. P. Mullen, made the state
ment to you that I was unable to write
my own name. Will you kindly deny
any such statements made by that gentle
man and by doing so you will confer a
v favor which, I assure you, will be fully
appreciated. Hoping to meet you per
sonally when in your township, and
asking your hearty support in the com
ing election, I remain,
Kespectfully,
O. F. Biglin.
Atkinson, Neb., Oct. 2, 1895.'^
Mr. 0. F. Biglin, O’Neill, Neb. Dear
Sir—Yours of the first inst. at hand, and
in reply will say that I did not hear Mr.
Mullen make the above charge, but he
•did say in the presence of three other
igentlemen and myself that “Mr. Biglin
could not get endorsed by a business
man in O’Neill for $1.” He afterwards
•came to me and wanted me to make
affidavit that he did not say it, which I
refused to do. Respectfully,
C. Moulton.
No, Mr. Mullen did not make the
statement to Mr. Moulton that Mr.
Biglin was a raw Irishman, and couldn’t
sign his own name, but he did make it
• to another gentleman living somewhere
within a thousand miles of Atkinson,
and afterwards requested the aforesaid
gentleman to make affidavit that he
didn’t say it, but was again disappointed.
Truly, the tongue is an unruly member,
and he that can bridle it can win a
campaign.—Atkinson Graphic.
Thi election of the republican ticket
1a almost an assured thing. It Is going
to be land slide. Populists are quitting
their party in blocks of ten and are
working for the republican ticket. Turn
the boodlers out.
i-.
i
PIECE.
In the last issue of the Beacon Light, under the heading “Something Nice to Frame,” were fac-similes of four checks issued by
Barret Scott. Two of the checks were issued to Miller & Brady, one to John Brady and ofte to John Skirving. The Skirving check was
for $299.46, and the Miller & Brady checks aggregated $1,700. The matter was given much prominence on the first page of the paper
and the assertion made that these two republican candidates participated in the Scott defalcation. Simply because Barrett Scott at differ
ent times gave a man a check is no indication, or should not raise the presumption that the transaction was other than honest one. During
Scott’s terms as treasurer he handled many thousands of dollars and probably had business relations with three-fourths of the citizens of
our county and it was his practice to pay everything in checks. Many of opr readers, no doubt, have received checks from Scott for
school money and other legitimate purposes and can easily see that to accuse them of being participators in the crime would be both unjust
and unreasonable. These are the same old checks that Harrington hawked about the county two years ago, and show absolutely nothing,
except that Scott had business dealings with men to whom they were issued. But this money paid by Scott to Brady & Miller was not
school money or other county business. Brady & Miller were in the milling business at Atkinson and were handling large quantities of
grain. As men in business are liable'to do, they found themselves a little short of cash and obliged to borrow for a short time; a few
days. Who has not borrowed money at some time or other? Have youjnot, dear reader? Of course your have. Where did you bor
row it? Did you go to a bank and pay 2 per cent, when you could borrow it some place else for 10 per cent, or without interest? Cer
tainly not. You borrowed it where the rate of interest was the lowest. That is just exactly vyhat Brady & Miller did. They went to the
cheapest market. Mr. Brady does not now nor never has denied that he borrowed that money, but he most emphatically denies that there
was anything dishonest in the transaction. He paid it all back, and says that if any man can show that he owes Barrett Scott one cent he
will withdraw from the race for sheriff. ’
To corroborate our statement that Brady & Miller paid this money back to Barrett Scott, We publish below fac-similes of the checks
drawn by them for that purpose. This money borrowed from Scott may have been county money, and then again it may not have been.
It is as fair to presume that it was not as it is to presume'that it was. The checks were not signed by Scott as treasurery nor was the
money on deposit in the name of the county, but in the name of Barrett Scott. But here are the checks, look them over:
FOR QEPOSJTlNJTHEi
&
33 1(=
,«gi pif
1 g;J
Q SV
_ £ g
> o
A'
LJ
or
1
The above cut is the back of the (1000 cheek. Note the Indorsement of Ed Gallagher.
WHERE SOME OF SCOTT’S HONEY WENT.
The Beacon Light has asserted and re-asserted, affirmed and re-affirmed, iterated and re-iterated that Barrett Scott was murdered by
men who had his money, to prevent an exposure. In the face of such accusations we have no doubt that the people of Holt county would
like first rate to know who has his money, anyway. In order to satisfy this perfectly natural desire on their part we have caused to be
prepared, at considerable expense, a few fac-similes of notes held by him. A note, unlike a check, is the best evidence of indebtedness,
and the fact that these notes were in Scott’s possession at the time of his death is prima-facie evidence that they have never been paid. We
will commence with one bearing the signature of Amos Sargent:
fLives_?jriiles~..^^X...of.
@/f'c __'^ue.
« ** , .1
wwmwm
■ +
(Continued on Fourth Page.)
Who is Amos Sar
gent? He is a pop.
He is the man who
went over to Wiley’s
house and enquired
when Scott intended
going to O’Neill.
Scott was captured
and murdered on his
way home. Does
the Jew want any
more personal cam
paign?
I *
Y\
* 4 . .
Tn Page New Bra could not stand
the rotten fusion ticket, and so it drop
ped its neutrality and came square over
on the side of the people and is support
ing the whole populist ticket. We will -
quote from it next week.—Beacon Light.
The Beacon Light will not quote, but
The Frontier will.
The pops played a sharp game on the
Page New Bra, but the scheme proved a •
boomerang and returned with force in
sreased an hundred fold. The editor of
the Bra la comparatively a new man in fj
Holt county, having resided at Page but >■
\ short time, and Jim Mullen took ad
vantage of his ignoranee of local con
litlons to win him over, and slander the
men of the republican ticket. It seems
that Jim Mullen sent his man Friday,
the chief clerk, down to Page with a
carefully prepared pop article of the
usual kind, with instructions to get it
published in the Era. The editor, not
thinking that an official of Bolt county
would perpetrate a confidence game, fell
into the trap and published the vile stuff.
But after his paper was out he realised
what he had done. His readers protested
and showed to him his error and in the
next issue of the New Era we find fh^
(olio wing :v
THE BRA APOLOGIZES.
The Era has an apology to make this
week to its readers, the public In general
and the county republican ticket in par
ticular.
Last week we hoisted the populist
ticket and signified an intention to sup
port it in this campaign, but we have 1
changed our mind. The article it ques
tion was written by Art Mulien, chief
clerk in the office of Treasurer Mullen.
We are almost an entire stranger in Bolt
county, and when this official came Into
our office and wrote down the charges
against republicans we took them as
truth, and although a republican, we
believed such men should not be elected
to office.
The citizens of Pane, and a sraat man*
of our readers elsewhere, here told us *
that we hare been imposed upon by the
young man who draws 9700 per year for
uo other apparent reason than to side*
lioneer for the treasurer and to deceive
siliers as he deceived us. That he had
»n object in thus misleading us the pub
lic cau readily understand. His situ
stion is lost unless a majority of th.e
people of Holt county can be fooled In
the same v*y- Of course we are to ;>
blame for allowing him to embarrass us
in this manner, and had we taken as
much pains to investigate before aa we
have since it could not possibly have
occurred. -
Those wbo are well informed on local
matters tell us that populist adminis- -
tratiou is the cause of much of our high
tales, and that the leaders are open sym
pathizers with the vigilanters who de
prive men of life and liberty with im
punity. They tell us that the populieta
invalidated the official bond of Scott
whereby the county lost 900,000; they
tell us that they robbed the county blind
to pay their libellous newspaper a
princely fee; they tell us that the treas
urer has overdrawn his salary 91.000, and
they tell us much more that we will
mention m future issues.
The reader will notice that the repub
lican ticket occupies a position at the
bead of the editorial column, where it
will remain until after the fight is lost
and won. It is our desire to repair the
wrong we unintentionally committed.
This shows what sculduggery these
fellows are capable of. It also show*
the source of the numerous anonymous
communications that have appeared of .
late in the Sun and Beacon Light. The
court-house outfit seems to have estab
lished an editorial bureau which la con
ducted by men who are paid to run the
county and not to besmirch the char
acters o( those wbo have been chosen as
officials, and whose terms of office will
commence next January.
The populist press Is in a sorry plight.
It seems that they have not only been
bought body and soul by the gang which
wishes to perpetuate itself In office, but V,~
they have turned over this editorial pen
ana given them license to libel their op
ponents without reservation.
Now is this not a pretty spectacle?
County officials writing editorials tor
their own support; men who are sup
posed to have some honor and manhood
writing campaign lies traducing those
wbo oppose them. Is it not an attempt
to deceive voters and get support under
false pretenses?
But the article to which we have re
ferred was not to be the end ot it. Ther
intended to keep up the deception and
furnish copy for each issue, but their
duplicity was discovered. The follow
ing article was sent down to the New
Era last week, but was not published of
course:
0’Nro.l, Oct. 3, *95..
I enclose a few items please insert
them under ticket. Send me paper for
last week. Art F. M.
The hand has written on the wall “the
mongrel ticket is not in it."
A vote for the populist ticket means a
vote for the only honest administration
Holt county has ever had. .
From a reliable source we learn that v
whiskey and beer is flowing like water
up at O’Neill, the same being used in the
interest of O. F. Biglln. If our memory
genres us right he is the same man who,
as mayor, recommended a reduction in
saloon licenses last spring, Verily there
was method in his madness. The saloons
have said by this “you saved us money
on our license now we can afford to give
our goods for votes, as one good turn
deserves another.”
“Art F. M." is a pretty specimen to be ^5
writing against the use of liquor in
political campaigns. Two years ago the
populists hauled wagon loads of it away
from one saloon in O’Neill, and they still
owe a certain saloon 316 for whiskey
carried away in jugs by them.