The City Treasurer’s Downfall
After a week of intense scrutiny, A. Krog is convicted of misappropriating public funds; the case marks a major legal test for Seattle’s municipal accountability.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A. Krog has been convicted of misappropriating city funds. It was only eighteen minutes after the jury went out that he was found guilty; one ballot settled the matter. Krog was unmoved, though his attorneys signaled their intent to appeal the case to the highest court on points of law. The indictment centered on July 2, 1894, when Krog, as treasurer, allegedly used $10,000 of city money to create a profit for himself. Judge Moore, in his instructions to the jury, emphasized that while Krog’s good character could be considered, the evidence regarding the misuse of public funds must be weighed heavily. Prosecuting Attorney Miller noted that while other cases of embezzlement await trial, this verdict serves as a critical test case for the legal handling of public money in Seattle.
“The law presumes the innocence of a person accused of crime, and this presumption is not a matter of form which the jury may disregard at will, but is a part of the law of the land.”
This 1896 embezzlement case highlights the historic vulnerability of Seattle’s public treasury. Today, questions of public funding and municipal graft continue to be a persistent theme in local politics, often surfacing in audits and debates over how city resources are managed.
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