The Treasurer's Bond Begins to Crumble
Two surety names vanish from John W. Maple's $400,000 bond, and more may follow as King County waits for its prosecutor.
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.
Two more of County Treasurer John W. Maple's sureties withdrew yesterday, and others may follow. The county commissioners were notified by Prosecuting Attorney Hastie that he was not yet ready to recommend a course of action, his examination of the bonds not being complete. The board is waiting to hear from him; he expects to report today, but it is not known just when the question will be passed on by the commissioners.
Maple's sureties for small amounts are slowly slipping away. Michael Burns, of Green River, who signed for $3,000, and Richard O'Connell, of White River, who is down for $2,000, each demanded that his name be stricken from the obligation. O'Connell took the rather anomalous position that he refused to assume any liability because his name appears on the bond. Burns wrote: "You are hereby notified that the undersigned, one of the sureties named in and who subscribed his name to the official bond of John W. Maple as county treasurer of King county, Washington, desires to withdraw from said bond, and hereby demands that his name and signature to said bond be stricken therefrom."
O'Connell wrote: "A bond given by J. W. Maple to the state of Washington in the sum of $400,000 will, if filed with you, be found to contain the name of Richard O'Connell as surety to the sum of $2,000. I hereby notify you I desire to withdraw from said bond and I do hereby withdraw and refuse to assume any liability whatsoever on said bond because of the fact that my name appears thereon. And I further demand that you refuse to accept or approve said bond."
County Auditor Beman, acting under the statute, placed copies of the withdrawals in the hands of Sheriff Van de Vanter for service on Mr. Maple. What other sureties will do will probably develop today. A report was abroad last evening that one of the signers for $10,000 had decided to order his name stricken from the list, and that other sureties for smaller amounts were becoming frightened. One of the letters published above is typewritten and was prepared for more than one signature, seeming to suggest that forms for withdrawing from the bond were being circulated among the bondsmen.
“I do hereby withdraw and refuse to assume any liability whatsoever on said bond because of the fact that my name appears thereon.”
Public officials still must post bonds, and the question of who stands behind them—and who can walk away—remains a live issue in county government. The Maple episode shows that a bond is only as good as the names on it, and that those names can vanish when scrutiny arrives.
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