The $430,000 Question: King County's Treasurer Bond Fight

The county commissioners yesterday listened to a petition of taxpayers represented by the committee of fifteen appointed at the Armory mass meeting the day before, asking that the appointment of John Riplinger to be county treasurer be revoked, and that John W. Maple's bond be reduced from $430,000 to $300,000. The meeting was held in the library room at the courthouse and lasted from 2:30 p.m. until 6:30. It ended with the commissioners agreeing to meet the committee again next Tuesday afternoon, at which time their decision will be announced. Eighteen or twenty spectators were present, along with a good representation of the committee, including J. J. McGilvra, chairman; John G. Barnes, Robert Abrams, C. M. Monohon, G. A. Hill, L. H. Ains, Alonzo Hull, W. E. Wilson and Griffith Davies. Absent committeemen William Cochrane and J. Eugene Jordan were attending a Populist gathering at Olympia.

Chairman McGilvra read a set of resolutions and an address, saying the word "demand" was particularly objectionable. The address argued that Maple had been duly elected and had taken the oath of office, and that the only thing needed was acceptance of his bond. It claimed the commissioners erred in requiring a bond as large as $300,000, and that a literal reading of the law would require a bond of over $3 million. It submitted that $300,000 was sufficient and $250,000 ample, but Maple was willing to furnish a good bond of $300,000. It asked the board to rescind its former action raising the bond, to revoke the order declaring the office vacant and appointing Riplinger, and to accept a sufficient bond from Maple without delay.

Mr. McGilvra then spoke, saying the sureties were unreliable and that the attack on Maple was part of a conspiracy against the Republican nominee. He asked, "If there was a lapse, why don't you appoint Mr. Maple, where are the votes of the people? Is it because he is not a Republican?" He added that it was the imperative duty of the commissioners to put a man into the office before having the books examined, otherwise the public would look upon the proceeding as a grave farce.

Mr. Gasch replied at length. He said there were two propositions: first, whether the bond was acceptable to the visiting committee; second, whether the office had been forfeited by Maple's failure to come to time. He stated that of the $447,000 in sureties, only $124,000 represented unencumbered real estate, the rest being worthless or poor security, with $107,788 covered by judgments and liens. He declined to publish names unless the committee insisted, but gave a summary showing one surety down for $25,000 had assets of $241,551 against liabilities of $165,555, leaving an excess of only $8,996. Robert Abrams, one of Maple's sureties, said that if this was a sample of the bond, he himself would not have approved it.

Gasch called the statutory requirements outrageous, thought $150,000 enough for the city bond, and said the law should be amended. He regretted that people talked violently about the commissioners, recalling that Judge Burke had been forced into hiding for three days and Judge Hartford had gone about under guard for enforcing the law. He said certain citizens were trying to inflame the public and threaten violence and blackmail.

W. E. Wilson said the county treasury was without a head and that the "sentiment of the people" was bubbling up so violently it threatened to boil over. "We want you to put Mr. Maple into the office," he said, "and the expectation that he will do will be satisfactory to the people of King county." G. A. Hill, M. Monohon, Griffith Davies and Alonzo Hull also spoke. Davies believed every dollar in the treasury was all right and thought $300,000 ample. Commissioner Heaton had favored reducing the bond but was in the minority. Commissioner Nickerson said he had voted to reject the bond because it was plainly defective and he was guided by the law. He added that Maple deserved credit for obtaining the sureties, even though many were unable to justify.

The matter of meeting again was left to the committee, which selected next Tuesday afternoon. The board will then announce whether Riplinger's appointment will be revised and whether Maple's bond will be reduced to $300,000. Maple's attorney yesterday made a formal demand on the county auditor to file the bond in the county clerk's office for record, and is waiting for the commissioners to act.