The Treasurer Who Wouldn't Post Bond: J.W. Maple to King County—'Wait Until I Find Bondsmen'
King County's treasurer-elect refuses to file his required bond on schedule, claims the law gives him until the end of his term, and circulates a circular attacking the 'courthouse ring.'
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.
J. W. Maple, county treasurer-elect, failed to file his bond as required by law, but nevertheless served notice on the county commissioners that he was looking for bondsmen and would qualify for office as soon as he could secure the necessary securities. He takes the position that the law gives him until the expiration of the term of office within which to secure his bond, and that he can enter the office just as soon as the bond is furnished—no matter when.
Maple also circulated an appeal to the people of King County, asking the assistance of every fair-minded citizen, to preserve political faith, in hastening the bond. The appeal is in circular form, and is in reality an attack on the county commissioners and the so-called "courthouse ring."
“The appeal is in circular form, and is in reality an attack on the county commissioners and the so-called 'courthouse ring.'”
A countywide elected official refusing to post a bond and then appealing over the heads of commissioners to voters is a familiar civic genre: officials testing the limits of accountability while casting themselves as reformers. Maple's 'courthouse ring' language anticipates modern anti-establishment campaigns.
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