Show TilE FOKGKI SIGNATURES That BOWMAN bond investigation is developing de-veloping into a ludicrous farce It has boon dragging along in the countya court for days but whither it was drifting nobody had tho remotest idea Men whose names were attached to the document have been assorting under oath that they never signed the paper tho signatures not being theirs and then other nren would smile and ask What of it1 Just why the matter was over taken into the county court has not yet appeared Probably when the explanation ex-planation comes it will transpire that the Investigation was mado before the county court because those who conducted it didnt know any better than to take it there because they didnt know that if tho court were to find that all the signatures were forgeries it would be powerless In the premises Having Hav-ing questioned everybody they wanted to question and learned just what everybody every-body who reads THE HERALD know two or three weeks ago the probate judge looked appealingly toward the county and city attorneys those latter looked appealingly ap-pealingly towards the probate judge while the contractor and his man Friday looked defiantly to tho trio who wanted somebody some-body to tell them what to do Finally somebody suggested that the case be referred re-ferred to tho attorneys of the city and county and these two gentlemen will now probably go to a lawyer to point away a-way out for them One who didnt profess any knowledge of the law would have said that upon discovery dis-covery that the signatures jo the bond weN forgeries the city council and tho county court should have declared the bond no bond at all and the alleged contract with BOWMAN for the erection of tho joint city and county building void He would havo suggested that that would have ended the matter so far as the city the county and BOWMAN were concerned He would then have suggested that further proceedings should be continued before tho grand jury and in the district court a tribunal endowed with authority to punish for forgery and also with power to make it mighty interesting for public officials who certify that documents are signed sealed and delivered in their presence when they are not so signed sealed and delivered de-livered At the present time the caso is clearly one for the grand jury and wo dont understand un-derstand that it is necessary for City Attorney At-torney HALL whose official connection with the bond has not been such as to win plaudits for the gentleman or County Attorney At-torney MuiUTiT who doesnt seem to possess pos-sess very clear ideas about either law or courts powors to carry it boforo tho inquisitors in-quisitors It has long been a matter of public notoriety that forgeries were committed com-mitted and grand juries are supposed to take cognizance of such cases whether or not it is to tho interest of officials of political politi-cal parties or of individuals to cover them up and smooth over tho facts |