The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1885-11-04
i've miles, and makes deductions there


criminal charges, and they are only fair
instances and sample of the lot. he
asked no explanations from Mr.. Blakely
or Mr.. Sloan, but went ahead ex parte.
The county commissioners had passed
upon all these items and into many that
he objects to had made particular i'm
quiry before allowing them. In many
instances Mr.. w, lie seems to assume
that because mans postoffice address
is a certain definite place he must live
under the shadow of that postofice and
he therefore computes the distance
travelled in subpenaing to that very
point. He makes no allowance for the
probability that an officer did not find
the man he wanted at home and had to
do considerable amount of extra travel
ing to find him. In fact ANYTHING that
Mr.. Wylie did not find fully explained
he seems to have Immediately set down
as fraudulent and criminal; he made no
attempt to go behind the returns-tthis is
not political stab
We have not compared all of Mr..
Blakely's accounts with MIR. Wylie's re-
ports. We have not had time to do so
and bes,de we are not an expert. But
we will SVsgtdss the assertion that a jury
of fair-minded men would take Mr..
Wylie's report alone and pronounce that
it did not present one right item eviden-
cling desire to defraud or a willful at
tempt on Mr. Blakely's part to make the
county pay for what the law did not
permit.
And it should be borne in mind that
no record of undercharges, which our
very casual glance at Mr.. BlakelYs ac-
counts has shown to be apparent, is
made by Mr. WYlie. If this expert APP
Dointee had entered upon his work with
a fair and Unbiased mind it seems to us
that he would have made report on
undercharges as we'll as overcharges.
But he did not. Perhaps he found that
the two might balance or that the differ
ence would be in favor of Mr., Blakely,
and in that event how could Mr.. Wylie
make capital?
The charge that accounts in the sum
of $35, 46l GA had been allowed MIR.
Blakely when they were rot made out
according to law is unimportant. The
district attorney did not object; the
county commissioners were just as con-
scentious as if they had been made out
in accordance with the letter of the law
and wherever could any fraud arise
therefrom.
This sum amounts to almost the en-
tire revenues of the sheriff's Office for
two years-deputies, jailers, boarding
prisoners and everything over which
the sheriff had charge. 1t was divided
up among a small regiment of people
during the two most prosperous years of
Gallatin courty's history.
The report upon the accounts of W. F.
Sloan is hardly worth noticing except as
it appears as clear evidence of the utter
Incompetence or wilfull Partially Of Ex-
pert WyIie. Mr.. Sloan is too highly res
pected to be soiled by any such mud
singing. Mr.. Wylie's report in this case
is couched mostly in unsupported gene
raj terms. When he descends to partic-
uars his is worse than weakness.
The report seems to assume that b.
cause a man began doing business and
paid license for a month or two he con.
tinued thenceforth to do business with
out interruption and is still doing bust
ness. Our readers we'll know that during
the past few wears it was no unusual
thing for small business house, partic-
ularly a saloon, to close for a month or
more and then reopen, when a new Ii
cense would be obtained. At this time,
even, it is very common in Bozeman for
billiard table or a gambling table to
cease doing a money business for per
iod, to wait TIL times warrant the pay
lnent of the heavy license.
in the matter of delinquent taxes Mr.
Wylie's calculations are incorrectly
based. During Mr.. Sloan's term
he states that the time for the payment
of taxes without penalty was never ex-
tended beyond early in December. The
records of the county commissioners
should show that in the levy of 1873 the
time for payment without PENALTY was
extended to March LIST '74--(see Slotn's
sta tement) land year or two previous
it was extended from December 1st to
January LIST. IfMr. Wylie will 90 over
his calculations once more with these
facts in view he will find cause to reduce
to a very small figure the amount which
he charges against Mr.. Sloan for uncol-
lected delinquent penalties. And in the
balanceif he investigate little farther
he will find that Mr.Sloan either had the
orders of the county commissioners or
good moral and equitable right to remit
the odious and outrageous penalties in
flicted by law upon the unfortunate in
dividual that could not pay his taxes on
or before the day appointed as the limit
Mr.. Wylie charges nothing of crimi al
natttse asainst Mr.. Sloan He did not
have the temerltv TO do so, He only
charges neglect of duty. There is no
man living more conscientious about his
duty or his obligations than Mr. Sloan.
Our comparisons of his accounts with
MIR. Wylie's report have shown nothing
worse than clerical errors reasonably
consequent upon the hurry of making
entries and receipts when taxpayers
were rushing in pay their taxes before
they were mulcted by law for 10 per cent
extra. Any failure to collect were errors
on the side of justice, humanity and fair
dealing OF this we are not merely NOR
ally certain but from cursory investi-
CATION
The grand jury and Mr.. Wylie want
the investigation to proceed through
the medium of the exDerts. of course.