Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1892-04-22
Chairman Powell Explains the Com.
misslOners Side of the Question.

Chairman Powell Explains the Com
missloners Side Of the Question.
Desiring to be fair with all parties
in this controversy regarding the at
tempted removal of county treasurer
Bradley, the STAR sought Chairman
Powell to get the commissioners side
of the story, and this is the substance
of the interview: MIR. Powell states
that the action Of the commissioners
toward Mr.. Bradley was not through
malice-there was no thought Of
malice. The board supposed, and 1t
was the general supposition that tho
bank where the money was deposited
was loaning it; IN fact Mr.. Parks, the
cashier, admitted that the money was
being loaned. All the board wants. is
that the money be kept in the county.
But the board judged from the First
National bank statement Of March 9th
that they we're not justified in allow
ing the money to remain there, and
Mr. Bradley was removed because he
was a party to allowing the money to
90 out Of the county; the bank was
specializing with the money and while
it is not to be blamed for that, just the
same the board don't want it to. The
board would just as soon have the
money in the First National bank as
in the Minnekahta State bank. The
commissioners thought perhaps the
fight against paying for the court
house was made solely to retain the
money in the First National; all Of the
treaslrer's bondsmen are directors of
that bank. II, for one," said MIR.
Powell, ''never dreamed that the
money was not in the bank. for Mr..
Bradley urged US to go and count it,
and Bob Conner, Of the directors,
told us we could go and count it any
time; there was no malice in our action.
l was willing to ask Mr.. Bradley
merely to procure more bondsmen, but
the other members of the board INSIST
ed that we should see about the money.
l think we had verbally agreed that
the money might he kept in the First
National bank, hut no official action
was ever taken"
"Mr. Bradley would never consult
us, or work with US, and we couldn't
have the money placed where we
wanted it without Bradley's removal.
We could never do anything with Mr..
Bradley, and knew if we gave him
time to get the money here this time,
just to count it, that he would put it
in the bank again and it would
probably be sent east, and in a nut
shell that is why we removed Mr..
Bradley"
Continuing, Mr.. Powell said that
the commissioners expect to force Mr..
Bradley's removal from the office.
There never has been a time when the
commissioners would not rent a box in
some bank vault for the treasurer to
kept the money in and they are will
ing to do it yet. They did not stop at
Mlnnekahta bank to count the $4,000
because they thought best to count the
biggest amount first.
Said Mr.. Powell; 1.-THE statement
that we brought this thing up for po-
litical effect just at this time is not
true; there is nothing in it. | have
always been in sympathy with the
lower town and the officials from that
end; never favored letting Fred Evans
control things"
Then Mr.. Powell talked for a time
upon the unp.easantness of being
county commissioner and said he should
have resigned longago if some of his
enemies hadn'ttried to emove him, hut
it was human nature to hold on tc
such things if some one was trying tc
GUST them. 1t was an enjoyable in
terview throughout, and the STAR is
under obligations to Mr.. Powell for the
free and pleasant manner in which he
stated his side of the question.
We hope the STAR readers will care,
fully peruse this full case-both
sides-and we are satisfied that no un,
biased mind will disagree with our
structures on the editorial page. Mr.
Powell so directly contradicted him
self in his statements that, lie certainly
has made out a poor case for the com
m%issloners. He says there was Mt
malice in their action and yet Mr.
Bradley was removed purely and solely
because he deposited the money wher,
he wanted to; because he would no
"work' with the commissioners would
not consult them; and mainly because
they Couldn't get the money wher
they wanted it without Bradley
removal"
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