The weekly tribune., 1894-05-18
WILL HANKS CASE.
The United States Side Of the Case
Will BE Finished To.
Day.
Several Witnesses Told What They
Knew About the Bank
Yesterday.

HELENA, May l5.-[Special to The
TRIBuNEl-E. w. Knight Of the First
National bank OF Helena was recalled to
the stand in the Will Hanks trial this
morning to testify that $1,000 was paid
on 5000 note which Hanks gave on q
5000 draft when he pledged the Cas-
cade bank stock.
Cashier wilt testified that Hanks made
out a deposit slip and deposited the
draft to the credit Of Hanks & Fullerton.
At that time the overdraft of that firm
was 1851.
Bank Examiner Wilson testified to
having examined the Merchants bank Of
Great Falls in January and May of last
year. In January the general condition
Of the bank was not good. There we're
several loans in excess Of the ten per
cent. limit; the directors liability was
large; reserve was short, etc. Hanks
Indebtedness was $l8,2OO At the May
examination this had increased to &32,-
600 as payor, and &9,2Co as endorser. The
law required titten per cent. Of certain
liabilities to be kept in cash or with
reserve agents. At the January exam
ination the reserve was 81 per cent; in
May it was IL per cent; other things
ABOUT the bank he found in January
were that no directors meetings were
held, and no stock ledger kept. At the
May examination some Of these things
were corrected but many other things
were in worse condition.
DR.. A. r. Barrett, special examiner,
testified to examining the bank last
January under direction Of the secretary
Of the treasury. He found that Hanks
owed SGl3 interest on his own overdrafts,
1920 interest on notes in which he wss
interested, s3, 125 for interest paid on a
note at the Merchants bank of Helena,
1880 interest on overdrafts Of Burgress
& Co. Witness traced one Of w. d.
Benson's $2,oc0 notes back to q $l2,CC0
note given by Hanks for 100 shares Of
bank stock, which was gradually reduced
through purchases by outside parties
Witness was asked regarding Hanks in
debtednees at various periods and gave
it as others had already testified to. He
was asked what compensation he was
getti' g as witness, but declined to
answer. Judge Knowles said he
needn't. COL Sanders wanted to know
who objected. "The witness objects" I"
said the judge dryly. The prosecution
will close tomorrow.
HELENA, May 1G.-[Special to THE
TRIBUNE. The oss-examination Of A.
r. Barrett, bank examiner, was con-
cluded in the Hanks trial this morning.
1t developed nothing new. In the after
n 10 L..
statement for the defense, telling what
they expected to prove. Hanks, he said,
was printer boy from Ohio, who came
to Montana nine or ten years ago and
located at Sun River, where he started
country newspaper. Later he moved to
Great Falls, where he started The TRIB-
UNE. Afterward he became connected
with the Cascade bank and later organ
lied the Merchants bank. The defense
would show that throughout his connec-
ton with different enterprises he had
pursued a course Of undertaking recti-
tude and constantly grew in the esteem
Of the people among whom he lived.
at the time Of the organization Of the
Merchants bank Hanks was worth $5O,-
GOO. As to the charge that Hanks had
borrowed $12,C00 to pay for stock when
the bank was organized, it would be
shown that when the stockholders met
to organize, subscribers to 40 shares
failed to make good their subscriptions.
In order not to defeat the organization
Hanks, with the consent Of the directors,
subscribed for this stock, giving his note
for it, the understanding being that the
stock was to be sold as rapidly as posi-
BILE and the proceeds applied to the pay
ment Of the note. At no time did Hanks
borrow money to pay for stock for he
had property that could have been sold
for double the amount. He claimed
that for two years after the bank was
organized, Great Falls was one OF the
most prosperous communities in the
state ard parties who got money
from the bank we're among the
most reliable citizens Of Cascade
county. After loans were made there
came over the country an unfortunate
business change which swept away
fortunes on all sides At no time while
Hanks loaned money to himself or
friends did he fail to have assets to pay
had a call been made. Referring to
Burgess transactions, Carter said the
showing made to him about the mine
justified him in spending money for it's
development, as enough ore was in
sight when operations stopped to pay all
they owed. Will Hanks was then put
on the stand. He said bis name was
William James Hanks and he was thirty
four years old. He was then examined
on the lines laid dowd by Carter in his
opening statement. He said at the time
the Burgess account at the bank was
open he owned $50 acres OF coal land in
Colorado, worth $50 an acre, and sixty
acres near Great Falls worth $4,000;
$4,000 of the stock Of the Merchants
bank and 5000 OF that OF the Cascade
bank; $1,000 worth Of property in Nei-
hart and a lot Of mining stock; all his
property aggregating $4,000. At this
point the court adjourned.