The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-09
INTERESTING SIDE ISSUE.
An Inside View Given Of the
Affairs of the MERGED
Bank.
DEFENDANT WAS A DIRECTOR
The Prosecution Will Try to Show
He Knew Of the Banks Weak
Condition.

MERGED, CAL, Aug. s. The case
begun last Saturday by William Atwood
in the Superior Court, having for its OBJ
ject the ousting of Supervisor Nelson from
office, has broadened out, and in the opera
ton an inside view has been given OF the
affairs of the MERGED Bank, an institution
which went out of existence in October,
1884, and left long list of deposltors to
mourn the closing thereof, and overdrafts
amounting to $4,000, with small security
in every instance. None of the losers by
the banks failure have thus far COM
menced any proceedings looking to bring
ing the affair into court, but the entering
wedge has now been driven.
BY the failure of the bank the county
lost $1,000 which the Treasurer had on de-
posit, and the only thing to show for it
was a certificate of deposit, which paper
was passed upon every month by Mr.. Nell
son in his capacity as chairman of the
Board of Supervisors. as good and suffi-
cient security for the deposited funds. Mr.
Nelson was also director of the defunct
bank.
Last month suit was commenced by the
county against the bondsmen of the
Treasurer looking to the recovery of the
amount lost by the failure of the bank.
William Atwood was one of the sureties,
and he in turn filed on the 1st inst. a suit
demanding that Mr.. Nelson be ousted from
Office for gross neglect of duty as men,
Der of the Board of Supervisors. AS above
stated, the contest came up last Saturday
with motion to nonsuit by Mr.. Nelson's
attorneys, which was denied. The case
opened last Tuesday for the taking of
testimony.
R. F. Bartlett, ex-County Treasurer was
the first witness called. His testimony
went to show the several transactions he
had had with the bank during his term Of
office. A certificate of deposit in the
MERGED Bank for $500, on the back of
which was a credit of $500, was intro
duced in evidence. Mr.. Bartlett said it
was given to him by J. w. Howell, cashier
of the bank, and that he made a demand
on the bank for the county's money; that
prior to that time witness had converse
ton with Mr.. Nelson, who asked witness
not to draw the money from the bank at
that time, as such action would cripple the
bank. At the last count of the money in
the treasury, during Mr.. Bartlett's term OF
Office, Mr.. Nelson passed the certificate as
good, being sure that the money would be
paid within very short while.
J. w. Howell cashier of the bank,
testified that upon receipt of the written
demand made by Mr.. Bartlett for the
county's money he got team and went
to Plainsburg, the home of Mr.. Nelson.
That gentleman returned with him to
MERGED, and called alone on Treasurer
Bartlett. Mr.. Howell was asked if Mr..
Nelson told him anything of the converse
tion held with Mr.. Bartlett. The witness
could not remember.
The prosecution claim that the bank was
financially weak several months before its
final collapse, and will endeavor to show
that Mr.. Nelson was well informed of that
fact.
G. W. Landess, farmer, testified that
Mr.. Nelson had very recently told him
that at a meeting of the directors of the
bank held as far back as two years ago, he
advised that the bank close it's doors, but
that his associates had talked him out OF it.
Mr.. Bartlett's son, Roy, testified to a
part Of conversation between Mr.. Nelson
and his father shortly before the suspen-
sion of the MERGED Bank, in which Nelson
asked Bartlett to leave the money in the
bank. Witness then went on to state that
his father was at that time uneasy about
the county money in the MERGED Bank and
thereafter drew the money from the bank
at divers times.
Cashier Howell was recalled and it de-
veloped in the course of his examination
by Attorney Clunie that the witness and
his brother were interested in an overdraft
of something like $4,000. Other names
were read off for smaller amounts.
The case is attracting great interest and
will probably consume the remainder of
the present week.