The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-27
WINTERS THIS TIME
The Auditor Backs Up His Letter
With AfidavitS.
SOME OF HIS WITNESSES
They Say He Never Approached
Them With a Proposition hat
Was Not All r ieht-Women
Paupers 4 estIfy.

County Auditor Winters yesterday
completed the testimony and a state
ment of his side of the case relative
TO the recent charges made against
him by the county commissioners. The
testimony, which has been Transcribed,
covers Go typewriter pages and is an
answer to every charge made against
the auditor The testimony, together
with the following statement from the
auditor was yesterday transmitted to
the commissioners:
Butte, Mont, May %, 1896.
To the Board of Commissioners, Silver
Bow County. Montant:
Dear Sirs-I have completed an in
vestigation of your late investigation
OF the affairs of my office. have been
fair and impartial in my Investigations
and as a result of my labors am able
to submit TO you. and to the public, a
sworn statement of facts that will have
the effect of truly presenting your OFF,
cial honesty and dignity in dealing
with your fellow citizens and the Wild
ows and orphans OF the dead.
From the sworn statements of nearly
every merchant in the county and a
number of other respectable families
who have been receiving aid from the
county. IT would appear that on your
pilgrimage in the pathway of economy,
honesty and official dignity, you have
fallen by the wayside and rolled
through the cutters of falsehood SIAN
der and vanity. 1t would further APP
pear that you have prostituted your
official position to blackmail the audi
tor and crafty your personal griev-
ances against him, simply because he
would not be used as a stepping stone
for yourselves. your sisters, your broth
ers and other ken to extract from the
county treasury money that the audi
tor had reason to believe did not just
ly belong to you.
You have taken occasion to misrep-
resent every matter of business relating
10 my Office. I'm order to make II APP
pear to the public that 1 have been as
extravagant. inefficient. partial and
selfish in the performance of my OFF,
cial duty as you have been convicted
Of yourselves You have no license to
assert that the business of my office
has been mismanaged, nor have you
any records or bona fide evidence to
substantiate the assertions OF this
character that you have already made.
i have. however, records and evidence
that will prove that the affairs OF my
Office have been properly managed.
also have some evidence and records
that will prove beyond a doubt that
you have used your official position to
further the interest of yourselves and
your relatives at an unjust expense to
the taxpayers OF this county.
You have asserted That l used my
office as a medium to increase my in
surance business The affidavit OF
nearly every merchant in the county.
hereto attached. will brand your as
sertion az being a falsehood.
You have asserted that l Issued coun-
ty orders to several undeserving per-
sons without the consent and contrary
TO the wishes of the commissioners. To
successfully contradict your assertion.
call your attention to the afiidavits
hereto attached, and TO the written or
ders signed by the chairman and now
on file in the office of the county re-
corder Every order issued has been
presented to your chairman for his APP
prevail and his signature.
In justice to your vanity you took oc-
casion TO assert that l deceived the
public and the commissioners and de-
frauded the taxpayers by drawing
rents from the county for fictitious
concerns. To successfully contradict
your assertion, ] refer you to the writ
ten orders signed by your chairman, to
the afiidavits of several reputable real
estate men. and to the afiidavits of the
owners of the houses rented to the
county by my firm; all hereto attached.
remarks / submit to you herewith a
report contradicting every ASSERTION
that you have made against me, and
the contradictions are In form OF affl-
davits from some of the largest tax
payers and respected citizens. With
rhe suggestion that you pass a resolu-
tion asking the county attorney TO In
vestigate your official conduct and en-
power the legal gentleman to take the
10 frap oh Nntr 4 m
sincerely yours. w III. Winters.
Among the witnesses who testified in
behalf of Mr. Winters were the follow
Ing merchants: John l.. Carroll, L. +.
Shaw of the Connell company. ]. w.
Denis Driscoll. Dave Law
renee, T. +. Courtney, ]. A. Frazer.
Marco Medin, T. J. BENEFITS. ID. J. Gil
rard, W. III. Hendrix. II. j. Brophy, o.
Joseph Broughton, ID. Do
rails. r.. Campana, +. V. Scheuer.
George Andrews. L. W. Curtis. James
A. Gunderson. T. A. Nc
j. ~. Knoch, W. ii. Lewis,
L. Hesse, Frank Boucher. c. W. Filing
wood, G. +. Prahman. ii. c. Mcdonald.
d. j. Hennessy. Joseph Case. Il. Il. Har-
ris. Elias siegel, Frank Lohse. John
Caplice and Henry Waisman. The |
d ove witnesses include about all the
of Butte and their testimony
goes to refute the charges of the COM
nissioners that the auditor who is also /
m the insurance business. had gone to
the merchants of the city and offered
TO give them an Increase In county or |
aers i'm exchange for their insurance
business. The testimony of the witness |
= Shaw, Davidson. Broughton and Do |
rails. gives the substance of the testi-
mony of all the merchants on this /
point Mr. Shaw testified as follows:
@ What Is your business? A. Vice /
president Of the NJ. J. Connen com |
Dany.
Q. Do you know County Attorney
A. I do.
q. Has County Attorney Winters
sver informed you that II you would
give his agency your insurance. he !
would increase the amount OF your
county orders? A. No sir
Q. Have you any reason 90 believe |
hat II you would give the county au-
litor your insurance. II would have the |
fleet Of having the auditor increase /