The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-02-24
POINTERS FOR PHIL
Auditor Winters Explains Matters to
the " Tribune" Editor.
AND "MR." T. j. MURRAY ALSO
He Puts the Other Taxpayers on
the Track of a Good I hing. and
Urges the Chamber of Com
meroe to Push It Along.

u n.
tor of the Great Falls Tribune. over the
hospital bill of DR.. T. ]. Murray for
the treatment of Ed Lynch, who was
fatally stabbed by Dave Mansfield, has
reached the point where serious trou-
BILE is looked for" and the fact that it
is being carried on at long range does
not lessen the interest which is mani
tested in the dispute. Mr.. Julien crit
icised the auditors action in refusing to
audit DR.. Murrays bill on the ground
that Lynch should have been taken to
the county hospital, and Mr.. Winters
replied with letter explanatory of all
the facts in the case as he saw them.
This brought forth characteristic
newspaper apology in the Tribune, and
now Mr.. Winters has written another
letter.
1t is a communication that is charac-
teristic of Mr.. Winters and is filled with
the whitening sarcasm which made him
famous during the disputes that he
had with other county officers a year
or two ago. He entirely overlooks or
| ignores the fact that Dr. Murray is a
| physician and surgeon and entitled to
| a medical prefix to his name, and
speaks of him as plain Mister" 1t is
so long since the public has been treat
letters that one which he left at the
Standard office yesterday will be read
with a good deal of interest. 1t is as
| follows:
Editor Anaconda Standard, Montana.
Dear Sir-During the past two weeks
my attention has been called to certain
articles appearing in your paper and
designated as a reprint from the edi-
| torials of the Great Falls Tribune. The
articles in question are simply cheap
| conglomeration of misrepresentation,
and highly characteristic of that pic
turesque morsel of undignified man
hood who subscribes himself: p. A.
| Julien. Editor Great Falls Tribune.
Little Phil appears to be badly
| grieved at my action in disallowing
claim of Mr.. T. ]. Murray against the
county of Silver Bow, and declares that
| am really a candidate for the state
| authorship. oh. my!
Referring to the bill on which Little
| Phil has written so many barnyard
| sonnets In disapproval of my action, /
| desire to say that 1 acted according to
my best judgment and my understand
| ing of the law when 1 passed on the
bill, and feel that 1 did perfectly right
| in disallowing it. The man for whose
| care and keeping the bill was presented
was not, in any sense of the word,
| county charge; he never applied to the
| county for aid and was employed prior
| and up to the day that he was con-
signed to the establishment of Mr.. Muir
| ray and was receiving a fair salary.
| Mr.. Murray never notified the county
that he had one of its charges at his
hospital. nor did he demand a written
| order for the services rendered. He
| simply kept the patient on his own re-
| sponsibility, and when Ii died he turned
| the remains over to the county under
| telIer. The relatives of the deceased,
on hearing that he was at the rooms of
| the county undertaken, at once had
| him removed to another establishment,
| where they paid for his burial
1.-THE police force are fully aware of
1 the manner in which the county pro-
| vide for their charges in all cases OF
| emergency. The hospital of the county
was as near to the scene as the hospi-
| tai of Mr.. Murray, and If the police
force had any reason to believe that the
| man was a county charge, they would
/ have taken him to the county hospital.
/ as they have done in several other
/ proper cases. On the other hand, II
/ Mr.. Murray had any reason to believe
| that the man was county charge,
/ common decency and professional eth
| les should dictate the necessity of in
/ structing the policeman in charge to
take the man to the proper hospital,
| which was but a few blocks away. The
/ county was paying Drs. Wells d Nc
| Crimmon $3.50 for their services as
county physicians, including the use of
| their city hospital for the treatment of
| all emergency cases. Mr.. Murray was
l fully aware of this contract and he
| had reason to believe that the county
| would be responsible to him for the
care and keeping of county charges.
| THE bill presented by Mr.. Murray
/ demanded $25 per week for the keeping
| of the alleged charge, an amount just
| s21 20 in excess of the amount paid by
| the county for that class of service.
/ The bill was not accompanied by a
/ proper order, and in view of this fact,
/ coupled with the fact that it was ex-
| cessive 1 made a written request on
| the county attorney for his written
opinion as to the legality of the claim.
and he declined to give me the neces-
| sary information for the reason that
| the construction of my request didn
| suit him. / concluded that the bill was
| illegal insofar that 1t was not author
| lied, unjust insofar that IT was exces-
| sive, and not equitable because the
| claimant receded from law and profess
sional ethics to acquire the claim
against the county. and, above all
| things, IL had not been shown that the
| man was a county charge. for whose
care and keeping the bill was pre-
| scented.
"In conclusion, I desire to say that
II the taxpayers of this county are go
ing into the business OF paying claims
of this character. IL might be well for
them TO instruct the chamber of com
merce to inform the outside Investors
that Butte is a place OF untold delights
a terrestrial paradise. famed by the
balmy zephyrs OF an eternal spring
clothed in the gorgeous sheen OF ever
blooming flowers and vocal with ma
lures choicest political curiosities. well
supplied with bureaus of legal infor-
nation. pill peddlers and Legislative
mechanics and code artists. at reason
able prices; and IL won't cost you q
cent II yoL are not a taxpayer. Very
respectfully, W. ii. Winters.
saloon Keepers, Noiicei
All saloon keepers are requested e
meet at Caplice hall. Thursday, Feb