The Florence tribune., 1899-07-29
Pinal countys Cash.
ISrom Ben Heney's Frontier.l


 We spent last Sunday q nd Monday in Florence examining into tue condition of the official affairs of the County Treasurer. r. R. Brady, Jr., the rumor having reached here that there was heavy deficit in the public funds. The greater portion of the bondsmen reside in Tucson and at the request of some of the heaviest sHreties we undertook to ascertain approximately the amount of the shortage and to endeayor to protect the bondsmen in every way possible. The Treasurer was under $50,000 bond, the sureties qualifying for $lo0,- 900. The Tucson property holders on it are the following: R. G. Brady, Rosario Brena, NJ. G. Samaniego, A. 0r6la, Dr. Geo. Gooafellow, ". E. Felix, John A. Black. Judge W. H. Barnes, Dr. N. H. Matas and Ben Heney. They represent about $30,000 of the bond, the balance being written in Florence (about $l0,0Oo), in Casa Grande and Sacaton, and probably Mesa. MT. Brady was at once placed under arrest and his office taken charge of bythe Board of Supervisors. The examination of the vault and safe dis closed on hand a few 6ollars in silver and few hundred dollars in cancelled warrants and cheeks. The books aud quarterly report to July called for little over s, 800. From the 1st of July till the date of his suspension, July 12, the Treasurer had taken in about $900. The net result was B deficit of, prac- tically, 5000. In addition to this the Treasurer had overdrawn his account at the Arizona National bank, where the county funds were kept, in the neighborhood of $l ,000 It is supposed that the shortage is due to speculation (in mines and cropsA, loans, campaign expenses and 'sgradual grawth' be- cause the incumbent of the office failed to live within his income. The crash came when Mir. Brady was dazed with family affiictions, one of his children dying July aud an other being buried within the same week. Otherwise he might have continued to fool the Sup ervisors and the grand juries in- definitely, as the examination" those bodies make Gin that and other counties) would stagger the intelligence of dead Filipino. Brady's method of covering his dedication was simple; as the date of 8 stereotyped examination approach ed, if he could not temporarily borrow sufficient he would obtain a statement from the bank as to the amount of cash balance on certain date, this date be- ing usually a weelsor so prior to the examination" In the meantime he would draw on this balance and have part of it i n cash to add to the "bal- ance" in Tucson when the exam iners counted" and verified" the funds on hand. On our arrival in Florence we found the County Treasurer and his family Gin quarantine,' as the remain ing child had the scarlet fever. It was the strongest illustration of the say ing that "misfortunes never come singly" that we ever witnessed. The result of the trip was that MT. Brady had his wife [to whom he had deeded all his property last December) transfer their realty possessions to one of the bond smen, in trust for all. The two pieces deeded,
 one their residence the othera business corner, are valued at $2 ,500. Mir. P. R. Brady, Sr., the County Treasurer's
 father, then voluntarily offered to turn over to the bondsmen 200 acres of his homestead property, the finest acreage in Pinal county. This is the saddest phase of their unfortunate affair. No man in the Territory has better rep utation than fold Pete Brady" He is the soul of honor, and in his case that is not an empty phrase. Giving up your earthly possessions when you have gone five years beyond the three score and ten years allotted to life, and with family on your hands, and gIv- ing it up from sense of honor, IS no ordinary act, is no commonplace sacrl- fee, but strikes us as lmmeasuraoiy ahead of that bravery that is stirred to fever pitch on the field of battle. Thus are human acts shaded with black storms and encircled with lightning bolts. In memory, let the fathers course take precedence over the sons errors. It remains to be written that R. c. Brady of Tucson (another son) has agreed, voluntarily, to deed over some, acreage valu ed at $1 ,000 for the further protection of the bondsmen. It is hoped that the shortage will at once be made good by the boudsmen, or upon legal demand being made for the funds, so that criminal pro ceedings may be avoided. A history of the case and surrounding circum- stances would point this as the best public course to be pursued this is possi-s ble, and it seems to be tue sense of majority of he sureties.