The Teton peak. [volume] (St. Anthony, Idaho) 1899-1904, 1903-03-12
Democratic Discrepancy.
Committee Investigates
Penitentiary Scandal
With View of Prov.
ing Facts Against
EX-OfficialS.

uO ldSI WCch HIS DCeu HllCO
with exciting incidents for the
legislators. To the hustle and
excitement incident to the wind
ing up of the work of the SEES
sion is added the disclosures
made by the legislative commit
tee, composed of the members of
the state affairs committees of
the two houses. The first de-
velopment to attract special at
tention had to do with the former
secretary OF state, julie Bassett.
The experts that had been work
ing on his books for some time
found discrepancy of $685. that
was so plain that Mr.. Bassett
marched up and covered the
shortage without a protest. Had
he not been given the benefit of
every doubt, the sum would have
been much larger. The books
were in such shape, however,
that the experts did not want to
include in the discrepancy any
thing that could not be clearly
proved, in case the matter went
into the courts. Mr.. Bassett
claims that the sum represents
credits he extended to individu-
ais and corporations filing pa
pers in his office. He entered
them on the books as paid, when
in reality, he stated, they were
not. However, it is plain to be
seen if the books had not been
exported the state would never
have received a dollar of the
money. The most charitable
statement that can be made
in the Bassett case is that
he is a very poor bookkeeper,
the Carelessness exhibited in the
handling of public money being
but a sample of the manner in
which the last democratic ad-
ministration juggled the funds
of the state.
Then there was the peniten-
tiary investigation. Some peo-
pie wonder why the committee
took up the time to investigate
a dead and gone matter. The
reason was that it had never
been fully and fairly Investigate
ed. The investigation by the
HuntBassett prison board was
farcial, although it brought out
enough to condemn Warden
Arney. But the real facts we're
covered up. AS they formed the
basis for charges against the
democratic administration dur
ing the ampaign, it was thought
well to prove them. Therefore,
there was a double reason to
bring out all the facts as a mat
ter OF fairness to all parties con-
cerned and to demonstrate that
the republican party's charges
were not based on thin air.
The committee went fully into
the question of misrepresentation
of state property. The evidence
showed that not only did ex-
Warden Arney supply the ranch
of his brother Harry, near Boise,
with practically everything need
ed to run it, and do all his repair
work at the prison, using state
material, but that he furnished
prisoners to pillow, seed, harvest
his crops, spray his trees and,
in fact, do ali the work for which
the average farmer has to paw
good wages. A full abstract of
the evidence adduced would fill
columns. 1t may be stated how
ever, that witnesses testified
that, among the things taken to
the ranch of Arney's brother,
were the following: Flour, gro
cerles of all kinds, meats, chick
ems, live and dressed, hogs, por
table forge, all sorts of black
smith and carpenter tools,
chains, harness, the product of
fifteen days work by the prison
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