The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-03-22
TYREE HELD TO
DISTRICT COURT
President of Continental Life In
surance Company Must
Answer Charge.
FURNISHES $4,000 BONDS
CITY COURT THINKS DEFEN-
DANT SHOULD STAND TRIAL.

oANT SHOULD STAND TRIAL.
Hiram Tyree. president Of the Con-
tinental Life Insurance & Investment
company, will be held to the district
court to answer to a charge of filing
false statement of the company's
transactions for the year 1905. This
decision was passed yesterday morning
by Judge Diehl of the city court, be
fore whom the preliminary hearing
was conducted from Feb. % TO %
Judge Diehl. in rendering his verdict
said a preponderance- of testimony had
been submitted to show that the books
of the company had been left open
after Dec. 81, 1904, for the purpose of
changing the report for that year.
Entries Made IrreguIarIy.
During the preliminary hearing the
prosecution introduced testimony to
show that the company's books were
left open after Dec. 81, 1904 This is
alleged to have been done TO permit
numerous entries being made which
would make the report show a balance
of cash on hand far in excess of the
amount really in the comrany's pos
session
The hearing was concluded Feb. %.
Judge Diehl has had the case under ad-
visement since that date. A decision
would have been passed several DAYS
ago, but the defendant was i'll and
could not appear in court He was
present yesterday. A similar charge
against Cameron c. WyIie. secretary
of the same company, was dismissed
several weeks ago. Mr.. Wylie was in
the court room yesterday Judge o.
w. Powers. counsel for he defendant
and Assistant County Attorney job
Lyon, who is representing the state in
the case, were also present. The court
room was crowded with interested
spectators.
No Conflict in Statutes.
Judge Diehl in passing sentence.
said.
There cannot be any question as to
the rule of law concerning special and
general statutes, it being we'll settled
| that the special shall always govern.
/ But IN the case at bar. / cannot and
any conflict in the statutes. Chapter
/ s. r. s. 9S. is oiistinctfveIy Administered
/ i've. the chapter designating the man
ner of the formation Of corporations or
| other companies and the duties of the
| directors thereof. But 4121, chapter q
/ of the penal code, r s. IS, is distinct
/ lively penal statute. So that If the
rule as laid down in 400 of chapter
/ is not strictly adhered to. then 4121 of
/ chapter was and should be used To
| penalize any transgression of il or
| failure to comply Herewith and
strictly. In fact. the report must be
full, true and complete. The question
of the genuineness of the document al
/ legged to have been filed by the defend
ant was raised by the attorney for the
/ defense. No doubt the instrument was
genuine and might be filed, but # must
/ also be true. Certainly it was not a
| forged instrument, but the statute also
requires that it shall not be false
Court Discusses Facts.
Now as to the facts as TO whether
the instrument was false or not. The
report shows that on the 31st of De-
/ cembeT, 1904 there was in the com
pdny's office in in safety deposit vaults
/ 0,S52.65, which included the sum of
/ $2S.4 1881, which latter amount witness
/ SQuires testified was not cash I'm office
or in safety deposit vaults. Without
going into details as to the other items.
/ the testimony shows that a certain GER
/ tificate of deposit on Mccormick &
/ Co.'S bank was not issued until Jan Is.
/ 1905, and that some of the notes which
/ had not been discounted or turned into
/ cash were not paid until early In Jan
uaTy, or in all events until after Dec.
/ 81. But the amounts thereof We're used
| to help make UP the amount of $40
/ S5265, as being in the company's Of
/ fee and in safety deposit vaults.
/ 1T has been suggested by counsel for
/ the defendant that the prosecution OF
/ this case might injure the standing Of
q large corporation, organized under
/ the laws of this commonwealth. I take
/ it that such is not the case The sol
vency of the said company has not
/ been gone into, and in the case at bar
/ the public is concerned only with the
acts of one of the officials of the com
pany, and the inquiry is decidedly not
as to the financial status of the cor
poration OF of its officers
Habeas Corpus Is Proposed
/ Judge Diehl concluded by saying:
/ From the preponderance of testimony
/ in the case it is evident that the books
of the Continental Life Insurance &
/ Investment company were kept open
after Dec. 81. as charged, thus affect
/ ing the report of the said company for
the year named. There being in the
/ opinion of the court sufficient cause
/ the clerk viii enter decision that the
/ defendant Hiram Tyree be held TO
answer TO the Third judicial court The
/ bail will stand in the sum heretofore
/ fixed"
/ This bond is for $4,000. this amount
/ being furnished by S. a. Whitney and
/ Frank Pierce. When this decision had
been given by Judge Diehl. Judge
Powers asked that the transcript of the
case be delivered TO the district court
as quickly as possible Judge Powers.
counsel for the defendant, said he will
/ institute habeas corpus proceedings for
the release of Tyree today When this
case is filed Judge Powers will main
tain that the statute under which his
client was prosecuted named the Of
I Tense alleged to have been committed
felony and thus was not the proper
statute under which the case should
have been heard. He will assert that
the special insurance statute should