The Western news. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1890-1977, 1910-09-16
MR.. HEFL|NG REPLIES
TO CRITICS
SHOWS HE HAS RECEIVED HIGH
EST POSSIBLE RATE OF INTER.
EST on COUNTY MONEY.

| County Treasurer Thomas j. Hef.
ling submits the following for publ.
cation:
! | received a communication from a
resident of Hamilton which contains
the following:
Il have heard it rumored that a GER
tain bank in this county offered to
pay you more than 3 per cent per Ii.
mum interest on the county funds and
| that you refused to consider it's offer !;
what are the facts?' The facts con-
nected with the rumor are as follows ::
After my election in 1908 and in ac-
cordance with the pledge l had made
during the campaign-to place the
county funds in the bank that would
pay the highest rate of interest on
same and deposit the interest to the
credit of the county, had published
In the Stevensville Register, issue of
February 25, 1909, the following call
for bids; Interest bids on county
funds are requested by the undersign-
Ravalli county. Bids must be sub
mitted in writing before March | 1909,
at 2 o'clock p. m, at which time they
will be considered and deposit award
ed to the best bidder; bankers submit
ting bids will do so with the under
standing that the time of agreement
to be entered into will be for term
of two years, or it may, at the option
of the county treasurer, terminate
March /, 1910"
A copy of the foregoing call
for bids was sent to each
bank in the county and in answer
thereto | received a communication
from E. O. Lewis of the Bitter Root
Valley bank, at Stevensville, thanking
me for extending the call to him, and
stating that, after due consideration,
he had decided not to bid Two bids
were received one from the Rayalli
County bank, and the other from the
Citizens State bank, and the bids
were opened in the presence of F, M.
Lockwood, former county treasurer and
at that time director of the Raval-
Ii County bank, and M. A. White, a di-
rector and cashier of the Ravalli
County bank. The Ravall County
bank bid 3 per cent on a portion of
the funds and 1-2 per cent on the
balance. The Citizens State bank bid
per cent on all of the funds; both
bids were for two years and as 3 per
cent was considered a very liberal Of
fer, and as it was just per cent more
than the Ravalli County bank had ever
paid the county for the use of it's funds
for period of IL or 13 years, |
waived the option l had reserved in
the call for bids and accepted the Of
fer of the Citizens State bank of 8
per cent per annum for two years,
which agreement will be in effect until
March l, 1911.
Last February the cashier of
the Ravalli County bank re-
quested that exercise the option
stated in my call for bids and submit
another call at the end of the first
year. l was visited several times by
the cashier and also the attorney for
the bank, and the latters argument
was, not that / had any moral or legal
right to again call for bids, but that
'it would be SO nice for the party"
felt that the agreement | had entered
h.,y with the Citizens State bank was
binding for two years and declined to
allow myself to be put in a position
of seeking to break my agreement, and
finally informed the banks attorney
that l would consider nothing further
from himself or from the cashier on
the subject. Thereafter the following
letter was handed to me by the cash
ier and the attorney for the Rayalli
County bank:
Hamilton, Mont, Feb. 81, 1910
Thomas J. Hefling. Treasurer Ravalli
Nouhty, f1dlIllllOn, MOHldId. Dedl OIL :.
In regard to the county and state de-
| posits. AS you have full and complete
authority to deposit the funds of the
county and state in your hands, and
as you have advertised and held out
to the public your desire to realize all
that is possible for the people of our
county, and as we understand that a
banking corporation has been paying
three (3) per cent per annum on daily
balances for the past year. Now
therefore, we request you to submit
to the banks of the county an oppor-
tunity to bid for the funds in your
hands for deposit for the ensuing year
If such an opportunity be given by
you, we guarantee and agree to bid a
rate of interest more than that paid