The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-11-03

from the laborers. but which had
never been paid.
The jury determined that the
bondsmen must make this good to
the bank with the interest amount
of the verdict was a trifle over
$4,000.
Attorneys In Case.
United States District Attorney
Houpt conducted the case for the
United States, and Colonel James A.
George of Deadwood, S. D., Rollo
F. Hunt, and c. E. Phillips of this
city represented the First National
bank of Belle Fourche. HI. L. and
J. W. Schmitt and Judge Lorin
Cray conducted the case for the
bondsmen.
Statement of Case.
The following statement was pre-
pared by Attorney H. L. Schmitt:
In 1905, Governor Eberhart, Will
liam G. Hoerr, Frederick Kron and
T. r. Coughlan, became sureties
upon the WidellFinley company's
bond given to assure the construc-
ton of the Belle Fourche irrigation
canal. The bond was also condi-
toned that the Widell-Finley COM
pany would pay all labor and mate
rial claims incurred in the construc-
ton of the canal.
The Widell-Finley company COM
pleted one-half of the work and was
then forced into bankruptcy. The
company moved 100000 cubic yards
of material. Under the contract, the
material was divided into four class
es. The company was to get 1923
cents for first, Is cents for second,
Sc cents for third, and $1.25 for
fourth.
For the work done by the Widell-
Finley company, the government
gave credit as follows: first 40S,-
OPS cubic yards at .129 cents, $751;
99O.22; second, 664,2S1 cubic yards
at .25 cents, s16,O7O.26; third, 222,-
S27. cubic yards at Sc cents, $12,-
S73. 12; fourth, so cubic yards at
SIPS, $625O; total, 49O,1S3 cubic
yards, $8O,9O6.1O.
Of this amount it held as retained
percentages at the time the COM
pany failed, $25,OOO.O0, $55,906.1O.
The company was paid only this
sum of $55,906.10 for excavating this
material This amount was less
than the cost and fair value of the
equipment the company had to buy
to do the work
The company claims that this
490,1S3 cubic yards excavated. should
have been classified as follows:
first 2O3,S1O cubic yards at 1923
cents, $26,2SS.49; second 1890 cubic
yards at rs cents, $18,355.00; third
147,560 cubic yards at Sc cents, $751;
$4,000; fourth 35,O07 cubic yards at
1.25 cents, $43,75S.75; total, 1884,
1924
According to this claim, the COM
pany was out $S3,27S14 on the first
half of this work. The company
claims that the loss of this big sum
of money forced it into bankruptcy.
The United States then took over
the work and completed it, and
moved 2S7,21S cubic yards.
This is classified and credited as
follows: First, 12S,OO3 cubic yards
at .129 cents, $16,512.3S; second,
S7,S77 cubic yards at Is cents, $751;
969.25; third, 71,28S cubic yards at
Sc cents, $39,921.2S; fourth, so cubic
yards at $1.25, $62.5O; totals, 2s7,21s,
$78,465.41.
The Widell-Finley company claims
that this 2S7,21S cubic yards should
have been classified and paid for as
follows: First, $4,000 cubic yards
at .129 cents, $3,225; second, 10000
cubic yards at rs cents, $37,5OO;
third, $4,000 cubic yards at Sc cents,
S., 400; fourth, 100000 cubic yards at
$1.25, $125,OOO.00; totals, 100000;
$174,125.
According to this claim the Widell-
Finley company is out $95,660 on
the last half of the work, making
a grand total of $17S,938 on CLASH
! fication alone.
| In the face of this showing, the
government engineers brought the
company and the trustee out indebt-
ed to the United States in a sum
exceeding $4,000. For this amount
! it brought suit against the company,
it's trustee and the bondsmen. Dur
ing the progress of the work, the
Widell-Finley company issued some
$4,000 worth of time checks for
labor performed on the work.
These checks were made payable
at, and were actually paid by the
First National Bank of Belle
Fourche. The Widell-Finley com.
pany, and the sureties on it's bond,
| claim that the bank advanced the
money paid in taking up these time
checks as a loan to the Widell-Fin-
ley company, and that, therefore, it's
claim could not be enforced against
| the sureties. The bank claims that
it bought the time checks as it
would buy any other bill of exchange
from the original payees, and