The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-06-15
Sheriff Offers County Commissioners
Two Expense Accounts for Work
on One Case.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Although Board Passes Revised Ac.
count of $3.50, Chairman Re-
fuses to Sign Warrant.

Developments are coming thick
| and fast in the Hazen case.
A detective, said to be one of
| Pinkertons star men, has been at
work in Bemidji and Beltrami coun-
ty on the case for several days and
is said to have collected voluminous
evidence.
The Peterson charges, which for
three weeks have been in the hands
of the attorney general who has fail
ed to give a written opinion despite
repeated calls from Governor Eber-
hart, threaten to become a state wide
sensation and because of this and
because already political regulations
are in the balance, the Minneapolis
Journal today has a member of it's
staff, Adolph Edsten, here to review
the scandal for his paper.
sheriff's Bills Held Up.
In the meantime, while Mr.. Hazen
continues to serve as sheriff, he is
from the county as Chairman Peter
son of the board Of county commits
sioners refuses to sign warrants for
bills presented by the sheriff on the
ground that it would be improper
and illegal to do so.
At the meeting of the county board
yesterday afternoon, Mr.. Hazen pre-
sented the same bill which has been
held up since the last meeting on the
ground that it included items for
the serving of subpoenas by the
sheriff when, according to affidavits
on file, the subpoenas were served
by mail.
This original bill amounted to
$784.7O while the bill presented by
Sheriff Hazen yesterday had been
trimmed to $752.40.
Offensive Items Omitted.
The revised bill carefully omitted
the items in controversy and as it
had received the o. K. of County At
torney Funkley and as the public
examiner had addressed a commune
cation to County Auditor George to
the effect that a corrected bill might
be passed, all members of the board
voted favorably with the exception
of Chairman Peterson.
In explaining his position and his
decision to withhold his signature
which is necessary before a warrant
can be issued, Mr.. Peterson said;
"In my opinion, the board over
stepped it's authority in allowing a
bill that it had previously acted up
on, and for that reason I shall hold
up the warrant. I have other rea-
sons for taking this course but I do
. not care to make them public at this
time"
Another evidence of Mr.. Hazen's
tendency to make "errors," especi-
ally when they favor his own pocket
. book, developed at the meeting of
I the board yesterday afternoon when
he presented two bills for a set of
summons for a coroner's jury in the
case where a skeleton was found on
the Pendergast farm, several weeks
ago.
Two Bill for Same Work.
One bill was for $3.50 and the
other, $3.50, the two bills being for
the same set of summons.
Sheriff Hazen was called before
the board and asked to explain. He
admitted that both bills were for the
same case but said one must be
duplicate but was unable to explain
why one of the bill totaled at $3.50
and the other at s4.90.
/ otis a mistake said the sheriff,
''I'll take it into my office and fix it
! up"
/ Stopped By the Auditor.
He had started out of the room
when Chairman Peterson said to
/ Auditor George: .y-- -.
"Can any one take official docu-
ments filled with the county?'
j Gle cannot" said Auditor George,
/. gathering in the bill which is being
. held as evidence against the sheriff's
/, incompetency. " ~
The bill of $4.90 bore the o. X. of
the county attorney and was finally
passed by the board without dis
senting vote.