The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1913-07-03
DIRECTOR IN BANK
FAILED AT STURG|S
is FOUND GUILTY
Former State Senator
of Meade County Is
Convicted,
OTHERS TO COME
Senator Mcpherson of Dead
wood Also Indicted for
Irregularities.
TO COME

Sturgis, S. Din the case of
State VS.. Henry E. Perkins, director
of the defunct Meade County bank
OF Sturgis. charged with asserting
to receivI deposits knowing the
bank to be insolvent, the jury
brought in a verdict of guilty. A
motion for appeal will pc made. The
trial lasted seventeen days.
A special venire of thirty-six-jury-
men has beer issued r%eturnable July
Z, when either ID. A. Mcpherson or
Frank NJ. Stewart will be tried on
the same charge.
Perkins was formerly state senator
from Meade county. his father-in-
law, Charles Francis, another de-
PENDANT being one of the best known
stockmen in this part of the coun-
try. Frank Stewart is also a veter-
an stockman in the Black Hills.
States Attorney Claude Gray, of
S%turgis, and former States Attorney
John r. Hebron of Deadwood, have
conducted the prosecution, while At
torneys Buell. & Gardner of Rapid
City; Atwater & McNenny, of Stur-
gis, and N. T. Mason and Robert p.
Stewart of Deadwood, are handling
the defense.
So keen was the suffering when the
Meade county bank, after two years
of crop failures around Sturgis, and
the removal of the troops from Fort
Meade to the Mexican border, closed
its doors January /, 1912 with $685.
600 of deposits tied up, that resent
ment against anyone connected with
the institution has not softened with
time.
The bank failure resulted not only
in the suffering of the depositors but
in the murder of w. Il. Ladd, the
young cashier, by Richard Stall, a
crazed depositor, who when arrested
slashed his throat in jail and expired
shortly afterward. Since that time
most of the defendants have receiv-
ed letters threatening their lives and
families.
There We're two original indict-
ments against each man, charging
them with permitting shareholders to
become indebted to the bank in ex-
cess of so per cen of the capital
stock of $4,000, and four against
each charging them with receiving
and permitting to be received de-
posts while the bank was insol-
vent. The defense contended that
the bank is not now insol-ent and
never vas but that it's loan assets
are simply tied up with farmers who
could not pay on account of crop
failures. Since the bank closed the
bank examiner in charge has paid
two dividends OF 10 per cent each,
and the defense commended that, With
good crops this year and next year
the bank will pay out depositors in
full.
The prosecution AYERS that many
of the loans made were worthless,
that the officers deliberately took de.
posits long after they knew the
crash was inev table and in some in
stances made loans to personal
friends on security worth less than
"a third the value of the loan.
A ear ago, when the indictments
were returned, the defendants de
INJURED and Judge Rice sustained
them. The state then took the case
to the supreme court of South Da-
kota and secured a reversal in a
lengthy opinion. in which that trib-
unal held that the inducements charg-
ed offenses and could not be dis
missed on technicalities.
ID. A. MCPHERSON, m of the de-
PENDANTS, who was at one time presi-
dent of the defunct bank, rendered
his resignation several months be-,
for the bank closed. The resigna-
ton was not accepted and prosecu-
ton holds that his responsibility
continued, while Mr.. Mcpherson con-
tends that he knew nothing of the
banks transactions after his resigna-
ton.