Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-01-13

was about So, 100, 900; that during the
year 1909 the state had on HAND in money
necessary to be deposited at one ,iaic as
nigh as 50. 348, SS1. so, or approximately
$3.50, 900 more than the limits Q! the de-
positories; that for practical purposes
the limit was lie than 50, 100000 4 ali of
the accounts were active and collections
had to be made through the banks III
various counties; that on Nav 18th. the
DIT II i,e receipt of the dr.' f.r ia.
a.t &c, the amount of actu4i none y
tie hands of the treasurer requ "Gt' to b.,
dis; rjbuted among these depoa'to Us +" $
S. 2l5,35.82, or more than $125,Oo tn ex-
CO. Of the legal limits of the depC sltnr:
:es. that on July LIST, the cash on hand
aggregated 49, 1851; that WIN III: do.
~ ant asSMn ID 49,. zoe s:ri"lc IL
r.; "a to the iaga, i'::.:' ~ iI'' 'r:"'si
tories was not recognized, nor We're the
methods of collection prescribed by law
strictly followed; that the defendant was
young and inexperienced and had never
held an Office of a similar kind before
and was surrounded by clerks some of
whom were inexperienced and possibly
careless; that ut the very Threshold Of
his duties he was confronted with q cri-
sis, and that there were turned over to
him three repositories (the Bismarck
banks) which were already overloaded,
and that there were $40. 900 in checks aud
1ro &c IN Io tol,or oor cf. that xv),on H.,
February. 1900, the Barnes County
checks for s25, 215. 26 were sent to him
there was a Letter Of transm;ttal which
was handed by him to the auditor. and
the latter was endorsed by the auditor
"3-15-O9. Draft turned over to- the state
treasurer. cancel draft when sent to
state treasurer; that the draft, how.
ever. was sent ont by the state. audi
tors office mncancelled or bearing no
that the same is true Of the other
drafts for similar ~remittances: that on
March 18TH. 1909, the .tate Auditor toil
the defendant ito get r "a of those checks
because they were for $25 900 and D.
didn't want them laying around the
vault. l do not remember who he gave
them to. There had been q bank failure
just q few months before in which the
state had lost some funds; I was not
had to wait from the land department to
give me the distribution Of the funds"
The deputy state auditor also testified
THAT (the draft carries the first in
formation to the state t%reasurer's office
Of the amount of taxes due from such
and such a county. Up to tho time Of the
receipt of the draft, the state treasurer
has no information as to h distribution
upon his books Of he moneys to the dif-
ferent funds " Until he receives
this, he has no method by which he can
go through his register and enter the
amounts to correspond with our regis.
ter; nc cannot get the entries into his
books until this draft is received" The
defendant, in short, claimed hat the
money was %irregularly in his hands; that
the checks had to be collected; that if
they had been placed in a regular de-
p~ository account they would have Great
ed q discrepancy between his books and
the boks Of the state auditor; and he
hNc" lHc lO"DcIS I1t(lk anu lClI COu-
fident and secure with it. He further
claimed that he was confronted with
another crisis when siXty-One lays later
the draft came; and that on that day the
cash on hand aggregated $500, 900 in eX-
cess of the legal capacity of the depos.
i~tories, and from $22O,OOO to 100000 in
excess of their practical limit. 1t was for
him to determine, he says, whether the
money should be withdrawn from what
he calls a pecial deposit for s%afe.keep-
ing in the Bowbells Bank and placed
in the already gorged repositories, or
should it be permitted to remain where
it was. 1t i claimed that he j not on trial
charged as n poor %bookkeeper or as keep
ing unskilled or incompetent assistants.
1t is claimed that the errors committed
when the draft was taken from the draw
er once or twice and sent out in the reg
ular channels We're the errors of his as
sistants, and that such errors were not
or unnatural and had before
been made. He say that in September or
October, and as soon as the repositories
could receive the money, the special
deposit was withdrawn, a v S215.26
which was overlooked but was after.
ards withdrawn. AS far as the subse-
quent checks for s915, 225.55 from Barnes
County are concerned, he claimes that
the same We're turned over to him by
the auditor and cashed on March 26, 1909
that the checks were sent to the Bow
bells Bank, which issued it's draft there.
for on the Northwestern National Bank
Of Minneapolis on March "a, 1909; that
when these checks were received the de-
positories were gluttcd and he held the
Bowbells draft in q drawer in his desk
until it could be deposited and on Aug
ust 10th. 1909, less than three months
after the date Of the state auditors
draft, the Bowbclls Bank draft was cash.
ed. In relation to the Barnes County