The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-11-13
AN EMBEZZLEMENT
CASE DISMISSED

R. Jones on the charge of embezzle
ment which has occupied a place or
the calendar of this county for sev.
eral years, was dismissed this weeh
on the motion of the prosecuting at
torney. The case has been fought
with great bitterness on both sides
The prosecuting attorney trying tc
establish a new point in such matters
and failing after expending a few
thousand dollars of the public funds
The history of the case is briefly az
follows:
D. r. Jones was the cashier of the
Blackfoot State Bank, and as such
official passed upon and granted
many loans that the rules of safe
banking would have denied. The
board of directors became inattentive
or Indifferent or perhaps disguised
with the way things were going, and
more of the responsibility fell upon
Jones. The panic of 1907 came on
and the bank was in hard straits
Jones visited some of the cities and
arranged money matters so that he
could pull the bank out of it's straits
tided it over the panic and after a
year or two it was closed by the bank
examiner, V. P. Platt, who was an
ardent Democrat and it was said,
was unduly ardent in making victims
of Republicans in the banking bust
ness. True it is that he closed some
banks that were conducted by men
who were active in Republican po-
litics, and made such a record for
himself that when Governor Haines
demanded his resignation he resigned
without delay, but took occasion to
slur the governor in so doing.
When the Blackfoot State Bank
failed, Jones owed the bank some
$2,7OO which he had loaned to him
self, and on turning over the insti-
tuition to examiner Platt, he called
attention to his own ledger account
and said he would get some money
together and settle in week or two.
He raised thousand dollars in a
short time and paid it On the ac-
count and said he would need more
time to get the rest together and Of
fered to give his notes for the remain
ing $1,000, which was accepted in set
tlement of the account. ...
Later, Prosecuting Attorney Good
brought a criminal charge against
Linn, claiming embezzlement, and
zones and his attorneys set up the
defense that Jones simply owed the
bank $1,000, and that it was not a
crime to be in debt to bank. II
It was the whole population were
criminals. Jones had not been con-
servative in his business methods
neither had hundreds of others, but
he had always paid, and would be
anle to pay this.
The case was tried in the district
court and the jury failed to agree
It was tried again and he was pro.
nounced guilty, there being some in
side history connected with the trial
that would make startling reading
but we are not in position to make
1t public. The case was carried tc
the supreme court on appeal, and
that tribunal set aside the Findings
Of the district court, and said in ef'
feet that whatever else Jones might
have been guilty of, he was not an
embezzler under the law. The case
was argued before the supreme court
by G. F. Hansbrough of Blackfoot
and D. C. McDougal of Pocatello, and
the point upon which the decision
hinged was that when the examiner
accepted Jones thousand dollars ant
his note, it placed the matter upor
simple business plane Of the bank
having bill against Jones for money
and of accepting an ordinary bust ness
settlement; of them breaking faith IL
such settlement and keeping his note
and his money and attempting to in
flict a penalty besides.
Jones had nice home on Eas
Idaho street, and various pieces Of
property aggregating considerable
value, and owed few bills besides
the one at the bank but none of then
large amounts. The fight in the
courts and the ENHANCEMENT into
which it threw his business, broke
him up, and he is down and out and
discouraged, and, we understand IL
working for wages at Ogden or Ma.
lad.
-A-