The weekly soliphone., 1915-05-21
SMITH ACQUITTED
FALSE PRETENSES
Jury Discharges Road Overseer of
This District, Charged With
Padding Payroll.
(From Thursdays Daily Press.

Bob Smith, road overseer of the
Paragould district, was given YER
dict of acquittal yesterday after
noon by the jury that heard the
evidence in the false pretense
charge lodged against him by the
recent grand jury, and this morn
ing he was reinstated as overseer.
The grand jury alleged Smith
represented that Walter Dollar, who
is in the regular employ of Smith
at a salary of twenty dollars a
month, worked eighteen days on the
road during the month of April,
that Smith turned in an account for
one dollar and fifty cents for each
of the eighteen days and collected
from the road district the sum of
twenty-seven dollars alleged to have
been due to Dollar by the district
The grand jury alleged Dollar was
used as a driver of Smiths team
and that Smith turned in a bill
against the road district for one
dollar and fifty cents for his own
time as overseer, two dollars a day
for his team and one dollar and a
half a day for the driver, in addi-
ton to the dollar and a half a
day extra for Dollar for a period
of eighteen days. Upon this al
legged state of facts Smith was in
dicted for obtaining money under
false pretenses.
During the trial yesterday it de-
veloped that Smith had made a
contract with Dollar to work for
him all the time for twenty dollars
a month, board and washing, and
Smith was to receive any moneys
earned by Dollar while working on
the road, this additional compensa-
ton to cover the item of board and
washing. Smith claimed he follow
ed a custom in vogue among road
overseers in doing manual labor
himself and drawing dollar and
a half day for this, in addition to
the dollar and a half a day the
law allows him for acting in the
capacity of road overseer
Judge Gautney ruled the indict-
ment only alleged Smith drew SGT
for Walter Dollar for eighteen days
work when it was alleged in the
indictment this service was not per-
formed. 1t was, therefore, incumb-
ent upon the state to show Dollar
did not work all or any part of the
eighteen days. Witnesses for the
state admitted Dollar worked fiji
!, teen days, but testified they did
not think he worked the other three
days. Smith testified Dollar spent
one day looking for a steel road
drag that had been loaned out, and
another day hauling lumber for a
bridge. This brought the contro-
versy down to one day. Smith s
: daily reports accounted for all
eighteen days, while the state de-
pended upon the memory Of several
witnesses to offset the force of the
reports. The jury, evidently taking
J the reports for their face value, de-
cided Smith had not illegally col
lected any money from the district
and accordingly returned a verdict
of not guilty.
Tom Butcher indicted on a charge
OF burglarizing the storeroom Of the
]. G. Hall Produce Company, con-
tended he entered the building
while intoxicated, that he stole no
goods and had no intention of steal
ing any. The jury stood eight to
four for acquittal, and Judge Gaut-
ney released Butcher on his own
recognizance to appear at the next
term of court.
George Mime, convicted in police
court on a charge of carrying a
pistol. and given fine of $50, was
tried yesterday on an appeal from
the police court. The jury at first
reported it was unable to reach a
verdict. but Judge Gautney request
ed the jurors to make another at
tempt to agree upon verdict and
they finally got together and found
the defendant guilty. giving him a
fine of $50. Mime went to Jail to
lay the fine out.
This morning Sig Young, a well
known young citizen residing in the
extreme western section Of the
county, was acquitted on the charge
of being an accessory to the theft
of a saddle valued at $25.
This afternoon Miss Claude
Huckabay, a school teacher in
Hopewell township, is being tried
, for assault and battery on small
pupil in her school. Miss Huckabay
, was tried in justice of the peace