The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-12-20
NO PROMISE
OF IMMUNITY
SAYS WALLA
Chief Of Automobile Registration
Department Denies a
Trade.
SAYS HALL CASHED CHECKS
Tells Of Method Used by the
Secretary of State in
Financing.

Financing.
Eugene NJ. Walla on cross examina
ton this afternoon denied that he had
been promised immunity from prose
cutfon by the state in exchange for
his testimony against Thomas Hall
secretary of state. Mr.. Walla made
affidavit to the effect that there had
been no bargain of any kind between
MIN and the prosecution, and under a
hot fire of questions from attorneys
Tor the defense he stuck closely to
the principal facts to which he testi.
ned on direct examination this morn.
Ing
Tom Hall, as a Nonpartisan candi.
GATE for secretary of state in the
spring of 1916, financed his campaign
from the automobile registration funds
OF North Dakota, and as secretary of
state during the session of 1917 he
nnanced from the same source a lob
by which he conducted in behalf of al,
insurance bill which was to the in.
terest of an insurance company for
which the secretary of state is state
agent, testified Eugene NJ. Walla,
chief clerk in the automobile registra-
ton department of the secretary of
states office, jointly charged with his
chief with the embezzlement Of 49, 400,
and who took the stand this morning
as witness for the state against his
superior and co-defendant. ',H
Much Currency. =. %1a
Walla's testimony, in effect, was as
follows:
Currency In amounts running as
high as $500 came into the automobile
registration department daily. Both
Hall and Walla took this currency
out of the till for their own use. Walla
gave Hall currency at various times,
cashing the first check for Hall III
January, 1915.
He simply came in and asked me
to give him certain amount and
told me to hold his check for it. He
did this other times in 1916. He
came in several times and asked me tt
cash check for him, and did SO.
He took DIP Some of the checks. AT
the end '0f 1915, as | recollect there
was fruiif $500 to $500 in Slips and
checks in the cash drawer.
Sometimes he would come and get
some money and tell me to make a
slip for it and he would give me a
check later. At the end of 1915 some
of the checks had been held six, seven,
eight and nine months. In 1916 he
gave me more checks and got more
currency and told me to hold the
checks. He made out some of the
slips and made out some. In 1916
the slips and checks were kept in my
vault, the checks and slips in a locked
drawer. BY the close of 1916 Hall had
slips and checks in the cash drawer to
the amount of about 41,40O.
Il recall the Warwick; Mitchell,
Peet examination at the clOse'of 1916.
l had a conference with Hall on this
examination. He wanted to know how
near to date they were going to make
their examination. Hall said he sup
posed he would have to take up his
slips and checks, and l told him
thought there would be enough new
business to cover. Warwick, Mitchell,
Peet never counted the cash; just YER
flied the books. l never saw the re-
port, and was not called upon to make
up any deficit At the end of the year
charged the department with the
1916 business and deposited enough
checks of 1917 to make the books bal.
ance-probably $1,000 or 81 400 worth.
Gave New Checks.
AT the end of 1916 l had carried
1f HALLS ~ he un
would give new checks for old ones
from time to time. This practice of
Halls continued in 1917, and there
were checks and slips of his in the
till in June, 1917, to the amount of &c.
600. The amount had steadily grown
from the time he gave me his first
check in 1916 until the total was
about $4,000.
Financed Campaign.
During 1916 Hall was candidate
for secretary of state and was under
heavy expense. He sent out little
pamphlets in large numbers and made
a number of short speaking trips. He
got money from the till quite fire.
uuently during this campaign giving
checks and slips in exchange.
Began to Worry.
Hall told me once during 1917 he
would have to get busy and take up
his checks
Walla told about deal with Frank
GARNER of near Baldwin for the pur-
chase of some calves in which he tes-
titled Hall obtained first $3.50 and Ia
ter s2S from the automobile registra-
ton currency. Walla offered to as
sumo responsibility for $57 OF the
automobile funds, providing Hall &C
cepted his offer to go fifty-fifty on
the deal.
Lobbying Expense.
During the legislative session oi
1917. Mr.. Hall got some money every
day. He came to me at the beginning
of the session and asked me how
much currency l had. l told him it
was pretty early in the season and
there wasn't much currency coming
in. He asked me if had $3.50.
didn't. SO he gave me his check for