The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-12-31
Jury CHOSEN IN
WILLIAMS CASE
% Called Before IL Were Sc
lected to Try State Bank
Commissioner
CLOSELY QUESTIONED
AS TO OCCUPATION
Introduction of Evidence Against Of
fetal Charged with Malfeasance Like.
ly to Begin This Afternoon-Specu
lation as to Defense.
Especial to The Reformer.)
nnA-upt,r i'm I,

MONTPELIER, Dec. 81
The jury in the case of state against
Bank Commissioner Frank c. Williams,
charged with malfeasance was completed
this noon, % men having been examined
before the attorneys selected twelve The
jury is composed OF L. r. Wells of Mid
dlesex, farmer; d., Waldo of Cabot, a
retired farmer; H. j Tuttle of Marsh
field, farmer; George Mcknight farm
cr Of East Montpelier; w. f. Mills OF
Waits6eld, a farmer; Frank Fuller of
Calais, farmer; Edmund Eddy of Wood
bury, farmer; Eugene Buck of Mont
pelier, a stone mason; George Blanchard
of Montpelier a bank president; w. ii.
Berdan of Waterbury, a retired New
York city lawyer; ID. L. Blake, laboror;
+. ID. Banfill of Cabot, a retired farmer.
The morning was occupied by examina-
ton of the jury, the state asking many
questions relative to whether the Jury
men could try the case with the respond
eut a state official as well as If it were
an other person. Considerable import
ance was attributed to the fact that evi-
dence might be brought into the ease rela-
tive to the shortage in the auditors office
The personal occupation of each and every
jmyman was closely questioned by the at
torneys. Herbert G.. Barber for the state
aud j. Ward Carver for the defense were
the principal examining attorneys
| Addtypc
| The present indications are that the
state will not consume any great amount
of time in presenting it's case, as the
charges do not 60 beyond those indicated.
The defense may be depended upon to con
| sumo more time
| 1t is surmised that the state will de-
| pend mainly upon the testimony of the
present auditor, benjamin Gates, State
Highway Commissioner Bates. J. s ,Ioce,
| lyn. chief clerk in the auditors Office and
| +. l.. Pratt, an expert accountant who has
been examining the books
Much interest is being manifested in the
probable line Of defense Ii is known that
Mr. Williams has said that Governor Ora
ham could clear up the situation so far
as he, Williams, were concerned if he
| wanted to-
This has led to speculation on the
probable line of defense and it would
not be surprising if Williams should claim
that when he found that the accounts
of Graham. as auditor did not balance
he called Graham attention to this fact
with the claim that Graham then pro
duced vouchers which satisfied Williams
Ii the defense takes this line, it would
not be surprising if Governor Graham
himself were called to the stand by the
state. If he does this he will have three
possible courses open to him. He might
admit that it was true; he might deny it
or he might refuse to answer on the
ground that it would incriminate him
self
In his annual report for the year end
ing June 80, 1918, Mr.. Williams sets fortl
that he has made examination of the an
ditor's books for each biennial term from
time to time as he could get time from
his other work and when the clerks il
the auditors office could spare the books
Very often it has been done few day
at time extending over several months,
The report sets forth.
No examination was made during 1917
the report states, because the state boar'
of health advised him that he should eithe
stay in Montpelier all the time or NOV
his Office to Newport because of the epi
demic of infantie paralysis in and aroun'
the capital city that year. He went t,
Newport
On March 26, 1918, he began the regula
examination of the auditors books an,
according to the report, during the frs
two weeks he found that Graham ha
drawn orders to himself since his last ex
animation to the amount of S2,lSl 50, TO
which there were no receipts or voucher
showing expenditures, and there appcare
on the books at that time balance whlc
was not vouchcred of s5,5754l. The tots
alleged shortage in the Graham case
| about $4,000.
5 Calling the governors attention to thi
state of affairs, Mr. Williams report say
D that Graham said it would be "adjuste
= Immediately" Williams then determine
to make "a more extensive and complet
examinatiqn' WHICH disclosed the faS
that there were orders drawn by ex- A,
ditor Graham to himself during his teri
of office amounting to ST., ,9S0.4S, and thei
were two orders amounting to $1,000
the avails of which he had-charged
two different highway accounts for whic
J. no credit vouchers can be found
. Mr.. Williams report states that Aud
+ tor Gates was sick part of the time ii
o examination was going on and that c
n his return he made an independent exar
s. nation and found number of unvouc
l. cred orders which he had not found al
d called them to his attention Mr.. w
G. liams on April "a, 1918, notified the a
IS torney general of what he had found al
asked for n conference