The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-10-09

NE weekly 1lMEs.REcoRo. VAL
| Three weeks ago, P. E Halldorson
deputy state examiner, who was ii
Fargo, discovered Irregularities IN the
Observation-Disclosures Bank and e.
quested Attorney General William
LANCER to send aid. Assistant Attor-
ney General Albert E. Sheets. u.
went to Fargo and continued with tn
investigation, The report filed Thurs-
day was acted upon by the closing 81
the bank by the state banking board
on the grounds of insolvency, and be-
cause officials of the bank had made
excess loans TO the amount of 1874 I
1882 for which "liberality and 6ptim-
ism constitute the principal security.
+. r. Halldorson was named as tenn
porary receiver. Further investiga-
ton proved that among the debtors to
the bank. were the Consumers United
Stores Company $4,000; National
Nonpartisan League $48,824l %.
League Exchange $66, 1929; and the
National Service Bureau $47,95O. O6.
This is total of $432 $685. go loaned Ia
the various enterprises of the Non
partisan League, just $372,956.6O more
than the combined capital and surplus
of the bank. The state laws provide
that not more than Is per cent Of a
banks capital and surplus shall be
loaned to any one individual or COM
pany, which in the case of the closed
bank, would have been-$. 800, atotal
of $4,000. Thus the !. excess loans
made to the political party and it's
commercial affiliations is 1896, 956. go
more than they are entitled to or just
100 per cent excess. This is the point
on which the bank was declared insol-
vent, by Attorney General LANCER and
Secretary of State Thomas Hall, men,
bers of the banking board with Cover
nor Frazier the third member voting
"NO."
Resolutions passed last Friday are
interesting. Whereas it has come to
the knowledge of the state banking,
board that i, s during the admins
tration of J. R. Waters as bank ex-
aminer was repeatedly given adj;
vance information as to the time the.
deputy examiner would examine the
bank" St $: s. "Now therefore be it re-
solved that the members of this board
place on the minutes an explicit denial
of any knowledge of the untoward con-
dition of the Scandinavian bank prior
to the receiving of the report OF the
special examination made by the di-
rection Of the attorney general, ETC."
Governor Frazier voted "No" to this
resolution on "prior knowledge. q,
The banking board also at the Fri->
day session revoked the temporary
permit to sell stock secured by ]. R
Waters for the United States Sisal
Trust of which he is president, on the
ground that the corporation owed $l2,
900 and it was an unstable investment.
Again Governor Frazier voted mo"
On Saturday H. J. Hagan and P. B.
Sherman of the bank were arrested>as
being responsible for the conditions.
The bank and the league papers have
made political capital Of the affair as
sorting that LANCER and Hall are
crooks, that it is an attack on the
credit Of the farmers inasmuch as
about sixty percent of the security
held by the bank for the $432 200 in
League loans is in post dated, checks
and farmers notes. Governor Frazier
has issued statement to the effect
that he believes the bank is solvent.
He suggested that the bank remain
open for business for few days, but
the attorney general and secretary of
state refused to allow themselves to
become, by such action, a party to s
crime by allowing persons to entrust
funds to a bank, known to, be solvent.
On Monday the attorney general and
secretary of state addressed a letter
to State Auditor Kositzkysrequesting
that he examine the State Bank of
North Dakota and: determine to what
extent, if any, the Waters managed
institution has been "n1ixed up" with
the Fargo bank.
Something is due at Bismarck. Bill
Lemke has been here for several days
and his visit always means something
stirring. benake arrived at the capitol
Sunday night and early Monday
morning called on Justice H. A. Bron-
son of the supreme court and was
cIoseted with that jurist for an hour.
From Bronson's Office he stalked into
LIle SUVeTlOI > OlACe. w gil SOUA : uSSo
is as good as the next ones.
That the special session of the leg
islature. if it does meet, should repeal
House Bill 81 is the assertion of JUS
tice James Robinson of the supreme
court in Saturday evening letter
House Bill 81 prevents the granting
of injunctions or any orders, ostensibly
against labor. but as matter of fact
to the I w. w., and declares mo sec
ton of this act shall be found uncon-
stitutional or illegal by any court of
this state" Recently iir Morton coun-
ty, an I. w. W. organizer interrupted
a threshing crew from its work, talk
ed the hands into striking for raise
from soc to $l.O0 an hour and laughed
at the farmer when he threatened to
arrest the man. He produced packet
Of printed slips, copies of the law, and
passed them around. Attorney Cen
eral LANCER declares ne has evidence
to believe every I. w. w. member or
organizer in the stt~te has copies of
House Bill 81 in his possession and
that the bill. had It been drawn by