The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1919-10-03
FORMER EMPLOYE HERE

tne employ or the North Dakota cOull-
Gil of defense here. Upon leaving this
position she returned to Fargo to take
a post of a highly confidential nature
with certain Of the Nonpartisan league
enterprises there She is known to
have been entrusted with many of the
secrets of the elmer circle'' of the
Townley organization '-@.t.s
The examination of the Scandinl-
vian-American bank revealed the fact.
it is alleged, that while notes and
post-dated checks of the Consumers
United States Co. presumably wele
held by the bank as security, they
actually were in the hands of Mrs.
Clayton.
TRANSIENT COLLATERAL"
The examiners report says: "Tha
collateral held by the bank for the
Consumers Stores Co. loan (Which
amounted to $170,0OO) and for the
National Nonpartisan league ($14S,-
S24.26) IS IN THE CONTROL AND
CUSTODY OF ONE MRS. EMMA
CLAYTON, WHO IS IN THE EN-
PLOY OF THE TWO DEBTORS
MENTIONED. (The Consumers Unit
er Stores Co. and the National Nonpar-
tisan league.) This collateral, while
kept in the vault of the bank, is Access
sible to her at all times and under her
direction. AND BY HER IT IS TAX
EN- FROM THE BANK AND PLACED
UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE
DEBTORS OSTENSIBLY FOR THE
PURPOSE OF COLLECTION, AND
NOT UNTIL RECENTLY HAVE
EVEN RECEIPTS BEEN GIVEN TO
THE BANK TO SHOW THAT SUCH
SPECIFIC COLLATERAL HAD
BEEN SO REMOVED. Mrs. Clayton
is the only person who has knowledge
Of the amount Of collateral on hand
and its correctness. She has her office
in the rear of the building. and her
tiguressare taken by the officials Of thu
bank as true and correct"
The report disclosed the alleged fact
that when the states examination was
made 1921. 1856 of the Consumers
United Stores Co. paper given as col
lateral for it's loans was not in the
bank, BUT IN THE HANDS OF THE
CONSUMERS UNITED STORES co.
FOR COLLECTION.
HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES
The advantages of such a scheme
will readily appeal to any frenzied
financier. Given another bank as OBJ
liging as the Scandinavian-American
bank is alleged to have been, Mr..
Townley's two organizations coul
have extracted double-service from this
collateral. depositing it one day in one
bank as security for one loan, and re.
moving it the next to another bank
as security for second loan and so
on. ad libitum. There are half-doze:l
other Nonpartisan banks allied with
the Scandinavian-Ameri bank and
more or less under the same contract.
There is yet no evidence to indicate
that they have practiced the system Of
loans which the examiners report al
leges was in effect at the Scandinav-
ian-American bank.
LEAGUE MUCH CONCERNED
That the league is very deeply con-
cerned in the disclosures relating to
the Scandinavian-American bank is i'll
dicated by the amount Of space given
explanations and rebuttal, consisting
Of charges of political Vaccinations
, against Secretary of State Hall and
Attorney General LANCER, which ap-
pear today in The Courier-News and
other league organs. Oliver s. Morris,
formerly Secretary of the state ir,lus-
trial commission and who is editor of
the National Nonpartisan Leader at St
Paul. also has a long interview in the
Associated Press service today concern,
ing the matter. Mr.. Morris, although
he has spent very little time in North
Dakota for the last three, years, essays
to speak with authority on the banking
nolicies of the ndinaYian.A American