The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1920-03-26
FOUND A COPY OF
ANOTHER LETTER
Hoages Report-The Number Of Bush
els of Grain Not Accounted For
the Mandamous Suit-the Court De-
cision.

The shortage of the seed grain
fund, the part played therein by the
Montana & Dakota Elevator Compa-
ny, and the Board of County Com
missioners of Sheridan county, is de-
veloping into more and more Of q
mystery.
! It seems that the taxpayers can't
untangle the mess, and the recent
mandamus decision seems to he TAX
ing on more and more o.. political
aspect.
/ The decision in the nan.lamus case
came like a thunderbolt out Of clear
sky. Everybody is asking "why."
Everybody wants to know how it
came that Norris & Hurd we're en-
ployed to defend the Board Of Coun-
ty Commissioners. Everybody wants
to know why the Board of County
Commissioners even nired an attor-
ney, and how it came that Mess1s.
Matkins and Tin1nons did not file the
final settlement which Mr.. Matkins
and Mr.. Redmond and Mr. Elle1y
made with Mike Dunn Of the Montana
g. Dakota elevator in Minneapolis last
spring, when they went to Minneapo.
lis for the purpose Of making a set
tlement.
~"Why don't Matk;ns file the iinal
settlement ?" everybody asks. ''Why
does the old gang hire big lawyers to
prevent the people finding out what
was done with the twenty thousand? ?
"What is the reason FOR Hurd? Why
was Howard nj. Lewis dropped by
the "gang" as the ]awyer?" And then
questions and more questions as the
mystery deepens.
All, the last stand Of the old
gang" which met it's first crushing
defeat at the time of the election
stealing last fall and the s:elonous al
teration of the election returns end
ing in the O'Grady-Redmond contest.
case!
The records Of Sheridan county
stink to high heaven. Thousands Of
dollars of the peoples money, has been
amounts of it has seemingly been
peared in the Producers News and yet
fort looking towards the prosecution
of grafters has flashed in the Ian.
Why ?-the mystery deepcns!
Can it be that the long Shiny hand
of corruption is reaching out from the
very home of the Beast at Helena or
the Hennessy block at Butte, and is
protecting knaves, scoundrcls and
thieves in Sheridan county?
Now, the wise ones ask, "What is
the reason that Mr.. Hurd was brought
up to Plentywood TO keep Messrs.
Matkins, Timmons and Weinrich from
filing a report of the administration
of funds which are short on the re-
cords and of making final settlement
that every one knows that the people
are absolutely entitled to have and a
final settlement that there is no hon.
est reason under the sun for not fl
ing:
Things surely look weird and Pc
cular-
A few days before the ,nantl:,mus
case was tried, the county commits
sioners of Roosevelt county, of which
Mr.. Weinrich is chairman, hired Nor
ris e. Hurd at the fablous sum Of
$4,000 to prosecute Burshia for the
murder of Art Williams.
The wise ones are asking il the
fee in that case does not also include
the fee for the defense of the "old
gang" at any time necessary in the
near future in Sheridan county.
Messrs. Timmons and Matkins had
a resolution spread upon the records
before the mandamus trial, .uthcriz-
ing the county to hire Hur.l and Nor
ris to defend them against the efforts
of the County Attorney to ind out
what became of the money from the
seed grain fund. It may cost Messrs.
Hurd and Norris some effort to collect
the money, but as things now stand
or seem to stand, there is no doubt
but that the law firm will eventually
get the dough, although there is no
warrant. of law for the payment of
the same, but "What is the law be-
tween friends"
When Mr.. Hu1d arrived to defend
the mandamus action he Immediately
filed his answer. The County Attor-
ney asked for time until the next
morning to study the answer Of Mr..
Hurd for the County Commissioners.
After a lot Of arguing, Mr.. Gunther
finally got until eight p. m. or three
hours to study the answer. The
courts reluctance to give the county
attorney any time whatsoever to pre-
pare for the trial was evident to ev-
eryone.
The evidence produced by Mr.. Major
and Mrs. Movious proved conclusively
that no final settlement had been filed
by Mr.. Matkins although he had been
authorized by a resolution on the