Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1921-06-30
LEMKE OWNS
SEVEN OF THE
TEN SHARES
This Is Statement of Secretary
of Industrial Commission in
Reference to Consumers
United Stores Co.-Inci-
dents of Brinton Perjury
Trial. ..

Bismarck, June 2S-F. B. Wood,
one Of the three executive committee
men of the national Non Partisan
League, on the witness stand here
in district court in the trial Of J. w.
Brinton, charged with perjury, adj
Tnitted on cross examination that the
members of the national executig,
committee had freely discussed the
proposition of purchasing banks to
! aid in the financing of the Non Part
! isan League in the early days Of its
organization. and in answer to a
question from Brinton's counsel said
that he thot the purchase of the
ndinayian-American Bank was
discussed. He denied however, that
the proposition Of buying the Scan
dinavian bank had been discussed by
! him, Lemke and Townley as mem
! bers of the executive committee in q
meeting with J. J. Hastings and J.
! W. Brinton, altho he said that it was
difficult to remember and tell of all
of the conferences held during the
years of 1917. IS and 10, covering
a period during which he was ask
ed to state what had been done in
| reference to purchase of banks.
| During the testimony of H. II.
Maddox, secretary of the industrial
commission, he said that the Consum-
ers United Stores Company had ten
shares of stock of which VIM. Lemke
owned T. This is the first time own
f; Company has ever been made public
| in court.
Loans to League
Bismarck, June 2S-The Scandina-
vian-American bank of Fargo, thru
which many League enterprises"
! were financed. was owned in part
by the League Exchange, of which
the VIM. T.. B. Wood, one of the three
national executive committeeman Of
| the Nonpartisan league is president,
lit was esta blished from official rec
ords of the Bank.
! The records were brought out
during the long cross-eXamination to
(which Arthur LeSeur. counsel for
il. w. Brinton, charged with perjury
because he said, in substance, among
other things, that the Nonpartisan
league leaders partly owned and con-
trolled the Scandinavian bank, sub
jected Nels ]. Brevig, formerly as
sistant cashier of the institution and
now assistant to the receiver.
To establish the contention that
| the Nonpartisan league partly owned
and controlled the Scandinavian
bank the defense asked witness Bre-
Wig to read from the stock record Of
the bank. After Brevig had told
that J. J. Hastings, formerly Town.
ley aide, had acquired stock in the
Scandinavian bank and had become
vice e-president, Counsel LeSeur ask
ed:
"Who acquired Hastings stock
when Ii left?"
"Why, the League Exchange" re-
piled Brevig.
"And it is still held by the Legaue
Exchange?" ..1
"Yes''
The first record bearing on the
point showed 81 shares Of stock tran
sferred to the League Exchange from
Hastings. The next showed 25 shar-
es transferred from F. B. Wood,
trustee, to the League Exchange. The
first transfer was June 16, 1919 and
other transfers in September, 1919.
Four blocks of shares Of rs each
were transferred by F. B. Wood,
trustee, to the league exchange. In
addition it was shown Lieutenant
Governor Howard possessed 10 shar-
es, Mrs. Flora Wood five shares and
r. B. Wood, five shares. Porter
Kimball, former business associate
of Hastings, had 25 shares.
In addition Brinton claims that
there are 67 shares which were held
by men subservient to the Nonpar-
tisan league, giving the league con-
troll of 279 shares out Of a total of
500, the capital stock being $4,000.
Witness Brevig said that he believ
ed that the Scandinavian American
banlSIhad about $43O,OO0 of league
paper" in October, 1919. On August
28,, 1919 the Observation-Disclosures
bank had about $325,706.16 from
the Bank of North Dakota.
"Is it not fact that the money
you got from the Bank of North Da-
kota made it possible to loan this
money out to the league enterpris-
esq" asked Sounsel LeSeur.
''WelI 1t helped" replied Rrevig.