Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-28
CONLEY FREED
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Continued from Page One.)
exchange for the same furnished the
state with hay from the Irwin ranch
Owned BY himself or the firm of Conley
& McTague.
sAs to the state ranch, consisting of
dissection of land, of which but 90 acres
are ~irrigable, the findings show all hay
produced there, with the exception of
one year, when it was leased to n
Nelson, was used for the horses belong
ing to the state highway commission
or horses used at the prison or to feed
beef cattle slaughtered thereon for
prison consumption.
Covering the A. G. M. ranch, which
was leased by the state in 1917 and
1918. the findings show that it was
leased under authority of the board and
no rent paid the first year but that
the second year the Anaconda company
received o%ne-fourth Of the crop; that in
1917 the defendant, acting on behalf
of the state. cleaned out the irrigation
ditch upon the land and built two wood
en- fumes, utilizing the labor of about
10 convicts for about two weeks: that
potatoes and oats were raised in 1917
etu - ooWh W IL "bS~tt
which failed to make a crop the follow
ing year, and that in 1918 the ranch
produced about 40 tons of hay. five
carloads of potatoes and 5000 bushels
of oats: that all the grain and vege-
tables We're turned over to the prison
\ and used by it and that the hay was
taken by the A. G. NJ. company and
paid for in a like amount Of hay bought
from johnson and fed to Conley d
McTague's dairy herd and in turn paid
for in a like amount of hay from the
Irwin ranch, belonging to defendant, and
which hay was fed to the horses used
at the prison.
Sales of Dairy Produce
The court finds that from 1909 to
1918. inclusive, the defendant, on au-
thority of the board of prison commits
s%ioners, sold to the state for the use
of the prison dairy produce, consisting
of milk. cream and butter amounting
to $39, 141.49; that such sales were
made at a materially reduced price in
consideration of which the state board
agreed defendant should have the use
of all necessary prison labor; that all
the dairy products were sold at the
approximate cost Of production and
less than the market price and the
reasonable value: that the claims in
payment were presented to the state
board of examiners, audited, approved
and allowed in the ann provided by
law, and that the state has at all times
retained and made use of such products
and has not returned nor offered to
return any of it or its value to the de-
PENDANT.
AS to the Walton ranch deal, the
: findings show that in the fall of 1918
the board Of prison commissioners au-
thorized defendant to lease for the use
Of the state this tract Of land com
prising 800 acres south of Deer Lodge,
which ranch was leased in the spring
Of 1919 for one year, for the use of
the prison. and was operated during
that year by the use of convict labor,
producing 700 or 800 sacks of potatoes,
about 100 tons of hay and some small
garden vegetables, all of which was
used at the prison.
The findings show that in December,
1919, or the following month. the board
authorized the defendant to purchase
the ranch at a price not to exceed $50
per acre, with the understanding that
defendant should advance the first pay
ment, which the state agreed to repay
with legal interest; that pursuant to
such agreement the defendant on March
&, 1920. entered into a written escrow
agreement to purchase the land at
$4,000, this being S26 an acre. and
that said contract was made in the
name of the defendant by and with
the consent Of the board and as secur-
ltv for the money advanced; that de-
PENDANT was a trustee Of said land for
the benefit of the state and purchased
and held said land for the state; that
defendant made the first payment and
advanced for that purpose $500 of his
own money.
The findings show that during the
year 1920 the defendant produced on
this ranch 400 or 500 sacks of pota-
toes, garden truck and about 100 tons
of hay, all of which was used at the
prison with the exception Of some hay
which Is still on the ranch and sub
Jcct to the order of the state.
The Walton Buildings
AS to the buildings erected upon the
Walton ranch. the findings show:
b during the years 1920 and
1871, the defendant, upon the authori-
eaton and direction of the board of
prison commissioners acting as such,
erected upon said ValitQn ranch for the
use and benefit of the state prison II
brick buildings. That the defendant
used convict labor and 175.000 prison
brick in the erection of said buildings.
an Uy tue AUTHORIZATION ana direction
of said prison board. That the lumber
and materials other than brick used in
the construction of said buildings was
furnished and paid for by the defend
ant. That the greater part of the lum-
Der used in said buildings was sawed
at the prison sawmill. That the de-
PENDANT paid S6,755.41 for lumber, sup
plies and material. used in the CON
\ struction of said buildings, and that
' the prison board aforesaid, acting as
such, agreed with the defendant that
they would repay him the sums adj
Vanced by him for said improvements.
together with interest at 8 per cent.
That the state has not paid the
. defendant any part of the $4,000 adj
vanced by him for the purchase Of said
ranch nor any part of the S6,755.41
advanced by him for the erection of
buildings thereon.
THAT the defendant at all times
since the execution of said escrow
agreement for the purchase of the Val
lton ranch has held said land for the
state, has declared the same to belong
10 the state and has been and now is
willing to turn said ranch over to the
state upon payment of the money adj
vanced by him together with legal in
terest thereon.