Bisbee daily review., 1922-03-05

uurlnS the IernlS OI Sludll duu SuIllS as state treasurer, only the governor will go on trial here Monday. Curtis whose case was brought to Lake County from Sangamon county with that of the governor, was granted a separate trial by Judge Claire c. Ed wards, presiding in circuit court here Lieut-Gov. Sterling did not ask for change of venue and his case is still pending in the Sangamon county cir cult court at Springfield.
 Originally there were four indict- ments against Messrs. Small, Sterl- ing and Curtis, three of which in volved the governor, but only one the conspiracy case-remains.
 One indictment, charging the three defendants with embedding S7O0,OOO, was quashed by Judge Edwards be- cause of technical errors. The court also Quashed several counts in the conspiracy indictment which remains to be tried, and charge of operating a confidence game. The judge then ordered the governor to trial on an indictment charging embezzlement of $500,000 during his term as state treasurer. but the state objected to trying this case first, and when the judge insisted c. Fred Mortimer, states attorney of Sangamon county, dismissed the indictment.
 Conspiracy is Charged
 The fourth indictment, which was never brought to Waukegan, charged Sterling with embedding $700,000.
 The conspiracy indictment charges the two former treasurers with en- tering into a conspiracy with Curtis to defraud the state out of large sums due it as interest. Curtis owned the charter of the Grant Park Bank. a for mer private banking institution which, the state alleges, absolutely ceased to function as a bank after 190S." Grant Park is a town of 600 population in Kankakee county, a few miles from Gov. Smalrs home.
 To this private bank, the state claims, Small and Curtis-the former as state treasurer in 1917-1S and the latter in 191920-lent millions Of state funds with no other security than Curtis certificate Of deposit The money was then loaned to four Chicago packing companies, Armours Swifts, Morris and the Cudahy Pack ing company, on short term notes pay ing from five to eight per cent inter est, of which, it is claimed, mot more than two per cent" was turned into the state treasury.
 The bill of particulars filed by the state claims the total profits in the alleged conspiracy are unknown be- cause Gov. Small carried away part of the records of the treasurer's of flee when his term expired and be- cause part of the books of Swift and company "have not yet been found" The state charges the three defend ants, with the late Senator Edward Curtis, brother and business partner of Vernon Curtis, kept $535,00O of state funds for their personal and private property and the property of others unknown" in addition 70 the sums of interest retained.
 Alleged Conspiracy Barred
 Gov. Small and Lieut-Gov. Sterling Kept two sets of books while in the treasurer's office, the state says. one accounting for so-called vault fund.- which was loaned to banks throughout the state, and the other, known as the safe fund.- covering money placed in the Grant Park bank During Smalls term, the bill of par tlculars alleges, the funds in the Grant Park Bank alone earned S924,- O66.2S in interest, while the total amount of interest, discounts and pro Tits accounted for by Small from all funds in his charge was only S45O.. O1O12. The earnings on the Grant Park transactions alone exceeded the total of all interest accounted for by the governor by $474,056.16, the bill alleges.
 The state estimated the earnings of funds in the Grant Park Bank dur ing Sterling's term at largely in ex- cess of $S43,7SS.21," claiming the ex- act total is unknown because the Swift and company books have not been found. The bill claims Sterl ing failed to turn over to the state at least $345,634 of the interest earned on the packers, loans.
 During SnalPs term as treasurer the Grant Park Bank is said to have had the use of $17,91S,500, while in VI XEHEzE1EszEklzNz7azzInI EazI 1K