The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-09-07
SCOBEY BANKER STUCK
FOR SMUGGLING
FLAX FROM CANADA
(Continued from page i

Wbalen two checks on the First Ma
tionaI Bank, drawn payable to John
Mccall. for the fax. Pete took the
checks to the Merchants National
Rank and Mr.. Murphy very obliglngiy
endorsed John McCalTs name on the
hack of the checks and gave Pete the
currency for all but $500 For that
amount he gave a cashiers check, not
navable to John Mccall, or h. A.
Railson or Pete Whalen, but to z. b.
Murphy. When the check came thru
the mails for payment Mr.. Murphy at
tached it for money which Ralcon
owed him.
difficulties arose between Whalen
and Murphy, the latter being response
bic. according to Whalen, for forecIOs-
ure on Whalen's Republic truck.
Whalen then went and informed Gus
tom Officer Bailey about the flax deal,
stating that he hauled the fax with
the bank truck and was employed by
Murphy to Go so.
"Wurrhy could not arrive at a very
favorable settlement with the Custom
Officer and he went TO PlentywOOd
and engaged Attorney Howard Lewis.
Mr.. Lewis came 20 ScObey and it was
finally agreed that Mr.. Murphy should
paw the duty on the fax and the pen
altv. This amounted to the market
price Of the fax the day it was sold,
plus the regular duty, totaling some
where about $500 per bushel. This
was offered as a compromise to the
customs department, Mr.. Murphy's
Sampson truck not being confiscated.
"This is Pat Murphy's statement of
the affair Pete Whaien's story is
quite the same, only the latter con
tends that Pat knew all about whose
flax it was and that he (Whalen) was
hired by Pat to Go the hauling with
the bank truck. Mr.. Whalen also
states that he was hired to do, and did
do, lot of other work for Pat which
would not look we'll in print.
"The Sentinel is not interested one
way or the other in the questionable
deals pulled off nor in the double
crossing tactics Of either, excepting
from a news standpoint. However,
Custom Officer Bailey furnished the
bank with q statement to the effect
that he had not placed Murphy under
arrest and that at no time was Muir
ply under any bond.
"Such rumors, and lot more OF
more serious portent, were going
around regarding Mr.. Murphy's inte-
gritty. We have suspicion that some
Of them were exaggerated. Like any
one else, Nh Murphy has his friends
and his enemies. Both have been
more or less active.
Smuggling grain is quite a COM
mon practice and something which any
number Of people would do if they be-
lieved they would not be caught.
Bankers practices are not looked up
on always with favor. That may be
poetic Justice. Innocent men have
been pinched, jailed and even hung.
Others have been just slandered. None
of US, including Pat Murphy, are Gel
ebrated for saying kind things or sup
pressing nasty rumOrs about those
whom we don't like, and if Mr. Muir
ply finds that he has been made the
goat in this instance he is no worse
off than thousands of others. Pat has
sufficient Of this worlds goods to pro
tect himself in the courts if necessary
and many innocent men have been con-
demned, convicted and jailed because
they had not the means to put up a
good legal defense.
'The Merchants National Bank, of
which Pat is vice president, is quite a
healthy institution. It's employees are
quite reliable people and if Pats con-
science is clear he should not, figura-
lively speaking, act quite so thin
skinned.