The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1924-10-24

ton in 1913, fell into the hands of
probably the worst bunch of crooks
and swindlers that fate ever decreed
a county to fall into. By road
steals, bridge gratis, printing con-
tracts, seed grain deals, and other
devises, the county was actually loot
ed out of hundreds Of thousands of
dollars. The 1918 seed grain steal,
was bad, but the 1920 deal was worse.
In 1921 when the farmers took over
the county government, the county
was million and a quarter dollars
in debt, and the county's credit was
ruined. 1t was almost impossible to
operate the county. The county loot
ers were turned out, and their prose-
cutiOns were impending. Unfortunate
ly, Judge Conner was elected judge,
and the lOOters knew they had a friend
in Court. They soon found they had
another at Glasgow in the person of
Judge BortOn.
BEISEKER BANK FAILURE
In December, 1920, just before the
new administration, the Sheridan
County Bank, the Beiseker bank, fail
ed. Sheridan county had $27O,0OO in
money, the falls tax collections in
that bank. Most of this money was
not bonded, or was bonded by worth
less bonds. The money had been IL
legally deposited therein by County
Treasurer MOvius, a partner of Bets
eker in many county graft deals. The
personal bOndsmen transferred their
property. Two other bond houses,
among them a Montana bond house,
went into the hands of a receiver. The
night before the bank closed it was
looted of all of its good paper, and
phOny bonds were put in the bank in
place of it. Chester Beiseker, the
cashier, had fled to his brother, the
owner of the bank, in North Dakota,
taking the notes and warrants and
money with him. Because of the in
fuence exeTted upon the Board of
County Commissioners, no immediate
action was taken to protect the cOun-
ty. I. L. Beiseker transferred all of
his property in the county, and as
signed and mortgaged his North Da-
kota property. Still nothing was
done to protect the county money.
Treasurer Rex Movius went out of
office in March and Olson went in. He
called for an examination of his Of
flee. The results of the examination
were startling. The publication of
the report forced the Commissioners
to action, and they employed Sen. B.
X. Wheeler and Alfred T. Vollum to
take steps to recover the county
money and to prosecute the embez-
zlers. Numerous appeals to the
Court were made. Judge Conner held
for the county looters in practically
every instance, and when he was dis
qualified he called in Judge Borton
who sustained them for him.
CHESTER BEISEKER ARRESTED
Chester Beiseker, the cashier. was
arrested and brought back from North
Dakota. He was arrested later on a
dozen counts, charging him with en-
bezzlement, perjury, falsifying re-
cords and making false returns. I. T.
Onstad was the local attorney for the
Belsekers during all of these transac-
tions.
The county and private depositors
had been looted out of half a million
dollars in one of the worst cases on
record.
BEISEKER-MATKIN GRAFT DEAL
The report of the State Examiner
disclosed a startling situation. What
had been known to have been going
on for long time by informed OBJ
servers, was at last proven by record
by a case so plain and convincing
that any honest jury anywhere would
have convicted. There was constern-
alton in the camps of the gang that
had operated in Sheridan county for
a decade. There was weeping and
sleepless nights. There was begging
for mercy. 1t seemed that the Gull
prlts could not be saved and the old
gang seemed hopeless. But, Judges
BOrton and~COmer were on the throne
in the Seventeenth and Twentieth Ju-
dicial Districts, and George Hurd
was retained as their lawyer, and not
one man paid any penalty for years
Of blazen robbery of Sheridan county.
In the days of the Vigilante, men
were executed summarily by the or
gained citizenry for lesser crimes
here we have an example Of the men
being saved from justice by the
Sacred Court" where periurers and
bribe-takers and betrayers Of public
trust, were actually defended not only
by Attorney Hurd, but by the very
judges themselves, and one Of the
men who helped put this over was L.
j. Onstad, now candidate for judge.
WHAT REPORT DISCLOSED