The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-04-01
so THE PEOPLE MAY KNOW

AS a rule Gallatin county taxpayers are inter-
ested in their county offces-the manner in which
they are conducted and the uses to which the
measure of authority delegated by the electorate
is put.
In the sheriff's office, in particular, people take
an active interest, inasmuch as it not only costs
them thousands of dollars a year but is one of
their principal nstrumentalitie for law enforce
ment. A little incident that occurred last week
may throw some light on how the sheriff's office
is conducted under the present administration.
Last Thursday afternoon the editor of The
Courier received a "tip" that some arrests of i'm
portance had been made. Knowing that the
sheriff's office is the proper place to seek infOr-
nation on such matters, he FASTENED there. Mr..
Slaughter was out, but a deputy and the jailer
were on hand and of them he inquired.
The deputy denied that any arrest had been
made, or that anything of an unusual nature was
pending.
"But my information came from what appears
to be a reliable source" persisted the editor
1.-TWO or three persons are supposed to have been
arrested on a robbery charge. Hasn't there been
any such arrest within the last few days?"
The reply was an emphatic denial. There's
nothing doing around here" said the deputy
we're just waitin' for the McCusker-Ping jury
to reach a verdict. Haven't made any arrests
Don't know anything about it." His words were
confirmed by mods from the jailer.
The editor was m~ystified but baffled. The hour
when the forms for the weekly edition of The
Courier would close was approaching. Mr.. Slaugh-
ter could not be located. The result was that The
Courier went to press without one of the most
important news stories of recent weeks.
Yet it is a fact that at the very moment Sheriff.
Slaughter's aides were making their innocent
d%enials, Clyde Ballard and Henry and Loren Suhr,
arrested for rObbing the Jacob Barer and the Gold
berg and Shulman warehouses on the night OF
February % and for stealing and wrecking, on
the same night, a car belonging to l.. L. Brother.
ton were in cells in the county jail. And it is &
fact that the sheriff was busy arranging for theil
arraignment in district court, which took plac,
two hours later. 1t is almost beyond possibility
that the deputy and the jailer did not know thes
things, although it is a possibility that in denyinI
them they acted upon the orders of their superior
That The Courier and it's readers were deprived
temporarily, of a news story that belonged t
them is not of great moment. But that false in
formation was given out at a county office is G
considerable Importance. The taxpayers who d.
fray the cost of the sheriff's office are entitle
to know what their servant is doing, and any new
paper, regardless of whether it's political policit
are those of the sheriff, is entitled to correct il
formation on public matters when such inform
tion, if published, will not defeat the ends
justice. In such cases a request to withhold
for a time is never disregarded.
Falsehood and deceit have no place in a publ
office. The servant is not greater than h
master. When the people elect a man to off
they do not make of him a little dictate
He has a responsibility to his constituents and
the public in general which he should ever Ike
in mind. And when public servants mix dec,
with petty politics, it reminds us strongly of
Odoriferous incident of the campaign last Nc
ember.