The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, February 18, 1921, Page 1

The Weather FAIR BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA, ». FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1921 THIRTY.NINTH YEAR — ACQUIT JUDGE “BOOK RESERVE” ” OF MURDER Accountant So Qualifies sae LEGION MAKING id meios tw GREAT HEADWAY SENATE CASE. ATTACKED| IN LEGISLA T | ON Testimony Before Senate Com- mittee Not Intended to De- ceive, Witness Claims Albert E. Sheets Returned from Washington Where He Rep- resented State Testimony given before the senate| committee with regard to reserve of the Bank of North Dakota by M. W. ‘Thatcher, accountant and head of the: McCUMBER HOLDS POWER As Second Oldest Senator and Equitable Audit company, was under HE BISMARCK TRIBUNE==] PRICE FIVE CENTS - ACTION NOT THEORY Some: of the arguments being used in the present con- troversy to save North Dakota from herself reminds one of Mark Twain's remark about the weather: “Everybody's talk- ing about it and nobody's doing anything.” | True there are.some who have political expedients. to of- fer. which are no more nor less than Townleyism in a modified degree. The independents have got to, get their fingers out of Townley’s bait can if they expect to protect the state’s integrity and restore stability. ; Two million for the elevator and mill at Grand Forks is supreme folly. Better take our loss on that now. A quarter of a million for the Drake toy mill and the Homebuilder’s associa- tion is a further waste of public funds. Better go down to defeat in another campaign battling for sound government and the total elimination of state social- ism, than to pussyfoot ‘on vital issues. If the Independents want to perform a real service to the state, they will propose bills immediately repealing the entire industrial program and providing for the liquidation of the scraps on hand. Some say what about the million the state has shot to the birds at Grand Forks? FARMER EFFORTS ON CO-OPERATION i | Review of Central Western \ | State Shows Tendency in | | This Direction ; | | MINNESOTA CO-OP. PLAN Farm Tenantry. in Kansas Pro-| vides Basis of Legis- | lation Chicago, Feb. 18.—Farm legislation | most generally sought this winter in central western farming states where legislatures are in session appears to —— KILE EOUR arin BILLS T0 AID i WHEAT POOLING kidnaped Wednesday night by threc|Measure Said to Have Been armed men has not been f dl. one Asked by Farm Bureau WHEAT COMES Get Support | , Be Impaired Dublin, Feb. 18.—Four civilians County Cork, it Is said in dispatches received here. English regiment near Killbreton, | | | Possibility of Serious Crop Damage Has Bullish Effect on Market Two bills said to /have been intro- duced to aid the Farm Bureau plan of pooling grain for selling passed the house late yesterday without follow the line of marketing and co-| Chicago, ‘Feb. 17.—Rain and snow! great opposition. / Better let it stand there as a monument to the folly of state | operative effort, according to a sur-|in the southwest had bullish effect | aeons % sae ‘ A s * The bills are house bills Nos. 190 socialism than to pour two or three million more of public 3 | Vey, made by the Associated Press. | today on the wheat market. Much) ocial L nM P blie fund | Education, protection from fraudu- | attention continued. to be given to|and 191. The purpose. of the bills, fire before the houxe investigaung f committee today. Thatcher and F. W. Cathro were) Member of Finance Com- mittee Controls Bills the only two witnesses. It was sald that the committee attorneys had been informed.that 0. E. Lofthus, state ex- aminer, who was absent when called yesterday, had gone to Minneapolis, ‘would be back today and was making no effort to avold testifying. Thatcher was asked specifically about the large reserve he figured the bank had under the 1915 law. Thatcher admitted this was “a book- keeping reserve” he testified to—that he hadn't verified all the things ne; cessary to makeya complete stato- ment. : Thatcher had testified before the senate committee that the bank had a reserve of $7,000,000, or several times its requirements. The cash re- serve, he figured today, was $46,767. and under the 1915 law should have had $1,123,000, or was shy $1,076,000 of the required amount. This did not take into account redeposits. These redeposits, under the conten- tion of the attorneys, could not be con- sidered in a reserve unless they were in reserve banks approved by the state banking board, with limitations, in- cluding one that they should be baaks in commercial centers where deposits could be easily acceptable. ‘In response to a statement from At- torney Murphy that “what I am try- ing to make out is that you ought not to have given that testimony before the senate committee” Thatcher re- plied that the testimony before the senate committee did not represent “his judgment” but figures were pre- pared in answer to questions before the senate committee. : “You led that committee to believe that the Bank of North Dakota had a reserve actually of over $7,000,000?” queried Murphy. “[ didn’t want them to think #0,”| Prospects for legistation by the na- tional congress asked by the Ameri- can Legion are good, according to Albert E. Sheets, Jr.. who has re- turned from Washington, where he went to attend a meeting of the .na- | tional executive committee of the Legion delegated ‘hy National Com- mitteoman C. L. Dawson to act as North Dakota member of the com- mittee. “The purpose of the meeting was to influence congress to pass legis- lation at the present session which the Legion considers cannot wait un- | til the next session, principally leg- jislation in behalf of disabled sol diers.” gaid Mr. Sheets, discussing j his trip. “Senator McCumber. by reason of | being the second oldest senator in i Washington in point of service and i ; " j ranking member of the finance com- | mittee, where the hospitalization and i additional compensation, or so-called {bonus bills, were being considered is ‘the most influential man in Wash- ‘ington in soldier legislation. We were assured by Senator McCumber that he would do everything in his | power to see that both bills pass.” | Hospital Bill Passes, | Mr. Sheets said that before he re- turned the hospitalization bill had | passed, carrying $15,000,000 for hos- | pitals for disabled soldiers. Senator }McCumber told Mr. Sheets that he | believed the additional compensation bill would be passed at this session with a° delayed payment~or ‘at the next session with provision for im- mediate payment. “The plan suggested by the Legion for the consolidation of the United * Mr. Murphy asked the witness ig,| States’ Bureau of War Risk Insur- under a strict interpretation of the| ance, the U. S. health service and the 1915 law, the:Bank of North Dakota; Vocational training bureau into one lacked any reserve at all. | department, with sub-departments in replied Thatcher. Bookkeeping Reserves “If.the banks are in the condition it is said they are it had a bookkeep- <Cantinned on page 3) SENATE AMENDS STATE HERD LAW: HAVE DISTRICTS Upper House Kills Bill Repeal- ing Auto License Act; Reg- ulate Assignments | — | The senate yesterday passed the bill; regulating assignments for benefit of| creditors and: the apopintments of; receivers, and the bill empowering the, county commissioners to create stoc districts and providing upon petition! of 60 per cent of the electors for the; declaration by the. county commission: | ers of any’open season for grazing in| that district. te { “The senate killed the following, bills: Repealing auto license act, re-! garding filing of attachments with clerk of court, broadening powers’ of; district court judges in juvenile cases,| and providing for-the survival of legal! actions against estates of deceaséd. FRAZIER SIGNS | yarious parts of the United States, ! by reason of lack of time will not | pass at the present session,” said Mr. | Sheets, “but some bill embodying these features will be passed immed- jately upon reconvention of congres3 in special session. It’is the opinion | of all members of congress with whom I talked that this is absolutely neces- sary before the confusion and incom- petence in these soldier relief agen-| cies can be overcome: The five million dollar memorial | fund tendered by the Knights of Co-! lumbus was not accepted, he said, and a Legion committee was named to | confer with officers of the order to| | find out if they were willing to make |a tender of the money without any conditions attached. ‘Takes Up Bismarck Case. ‘@ue to the inability of the various bureaus handling felief for disabled soldiers to meet the situation and pending such’ time as congress shall consolidate and reorganize them, 1 was able to obtain the assistance of the national executive committee in establishing what is known as a serv- ice bureau which will take up and present to government ‘agencies the! most urgent ‘cases of disabled sol- diers. The united support of the Legion may now be obtained for any; disabled soldiers by writing the facts to National Adjutant Lemuel! Bolles, Washington. D. C., who was appoint-| ed chairman of the service commis- sion.” Mr. Sheets also took up the case of James’ Monahan, Bismarck boy, who was wounded and who served in sev-! i i | into it, just to try out one of the experiments that has been thoroughly diseredited through recent investigation. The Grand Forks Mill and Elevator can be turned over through a plan of liquidation to'some farmers co-operative society, com- pleted by that agency and under competent management and private initiative be made a paying venture. If the Independents think under political control they can make the Drake or the Grand- Forks institution profitable, ownership, they had better come ‘out of their dream now. try under the auspices of the Farm Bureau. It is a protest against the follies practiced in many states'and allied societies of trying to solve agrarian problems through government owner- ship, politically controlled and manipulated., Farmers. them- selves are coming to realize that if they had contributed to their own co-operative societies the money Townley has drawn from Day,” they could have had a string of mills and clevators across reaching from Lisbon on the south to Minot on the north. The Tribune suggests three planks in the program of the Independents. THERE MUST BE NO COMPROMISE WITH STATE SOCIALISM. < GETTING BACK TO SOLID GROUND MEANS | ABOLITION OF THE SO-CALLED INDUSTRIAL | PROGRAM OF NORTH DAKOTA. ( NO MORE. NAUSEATING COMPROMISES. A leadership courageous enough to go before the people on these issues might not be playing narrow politics, buf it would be bringing North Dakota nearer to a solution of her economic problems. |HAMER PROPOSES LIBERTY BONDS "AMERFROPOSES | Hamer. The bill makes it unlawful . to directly or indirectly manufacture ss (or sell cigarettes. | Fo int time in Two Yow! BROTHER SHOT W A LUMAN:SE E § iRulaaioda Tinsel! taia Cor BIG FUTURE FOR "ssostne at Goodrich for the alléged shooting | | of his brother, Fred, following a card} Regan Man Aggressive Booster | 53me. The victim 1s. in a serious condition. for Growing National The brothers had been playing, Organization cards together with two of the neigh- \ bor boys until 10:30 Monday evening. | ; The visitors left for home at this J, Wallman of Regan: is one of the | time and Fred went to the. barn with} most aggressive boosters in the state) them to help them hitch up. |for the National Wheat Growers’ a8-| Washes Hands. | sociation, which he feels fills an im-| He came back and began to wash | | Dakota| his hands, when a shot rang out from! | portant niche in the North | fa | the dining room and he fell to the! | farmers world. fe | He recently received a letter from The visitors heard the shot, re- even aside from the unsoundness of the theory of government | A great co-operative movement is sweeping over the coun-| already proven successful in the Min- them in increased taxes and special contributions for “The New | the state from Fargo to Beach and a line of packing plants | a charge of, perjury, the complaint be- | lent speculation, improvement of farm | | finance and betterment of farm ten; | | ant conditions are other medsures in| which a widespread farming interest is manifest. In several states a better organiza-| tion of the state agricultural admin-| istration is sought. Better commun- ity ‘protection through establishment }of rural police or constabulary is dsked in others. j Co-operative: marketing — organiza- tions among producers, along Mnes nesota Potato Exchange are projected in Minnesota. The proposed legisla- tion was sponsored by Governor J. A.) 0. Preus in his campaign last fall.) Ohio farmers ask increased appropri- j ations for developing and extending | the state market bureau to encourage co-operative buying and selling be- tween farm producers and consumers direct. It is also proposed in Ohio that the; state university establish a course) for training leaders in organizing for! | co-operative buying and selling. | |. Kansas farmers seek a state mar-! {ket bureau that would furnish infor-j{ | mation on market conditions gener-/| jally and act to some extent as a! {clearing house for orders for farm) | products. In Arkansas it is proposed! to give the state agricultural com-| .| missioner authority to fix grades and | standards of farm products, to enforce | a uniform grading law, and generally | {to facilitate better marketing of farm | products. | Among financial proposals a law is urged in Illinois for the organiza- tion of farm loan societies to loan money to farmers on long term first and second mortgages. Farm land credits and rural personal credits are asked in Iowa. \ A law to permit establishment of banks by co-operating associations is sought in Kansas. Adequate appropriations for ‘state educational institutions urged by farmers in a numbey of states, indi- cate agricultural interest in educa- tion. Free text books in the commoi schools are called for: in, Oklahoma and elsewhere. In Kansas, where farm tenantry has been much discussed, a law put- ting into operation an amendment to the state constitu@on adopted at the last election providing for state ald to farmers in buying farm homes is up. Legislation requiring a tenant to be reimbursed for permanent im- provements made on the farm he oc- cupies is advanced in IIinois. Need of better’rural protection since the advent of hard roads and the au- tomobite has manifested itself, ac- cording*to farmers. In Illinois, where a state ‘constabulary has been en- dorsed, and in Ohio, where a modi- fied rural police bill, using county sheriffs and constables as a nucleus is proposed. REMORSE DON’T COUNT. ‘Paden City, W. Va,, Feb. 18.—Arthur Woods was remorseful. He returned to, pay back $140 taken from a friend. Restitution doesn’t clean the state. Po- lice arrested him. J. W. Brinton was arrested today on i ing sworn to by F. W. Cathro, direc- |green bugs, the identity serious crop damage likely from Breen bugs. Opening prices which were from 2 to 2 1-4 lower, were fol- lowed by further setback and then a rally. The close was weak, 1-2 to 13-4 cents lower. Kansas City, Feb. 18.—Myriads of of which have not been made known are ad- vancing towards the wheat fields. Crops in the districts of Oklahoma are seriously menaced, according .to a message from/Oklahoma City, which quoted the state entomologist. Growth of the bugs has not been retarded by the cool nights, declares John Moler, secretary of the state board of agriculture of Kansas. BOOSTS BILL MAKING EXCHG. OPEN MARKET Minnesota Senate Adopts Pas-, sage Report on Bonniwell Measure St. Paul. Feb. 18—The senate to- day adopted a report from the agri- cultural committee favoring the /pas- Sage of the Bonniwell bill m*king rket of the South St. Paul S. Paul, Feb. 18.—The house commit- tee on dairying and live stock, recom- | according to Representative Roy ; Johnson, as told the house, was to | permit the waiving: of certain re- ; quirements under the grain grading act to permit the operation of the pooling plan. The maximum char: for storage of wheal would be - creased. It was explained by Repre- sentative Sagen that if the pooling | should grow to a considerable extent the elevators would become me-3 storehouses, losing a part of their | present revenues, and the increase in the storage maximum, in the dis- cretion of the state inspector, would compensate them for the loss. Among the other bills passed was one providing for the appointment of a commission of two representatives ; and one senator to visit the petrified forest in the Bad Lands in Billings ; county and report to congress on the desirability of the section for a na- tional park. The speaker voted “aye” i with the mental reservation that ne | would name as the house members | the two representatives living near- st the section, to reduce the neces- ary expense. The bill cafried an appropriation of $500. i Extended Debate. ; There was extended debate during the discussion of house bill No. 181. | which would extend the time allowed | for redemption of mortgages from | one to two years. There were two re- ‘ports, the majority and minority, {from the judiciary committee, and ‘the bill was killed. | In discussing the bill Representa- | tive Starke declared that it was the opinion of those members of the com- mittee who opposed the bill that the |act could not, affect mortgages now {of record—the real purpose for which mended for passage today the bill or-| ‘he bill was introduced. dering that the South St. Paul stock; “It can affect only future mort- exchange be declared an open market, 848¢8” he sald. “It couldn’t reach which would permit co-operative: con-| the people it is intended to help. We cerns to be members, notwithstanding, Who opposed the bill felt that noth- rule of exchange against patronage; ing ought to: be done which might dividends, FARM BUREAU DECIDES FOR | impair the icredjt of the state, and ‘make jt more difficult then it is now / ifor the farmer to obtain’ money.” Representative Hempel, Nonpirti- san, author of the bill, declared he | believed it would not affect credit jand would bring relief in the future | Speaker Twitchell declared that “if | you pass this you will driv@half thi {money out of the state. This bill ; was killed two yearg ago in a Non- partisan caucus because they knew Committee Makes Announce- ment of Recommendation for Marketing Relief that if it was passed it would drive money out of the state.” The house was in session at one o’clock again today, it being the ef- fort of the house to clean up its largs volume of business as rapidly as pos- sible. House bills must/be out of the eee ‘ , ’ B | Passed, 78 to 34. = URY. H. B. 191—Permitting inspector of : | grades, weights and measures to Chicago, Feb. 18.—The American} houge and into the senate by the end Farm Buyeau Federation grain market-| °f the fiftieth day of the session, in- ing committee recommended the for-| Stead of the forty-fifth day, as previ- mation of a national sales agency to! ously stated. i hand | andle grain marketing. i Disposition of Bills, MAKES RULES. | readin and dual eneeates on ee eb. 18.—Tho interaal ‘e@ding and final passage: Washington, F % revenue department today issued rules H. B- 202—Abolishing the office of permitting transfer of whiskey under, School district treasurer, transferrin; certain conditicns. ' | duties to the. county treasurer, effe:- | tive Jan. 1, 1922, "Defeated, 50 to 60. ‘ H. B. 92—Appropriating $500 | for expenses of three legislators to Visit | site. of proposed Roosevelt Nationa! | park, and make report to congress. j waive certain requirements to aid ‘Farm Bureau pool selling plan. Passed, 69 to 40. H. B. 190—Companion bill to 191, Plaint would be duly sworn to and presented he would act according to} the requirements of his office. iMr. McCurdy said that immediately} permitting higher sum fo be levied | eg major engagements, and who had | George E. Duis, one of the direc re the: bi a f i Fred | : i | ization,| turned to the house and found Fred} tor-general of the. sank of North Da- i for storage of grain, it being held to get relief from the! of the Kansas state organiza and hurricd him to the next farm! after he left his. office he went to the| Te are oe eee e eareae- kota. court house and was informed that the - genate bills Nos. 1, 8 and 12. FIRST 3 BILLS Sie government. - He said that Senator McCumber had taken up the case. OF LEGISATURE yoy) KEEP Senate Bill No. 1, Introduced by, McNair, Is the First New | Law | The first three bills signed by, Governor Frazier were to be mes- gaged to the senate today. They are) Senate bill No. 1 permits an assist- “ant attorney-general to complete pri- a attorneys to defend criminal} cases Outside their districts. i introduced by McNair. | Senate bill No. 8 relates to care and ¥ practice he was engaged in at/ ie time of appointment, and allows; - MINN, PAPERS MUM ON BANKS Senator Devold, Socialist, Intro- duces Muzzling Bill in ~ Senate St. Paul, Feb. 18—-The amendment It was/ offered by Senator Devold, socialist: |o¢ this kind, and especially to do it which would have prevented Minne- publishing anything | sota papers embezzlement, Yelease of feeble-minded persons from) about bank failures, stite institutions. It was introduced| investigation or other matters derog- by Murphy. ie’ eat ead poe or ou oF ne state, Senate bill No. 12 amends the law, has n led by the Minnesota sen- regarding concentrated feeding stuff) ate” labelling and reports, to the regulas|~ Senator Devold has always voted tory division of the Agricultural col-| with the Nonpartisan members of the lege. It was introduced by Rusch. | legislature and this motion was con- These were the first, three meas-| strued as an attempt to prevent any ures presented to the governor. N»| publicity in regard to the North Da- measure has been vetoed, i kota bank situation. | which gives some interesting facts| a i iin regard to the organization. Mr. | howe, notifying the sheriff and the | DUte BAe: te Momberihi ee Meld in Jal “This Se cunerioe te a mem! ,. Reinbold is being held in the coun- bership of over 150,000 in the wheat-/ ty jail at McClusky, waiting trial. | growing states. We are organizing| When asked why he shot his broth- | 8! iJ ‘ ler he is reported to have said that ‘We, have before US| he didn’t know himself. In some i very rapidly. H | several plans but none of them were) quarters it is believed that he was temporarily insane. ‘very definitely adopted. We decided that we would employ Aaron Sapiro; jot San Francisco, to advise us fully| + | as to what plans would be the most | suitable for our commodity. Our. na-| {tional secretary is now endeavoring; to secure Mr. Sapiro to immediately | | | furnish us, plans for marketing. ie Want Cost Plus, * | A “The fundamental of our plan is to, | secure cost plus a reasonable profit 'on future wheat crops. It takes some | little time to organize an association Warden Stair of the state peniten- coupe, driven by J. H, Alldenige. The clash was a broadside one and the on a safe basis. I am amazed at the| cars were practically a wreck. al- | work which has already been done in | organization work.” | Since this letter was written, it is | understood, Mr. Sapiro has been se- j; cured by the organization and is | Working definite plans now. | PAPER "DROPS. New York, Feb. 18.—The Interna- fered a scratch. Mr. Stair was driving a Ford Sedan. | He had four of the visiting women} attending the conventidn of the| league auxiliary. with him. ! Owingsville, Ky., Feb. tional Paper company announced to- | day a drop in news print to 51-2 ceats ja pound, ‘ done since whisky has been banished. tiary, collided yesterday with a Ford! though none of the passengers suf-| and then if any parties appear guilty ! of violations they should be prosecut- NO WHISKY, NO MARSHAL. _{ tion and that he refused to.take aay 18.—City| action until after the investigations council voted to abolish the office of| are finished, and that he took the marshal. There's no police work to ve! same stand regarding Brinton. He The warrant was served on Brinton j by Sheriff Welch, and was returnable before Justice of the Peace W. S. Cas- selman. Brinton appeared asked con- | tinuance to get counsel, and his bond | was fixed at $1,000, which he gave. | The hearing will be held Feb. 21, at j10 A.M. J. 'W. Sullivan, of Mandan, | an attorney for the house investiga | tion committee, was asked by Brinton to be his attorney and will appear. iW. A. Anderson, assistant attorney i general, appeared for the complainant. | “League sources said F. E. McCurdy, | states attorney of Burleigh _ county, | has refused to approve the complaint. Mr. McCurdy said that Joe Coglan came to his office late yesterday with the complaint, and that the place for name of the camplainant was bland. He | expressed his opinion that none of the | parties involved in the present investi- | gations should be arrested until the | investigations are finished, he said, ed regardless of which political side they are on. He said he had been importuned to arrest some administration officials on. charges growing out of the investiga- told them, however, that if the com- sheriff had a warrant, which indicated | the complaint had been approved by! Selling of grain to led if Farm Bureau should take over large extent the attorney genéral’s office before it} through pooling. Passed, 100 to 9. was presented to him. Brinton said before he was arrested that he hoped they would do so; that he woul@ be glad “to meet them” in) court. The complaint is voluminous. It charges that Brinton “wilfully, unlaw- fully, feloniously, falsely and corrupt-, H. ly and contrary to his oath” swore be- fore the legislative committee and cites many questions and answers, in-' cluding: Testimony with regard to embezzle- ment and misappropriation of funds in the Bank of ‘North Dakota. That he got information about the bank's policy, etc., in consultation with ‘Lemke, Townley and others, That he talked to Lemke as attor-) ney for the bank on matters of con- troversy. That he said the Scandinavian- | H. B. 183—Changing school trans- | portation law making “transportation distance” for transporting school children from minimum of 2 1-4 to 21-2 miles. Passed, 102 to 5. The following bills were‘ killed be- fore third reading: B. 73—Regarding pay of elec- tion officials. H. B. 96—Providing polls shall be open from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m., the time to ‘be increased by county commis- ; sioners in certain cases at their dis- cretion. H. B. 194—Repealing law relating to attorney’S fees and sheriff’s fees on foreclosure of liens and mort- gages by advertisement. H. ®. 121—Permitting issuance of | licenses to insurance agents of other states to do business in North Dakote | from states having reciprocal la American bank was partly owned by sar them (league leaders), and controlled H- B. 83—Providing there shall by thein.” , no penalty or interest collected ur That it was bought by the financial | 29 real property for year 1920 ur secretary of the league. That Town-, Nov. 1, 1921. pos tia ley organized the Publishers Nation-, H. B. 181—Increasing time for re- al Service Bureau. demption of real estate mortgages. Regarding the $11,000 check given) H. B- 184—Prohibiting county com- when he didn’t have sufficient funds inj missioners from making contract cx- the bank, which he said Lofthus aadj ceeding $1,000 except on unanimous Lemke knew about, vote. ‘