Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, August 19, 1924, Page 7

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1924. ° |My Answer it be Casvet Daily Cribune Blackiailers May I Ask That All Those Who Read the Sunday Herald Also Do Me the Justice of Reading This Page; So As to Forma Just Opinion? It is a difficult task to dig back into the memory after a lapse of four years and give the details of a minorstran- saction involving a few hundred dollars. More especially is this difficult when it is considered that the transaction came within a few days of the close of my term on the Board, and the matter was really closed up and handled by the succeeding Board, of which Mr. Charlie Anda was the dominating factor. My recollection of the matter, which is supported by records in possession of Mr. Myrland, a complete:copy of which is on file in the county clerk’s office, and which was O. K.’d by the Board of which Mr. Anda was a member, and also O. K.’d by the state examiner, is as follows: , In December, 1920, which was within 30 days of the expiration of my term on the Board, the building of the Elks Home was temporarily tied up because of the in- ability of Castle & Mechaley, who had the gravel contract, to deliver gravel to the ‘92, and because of the cold weather great damage to ihe concrete work of the Elks Home was about to ensue unless the gravel delivery could be speeded,up, and the mixing and pouring machinery kept at work. As I recall the matter, a member of the building com- mittee of the Elks Lodge appealed to Mr. Veitch, chair- man of the Board of Commissioners, and asked if it would be possible for the county to loan or hire three of its trucks to Castle & Mechaley, so that the building work could be resumed before damage resulted. 6 I remember of Mr. Veitch calling me on the ‘phone and’asking my opinion of the matter. My reply was that it*was agreeable to me.to help relieve the situation, pro- vided the county was put to no expense in hauling the gravel. I suggested that, inasmuch as Mr. Veitch was a member of the Elks, and I was not, that he would be better able to judge the matter, and that I would concur in-his judgment. I added that the Elks had co-operated with the county in many ways in relief work among the poor, ~and that the county should not make a profit off of the Elks Lodge. “We won't make anything off of the Lodge,” said Mr. Veitch, “Shorty Castle has the contract, and all we will be doing is accommodating them by speeding up the build- ing work.” ~ I agreed with him. Accordingly Mr. Myrland, in charge of our road ma- chine, put three trucks on the job, with orders to work a$ many hours as possible, and to speed things up. The truck drivers were given a bonus of 50 cents a yard for all gravel hauled over five loads a day, so urgent was the need of speeding up the concrete work on the building. The truck drivers were J. E. Gray, S. C. Hill, and Harold McFarland. Mr. Gray is now an employe of the refinery and lives in Kenwood addition. Mr. McFarland, “I believe, is now in the employ of the city and lives at 1463 South Conwell. The last I heard of Mr. Hill he was living in the rear of 263 East J street. I believe any or all of these men will verify these statements. Call on them if any of you doubt my word. It must be understood that every item and every tran- saction received the o. k. not only of the Board of Com- -missioners which succeeded the Board of which I was a member, but RECEIVED THE O. K. OF THE STATE EXAMINER. Was it a crime to make a profit of $357 for the county? Was it a crime to help out the building of the Elks’ Home, at no cost to the county? Is ita crime to be a regular fellow and violate a few precedents when we could be of public service? In the dead-of winter all the county equipment was sit- ting idly in the barn. Road work was impossible. Supposing that I should have turned a deaf ear and said “NO” to the Elks when I could be of public seryice, would you have considered me a good citizen and a public spirited citizen? E a TSE SE PE Financial Statement The. following is a complete financial state- ment of the gravel hauling job on the Elks’ Home: RECEIPTS Received from Castle & Mechaley, Dec. 7... Received from Castle & Mechaley, Dec. 31... Total receipts .......0.....--.ccsessescccesecssasensesseseasesneens $760.00 -- $428.00 DISBURSEMENTS Paid to J. E. Gray, truck driver.. Paid to S. C. Hill, truck driver... Paid to Harold McFarland, truck To two-quad truck springs, $21 each --$100.00 Total expenditures .......0..... 025.6 .ccccseceeecceteeeeteeeee **Net profit turned into county treasurer..... **This money was turned into the county treasurer more. than a month after my term had expired. It was included in'a cash item of $1,885.25, turned into the treasurer by Robert J. Veitch, a member of the Board, on February 4, 1921. 4 The following is a copy of the receipt, which may be examined by any citizen who will go to the treasurer’s office: OFFICE OF COUNTY TREASURER No. 3382 : Casper, Wyo., 2—4, 1921. RECEIVED OF Robert J. Veitch, County Commissioner, Eighteen Hundred Eighty-Five and ,25-100-Dollars rom Castle & Mechaley } (Signed).....E. McDONALD, County Treasurer. Okd. C. F. D. Please note the “Okd. C. F. D.” That means the item was o. k.’d by C. F. Dickinson, state examiner, ‘ * 4 Supposing that I should have said “No, I'am afraid of criticism, I cannot help you,” would I not have been a moral coward and unworthy of the confidence of real men? I stand ‘by every act committed by myself while a member of-the Board of. Commissioners. I am ashamed of nothing. Every act has passed the critical examination of Mr. Putnam, the State Examiner for 20 years, a fearless and capable official. shake. Thank You When I left the Board and Mr. Anda came on, he sent for Putnam, insisting that “discrepancies” existed. After going over every transaction; after checking every item; after examining every record and every paper, Mr. Putnam said, “GENTLEMEN, I CAN FIND NO EVIDENCE OF WRONGDOING. EVERYTHING APPEARS TO ME TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE.” From the above facts it should be apparent to any one ' that I am the intended victim of a frameup, the framers being: Max Levand, a slimy, blood-sucking under-world blackmailer, one of whose chief “cronies” is Ralph S. Tobin, the convicted gambler, notorious bootlegger and stool pigeon, whose character is so rotten that no self- respecting bootlegger will ever be found in his company; and Willis Stidger, the “legal” adviser of the layout, the most notorious character who ever disgraced the legal profession. Every one of you believe in fair play and a square They are coming out with-this stuff at the eleventh hour, hoping and believing that I cannot contradict it in so short a time. But if permitted only a few hours I can produce every record and verify every transaction—and show the state examiner's O. K. The other items enumerated in.The Herald’s screed are in line with the gravel hauling transaction, and need no mention. The practice of paying overtime to county employes was in vogue before I went on the Board, and is stillin practice. Itcan’t be avoided. The county operates under obsolete laws made way back in 1890, which are in- operative today. Every county commissioner in every county in the state violates the law every day he sits on the Board. . I have lived among you good men and women of Cas- per for many years. I have seen our city grow from 3500 to its present size. I have tried to be of real service to you. I have rejoiced in our prosperity and have taken my share of adversity. Were I derelict and unfaithful to a single trust reposed in me I would not have the nerve to come before you again, ' I am asking for a vote of confidence at the polls to- morrow. . I believe I am entitled to it. And I am confident I will receive it. J. B. GRIFFITH, Candidate for County Commissioner, 4-year term, Republican ticket. , To Whom It May Concern: I have read the statement of the transaction in regard to the gravel hauling job of the Elks building, made by Mr, Griffith, a member of the Board at that time. The statement is absolutely correct in every detail, and the financial statement is correct, as was certified to by the State Examiner, Mr. Dickinson. Every penny was accounted for and every penny went into the county treasury. Mr. Griffith had nothing to do with the transaction other than stated. He handled no money, and the matter was finally settled up after his term of office had expired. (Signed). ROBERT J. VEITCH. Chairman Board of County Commissioners, 1919 and 1920, Jj. B. GRIFFITH Candidate For County Commissioner, 4-Year-Term, Republican Ticket This advertisement is paid for by the friends of J B. Griffi peoereces efx yrsedl és e friends of James B. Griffith, who bave kno tempted to malign him. wn him many years and believe in his integrity; and also his integrity and uprightness and their inability to handle him, that the underworld denizens have at- (Political Advertisement)