The Frontier.
VOLUME XXV.
O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1905.
NUMBER 36. ]
IF MISTER “FUSION LAWYER" WANTS IT, HERE YOU HAVE IT
Take Up the Gauntlet Tossed
Out Through Independent.
INJECTION OF POLITICS
Fusion Chief Invites Encounter With
Buzsaw.—Some Historical Revela
tions Anent the Bank Failure.
The Independent of last week threw
down the gauntlet and proceeded in a
two column diatribe to inject politics
into the Elkhorn Valley bank failure.
Since this unfortunate failure The
Frontier has studiously avoided mix
ing politics in any discussion of the
failure. We have reported the facts
as they have developed from time to
time and confined our excoriations to
the officers of the defunct institu
tion—the persons directly responsible
for the robbery.
There have many things come to
our knowledge in connection with the
failure and subsequent flight of Hag
erty and McGreevy that we have re
frained from publishing for the very
reason that they reflect seriously upon
certain prominent politicians of this
community. Notwithstanding the
politicians involved are all populist,
we have, as before stated, refrained
from discussing the deporable affair
from a political standpoint for the
reason that we have heretofore had
some missgivings as to the propriety
of so doing lest it might, in this com
munity, militate against a rigid
prosecution and a full enforcement of
the law against the persons respons
ible for the wreck. At first bfush it
seems incredible that the Independ
ent and the sharp shrewdness of the
fusion strategy board that is respons
lble for the article referred to, should
be such asses as to undertake to make
the outraged depositors and the public
in general believe that the republican
party is in some way to blame for this
robbery. But when it is recalled that
the Independent has. for the past
twelve years, been the alimentary
canal for a bevy of political shitepokes
that have befouled this community
until it smells to high heaven, and,
furthermore when we consider these
frenzied fakers are day by day being
brought face to face with their mis
deeds as they are slowly but surely com
ing into the open, it does not, under
these circumstances, seem so strange
that the hydra headed monster should
lose its head.
Circumstances Call for Details.
In discussing the questions raised
by the Independent article we will
take them up seriatim and in doing so
we feel like apologizing to our readers
for taking so much space to answer so
senseless a sreed, but we feel impelled
to go somewhat into detailes under
the circumstances, and in doing so we
will be absolutely fair—nothing will be
said which we cannot substantiate.
We feel however, at a disadvantage in
having to use printer’s ink “instead of
the appropriate implement for the
purpose, a hose connected with a dis
infectant barrel.” Nearly one column
of the article in the Independent is
devoted to an effort to prove that
Hagerty was a republican and by
reasoning in a circle it concludes that
the republican party and “state ad
ministration is just as big a criminal
in this deal as even Hagerty, and the
whole gang ought to be in the pen
itentiary.” No one but a knave or a
fool would make such a ridiculous
statement. Let us see how much.of a
republican Mr. Ilagerty was. He
voted for McKinley in 1896; Bryan in
1900 and Roosevelt is 1904. For the
last thirteen years he has never
attended a republican caucus or con
vention and made no pretensions oi
being a republican in county or state
affairs; on the contrary, has invariably
voted the fusion state and county
ticket. In 1899 when H. R. Henry
was the fusion candidate for county
treasurer for a second term and it was
certain that no republican could
defeat him, the republican county
convention in session that year tried
for over one hour to get some one tc
accept the nomination for county
treasurer. Finally, after tendering the
nomination to several who refused,
John Trommershauser of Ewing, whc
two years later was the fusion candi
date lor counoy cleric, nominated Mr,
Hagerty and his name was placed
upon the ballot as the republican
nominee. Mr. Hagerty was not in
the convention. He allowed his name
to remain on the ballot notwithstand
ing he stated when Mr. Henry was
nominated that he would vote for hint
(Henry.) Evidently he kept his
promise and voted for II6nry who was
elected by about GOO majority, and he
both in his first and second term, kept
a very large deposit of the count}
funds in the Elkhorii Valley bank
No reflection is intended on Mr
Henry for the bank was a public de
pository and so far as we know the
deposits were kept within the law
So much for the politics of Mr Hag
erty. Later in this article more wil
be found with reference to bolester
ing up the insolvent bank by unlaw
ful depositing of county money.
Law Doesn’t Prevent Robbery.
The paid counsel for the wreckers
next undertakes, in the article in tl«
Independent, to hold the republican
state banking board and bank exam
iner responsible for the robbery. It
is not our purpose to defend in tote
the law governing the examinations
of state banks. We think it could be
improved upon. But it is difficult tc
frame a law to protect depositors
from loss where the officers of a bant
will commit forgery and robber}
combined. You may as well under
take to protect the money in the
pocket of an individual who is held u[
at the point of a pistol by a highway
man.
Fusion Examiners Implicated.
Let us see if this defunct institu
tion was ever examined by a populisl
bank examiner since it became insol
vent and pronounced solvent by sucl
examiner. In McGreevy’s “state
ment” to “whom it may concern’
that he made over his own signatur
before his flight to Arizonia am
which statement was published ii
The Frontier of Dec. 1, 1904, Me
Greevy has this to say:
“For several years 1 was about tli
bank but very little of the time
.In 1896 I was called on ti
devote more time to the bank,
then noticed that Mr. Ilagerty’s ac
count was overdrawn several hundre:
dollars. He paid olf his overdraft b;
giving his note to the bank. At:
later period his account was agaii
overdrawn; he then paid it in th<
same manner. A t the end of the yeai
these notes were destroyed and re
placed by ficticious notes.”
Insolvent Many Years.
From this statement by McGreevy,
who was president of the institution,
it is clearly shown that the bank was
insolvent since 1890 at least, as they
were then perpetrating forgery to de
cieve the bank examiner and keep the
institution going. From 1890 to 1901
the state administration was in the
hands of the fusion party and fusion
examiners regularly examined the
institution and pronounced it solvent,
so skillfuly did Hagerty and McGrevey
manipulate forged notes and the
books of the bank.
The blame in this case is clearly not
with the banking law, the fusion
banking board, the republican bank
ing board, the fusion party or the re
publican party, but with the rascally
looters of the bank and their co-con
spirtors and accessories both before
and after the fact.
v aingiorious unanenge.
We next come to the braggadocia,
bombastic, vainglorious eliallange of
counsel for the looters wherein he
says in the Independent article:
“Let them point out where any
fusion official, fusion leaders or fusion
lawyer has got one single cent of the
bank’s money or where any of them
had done a single dishonorable act in
connection with the bank, or in any
respect wherein they had any connec
tion with it.”
The bank was one of the county
depositories in which the county treas
urer had a legal right to deposit a
certain amount of the county money.
The law governing the county treas
urer with reference to depositing
public funds is provided for by Sec.
10870 of Cobbey’s Statute of 1903,
which among other things provides:
“When more than one bank may
have been selected by the county
board for such purpose, he (the county
treasurer) shall not give a preference
to any one or more of them, in the
money he may so deposit, but shall
keep deposited with each of said
banks, such part of said moneys, as
the paid up capital stock of such bank
is a part of the amount of all the paid
up capital stock of all the banks so
selected so that such moneys may at
all times be deposited with said banks
prorata, as to their paid up capital
stock.”
The penalty for the county treas
urer for failure to comply with above
law is provided for by Sec. 10874 of
said statute and is as follows:
“If the county treasurer shall will
fully fail or refuse at any time to do
or perform any act required of him by
this act, he shall be guilty of a mis
| aemeanor and subject to indictment
therefore, and upon conviction thereof
, shall be sentenced to pay a line of not
exceeding $5000: and it shall be the
duty of the county attorney to enter
and prosecute said case.”
Fusion Official’s Disregard of Law.
Notwithstanding the plain provi
sions of this law and repeated requests
from the county board to County
Treasurer Cronin to observe the law
he persistently refused to do so until
he was compelled by mandamus issued
by tlie supreme court on Nov. 16,
1904. M. F. Harrington and County
Attorney Mullen were both attorneys
for Cronin in the case before the su
preme court and contended that
Treasurer Cronin had a right to dis
regard this law. All this time, since
the enactment of the law, Treasurer
Cronin was playing the Elkhorn Val
ley bank as a choice favorite in depos
iting the county funds. On May 1,
1904, when the suit was commenced
against him by the First National
bank of Atkinson and for a long time
prevjoub, Mr. uronin iiacl county funds
in the Elkhorn Valley hank amount
ing to $11,453, where he should have
had under the law not to exceed
$5,218 50. Thus for years by a liberal
use of the county money in this man
ner, in violation of law, this defunct
institution has been kept afloat, and
these are but straws to show fusion
and not republican politics has been a
star actor in this villainous tragedy.
The decision of the supreme court
mandamusing Treasurer Cronin was
issued on Nov. 16, 1904, and then it
was when Mr. Cronin got busy check
ing out the county money which he
and his bondsmen were liable for all
in excess of the legal amount. He
succeeded in getting the amount down
to $4619.50 as shown by the books to
be the amount of the county money
on deposit on Nov. 23,1904—when the
bank closed—and the looters took to
the woods with everything in sight,
including books that would tend to
incriminate themselves and co-con
spirators.
The following named banks were
public depositories and, according to
their statements on file in the county
clerk’s ollice, had on Nov. 23 (the last
day the Elkhorn Valley bank was
open) county funds on deposit as
follows:
First National of O’Neill.$8315 33
O’Neill National. 3088 00
Elkhorn Valley Bank. 4619 56
First National of Atkinson... 2942 15
Atkinson State Bank. 2430 Off
First National of Stuart. 5579 23
Citizens Bank of Stuart. 4539 tiO
Formers Bank of Page. 3774 62
Chambers State Bank. 3226 60
Ewing State Bank. 3242 86
Inman State Bank. 1309 71
' 1M0 -
Total amount on deposit in
all banks Nov. 23.$43067 71
The total paid up capital stock of all
tile above banks is $203,500, of whicli
paid up capital stock the Elk
horn Valley bank had $15,000, and it
would, therefore, be legally;entitled to
have a little more than seven per cent
•r= —i
M. DOWLING. President JAS. F. O'DONNELL. Cashier |
; SURPLUS ® $55,000.00 1
) ——————
! O’NEILL NAT’L BANK
i "-1 " 1 ""
5 Per Cent Paid
| on Time Certificates of Deposit
This Bank carries no indebtedness of Officers or Stockholders
1 -----
of the total deposits, or in other words
Treasurer Cronin could legally have on
deposit in the defunct bank on Nov.
23,the sum of *3143.94, whereas he had
on deposit *4019.50 or *1475.02 more
than the legal amount. The law
makes the county treasurer and his
bondsmen liable for any money de
posited in violation of law. Mr. Cron
in certainly has this excess deposit of
*1475.02 in the defunct institution in
flagrant violation of the law and it is
now up to him to pay this sum for
which he is clearly liable.
So much for the ‘‘fusion ofllcer”;
now for the “fusion leader” and
“fusion lawyer.”
Lime Light on "Fusion Lawyer.”
On November 19, Jim Dohohue, in
the office of M. F. Harrington, drew
up certain notes and mortgages given
by McGrevey in amounts as follows: I
To school district No. 7, of which he
was treasurer, *3,711.
Thecity of O’Neill, of which he was
treasurer, *748.
The First National bank of Sioux
City *2,000.
-Lue .uiair state name *1,
The Ponca Valley bank $1,500.
On the early train Monday morning
Nov. 21, McGreevy started on his
fight to Arizonia via Omaha and was
met in Omaha by Mr. "fusion lawyer.”
The bank was kept open Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 21 to
23, by Hagerty and on Thanksgiving
morning, Nov. 24, he was driven to
Inman and took the 3 o’clock a. m.
train for Sioux City where he was also
met in a room in the Mondamon
hotel by the same Mr.“fusion lawyer”.
The outraged depositers would like to
have “fusion lawyer” tell them, if he
can, where Patrick went from Sioux
City. On the same day—before it was
known to the public—Mr. “fusion
lawyer” had a conference with repre
sentatives of the banks to whom Mc
Greevy had, on Nov. 19, given the
mortgages referred to and then told
at least one of the bankers that the
collatteral notes held by them were
forgeries and requested them to ac
cept the mortgages, given by Mc
Greevy on the eve of his flight, in full
settlement and turn over the collatter
al securities which were forgeries. We
challenge you, Mr. Independent or Mr.
“fusion lawyer,” to deny this if you
dare.
This, of course, was done for the pur
pose of destroying the evidence of
forgery against McGreevy in the event
he should be brought back. With the
evidence of forgery disposed of, the
embezzelment cases disposed of by
getting the city and school district to
accept the mortgages in full settle
ment—which they have tried to do—
and by the proper amount of news
paper advertising that McGreevy was
simply a “hired man” and Ilagerty
was “the whole head push of the
bank” Mr. “fusion lawyer” figured
McGreevy would be in proper shape
for a judicial whitewash, after which
Hagerty may show up and then in
turn McGreevy could stand as the
“head push” and party responsible for
the failure.
Becomes Accessory to Crime.
The criminal statute with reference
to “accessories after the fact” is pro
vided for by Sec. 2050, Cobbey’s sta
tute, which provides:
“An accessory after the fact 4s a
person who, after full knowledge that
a felony has committed, conseals it
from the magistrate, or harbors and
protects the person charged with or
found guilty of the crime. Any per
son found guilty of being an accessory
after the fact, shall be imprisoned in
the jail of the county for any term
not exceeding two years, and lined in
the sum not exceeding 8500, in the
discretion of the court to be regulated
by the circumstances of the case and
tiie enormity of the crime. ” Will the
mercenery mouthpiece of the frenzied
nicompoops read this and then have
the monumental gall to say no dishon
orable act has been done by a “fusion
leader” or “fusion lawyer” ‘i
Now Up to Gang to Do Something.
If Mr. “fusion lawyer,” the Inde
pendent and the gang of gutter
rooters really want to enlighten the
outraged depositers and public in gen
eral and place the hand of justice on
all who are concerned in this rotten
deal let them call a grand jury and
have them make a thorough inves
tigation. They have the entire jud
icial machinery in their hands and we
now and here challenge them to call a
grand jury!
We again apologize to our readers
for having to discuss this bank failure
from a political bearing. No one but
a knave would say that the fusion
party, the republican party or any
political party was in any way to
blame for this robbery. By the viru
lent assults made in the Independent
we have reluctantly thrown down the
bars and are now ready if the gang
wish it, to discuss this affair as
associated with sundry and divers
politicians of this community.
EXPERIMENT STATION
State Institution Issues ItsEighteeth
Annual Report, Which It Wants
the Farmers to See.
The eighteenth annual report of the
Nebraska Experiment Station, just
published, contains some striking re
sults which should interest every
farmer and lead him to send a request
to the Experiment Station at Lincoln
asking for bulletins published at this
this Station. The Station makes the
following statements regarding a few
of the results of experiments carried
on there:
The winter wheat production of the
state has increased ten million bushels
per year, due largely to the work of
the Experiment Station.
Kherson oats, introduced from Rus
sia, by the Station, outyleld the com
mon varities by ten bushels per acre
in central Nebraska. Experiments
with corn to secure better adapted
varities have increased the yield ten
to twenty million bushels, and will
result in still further increase.
Experiments at the Station prove
that land which has been seeded to
alfalfa will grow from ten to twenty
five more bushels per acre than other
lands.
Apple scab has been almost perfect
ly controlled by spraying with bord
eaux mixture. Cedar rust on apple
trees has been controlled with the
same mixture. Straw mulches have
greatly increased the yield of garden
vegetables and improved the quality
of cabbage, tomatoes, beans and cu
cumbers.
Milk fever has been treated with
practically no loss by inflating the
udder of the cow when the first symp
toms of the disease appeared.
Feeding experiments have shown
that alfalfa hay and corn is the most
economical ration for fattening steers.
This ration gave a profit of $8 a head
more than where corn and prairie hay
was used.
Extensive experiment in feeding
alfaifa hay with grain to hogs are now
in progress which show the great
economic value of alfalfa when fed in
connection with a grain ration.
Eighteen thousand hand separators
have been purchased by farmers in the
last six years, and the number of cows
used for dairy purposes have increased
200,000 in this time.
One hundred and fifty farmers’ in
stitutes will be held during the se