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FORMER STATE TREASURER! ADMITS $70,000 THEFT|lt;CuDllnued From I'liRn Oiip.)dirftttatnsou of it.s disposition anil had \ been met wllU the remark: *‘I am at- I -i'a I tending to that. She also remembered \ ■nV | the 510.G28.Ii-t Inheritance deposit blit had not had It under her personal observation. Suspicion against Mr. Christiansen became stronger Lho Investigation progressed.It iviui up or* ImrJiInr of tho Investf-^Ktloii and of Clio Husplcion tJint n friend sent the word to 2tlr, Clir/fftlan-sen «t Chaffey, 2s’ev. “ jtho Inif I la111noliltbonoescte.ior-Chrhtlnturn Jln/tlnn* Unmr. |In roapotiac to tho telegram. Sir, I Christiansen cnmo at onco to Salt Baku. I Ho was first scon by two oloso friends, f To them he confessed- But or StatoJ Treasurer Mattson and othor sUtto of- f fJclrtls were called In, and to them Mr. Christianson further admitted the I shortage- »So far as was given out, the , details of tho oon Tension wcro meager. J The shortage had been going on for ■ more than a year, tho date or the pay-j meat of tho Kimball inheritance tax, I — S1G.G2S. Q t, being Slay 28, 1308. I rMost of the money taken had been i ft nvcstcd af VlrgJnlu City, Nav*, lit mln-. lug property In which Mr. Christianson f was interested with uV J. Weber, Jlonry . and George Hays and others, Of the amount, $10,000 had been used to pay iwo $5,000 notes taken out by tho men named as directors of the Virginia City Mining company. Ono note had been taken out at the Stuto Dank of Utah and another at tho bank of XV. S. Me- i Cornicle Co. Both nates had been ) paid by Mr. Christiansen from state! funds.Though the state treasurer's books had been examined by the board of examiners .several times, Cfto crush on . hand hud been found to balance. From I statements made of tho confession. It i was learned that the state treasurer | had succeeded In Juggling checks on | batiks out of Salt Bako In such a man- I nef that ids books balanced. jTho $60,000 received from County Treasurer John A. Gr.ocsbeck waa not converted to his private use but simply to balance tho shortage that hnd boon taken In tho lrast. With tho $60,000 appearing to his credit his books apparently balanced.Tho $10,lt;32S.34 was received by Mr. I Christianson from tho *oxecutor of the I JuJJu A. Kimball estate as payment of! tho Inheritance tax due tho state. The executor was given u receipt which he deposited with the county treasurer 1 as part of th« final settlement of the 1 estate. The amount bo received by thb ! stftto treasurer had bcou credited In no] other manner despite the fact that tho ! state auditor's books should contain i the entry, |Mr. Christiansen as state treasurer . was under a. $35(1,01*0 bond. Ah sijretles 1 waro .T. C. ByuCh, Frank Knox, Gus 1 Holmes j W. S, McCorniek. C, H. Bur- , top, Joseph F. Smith, C. XV. Xlblfry and j S. A. Whitney. The National Bank I of tho Republic, Utah State Bank niul W. .S, McCornlck Co. wuro also ln-tereHtcd as sureties, IFollowing tho confession of Mr. Christiansen a mooting uf tho bondsmen was called. At'tho meeting it was j decided to make up tho shortage at 1 once and hold It to ordar of the state. M Bast night It was announced that the i full shortage amount was ready to pay to tho state. Aside from the contributions of lho bondsmen the friends of Mr. Christiansen helped largely to make up tho deficit. Among the largest subscribers were Mrs. J a inert 31. ; Votersun of Richfield, chief owner of the Fctarson Bank of Richfield of which Mr, Christianson was cashier before elected to the office of state treasurer. Henry Hays and otbop* Interested with Mr. Christianson In Nevada t mining deals also aided In making up j tho utiiuunL Mr. Christiansen's por- ; uoiiul property was hIbo taken.James Christiansen wuw born In Utah.! has a wife and throe children living at ) Richfield. lie wan helrl as an able j young business man mnl one of tho l best bunkura In ihu slate. tVUh a j btatc-wldo acquaintance and possessor) of many friends and business nsso- ■ elates, tho nows of his defalcation will | corno us ono of thu most mioxpectct! blows..Sheriff Joseph C„ Sharp said early this morning that he know nothing about any $70,000 dofaull on thu part of James C, Christiansen. Mr. Sharp further stated that ho knew nothing of the case officially, ami ho far as ho knew no warrant had boon issued for thu former stale treasurer, and no ono connected witli tho sheriff’s office had mudp any arrest In the case.The former treasurer spent tho night in room 257 at the Culloti hotel, Tho night clerk of tho hotel was under epe-alal und Jlbflnlto instructions to allow no communication with room 257, and although tho clerk stated that tho occupant was out, he refused to put up any telephone connection with the room or to allow inquirers to call for Mr. ChriatJanirca*
Newspaper Details
Salt Lake City InterMountain Republican
Salt Lake City, Utah, US
Fri, Mar 12, 1909
Page 4
Full Page
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Utah, USA 04 Apr 2025
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