The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1861-03-14
THE PLYMOUTH DEMOCRAT
A. c. THOMPSON, :: ;: =: >: Editor
PLYMOUTH, INDIl
PLYMOUTH, INDIANA:
FHU SDAY MORNING, MARCH ID.
HON. PROF. COM. ISAAC N. MORRIS

Many of our readers will recollect that 90 m
two or three weeks since, we wrote an srticle un
der the heading of "a SMALL, cowARpLY TRICK :,
, for the benefit of certain deceitfu individual
wha, while he pretended to be a friend of ours t
our face, was circulating lies about in the YER
meanest manner coneeiv able We intended tha
article for 80 two-fold purpose - first, to shov
him up in his true light before those to whom h
had been retailing his misrepresentation and
secondly, 20 let him know that we did not inten,
to longer be imposed upon by his deoeptions anc
false pretensions of personal friendship ard us
As we anticipated and desired, the old adags tina
ga guilty conscience needs no accuser' was yer
flied in the person Of |. N. Morris, one of til,
Commissioners Of this county, who founded the
inhuman institution called the Poor House O
Marshall County, who came out in the Republica,
of two weeks ago, with an article over his OWL
signature, which, on account Of the honorable 20
sition he occupies, will notice, somewhat in
detail.
After introducing the subject. the Dsn.oer at
and himself, the Prof says:
"First. 1t is without any foundation in truth
that sneaked AROUND the ncghbOrhood STATING
that all the editor of the Democrat had said con
corning the condition of the poor House was
false"
After the above quotation follow several lines
OF Mattihgly's stereoiyped slang, that we do not
design paying any attention to :; in this article, at
least. That Morris has fasified in the foregoinp
statement. we can prove. as he said, when he read
our article which he tOk ts himself, that he had
not told more than "1wo DOZEN persons about
the condition of the pOr house, and consequently,
about what he called lies and msrepresenta-
lions. This remark If his was made about ten
days after he had visited the poor house. and he
bad not told more th;n "TW DOZEN" his
yarn about how we ha6 misre presented his insttu
tion. Oh. how we did wrong the poor, innocent
individual. by saying that he was sneaking around
through the neighbcriood, telling his lies. and
trying to create the impression that the poor house
was then as it was whei visited it, and previous
to that time. Poor, abused tattler, we feel that
we fell far short of doing on justice, as your
smallness exceeded. by far, expectations. The
n"'' reasonable calculation that we make, is,
that ne told his string Of misrepresentation to at
ieast y-eght persons he scarcely ever comes
nearer doing the fair thing" than telling ons-
'aJ the truth, in case of controversy
NJ the close OF the first paragraph, the vera
cious " Professor l4e- AI--."s,y.- ----> .sys
AS | intend this statement to answer two fold
purpose; first, report of the condition of the
poor house and inmates, and, secondly, an answer
to the editor OF the Democrat and his licksplttles
! shall first give description of the house and
inmates i as four them, and secondly, their con
dltion when visited by the editor Of the Demo
crat"
After this. he goes to describe the institution
as it was when he visited il, which, for the sake of
the inmates, we hope may be so, as its condition as
described by him is very different from what it was
when we saw it. In speaking of the wearing ap-
parel and bed-clothing, he says that they were
passabLg clean" This would depend entirely
on who the judge was, we suppose If they had
not been "taken through course of soapsuds :"
after We saw them, we do nos want the Professor
to ever judge for US as to what is "passably
clean"
AS he and few Of his Republican friends have
so often said that we had stated falsely concern
ing the poor and the poor house, we will give his
statement of it, as he got it from the poor, af
ficted helpless and dependent inmates, and the
keeper. 1t will be seen that he admits almost ev-
erything We ever said about it, to be true
"I will now give a brief description of the
house and its inmates as near as | could ascertain
when visited by the editor. The house was in
an unfinished condition ; had but one stove in it ,
workmen were ceiling the rooms two or three of
the inmates were slightly indisposed; of course,
as natural RESULT in such state of affairs, every
thing was more or less in confusion. That the
inmates did suffer some iii consequence of the
unfinished condition of the building may be true
The Irish girl described by the editor, had the
dropsy, and her feet were swollen to such a de-
gree that she could wear neither shoes nor stock
ings ; she had at the time two pair of shoes, IAN
old pair and large pair of new ones purchased with
reference to tho condition of her feet,) also, two
pair of stockings. She had 50 far recovered as to
be able to walk to Plymouth the Saturday previous
to my visiting the institution"
Mark the points in the foregoing, and after ia
king no consideration the source from which he
obtained his information-the inmates and the
keepsr-and, that 1t was pruned and added to by
Mattngly, and then judge for yourselves, citizens
of Marshall county, how much we exaggerated
the case. We recapitulate
1.-THE HOUSE WAS IN AN UNFINISHED
CONDITIONS"
chad BUT ONE STOVE IN ITr,
"WORKMEN WERE CEILING THE
ROOMS ~
1.-TWO OR THREE OF THE INMATES
WERE SLIGHTLY INDISPOSED
"Of course, as natural resalt in such n state
Of Affairs, EVERYTHING WAS MORE OR LESS IN con-
FUSION ~
"TEAT THE INMATES DID SUFFER SOME IN CON
SEQUENCE OF rHE UNFINISHED CONDITION OF THE
BUILDING. MAY BE TRUEr'
SO far as the Irish girl is concerned, ve only
have to say now that described her lust as we
her, and that she told us, with the tears run
ming down her checks, that she could get nothing
she wanted and that if size ever got out of there,
she would never go back again. unless she was
forced to. She had not her person one half the
clothing she should have had. and what she did
have. was far from being "passabiy clean" We
are rejoioed to know that she is getting so much
better; and although she, nor any one else con-
nected with the institutions may not feel grateful
to for 1T, yet We have the satisfaction of firmly
believing that We have been instrumental in aiv.
ing, not only her, but all the inmates Of the poor
bouse much relief and cop,rort a,1