The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-08-29


ers saw butchered and thrown to the hogs
Door old cows, many of them big with
calves weighing from 40 to 100 pounds, all
lost weight.
Our contract calls for native cattle, corn
fed, weighing at least 700 pounds, and all
to be good butchers stock" This, sir,
is the kind of meat the men are and have
been eating, and in thus trying to discharge
our duty in protecting the prison from
what appears prima .Jacie fraud, we are
dismissed from Office disgracefully, and the
very men whose negligence, if not fraud,
we have been trying to protect the prison
against promoted to fill our places.
believe, sir, that a people with any
sense Of justice will not Justify or indorse
your action.
HOW THE WARDEN OBEYED ORDERS.
You are aware that in this case it took
all the executive power you have been able
to exercise over him (which for some rea-
son known to you and him, fear, has al
ways been smalD together with all the
power of the Board, for more than q full
month, to make your pet Warden obey
that order. Under your profound inter
probation of the law in the case, that the
Board could make no order affecting dis
cipline without your approval, he construed
all orders to come under that rule, and OF
course would obey none till he saw you,
thus putting us at deadlock: and for
some reason which has always been mys-
terry to the Board, you would generally do
as your ''pet" desired.
Poor souls, we never dreamed that in
such efforts we were neglecting our duty ;
but, looking back now, / frankly ac-
knowledge that judging from the reluc
lance you manifested in coming to our sup
port when trying to protect the prison.
that it looks as if you thought we were
working against your interest at least. BY
your theory, | suppose you thought us
negligent Of duty when we tried to enforce
the order on the Warden (youI pet) to
floor the solitary, or the cells Of punish
ment, after he had sworn like a sailor he
would not obey the order and he did not
until he brought you to the prison, and af-
ter twenty-four hours of discussion you
very cautiously decided 'he had better
floor the cells according to the order, and
still in the face of your advice and the per-
cmptory order of the Board he has to this
day refused to do it, yet you pat him on
the back and fatter his ignorance while
you seek to disgrace men who do their
duty.
1t is here in these cells where men un
der punishment have to stand chained to
ring bolts in the wall-often all day and
night, when the mercury sinks as low as
zero, This paragon of wisdom and lying
Indian maintained in your presence that
this flooring would ruin the discipline Of
the prison, and if it took all the power Of
your great soul to resist his fascinating
logic, and decide that you hardly thought
that giving chained convict pine floor
instead of stone floor to stand on all
night when the mercury was at zero would
entirely ruin discipline in well-regulated
prison.
1t was Just so in relation to the order
raising Mr.. Murry's salary So per month.
He told the President of the Board with
an oath, that ''he never would object, 'and
shook his fist in his face, telling him, "We
shall soon see who is Who And in this
case as usual, you were called in, and
again, with much mastery inactivity and
vast gubernatural wisdom you decided he
obeyed about two months after it was
made Thus IN every case of bis insolent
disobedence you either stood by him, to
the modification of the Board, or in some
half opposing manner coaxcd him to pre-
tend to obey the order at least.
! After enduring
HIS RECKLESS EXTRAVAGANCE
in the purchase Of costly stoves, carpets,
furniture, warm canned fruits and pre-
serves, and in one instance 5000 piano.
with the State money, without in any in
stance consulting the Board, until we felt
outraged, we made an order checking his
reckless career, and required him to lay
before the Board inventories of such arti-
clcs, before purchasing them for their APP
prevail This order threw him into vio-
lent rage; he swore he would not obey it,
and again appealed to your Excelency
and, as you had generally done before, you
came to his relief after knowing these
facts, and directed us not to annoy him, or
''reflect" upon him with such an order, and
thus the Board ate another late of Execu
tive dirt.
In this have no doubt your Excelency
feels we neglected our duty" for | sup
pose we were in the way of your interests.
AS every man of sense about the prison
will tell you, this pet" of yours removed
the Deputy Warden, very much to the in
Jury of the institution, charging him with
cruelty and murder in your presence, sup |
ported by affldavits he had taken of one
Dunning, obtained as Dunning now says
under oath, by threats and intimidation
see affidavit on file in Commissioners
Office
This Is the sort of man to whom you
have linked your
GUBERNATOB DESTINY.
A ranting, belligerent, puguacious profane
man, who cannot restrain his profanity
before even the convicts and employees.
Such a man for Warden! Who ever heard
Of such view on the part of an Executive.
to any knowledge whatever of
prison matters2 When he was making
hese charges against the Deputy, he then
lad IN his Office written request from
APT. Hall to permit him to take down the
ing bolts in the solitary, which he treated
With an insult, asking Hall if he had been
getting some of the d-n fool notions of
he Commissioners Into his head, and
old him never to mention il to him again
afterwards COMES before you, worked into
frenzy OF flight lest Hall will kill some
BODY, and at once YOU unite with him to
get HAL out; and so you permitted this
indian military hero of yours, most won
Iertul stickler for subordination and obedi-
nee, to overstep the Board of Commits
toner's, aud, in conjunction with YOURSELF
emove the Deputy without ever limiting a !
ord of it to the Board As general Lo-
an suggested, believe your course in
'adying to him from the very start, pledg-
ig yourself to stand by him, has encour
ged his reckless, temper, and insubordina
on. Touching this question of cruelty, ,
which the public are deeply interested.