The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-09-03

FHURSDA Y MI ORNING,
Tn. ALMsHotuu IEyEsTfa IT1oas-Tas TEs.l
fTTAoNg CoNuLUDED-Ev EvftENcE FoR THE DE-
PENCE The investigation into the charges
made by Mrs. Poore, late niatron at the City
IAfmshorse against Captain Charles z. Big
ger, general superintendent OF that institu-
ton, was continued yesterday morning at IL
O'clock. b CT 1 ..s;s ;.6 ]
& The following are the charges preferred
against Captain Bigger, which were read to
several of the witnesses when they were ex-
!, Charge e Conduct unbecoming a gen.
tleman. ~ "a 5E.
SPECIFICATIONS ST.. Treating Mrs. Poore for
two years Ia q manner unbecoming gen.
itieman crueI and vindictiYe In department
and harsh and Insulting In language.
D1pifcity. Assuring Mrs. Pooret that
Ishe would be reelected rnntron, and that he
would make no opposition thereto, whereas
\ be did oppose her election. 80 s7'ist
8. Intercepting and reading q letter adj
dressed to Mrs. Po0re., "
T Charge III. ,Conduct Sunbecon,ing an off,,
lcer. 's{1ssS t e ~ s.s5t y. ].
/ iSpectfc atsons-1.I Purchasing alnishouse
supplies from members Of the Committee for
the Relief OF the Poor. 30 e. tT.s,;.Frii2ss.l
l /" 2. Supplying almshouse with impure
smilk-utterly unfit f1r food even for grown
persons, causing the death of several infants.
-3 8. Refusing one night to send milk to q
sick infant for whom Mrs. Poore requested
.it.' b 2f IS lisa til &.
is proper to state that the specification
of purchasing almshouse supplies from mem.
bers Of the Council Committee for the Re-
lief of the Poor was withdrawn by Mr..
IMagruder and Mrs. Poore on Tuesday morn
ing. i
Mr.. Charles P. Bigger, being examined by
Mr.. Kelley, stated briefly in regard to the
first charge and specification that they were
totally false.
Mr.. Bigger also offered his letter. book,
which contained several letters to Mrs.
POore, as evidence of his courteous and re-
spectful conduct to her on all occasions. He
remembered no conversation in which he
told Mrs. Poore that his only objection to
her was that she was woman. a2
Mr. Bigger also stated that be had never
been in the habit of sending women to the
late matron to attend to the milk, &C.; that
Mrs. Poore bad always selected them. In re-
gard to the improper character referred to,
he (Mr. Bigger said that he had found that
the woman was an improper person; that
Mrs. Poore had employed her; that as soon
as he Bigger found her out he told Mrs.
Poore, and he believes that she sent lthe
woman away. He was satisfied that Mrs.
Poore had sent for her herself
AS to the charge that Bigger threatened to
take her duties and compensation from her
during her sickness he offered the following
letter, and stated that he had no authority to
stop her pay or that of any other employee:
MI u "MARcH 16, 1874. 81
thereafter the superintendent or steward
will perform the duties Of the matron $50 far
as possible) during her absence.
",The physician will forward diet list to
this Office. -
"Wi;h the sincere wish for your speedy
recovery, / am, madam, very respectfully,
q (signed,) ;,
&C. P. BIGGER, Superintendent"
During Mrs. Poore's sickness he went
to the kitchen at meal-times, and OCCASION
ally found different ladies. performing Mrs.
Poore's duties. He never objected to her
daughters acting for her. On the day on
which this letter was written he found Miss
HaWes Sutton performing the duties OF
matron. He Bigger thought it would oe bet.
ter to have some one connected with the IN
stitution TO do these duties, and therefore he
wrote the above letter.
Mrs. Poore requested Mr.. Bigger to come
and see her after she received the letter.
He found Drs. Hankins, Tatunl, and Mr..
Deane in her room. She asked If anything
was going wrong. He told her no; that he
Bigger would attend to her duties for her.
MIR. Deaue came to him afterwards and said
that Mrs. z. seemed TO he much troubled by
what he had said, and that she meant TO
get up and attend to her duties herself. He
sent her word by Mr.. Deape that be would
let things 60 on as they had been-meaning
that he would let her daughter continue to
do her duties. She doubted his authority TO
designate anybody else to act in her stead
while she was sick, and the doctors seemed
to sustain her. -t:.i iE1.i
On the 9th of April Mrs. Poore commune
Gated with the Committee for the Relief OF
the Poor, of which Mr.. Chesterman was
then chairman. In this letter Mrs. Poore
requested to be allowed to appoint matron
while she was sick.< This letter was discus
sed at length and fnaily tabled. Mr.. Ches-
terman was directed toreply to it, which he
did as follows:
l.:o .RIcHXoND, April Z.
:. g Mrs. j. B. Poore, Mafron City Aims
house lam directed by the committee to
inform you that the management of the
Almshouse is directly under the control
of the superintendent, and bic is responsible
to the committee for the proper discharge OF
the duties deV0lging upon every ofhcef ana
employe The committee see nothing wrong
10 the action of the superintendent IN taking
charge of your department. during your SICK
ness, as it relieved youentirely OF all respon-
sibiIltp, and at the same time e,paced him ina
position to see that the duties Of the office
we're properly discharged. while you were
unable TO perform them. The action of the
superintendent is therefore approved.
n " Trusting that official relations existing
between Yourself and the superintendent
NAV be pleasant, am, very respectfully,
llSipned1 a. D. CHEsTERMAN."
In regard TO tlie charge of duplicity the
Superintendent said that be had only on one
occasion led Mrs. Poore to believe that ne
would support her. BE remembered that
Mrs. PboTe came to the superintendent and
asked him TO postpone the removal or the
lbosnital store-room until after the elcctlon.
I'e asked her why she wanted 1t postponed.
EMrs. Lsoofe replied that she didn't Know
whether she would be reelected. Captaln
Bigger said, ,"Ob, reckon you'll come out
ali right Tile removal was postponed,
and this conversation occurred before Cap
| tain Big2crW was reelected. 's't.nst,-'
1nreeard tointercepting and reading let''
| fer addressed to Mrs. Poore the superintend,
ent said that it was memoranda, properly Jon
slips of paper, on which the whole MANAGE
ment oftbe Almshouse was abused, which Re
(Bigger) found on the floor Of the dispensary.
Whom ii was written BY disappointment
could not saw. but he always believed 1t was