The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-09-04
SENTINEL COMMISSIONERS A
FRANKLIN
An Interview With Judge WOOIlen, the
Democratic Candidate for Attorney
General-Whst He Has to Say About
the Journals Article Attacking the
GWOOlIen Family. Etc.

| tnt SOuEmhk AEAtCAC AtAaCnA.S enO
"woollen Family" Etc.
FRANKLIN, Aug. 27.-Having little leis-
ure at my command to-day while IN this
little city of Franklin, it struck me that l
would improve the time by writing a letter
for the Sentinel. .--..-
There are many localities in our state
which will bear writing about and Drank
I'm is not the least one of them. Her citi
zens, find, are of the opinion that if their
city is not very large it is at least very beau
tiful, and, really, stranger can not we'll
help sharing in the same opinion Were it
not for the wretched, ragged, unkempt APP
pearance of the public square and part of
Its surroundings even could praise Frank
lin for its beauty. But that public SQUARED
Oh, Lord, how long can any people be
brought to bear so monstrous thing? Let
us wait and see.
But laying all Jokes aside. while the pub
lie authorities have neglected the square
the people have been quite busy in planting
shade trees and now, with the clean streets,
the grass and shade Franklin is place of
more than average beauty. @
AAlCA bAdho1ObAA5 bAC oPOStoA OuSAhOcS Va
my visit hunted up the law office of Judge
Woollen, the democratic candidate for at
torney general, and spent an hour or so in
the judges company. Like many another,
had read the Franklin article published In
the Journal on the 3dinst. and do you know,
there is nothing L like so well as to call on
the boys Just after they have been punched
up2 We'll, 1 found the Judge sitting in his
back office surrounded by his books looking
| for all the world like he did not care whether
school kept or not He was smoking his
after dinner cigar, and the manner in which
he raised his eyes to the ceiling warranted
ME in planting myself down for good long
talk Besides he is a candidate and if a
candidate, and especially democratic can
| didate, has any rights which any sovereign
voters ought to respect / am sure that do
not know what they are.
Thank you, said l to the judge as he
pulled his last cigar out of his watch fob and
handed 1T to me; and it was not long after
that until began to feel my way to the pith
of the Journal article
81 see said L, that the republicans seem
disposed to wage a sort of personal fight this
year"
J. W.-Yes; such seems to be their tactics
Have you seen the article in the Journal
of the 23d of this month?
]. W.-O yes; my friends met me with ii
on the street the same morning, and half a
dozen insisted on reading it to me.
Well what do you think of 1t, anyhow?
J. W.-Thlnk? land here the judge pulled
out great cloud of smoke and looked long
and steadily at the ceiling) Think? Well,
to tell you the truth, Pm afraid do not ex-
actly see the point to the charge. If I'M
derstand it it is this: That as county attorney
permitted frauds on the treasury of John.
son county without any effort on my part to
prevent them.
How was that?
]. WHY, that the county auditors, in
their official capacity, did several things not
warranted by law, SUCH as issuing orders on
the treasury illegally and wbacking Il be-
lieve it is sometimes called) with the con-
tractors for public work. and other things OF
like character. i was county attorney, and
the Journal now says it is fair to presume 1
knew all about these rasCalities, and that
took no steps to prevent them.
When was your name first mentioned in
connection with county troubles?
J. W.-Never until since became candi-
date. have for q great many years been
county attorney, sometimes alone and some
times with associates During the greater
part of the time mentioned In the Journals
article think 1t is probable have been the
I
was or not, have for the twenty-five years
that / have lived here in Franklin been
very intimately acquainted with county af-
fairs. When came to the county in 1856
there was no system of book keeping in
4 either the treasurer or auditors Offices and
it was by my advice and by my assistance
that the accounts were opened on a basis
that showed in business form the transac-
tons of the county, so far as her finances
were concerned. | have known all the
auditors and treasurers who have filed these
offices in this county for the last 20 years
including John Herriott, the father of the
present candidate for state treasurer on the
republican ticket, and Mr.. Elijah Banta,
both of whom were republicans, and / do
not hesitate to say that all these officers dur
ing that time were honorable men, incapable
of fraud or official dishonesty in the man.
agement of their respective offices. There
never was but one specific charge made
against any one of them, as i now remem-
Der, and that was against Mr.. Barnett in
1874. when he was candidate for clerk.
Then it was said that he had raised county
order from 800 TO $3.50, and, as Mr.. Bar
netts attorney, l brought salt for libel
against the editor of the republican paper in
this county, in which paper the charge was
published, and prosecuted the case until the
editor signed retraction, in which he stated
that the charge was untrue.
police that the Journal article makes a
thrust at the Woollen family. Why is that?
j. W.-Because am a candidate, | sup
pose. / am willing to submit the record of
the Woollen family in Johnson county to
the judgment of fair and impartial public,
and stand or fall by the verdict. AS for my
self, do not believe there is fair minded
henest man in the county, of any politics,
who believes that | was ever guilty, either
by an act of omission or of commission, of
any fraudulent act or practices in any Off
cial connection with Johnson county. Being
a candidate, and asking the votes of the PEG.
pie, they have right to know all about me;
and all ask of those who undertake to give
information is, that they deal fairly by me-
So far, no man has ever thought of charging
me with participating in or being benefited
by any fraudulent act of omission or COM
mission of any county officer. That is not
the charge; but it is. that / did not interfere
as county attorney and prohibit the. county
officials from stealing. Why, the editor of
the republican paper OF this county is now
charging that the sheriff is not doing his
duty IN the matter of advertising sales on
execution, and is endeavoring to preju-
dice the public against me on account of it.