Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-09-02
THE "ALTA" AND THE PRISON coMMIs-
sIoNERS' REPORT.

with the prison administration entertains
this view of it. The Alta pretends that
the Wardens have been exculpated at the
expense of the Directors. 1t is somewhat
difficult to follow cur contemporary
reasoning, for it contradicts itself repeal
edly. Thus it declares that the Directors
have been made "seapegoats," and then it
admits that all the charges preferred
against those officers are no doubt true,
and that they ought to CO." 1t seems
from this that the Alta does not think the
Directors have been made scapegoats,
after all. What it does appear to think is
that the report did not bear heavily enough
upoa the Wardens. or rather upon Warden
! Ames, for it is evident that he is the real
object of this attack. Now if this kind of
assertion means anything it means that the
Attn proposes to sit in judgment upon the
methods employed by the Commission to
elicit the truth and in that case we shall
except both to the jurisdiction and the
competency of the Court.
If our contemporary had taken the trou
BILE to inform itself concerning the laws
which control Tor should controD the
prison administration of this State, it
would have understood that the final re-
sponsibility for the laches of the Wardens
rests upon the Directors. It is made their
duty to visit and inspect the State Prisons
every month, and it is their duty to give
instructions to the Wardens, and to see
that they are performing their functions
properly. Il is, therefore, Impossible to
hold the Wardens accountable for derelic-
tons which never could have been com
mitted had the Directors done their duty,
and for the same reason the Directors and
not the Wardens must be held responsible
for the general management of the prisons.
Our esteemed contemporary further al
l,ges that in the recent investigation
livery ugly facts did crop CUT" and
that they have been CLOSED over" in
the report We characterize that state
ment as untrue and we call upon the Alta
to adduce whatever evidence it has in
support of its position. The value of the
evidence brought forward at the investi-
cation was necessarily determined by the
Commissioners. In several cases statements
were made to them informally which the
parties making them refused to swear to
when put on the witness stand.
The Commissioners had no power to COM
pei refractory witnesses to testify. They
were obliged to take such testimony as
was volunteered. They could not act
upon loose informal reports such as we
have just referred to. They were bound
to conine themselves to the evidence
which was given under oath, and what.
ever facts were brought to light in that
way have been fully represented in the re-
port, and in no single instance has any
important authenticated charge been
CLOSED over" If the Ada thinks it
can prove the contrary, letit try.
But the most serious statement made by
our esteemed contemporary remains to ba
noticed. 1t asserts, with all the emphasis
italics can give, that the Directors "wU
" not be remoued, unless they consent to
g it. F" 1t also asserts that the Directors
began by acting on an official hint to
appoint unworthy men" Now these
statements are either true, in which case
they constitute grave charges against Gov
ernor Perkins or they are false, in which
case the Journal making them has been
! guilty Of lying and slandering. They are
altogether too serious statements to be
passed over, and therefore we call upon
the Alta to come forward with its proof,
/ if it has any, or prepare to receive the con-
domination due to allegations which, If not
true, are infamous. The Aha in effect
asserts that the Governor dare not remove
the present Board of State Prison Directors,
and that they cannot be removed save
with their own consent. It further alleges
that the Governor gave the Directors ian
q official hint" to appoint unworthy
linen" It is to be presumed that no
journal having any regard to its own
reputation would make such charges
as these without having some facts to
support them with, but no journal has
right to expect that such charges will be
believed in the absence of the most posi-
tive con6rmatory evidence. Before it goes
any farther the Alta is in honor bound to
give the facts upon which it based these
serious accusations. We are aware that
disappointed Office. seekers often make very
/ wild and loose statements, but the TIA is
not a disappointed ofiicer.seeker, though
we confess to some surprise at its implica-
tioa that if the Governor had appointed
somebody else for Warden at San Quentin
he would not have helped to put I'M
worthy men -" in Office. Who are the
unimpeachable candidates who did not get
the position ? When the matter was pend.
ing we remember very distinctly that the
objection of unftnsss rested equally against
all the persons from this State who were
named
Bat 10 ever this may be, the Alta can
not be allowed to libel the Governor. It
Is dishonest and shameful to prefer false
charges against any man, and we are sure
that the Governor himself is as anxious as
we are that this matter should be cleared
up. TheAHa says that ne dare not remove
the present Directors of the State Prison.
It should have said either more or lees than
this. The Prison Commissioners have
shown, as the 14ha admits, that the Direct
ors ought to removed. No man who reads
their report can doubt this for moment.
But cur esteemed contemporary SCOTS at
the idea that the Governor will do justice
upon these derel:ct officials, and boldly de.
clares that it it is not in mis- power to remove
them, without their own consent. This
demands full explanation, though If the
Alta has no better justification for its
li5elous assertion concerning the Governor
than it had for the declaration that the
Prison Commissioners had made white.
Washing renort we shall expect little or