The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-03-26
POKING FUN
AT OEE OF OHIOs ELIPHANTINE
INSTITUTIONS.
State Tobacco Warehouse At BeIIaIre 10
be offered for saIe-A Correspondent
Becomes FaceIIous over IIs His.
tOFy-IIS Origin, Career and
Extent OF It's USeGuIneSs.


Smart Special to tho Cincinnati Enquirer,
COLUMBUS, ONO, March 24-There is {
! bill mo. 724) pending in the House pro
yiding for the sale Of tho so.called State
Tobacco Warehouse at Bellaire, Ohio
This magnificent fraud was one Of the
most idiotic schemes ever devised by ar
imbecile Legislature to plunder the State
Treasury. It's history from beginning to
end-successiv chapters Of ignorance, du'
plicity, fraud and failure.
In 1874 a good.natured cuss found his
way into the Legislature as the Represent.
alive OF old Monroe, Somebody persuaded
him that he could immortaliZe himself
by getting a bill through TO build
a tobacco warehouse, and provide
for the State inspection OF Ohio
tobacco. There are about five thousand
hogsheads OF tobacco raised In Monroe,
Morgan, Guernsey, Noble and other Coun-
ties In southeastern Ohio. This tobacco
finds market al Baltimore, and most Of
It goes to France, where II Is used In the
Governments factories. The tobacco is
bought and sold under the rules and regu.
lations Of the Baltimore market. 1t was
urged OF the time that II the great seal OF
Ohio were put on the filthy weed 1t would
enhance Its value, 1t was objected that
all the laws Ohio could enact could not
compel change In the rules OF the
Baltimore tobacco market. The Sixty.
frat General Assembly being Democratic,
the bill failed. But Watson turned up in
the next General Assembly and breAthed
new life into his tobacco warehouse pro.
iect. This Legislature was Republican,
and Watson's bill became law May 7,
1877. 1t authorized the appointment OF
three commissioners to locate q warehouse
at either Bsllaire or Marietta, the building
end site not to cost more than Sl0,000i
The three graCes named to transact this
business were Isaac Morton, Isaac Wise.
ner and U. A. Hare. They went down
to Bellaire (thanks to the B. & o.
Railroad people,, and bought goose.
pond In the edge OF the villpge, paying
81 900 for q little dobe of earth to erect the
building on. The location Of the building
was Job No. l. The purchase OF the site
was Job No. 2. A sallow, country lawyer
at st. Clairsvile, named W. 4. Kennon,
was employed 10 perfect the title oil the
State to its valuable piece OF earth. Ken.
non only charged, II Is said, 5000 for his
gigantic labors-job No. 3. It's original
$l0 900 had begun to dwindIe. Two OF
the Commissioners, Hare and Wisener,
charged $500 80 for their weeks
work. Job No. 4, 5000 81 was paid
for q plan Of wood shed, to
be called tobacco warehouse. Job No. s,
The able Commissioners then made con.
tract with party In Wheeling to build
building worth Sl3,7Ol when there was
only about 81 900 Of the original $4,000
left after tll the pets Of the ring had got
pinch. The contractor said he would
take the risk OF getting his money from
the Legislature, and every body, from
WIS. Kennon down, agreed to help him
In his raid on the Treasury. The jobs
have now got go thick that l can not mum.
Der them.
In 1877 Tom Young was Governor, and
he did not hesitate to denounce certain
parties as rasCals. When the Legislature
convened he laid the facts before that
august body This was sort Of fool.
kilor's Legislature, something like the
present one. Each successive Legislature
aims to sink lowerin worthineSs than its
predecessors. Among the members OF
the Sixty.third was Ross Jumpup Alexan.
der the Little, from Belmont. Ross seemed
to think he was chosen to represent the
tobacco warehouse In the Legislature.
BY trading of bis vote for Senator he SO.
cured the Chairmanship OF the
Finance Committee. Ross didn't
know anything about the finances OF
Ohio, but he was q gifted child, and soon
succeeded In aCcumulating miraculous
amount OF misiniormation about the al.
fairs Of the State. But tho tobacco ware.
house was his hobby. He dreamed OF II
by night and talked Of II by day. He
drew vivid pictures OF the usefulness to
Southeastern Ohio Of this creation oi
Watson. In his minds eye he saw thou.
sands ot hogsheads OF tobacco rolling over
hill and dale and focking for inspection
TO the Capacious warehouse OF the State at
Bellaire. Reed, OF Ross, denounced the
scheme as q fraud, and wanted TO Rell Ii,
and the Enquirer tried TO convince the
Legislature that 1t was folly TO waste the
peoples money on the project. Bus the
voice Of Alexander, like the voice Of Mr..
Balaam's mule, prevailed. Members
were paralyzed by Alexander and the
| lUUUyk huu SoIVOV Hdb thhGu uub vi
the State Treasury. The house was com.
pleted, and an Inspector was appointed,
and he went down and waited for the
1obaCco to roll in, but II didn't roll that
way. Then the law was amended 80 as
increase his fees, and he went wander.
ing over the hills as drummer
for the great State OF Ohio, which was
aching 10 inspect tobacco, but the tobacco
went away without the great seal Of the
State upon II, and In two wears there were
Just twenty.Bix hogsheads oltobscCo rolled
into the State Warehouse, and three rolled
out again. The Inspector resigned ST.
lence reigned In the States big $4,000
housed The little boys threw stones at the
windows, the grass grew on the door.sills,
the bats and swallows found shelter under
the caves, and the tobacco warehouse stood
a happy monument 10 the ignorance and
imbecllitv of lie proJeotorsl
doNE uPI
Sacred 10 The memory