River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-05-25
WASHINGTON.

bufrill- n Shameless EdAT anu a
suffering WIFE, Blaine for Congress-,
ditto ConIxl.ng The Woman suf-
frage Amusement of the staid SEN
ators-An Ohio Man that is not
Hopeful. and Various Washington
Notes.
Howgate and Nellie BurriII-
WASHINGTON WILLINGNESS To PROTECT
THEM.
WASHINGTON, May 20.-The How
gate mystery remains as great a mys-
terry as it ever was. There is some
thing demoralizing in the Washington
atmosphere that creates public senti-
ment for man of the character of
Captain Howgate. / don't know what
it is, but it reminds me of the NAV
kish sentimentality that attaches To
great criminals like Jesse James, Quit
eau. Chastine Cox and others of pecul-
lar crimes. You will remember when
Major Hodge, the Paymaster who
robbed the Government of half mil
lion, was tried by Court-martial and
imprisoned in cosy library at Fort
McHenry. He had about the same
sort of people after him here. Hodge
was soon pardoned out and returned to
Washington to be once more surround
ed nv the same circle of society that
worshiped pleasure with him before he
became a nominal convict. He was
scarcely freed from this solitary con-
finement and champagne of the Fort
McHenry library before he was given
responsible financial trust from the
Washington City Government. The
case of Howgate, so far as the public
sympathy is concerned, is more extra
ordinary still. / do not doubt but
Howgate, would have been pardoned
out before he had served two years
had he remained and stood trial.
He stole only about one third as much
as Hodge, but he was good deal worse
in other respects, and thus have stood
quite as good a show fol executive
clemency. / believe / was the first
newspaper man to drag Howgate into
public light through the Times, and |
am supposed to be suffering the pangs
of remose in consequence. Indeed,
when l hear ON every hand:
"pm glad he's got away, "Hope
they wouldn't catch him. etc. i am
not certain that / did the correct thing.
For all this sympathy | can only ac-
count by the fact that Howgate spent
a good deal of money he stole from
the government upon class OF people
who make public opinion. He kept a
yacht and a mistress, and enjoyed per-
feet immunity for the one by the free
ute of the other. His course toward
l. 70, 20 OF
Leaving his wife to earn almost her
own living, he showered gold upon his
mistress, Nellie Burrell. He fitted up
a perfect model of house for Nellie,
on Thirteenth street, very near where
| live, and saw them necessarily quite
often coming in or going out to drive
or walk. His wife lives there now, and
a grown daughter, fresh from Vassar.
The wife is a quiet, ladylike, motherly
looking woman, finer in form and fea.
ture than the favorite mistress, while
both wife and daughter have been de.
voted to Howgate from the beginnin
of his troubles. How much he appre-
ciated this soliciAde may be inferred
from the fact that Nellie Burrill was at
the Jail every day and brought him
flowers, while the empty baskets were
thoughtfully sent up to his residence to
his wife. Other women would have
resented this partnership, but Mrs.
Howgate seems to have accepted it
from the beginning as matter of
course. Nellie engineered both es-
capes, and was Howgate's confident
always. She is now fully cognizant of
his whereabouts. 1t is possible there
are others in this secret however.
There is much comment here on this
head. Some are willing to put certain
supposed interested parties of the sig
nal office at the bottom of the matter.
have heard the belief expressed that
Howgate will return by the day of
trial, and thar ne is simply in hiding
to avoid the hardship of intermediate
imprisonment. This is touching
manifestation of faith in virtue pecul-
lar to this china tie.