Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-09-30


has not lost dollar On the contrary, it has
constantly made money. Our receipts and
expenditures are as follows:
Receipts. Expend's. Net profit
June S6O.s8 S17,25O.22 S1.6IO61
July. y........... Is, ,763.40 1S,2O9.53 553U
August. ........ - U29.94 lS,T2l.92 3,30S.G2
Totals. $50, ,65417 S54,1S1.77 s5,4724O
These figures and considerations are
enough to show that something was seriously
wrong with that institution And so there
was. Their whisky bills indicate that They
amounted TO SOP. "A for twenty months,
while for the four months we have been there
-one-sixth of their time-we have used less
than SIS worth.
"With the exception of the warden, who
seems to have been personally an honest but
a weak and inefficient man amid such sur
roundings and the clerk and two or three
others whom gladly eXonorate, the officials
of that institution appear to have been, from
head to foot, set of miserable incompatents,
and bold and unblushing scoundrels, who
stole and robbed, right and left, on every
hand, from the day they went in until the
day they were kicked out, to stay until they
are sent back, as they should be, to pay the
penalty of their crimes by serving the state,
not as officials, but cOnvicts. These are
severe charges. 1t is extremely unpleasant
to make them. But they are and will besup-
which viii be in due time given to the pub
lie, and which shows that a regular system
of theft and robbery was carried on against
both the state and the prisoners by the Off
Gals to whom 1 have alluded l mean by
this that money collected for the state was
embezzled, that clothing, blankets, cassi-
meres, furniture, ETC., to the amount in vaiue
of thousands of dollars, were stolen and car
ried away from the institution by and with
the connivance of these officials And
by the robbery of the prisoners L mean
such transac ctions, of which there were many,
as the following statement discloseS which
is the substance of number of aftidavltS.
A Ballard, prisoner from Clinton county,
was at work in PattonS foundry. He was
told by an official that if he would pay him
$50 he would have him transferred to an
other department and put him on easy work.
He was unable to raise the money, but his
wife had a valuable trotting mare, valued at
$500, and this official proposed to trade
horse he had, valued by him at 5000, on
such terms as would realize him $3.50, in con-
sideration of which the transfer should be
made The wife was sent for and l give
you in her own language what occurred:
The governor read Mrs. Billiards. statement
showing how the official beat her out of $3.50
by getting the horse without paying her the
$3.50 he promised. He afterward sold the
horse for 5000. The governor briefly stated
that the Columbus tally sheet forging was
committed in the penitentiary under the
supervision of Democratic officials. He then
said:
AN AWFUL CRIME
"But the worst remains to be tDld and am
glad have the words of another i'll which to
tell it The Democratic party has always
relied upon IriShmen for support, and until
recently our Irish fellow citizens have been
so almost universally Democrats that Re-
publican Irishman was almost a real curlos-
ity But of late this has been changed
somewhat and to-day not only in Ohio but
throughout the United States, large numbers
are enrolled i'll the Republican party. By
their continuing accessions our ranks are be-
ing swelled in every campaign, and such vii
continue to be the case so long as the Irish
nation is led up by such patriotic heroes az
Charles Stewart Parnell. The Irish people
have been ground down and trodden under
foot for so many centuries that those of them
who came to this country imagined that they
were unfit to belong to any other than the
Democratic party. But as under ParnelfS
leadership this splendid and long-suffering
people begin to rise from the dust and assert
their natural right to govern themselves,
they begin to feel their fitness for something
higher and better, and the consequence Is
this gravitation towards RepublicaniSn.
Our Democratic friends observing this, have
boastfuly proclaimed that the loss on this
account is more than made up to them by
the disaffection of colored Republicans. l do
not know how this may be, but no matter
how it is, invite the careful attention of
every Irishman and every negro to the words
/ am about to read-for at last if never be-
fore, the Irishmen and negroes of Ohio have
a common grievance and a common interest
that ought to make them stand shoulder to
oulder as one man:
"State of Ohio Franklin county, S.:
personally appeared before me F. W. Nye
who being duly sworn deposes and says that:
On July ), 1894, | was committed to the hos
pital of the Ohio penitentiary, IN which place
l have remained ever since About Novem-
Der of 1884, having partially recovered from
a complication of troubles under the direc-
tion of DIR. r. G. Montgomery, the physi-
clan in charge of the hospital, began to
work at my trade in a small and private side
room, under the direction of the hospital Of
ficials aud upon pieces of cabinet work prin-
cipally for their individual use. During this
time was frequently directed by Drs. Mont
gomery and Assistant W. w. Homes to aid
in removing tho remains of the deceased
prisoners to what is known as the morgue or
dead house, and in the case of many of these
prisoners whose remains it was known would
not be called for, l was directed by these Of
ficials to skin the body and the sides and the
back for use in making canes and walk
lIl1 SUCKS. UOOE Skln lTOUl nDU less Indn
seven or eight of deceased prisoners under
the immediate direction and instructions of
Drs. C. r. Montgomery and W. W. Homes.
"After SO taking the skins l would bring
them in basket to my private work room
known as the 'shed0 where l would cut the
skins into strips in order that they might be-
come seasoned quicker than if left them in
the entire piece. l would then put these
strips of skin into a basket that would hang
high up on the inside of a narrow, open win
dow in the shed in order that the air circula-
ting through would quickly season and fit
them for use in the manufacture of canes.
When the skins became seasoned in degree
to allow of their being worked up would
cut them into small square pieces and perfor-
ate each piece in the center for steel rod to
pass through after which, by planning and
pairing, neat walling-sticks would be pro-
duced, averaging in size from one-fOurth of
an inch at the bottom to ive-eights of an
inch at the top.
an making the canes l would first put five
or six pieces of leather on the bottom of the
steel rod, next the ferrule, and then add
about six pieces of the human skin, alternat-
ing about every sixth piece of the human
skin with one layer of calf skin. In some of
After fitting about four inches of the skin
and leather on the steel rod would hammer
and compress it as much as possible, and 80
on until the rod was filed. l was at times
assisted in this work by other prisoners.
"In COMPRISING and tightening the skins