Wichita eagle., 1888-02-14

cutiOn. Hence there was neither aid
nor encouragement given me In any
effort tending to their extermlnatlon,
and had to depend wholly
upon my own resources, which,
taking into consideration a vast amount
OF other business. were very meager.
notwithstanding this a large number
were prosecuted, some by criminal
prosecutions direct, others by injunction,
and in this manner several of the worst
dives were effectuallv closed up.
Some objection has been made upon
the fact that many of these were not
committed to the Jail of Sedgwlck
county. Upon this question | will
briefly say, that it is not my duty to
commit to Jail. That is within the per-
view of the court before whom the case
is tried. But possibly if l had insisted
commitments would have been issued In
all cases. But considering that horse
thief. a burglar or pick-pocket was a
criminal of deeper dye than the man
who sold glass of beer. and consider
ing that there was jail room for only
about twenty-five or thirty prisoners to
be treated as they should be and that
during said time there was
county from as to 50 prisoners.
l concluded that the interest of the tax
payer did not demand that l should IN
sist in herd Of from so to one hundred
men, being under the care and custody
of the sheriff, and without that conilne-
ment that Is in contemplation OF the law.
A commitment means that GRIM
inal shall be taken and absolutely con-
fined in Jail, this was an imposslblllty,
they could not be so confined. TO have
issued commitments would mean that
they could be confined in name, but not
in fact, and the real object of the law
would in no way have been subserved,
and at the same time. large expense in
cured upon the county. And by this, l
mean no reflection upon our most effl-
Gent sheriff Hays (who is justly regard
ed as one of the best sheriffs in the state. }
for no person can confne from 100 to $50
prisoners in Jail intended to accommo-
date from twenty-five to thirty. They
say that did not collect the fines from
these jointists and did collect my fees
and the fees of the other officers, which
is substantially correct The fees of an
officer are what buys bread and butter
for himself and the little ones at home.
They are legal-the statute provides Tor
them; they are just, and they were mine
and did collect them, and l hope the
people of Sedgwick county do not think
| that / am such consumate fool as to not
collect my fees when l can.
AS to the fines, if any man can tell me
how to collect 500 fine from man who
owns nothing but the clothes he stands
up in (even though he has money to pay
the COSTS, he will confer a favor upon
me and teach me valuable lesson in
collecting.
Our evening papor, the Beacon, who up
to recently has pursued such conserva-
tive and manly course as to merit the ap-
prevail of all liberal and fair minded men,
sees fit to accuse me of mercy and to
suggest that l take the lecture field upon
that question, regard it as a compli-
ment, and when shall turn over my Of
flee to worthy successor l hope they
will have no other fault to find and no
other error to assign than simply to say
that have shown too much mercy, and
with all respect shall thank my God it
is SO and the tavpaying public will say
amen. q. w. G. JONES.