St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-06-06
MUST DIR. BOWERS GO
The Board Of Trustees May
Discharge the Rochester
Superintendent.
Yesterdays Meeting in St.
Paul Held Behind
Closed Doors.
Dr.. Bowers Repeats the Story
Of the Murder Of Tay-
lor Combs.
The Physician Is Not With
out Warm Friends in
Rochester.

y
day, nor is he likely to be pending the
investigation into the management OF
Rochester asylum. and the murder OF
Taylor Combs. Elder Gray and the
murdered mans brother returned yes
terday from Rochester and the elder
stated he had prevailed upon Combs to
take more conservative action III the
matter. They will await to see the out
come of the investigation by the trustees
of the asylum, and, if there be the least
semblance of whitewaShing DR.. Bowers,
a warrant is to be sworn out for his ar
rest, the charge being that of acces-
sory after the fact to the murder of
Combs. DR.. Bowers was in st. Paul
Yesterday, returning to Rochester by
the evening train, as to-day he will be
required to go before the grand jury
which is instituting an INQUIRY into the
murder, as well as the management OF
the hospital itself. DR.. Bowers feels
his position keenly, freely acknowledge
ing that in Withholding the murder
from publicity he has unwlttlngly done
A GREAT INJUSTICE
not only to himself, but the whole man.
agement of the asylum. Several weeks
ago meeting of the asylum trustees
was arranged for yesterday, to be held
at the Merchants, st. Paul. 1t was at
this meeting DR.. Bowers says he in
tended informing the trustees of the
murder of Combs. but the force of cir
cumstances decreed it otherwise, and
instead the gathering was converted
into secret star chamber for determin
ing the action to be taken towards over
hauling the management OF the
asylum. President M. J. Daniels is
sick, and the meeting was presided over
by Maj. II. B. Strait, of Shakopee.
There were present: n. Schimmel, of
st. Peter: A. l.. Sackett, of st. Peter;
Burr Deuel.. of Dodge Center; j. f.
Meagher. of Mankato; NJ. r. Tyler, of
st. Paul; C. D. Wright. of Fergus Falls.
A Barto, of Sauk Center, is also men,
Der of the board, but was absent at
Austin, attending G. A. r. reunion.
The morning session and portion of
the afternoon session were taken up by
routine business. The public was adj
mitted during the transaction of these
incidental items, but when the serious
work of the session came up-''MOVe
we go
INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION."
piped Mr.. Sackett, and the proposition
was agreed to mem. con. There has been
so much secreSy in regard to the MUIR
der of the negro Combs, and as the pub
lie generally look with suspicion upon
secret Investigations. it is to be regretted
that the trustees conducted their work
behind closed doors. The public
have a right to know every de-
tail adduced in this inveStiga-
ton. The Rochester asylum is public
property, the managers are public of
ticials, and any inquiry into the mis-
management of the institution, espe-
cially when such grave charge aS!mur-.
der is being considered. should he freely
open to the pnblic. The trustees sat be-
hind closed doors for three hours, and
there was also present Secretary Hart,
of the state bOsd of corrections and
charities. Messrs. Strait. Meagher,
board of the result of their inquiry at
Rochester, Monday, and DIR. Bowers
was requested to repeat his statement.
He
TOLD OF THE DEATH
of Taylor Combs April l, and how Ed
Peterson and August Beckman, attend
ants, now arrested under charge of
murder, reported that it was caused by
a fall from some ScaffOlding. An eX-
animation of the body revealed frac-
ture of the sternum and all etfusion of
blood into the tissues under the
sternum, forming clots and. pressing
upon the heart and large vessels. The
story was detailed OF how the coroner
returned Combs death as accidental,
and DR.. Bowers stated that April 8
he received Information throwing quite
a different light upon the death of
Taylor Combs. 1t was submitted by
John Date, who averred that the treat
ment of Beckman and Peterson killed
Combs. He said they had choked and
pounded the negro. DR.. Powers endeav-
ored to get additional corroborative
testimony, but failed. He continued:
When Rev. A. H. Kerr. the steward,
came. ! called him and DR.. Collins to
my Office to consult as to the
IMMEDIATE ARREST
of Peterson and Beckman. We talked
the matter over for long time in its
different phases, but always came back
to the fact that there was no reliable
witness but John Date. Later, Mr.
said that if we had them arrested and
failed to make the conviction and have
them punished, the hospital would
have all this odlum and scandal for
nothing, and we decided to send for
Peterson and Beckman to come to my
Office and reprimand them severely and
peremptorily discharge them. l told
them the story John Date had
told me, and they claimed that they did
it in self-defense. They gave up their
former story, and said that Combs was
talking of butcher knives. They took
him down to make him shut up. I was
satisfied from their tacit admissions that
John Dates story was true. That was
on the morning of April f." DR.. Bow
ers explained how he had neglected to
report the murder to the board of trus-
tees at their last meeting, the matter
having ''entirely slipped my mind"
The sickness of President Daniels had
prevented him from
MAKING A REPORT
to that gentleman. When DIR. Bowers
had repeated his statement, he quit the
room and left st. Paul by the D. m.
train for Rochester. Secretary Hart
laid before the board the testimony of
the boy John Date, and thereafter, in
conversational style, the trustees re-
viewed the situation of affairs. Maj.
Strait declared that no conclusions were
arrived at; but from remarks dropped by
individual members it transpires that
the conduct of DR.. Bowers was very Sc
verely questioned, and that at tO-day'S
meeting he may very possibly be re-
moved from the position of superinten-
dent OF Rochester asylum, The trustees