The Portland daily press., 1892-04-05

of trustees. As the Governor has re-
appointed Messrs. Oak, Shepherd and
ROBBIE, it is evident that he has not car
ried out any such intent if he ever had
it. This was the situation in which the
hospital question was left until the pub
LEGATION of the reference to Mr.. Ross's
letter. It seems that Mr.. Ross, who is
pastor of the Methodist church in Au-
gusta, has brother who is a clerk in
the office of Mr.. Campbell, the hospital
treasurer. There had been rurnors of an
investigation to be made by Governor
Burleigh into the affairs of the hospital,
and an effort is said to have been made
to get certain employees, including Clerk
Ross, to agree to resign in case an at
tempt should be made to remove GER
tain subordinate officer, presumably
Treasurer Campbell. Clerk Ross did not
like this arrangement, and wrote to his
brother, the clergyman, for advice. The
clergyman evidently went to Governor
Burleigh about it, for he wrote this let
ter to his brother:
AUGUSTA, Me-, March o. 1892.
My Dear Brother: Yours of Sunday at hand.
Have seen Governor. He says: keep quietly
at work doing your duty faithfully and keep
your eyes open" He thinks that it will proba-
bly, be three months before his purpose to have
a house cleaning can be consummated If he
delays action until after the congressional con-
yyention there will be very much less ground for
the charges against him that it is purely polit-
zeal measure vpon II S part AS soon as he sees
that the time has come to. strike he will advise
with you and give time for you to leave for
little, II II should appear to be advisable. You
cannon a1Iord TO be out OF aJob, however, for
two or three months. Don't be unduly nervous
about the matter. Keep your own counsel.
Don't talk too much with Reed la fellow clerk.
Ii you 90 right you can be assured that no
harm Will come to you. Excuse haste. Am in
great rush. Look in when you are over.
Yours ever,
Better burn this letter.
This letter Clerk Ross put into his pri-
yate drawer instead of burning it. From
that drawer the letter got into the hands
of Governor Burleighs political oppo-
nents, it is asserted, and has furnished
the basis for so much rumor about Au-
gusta that Rev. Mr.. Ross yesterday pub
lished letter explaining fully the oc-
currence in all it's bearings. This was
the letter referred to in the enigmatical
despatch published yesterday, and the
explanation above given is the substance
of Mr.. Ross's letter.
The Insane Hospital is a state institu-
ton, in which the people of the whole
state are interested. The purloining
of the letter does not of itself show nee
essarily anything more than that some
one who has access to Clerk Ross's pa
pers is lght-fngered. But this continu-
al appearance of the hospitals affairs in
the Third District politics is injurious
to the reputation of great state institu-
ton, and doubly injurious to the Repub
lican party. The widely copied assertion
that the hospital is good for 60 or more
votes in an Augusta caucus, is enough
to back up an imperative demand for the
''house cleaning referred to in Rev. Mr..
Rosss letter. The Republican party has
a long and honorable record for it's man.
agement of state institutions. 1t cannot
afford to allow the greatest institution of
all to be SUSPECTED of being football in
Augusta politics.