Omaha daily bee., 1893-05-14
Again says the Respondents.

Again Says the Respondents.
II there were errors here they were errors
of oversight; errors the happening OF which
were justified by the facts and the law;
errors, such as fall to the lot OF all men who
govern; errors which business men may not
discover In their own books and accounts
Bankers and merchants do not find thefts
until after they have been committed and
after the cmbczzlcr has fed, Why expect a
higher degree OF care on the part of the re-
spondcnts, "a degree OF care which would have
required the foresight Of the mythical seer,
and for want OF 1t TO charge them with I'm
pcachable crimes. Such ruc OF law is shock
ing to the judgment of fair-minded and con-
sideratc men. Such fraities and errors, II
tncy be such, have ever been ignored in
Impeachment cases.
Explaining n Pleasure Junket.
Jumping to the charge of $500 for expense
money expended by the members while they
were off on that iunket looking at the pris-
ons in some other states, the answer uses
this language:
They deny that they unlawfully wilfully or
corruptly took or appropriated $500 of the cell
house money, but being uniformed in many
things pertaining to prisons and cells, the
board deemed 1t advisable to visit other prls-
ons to obtain by personal inspection the
needed information, and in doing so expended
SoUU Dut the same was done uiuef u COnNlC-
zion of duty to faithfully and fully discharge
the duties of the board, and therefore not
guilty OF msdemcanor in Office in respect
thereto.
Just why these members should have gone
away to look into the subject of cells and
ventilation is something that will require
considerable explanation, as it is a fact that
at the time when they went the matter of
cells and ventilation was something that had
never been considered owing to the fact
that the members of that board knew that
it would be at least two years before the
cells could be placed in position, which would
be after they had retired from Office, unless
they were fortunate enough to convince the
| public that they were entitled to be returned
and given another pull at the public teat
They claim that they did this under a con-
| viction of duty and because they could not
bring the several prisons to this city. Re-
! garding that duty, when the members were
| before the legislative committee, under oath, ,
| they stated that they had never made any
| arrangement to adopt any of the plans which
| they inspected, showing conclusively that
instead of gong away in the line of their
| duty they were off on an old fashioned
merry -go-around and that the state was
! footing ali of the bills. But the funny fea-
| ture of the occurrence is that the same
| gentlemen who spent the money audited the
bills and did not put in any expense voucher
! to show how, where, when or how much of
the money was expended
Pleading for Mercy.
In terms that cannot be misconstrued, the
| respondents show that they plead the baby
| act and are ready to throw themselves upon
| the mercy of the court, or else their answer
| which is now on file does not state the truth,
| for that document says:
When respondents were inducted into office
| January ., 1891, they had special knowl-
| edge of the amount of coal and -four and other
| supplies needed for the public institutions, and
| that the asylum was under the charge of II SUI
| perintendcnt, II steward and a bookkceper,
who were appointed by the governor, and who
| had long held their said offices and were under
| official bond and official oath for the faithful
| discharge of their duties, and respondents re-
lied, us they had good right to do, on the cer-
| ttcate of the superintendent as to the amount
of the supplies furnished. That the board did
not obtain any information that the said cer-
ticates could not be relied upon or that any
| officer OF the asylum was dishonest, or of fraud
| in vouchers until after the same had been paid.
| That the said articles of impeachment are
| not based on evidence taken heard or read
| before the joint convention. Nor did either
| tnc Stnttc Ut housS nave DelOTe bHcHl, OF
read, hear consider any evidence but said
articles adopted without consideration
of,facts, the convention being moved thereto
! by passion and prejudice, and the same were
not adopted during the term of Office of re-
| spOndents wherein the offenses are charged
to have occurred.
There are some people who are inclined to
swallow this, HOOK, sinker, bob and all, but
with the masses it does not go down, it
lNn;,,. tl,N TT,
were so ignorant they should have informed
themselves of their duties. The question
has arisen, "Did they so inform themselves
That Coal Deal.
The answer is best given by an eXamin-
alton of the testimony which went into the
records last week, showing that millions of
tons of coal were charged against the state
and that more than half of the amount was
never delivered. That testimony showed
that the coal deal was left wholly in the
hands of the railroad companies and the firm
which had the contract, there being nc
check kept to show what quantity was de-
livered ut the asylum. But when 1T came to
paying out the state money, the members of
the board were always on hand, ready and
willing to allow any amount that the books
of the coal company showed had been sold
to the state
This part of the answer is virtually ad,
mitted as being an effort to shift the re-
sponsihility, by making people think that a.
the governor had appointed the head at the
asylum, that man was necessarily honest
and did not need watching.
In concluding their answer the respond
ents reminded one of u man who has beer
led out upon the scaffold TO be executed HI
does not confess his crime, but merely pray
and begs that sentence shall not be carried
| into effect. To show that there is some
thing to back up every word of this state
ment the closing paragraphs of the answer
= are given as they appear in original docu
ment now on file in the Office of the clerk o
the court. These appeals for mercy read al
follows:
The question now Is have the respondent
committed such heinous and awful offense
that this court will ahiX to them an evorlast
| ing stigmaf
, Have they committed such crimes that this
, court should make their names and infamy
/, | historcr
Shall they be removed from their oaccs?
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