The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-04-27
LATEST
BUSH PARDONED.
May Have Taken One Life,
Has Saved a Score.
Goes Out Stranger Into the World.
His Only Son Doesn't Know Him,

Henry Bush, Nathaniel M. Burr and
Thomas Wynne have had their
last meal at the Rhode Island State
Prison. They were eating today at
the noon hour when q NEWS reporter ar
rived at Howard with the three pardons
which had been entrusted to him by the
Secretary of State, Hon. George III. Utter.
The three fortunate ones were i'm
nediately notified and all doors opened
before them. They were free men and the
time required to change their clothing
was all that was necessary before they
should leave the prison enclosure and the
village of Howard.
IL is about Bush that the greatest in
terest centers. Twelve years ago he
killed q woman, pleaded guilty and was
sentenced by Judge Tillinghast to life
imprisonment. There were extenui-
ating circumstances connected with the
murder and IL was the rcmemb berance OF
these, supplemented by the IL years OF per-
feet behavior on the part of
the prisoner, that caused Gov
ernor Brown to grant the petition
OF the many friends of Bush TO cut short
his sentence with the executive pardon.
He did not say much when General
Wall told him that he was released from
captivity, but there was everything IN the
expression OF his simple "thank you"
Bush. for the first five years OF his
confnement, wss engineer, and for the
lhet elRHl Ht nhh Dctu nOSpllhl
and ii was in this department
that he has shown that man who has
committed murder may after all have
much that is good in him. DIR. Keene, the
prison surgeon, says that the Governor
could not have chosen a more worthy
man to pardon nor is there one whom the
institution could so little afford to lose.
"Why," said the doctor, "that man has
taken one life but he has saved 40 by his
skill and tenderness in the hospital
wards.n
Bush wears upon his prison blouse
gold medal with the German inscription
"Ich deinn--'I have served,p that was
presented to him by the authorities,
who long since learned TO look upon him
as a valuable assistant rather than as a
convict.
"Thore have been II pneumonia cases
at the prison during the past winter, and
not one was lost, thanks largely to the
nursing OF Bush" continued the surgeon.
"There is no man who has more friends
among his fellow prisoners than he and
those who have been in the
hospital will never forget Henry Bush.
This morning the sick pat 'ents shook
bands with him and said good luck,
Henry, but what will we dop
To the reporter who carried out the
pardon he was extremely grateful, and
refused to talk only for the reason that he
had nothing TO say.
II am twelve years off my reckoning"
he said; "cannot plan; can hardly think;
but this Is the happiest hour of my life,
for i can realize that am no longer a
prisoner"
The people who have seen the results of
my work in the hospital, the good friends
who are interested in the prisopers, are
the ones who have worked for me, not
my relatives or the friends had
outside. My brother died several
years ago and then gave up
hope. i hsves boy IL years old who was
baby less than year old when his fathet
became criminal. have not seen him for
no one ever brought him out To me-"
And then Mr.. Bush said, not at
all complainingly, but in the way
of Joke, ''You have brought
the all important thing, that little piece
OF paper from the Governor, but
where are the clothes, and
the reporter realized that he
had made bad mistake in not taking
out substitute for the garb OF
gray i'll his hurry TO get TO
Howard But the clothes came in good
time and Henry Bush lett prison this
afternoon with the best wishes of
everybody there. from General
Wall to the poor coDsumptive inmate in
the hospital who was the last prisoner to
shake hands with him and who said
that his own release was a matter of but
q very short time, only il will not come
from a Rhode Island governor.
Mr.. Bush intends to go TO New Hamp-
shire for while, where he has two sis
tiers.