People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-06-06
Chase Found Guilty.
Topeka Journal, SOth.

Topeka Journal, 3Uth.
The report of the Warden Chase in
Yestigation committee has been COM
pleted and will be filed with Governor
Morrill, tomorrow morning.
The report contains four dOcu-
mentS. The majority report is signed
by all the members of the committee
except Representative 7. P. Wilson
Of Barber county, the Democratic
member.
Senator Parker, the chairman of
the committee, in addition TO signing
the report of the majority, submits a
SEPARATE statement in which he says
Kansas is behind other states along
the line of prison reform, and recon-
mends that the appointment of war
den and other penitentiary officials be
taken out Of politics.
Senator Taylor also signs the major
ity report and submits a separate
statement concurring in the recon-
mendatOns made by Senator Parker,
and giving some Of his reasons for
signing the majority report.
Senator Taylor says the only reason
other wardens have not been convict
ed on the same charges that Chase is
that they have never been prosecuted.
The majority report signed by
Senators Taylor and Parker and
Representatives Bone and Caldwell
finds Warden Chase not guilty of
using profanity in the presence Of
cOny.ctS and not guilty Of the charges
nIelatiOn to Lou Williams.
He is found guilty of Furnishing
prisoners with instruments not
authorized by law, but which had
been used by all former wardens, also
If asSaulting Judge Mcdonald, the
eX-member CT the state board of
pardOnS, but the charge that he aided
prisoners to escape their full legal
sentence is not proven.
He was found guilty of having paid
officers for time when they were not
actually on duty, but all other war
dens had done the same.
He is declared guilty of having his
daughter on the pay rolls asa keeper"
while she was acting as his clerk, but
all other wardenS had done the same.
He iSacQuitted of using state money
but found guilty of using supplies
from the state farm and getting meat
from the state store at less than
actual weight.
He was found guilty Of making his
son superintendent of the mine,
wheE he had no experience as a miner.
He is convicted of Subjecting pris-
OnerS to punishment in the insane
ward too low and degraded to be
named in any public document and
too wicked to be tolerated in this en-
lightened community"
He is found guilty of being negli-
gent about the business part of the
institution and the committee agrees
with the report of the state account
ant in regard to the practices of the
StOrekeeper and book keeper.
The committee found that all the
employees of the penitentiary except
seven or eight had contributed one
per cent of their years salary to a
fund to assist Warden Chase for his
defense before the committee.
The Signers of the majority report
recommend that Warden Chase be
removed
Representative Wilson in his minor.
ity report cOncurs with the majority
on all the points in which he is found
not guilty, and he acQuits him of all
responsibility on the Others, putting
the blame on the legislature for not
having looked after the penitentiary
more closely. Mr.. Wilson recon.
mends that Chase be reinstated.