The herald., 1895-06-25
RESPONDENT MAKES ANSWER
Harry A. Warren Contemplated the Public S
Good In His Work

| In the Superior court of the County of
Los Angeles, State of California.
! In re Commitment of Harry A Nc
| Knight, for contempt.
State of California. County of Los An
| geles, SIS.
sHarry A. Warren being first duly sworn
deposes and says: That he is the person
| designated as Harry A. Mcknight in the
above-entitled proceeding; that he is a
| resident of the city of Los Angeles, Cour-
ty of Los Angeles, State of California and
IS by occupation newspaper report
er; that as such he is and has been since
| the - day of May, 1895, in the employ
of,the Herald Publishing Company, which
prints and publishes the Herald, a daily
newspaper of the said city Of Los Angeles
| and that the terms of his employ yment
| require him to act as reporter for said
! he Sspaper: that in his employment as
| such reporter and by the terms thereof, he
| is required to be subject to the ord ers
of o. A. Stevens, who Is Ithe managing
editor of said newspaper; that prior to
| the 18th day of June, 1895. he was in
| structed and directed by said managing
editor to take steps to procure himself
| TO be incarceIated as an inmate in the
asylum for the insane maintained by the
| State of California, at Highland, in the
| County of San Bernardina in said State,
to the end and for the purpose that he
might ascertain the facts concerning the
| management and conduct of said insane
asylum by the officials and employees of
the state of California in charge there
| of and ascertain whether or not the SAME o
was conduced in accordance with the laws
| OF said state and to the best interests
| of the citizens thereof and of the inmates
| confined therein and further directed him
| to write for publication in said news
| paper, the Daily Herald, true account OF
! all facts concerning the management OF,
| and control of SAID insane asylum by
! in oh fhprpnf " Sh0nI1
| ascertain by his observation and investi-
| CATION while he was so incarcerated
| therein.
That ne was informed by said manag-
ing editor, and when he undertook to
carry out the orders so given him he be-
lieved that an honest. careful and con-
scientious performance of the duties as
| signed to him IN that behalf would be
conducive to the cause OF good goven-
ment. would wrong no person and would
have tendency for good in enabling him
to make a fair, impartial and thorough
| Investigation of the conduct OF a public
institution by the persons charged there
| with.
That in endeavoring to carry out the
| orders so received from his superior and
to serve the purposes aforesaid he 1elgned
| and simulated insanity for the purpose OF
having himself committed to an insane
| asylum for the purpose of accomplishing
| the designs aforesaid.
That he had no thought or intention in
doing what he did of showing disIespect
to or contempt for the superior court OF
the county of Los Angeles of any judge
| thereof
That before undertaking to SO procure
| himself to be incarcerated in said insane
asylum he knew rs matter OF comomn
| knowledge tnat employees OF other news
papers in different parts of the United
| States had by similar actions procured
themselves to be incarcerateu in similar
| institutions for the purpose OF lnvesti-
eating the same and that in Il mum Der ot
instances such investigations had led tc
much needed reforms.
That he entered upon the attempt to bt
so incacrerated in said insane asylum a
Highland with the intention of serving
public pui pose and without the though
or intention of exhibiting or showing any
contem pit or lack of consideration for any
official or law of the state of California
bu6 rather for the purpose OF seeing tina
the Laws of said state with reference tt
tine care of the inmates of one of the STATE
Institutions were properly administered
That he deprecates and denies any ex
II ibition on his part of contempt for, o
want of conside ration for. this honorable
court, and tina he did not believe or i'm
agine that his actions when brought be
fore the Hon. w. H. Clark, Judge OF sale
court, were in any sense contemptuous O
wrong.
And affiant says that his actions
| throughout the entire proceedings were
dictated by an honest desire to arrive a
a true knowledge of the conditions exist
ing in a pubic institution of the state o
California and of the actions OF thos
entrusted with the charge of SAID insti
tuition and the inmates thereof, for thu
purpose OF giving true account of tn,
same to the puhlIc of said state through
the columns of "a public journal and aft
ant believed that the methods which h'
adopted and attempted to carry through
were those best adapted to arrive at thu
truth of the matters which he wa
charged to investigate, and he disavow
any design or intention of doing any ac
or thing which could be construed a
wrongful or in any sense a contempt o
the laws or constituted authorities of th'
state of California.
(Signed) HENRY A. WARREN.
Subscrin ned and sworn to before me thl:
22d daysof June, 1895.
il. S. HALSTED, Notary Public.