The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-12-26
FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
EDITOR GAZETTE

EDITOR GAZETTE
Since there is no official knowledge of
the detailed vote on Chief-of-Police Tay-
1or's guilt or innocence of the charges
preferred against him by certain citizens,
wish to publicly announce, as coun-
Gilman, that do not believe the verdict
rendered was in any degree justified by
the evidence brought out at the farcica1
trial" recently given the accused. The
city, in my judgment, failed wholly to
make out case against Taylor, and
from personal knowledge of all the
circumstances 1 should say that Officer
McLagan's trial would not have devel-
oped facts sufficient, under ordinary con-
ditions, to justify his removal had he not
resigned.
Narration of all the facts which brought
about what regard as this unrelenting
persecution and bounding of Mr.. Taylor,
would consume too much of the valuable
space of the GAZETTE, and full exposi-
ton of the remote and recent causes
leading up to his removal must at this
time be deferred. My position as coun-
Gilman, too, would call for the suppress
sion of considerable wholesome truth.
1 have reason to suspect, however, that
my embarrassment on this account will
be removed at the next city election, if
not sooner.
Some years ago Mr.. Taylor was chosen
chief of police by the council. Repeated
efforts were afterward made to dislodge
him, but without success. The city
charter was then changed so as to make
the Office of chief of police an elective
one; but, still, Mr.. Taylor held his posi-
ton by a vote of the people. Bribery
and perjury were charged in his election,
and some of our best citizens were arrest.
ed for alleged illegal voting and bound
over to the grand jury, while a number
of Taylor's friends were intimidated,
when they attempted to vote, by threats
of the democratic county deputies. The
grand jury which investigated the charges
against those bound over failed to find
true bills against any of them. Then il
became in order to intimate or openly
charge that the grand jury had been
improperly Influenced. And so the wal
has gone on TO date.
1t is only a short time ago that the
council was convened in indecent haste
to remove McLagan because he was sud.
denly called to Portland on private busi.
ness, the report having been circulated
that he had disappeared to avoid testify
ing in the Scott case. 1t was only Mr.
McLagan's timely return that prevented
an attempt to remove him at that time
Mr.. McLagan had been in office some
years, and as consequence of impartial
attention to duty, had, as well as Mr..
Taylor, incurred the displeasure of a
considerable number of persons In this
controversy those unfriendly to either
seem to have pooled their grievances
bargained their friendship for the one
to enlarge the ennlity of the other
trampled justice in the mire to reach an
imaginary foe. The incessant c1amor
of this combination, together with the
din of iinportuning friends of that band
of hungry buzzards which has roasted on
the trail of the officers for months, aud
augmented by the weekly and semi
weekly wolfsh howls of the press, has
created such a sulphurous pandemoniun
that the voice of truth is we'll nigh
stifed.
In conclusion, wish, with the others,
to enter my protest against. the highly
sensational manner in which the events
off Nov. 5oth were given to the world.
The official testimony, from my view,
shows it to have been uuwarranted.
Respectfully submitted,
T. FIFTT