The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-28

HIS ATTACKS CERTAIELY PUERILE
Silly STUFF That the New York Post Is Print
Ing Against Mckinley.

silly Stun That the New York Post is Print
Ing Against Mckinley.
| Cleveland, Ohio, April 27.-Peopl
| here are reading with great amusemen
] the attacks on Major Mckinley in tn
New York Evening Post. The Pos
| has a special man in Ohio trying 4
! turn up something against Mckinley
l Here is the most serious Of his puerilt
! efforts TO show why Mckinley Should
| not be president:
The history Of the penal and charit
| able Institutions of Ohio during McKin
| ley's governorship is long story o
| scandals ana Investigations. II is use
less to say that the governor was no
himself in charge Of all these institu
tons. The point Is that he reorganiZ
| ed their management; and his mind
| was evidently set so much more upor
making his appointments aributary
10 his presidential aspirations than up
| on doing well the duty right at hand
! that he appointed trustees and manag-
| ers who were unfit for their places, il
general Generalization is any sign.
At the Dayton State hospital for the
insane, for instance,an inmate nemed
Geo. Smith died mysteriously. and was
hastily buried. Some Of his friends
| were not satisfied, and a coroner's in
quest was held, with the result show
ing that he had died after being brutally
beaten and kicked. Several of his
ibis were broken. The attendants
promptly placed the blame upon other
inmates of violent tendencies, and from
the nature Of things 1t was impossible
10 get satisfactory evidence on the sub
ject; but nobody could give satisfacto-
ry reason why, if the poor creature had
come 10 his death from causes which
the asylum management could not have
controlled, the facts had not been frank
ly made known in the first place and
taken ont Of the atmosphere Of scanda-
lous mystery. How little faith was
placed in explanations which failed to
explain was shown by the prompt revi-
val Of the stories Of cruelty and broken
houeS ~N>a~ the death of another in
mate. Michael Knecht, went into the
record as a victim of pneumonia, and
whose body was buried in the asylum
grounds. What seemed to outsiders
pretty sure sign of crooked work in
this case, was the summary discharge
of Knecht's attendant by the superin-
tendent- But inquiry into this scandal
was put off by the superintendent
falling seriously i'll and being liable to
testify
The purchase Of supplies for the State
hospital for the insane at Toledo from
friendly" dealers, the extraordinary
postage account of the labor statitisti-
clan, charges Of grievous cruelty at the
Boys Industrial school at Lancaster,
the freedom with which the inmates
of the State hospital for the insane at
Columbus were permitted TO make eX-
hibitionS Of themselves to the annoy
ance Of the same people living in the
neighborhood, were only a few of the
matters aired by investigation commit
tees and the press, and all tended TO dis
credit the state of administration, so
that good citizens without regard to
party cried out in despair: ''If Gov
ernOr Mckinley would only give up
campaigning for the presidency long
enough TO attend to the needs of Ohioi"
The penitentiary at Columbus was
one Of the institutions which furnished
the largest crop Of scandals. Escapes
Of convicts became suspiciously fire.
quent; and a murderer named Elliott
was blinded by vitriol thrown in his
face by another prisoner whose plot TO
escape he has lustrated-though how
the vitriol had been smuggled into the
be able to find out The first peni-
tertiary chaplain under McKinley's
governorship retired from service after
being charged with immcralfties not
necessary TO rehearse here. The sec
ond went out also under a cloud, the
result Of certain financial transactions
with convicts. He took charge of con-
victs money for them; he also had to
sign recommendations for parcling con-
Victs for good behavior. Accusations
began to fly about that he did not al
ways return TO the convictS all the
money he obtained from or for them.
An investigation was made, and though
he was able TO explain a good many
of his operations, he nevertheless ad-
mitted to the board of inquiry that he
had committed a grave indiscretion in
borrowing money from prisoners upon
whose applications for parole he would
have TO pass; and his resignation was
rendered and accepted without more
ado.
Owing to these two successive scan
dals in so rapid succession, greater
pains was apparently taken with the
choice Of third chaplain, the Rev. Mr..
Winget, for he still holds the place.
But itmu st have been a great discom-
fort to him, If at all sensitive to the as
ISOLATION in which his name appears in
print, 70 be drawn into such a specta-
Gle as was presented one Sunday. and
which is cited here not because il is
unique, or highly important in itself
but as illustrative of the sort OF disci-
pline maintained nj the state institu-
tons under the governorship of a weak
kneed, vacillating politician.
rla
was going to leave the service on Mon
day, his successor having been appoint
ed and broken in. There having been
some rivalry between Playford and the
warden as TO who was the more popu-
lar with the convicts @. the retiring
deputy had arranged with the chaplain
TO allow him to make a farewell speech
in connection with the religious exer-
ciseS. The warden, however, had got
wind of this plan, and was informed
also that large bouquet had been
smuggled into the prison, which. at the
close of PlayfOrd'5s speech, was 10 be
presented to him by a leading convict.
with appropriate remarks. as a Testi-
mOnial of the affection with which the
boys" would ever cherish his memory.
The next day, OF course, the newspapers
would print an account OF the whole af-
fair. and the retiring deputy would be
one point ahead of the warden in his
reputation for popularity in their prison
world. The warden was resolved 10
break up the show and spoil this theat-
rical effect. As Will be seen, he sue
ceeded simply in turning 4 roaring
farce into a somewhat CORY meIodrama.
The chaplain finished his discourse
and signalled 10 Playford, who stepped
forward with bow and began his pre-
pared address 10 the Convicts. in the
presence OF Warden James, an assist
ant deputy warden named StackhOuse.
the Warden's son Curry, the other pen
.tentiary employees and a large number