The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-24
EVEN THE JOURNAL Now ADMITS
THAT GLOBE CHARGES ARE
WEIGHTY.
COULD NOT RESIST BEEBE.
THE RELUCTANT YOUNG PHYSICIAN
WAS THE LAST STRAW WITH
THAT PAPER.
BURDEN OF PROOF SHIFTED.
Partisan Press Has Been Forced to
Concede That the Globes Infor-
nation Was Well Founded.


Journal to admit. that there was any
ground for charges against the state
prison officers, which have appeared in
the Clio b e. but it has finally been
compelled to admit that the G e. 9
informants had more than an airy
myth on which to base their aecusa-
lions.
The Journals "staff correspondent"
who has followed the inquiry from the
beginning with a studious diligence,
delivered his typewriter of the follow
ing admissions in the issue Of last
night:
If the prosecution has many more witnesses
like DR.. D: G.. Beebe, examined YESTERDAY
afternoon, the charges of cruelty and brutal
ity against prison officials will stand better
with thinking people. Dr. Beebe was an
honor man in the State university meulcal
department, class of 1886, and was sent by
way of reward for years practice among tne
convicts at Saltwater prison. He left the
prison on July l, this year, and spent about an
hour yesterday afternoon in telling the IN
vestigating commission what he had seen
there on the part Of the guards suggestive
of brutality. 1t is noteworthy that all OF MS
stories did not have Deputy Warden Lemon
as the central figure. He implicated Assistant
Deputy Warden Colligan and OCCASIONALLY
guard in the work that he says has been
going on, and on the whole painted pic
truthful. He admitted that he did not like
Lemon and that he had said within a rev
weeks to Warden Wolfer that he was walt
ing for a chance to "get even" with Lemon;
but even this admission of prejudice did not
seem to weigh materially against the prob
ability Of his stories. 1t was apparent from
the start that he was not willing witness.
OF course, the prison authorities, when it
comes time for the defense, will submit
Lemon, Colligan. the guards, and perhaps
other employees by way or contradiction OF as
Of tinl
DR.. Beebe's story, and it may be that this
contradiction will be so strong as to counter
balance what the doctor said but the fact
remains nevertheless, that ne Is lar ana
away the most satisfactory witness yet Of
fered in proof of the charges made by the
st. Paul G o b e.
The commission made a good point yester-
day afternoon when it decided to put stop
to the badgering of witnesses, winch mas
been INDUCED in quite freely from the start
by the defense. The only wonder is that the
commissioners should have permitted 1t to go
so far as they did. The Journal does not
believe that this badgering was lndulgea
in for the avowed purpose of intimidating
those who thought they had something TO
tell, and to that extent preventing the prob
able facts from coming out, but rather that
the counsel allowed his legal inclinat1ons to
get the better of his Judgment unconsciouSly
At any rate. his cross-examinations have been
needlessly long and characterized by a good
deal of bulldozing and back talk, this
probably owing to the fact that the hearing
to a certain extent is informal and the COM
missioners have not seen fit to apply with
any great strictness the usual rules reiatlng
to the taking of evidence The matter finally
went so far yesterday afternoon While Dr.
Beebe was on the stand that Commissioner
Harrison stopped the proceedings long enough
to enter vigorous protest, saying that Tor
one he desired to go on record as being heart-
lily opposed to such method of procedure and
that he would not willingly submit TO IL any
longer. ..- ..... ..- -
In this connection the Journal tried
to make sport Of the fact that the wit
nesses who have been called have dis
| claimed the interviews with them III
the Glob e. 1T did not mention, how
ever, that these disclaimers were only
as to the matter of embellishments and
| that in every case the main facts or
| the interviews stood the tests of a
cross examination, that it admits was
| of a bulldoZing character. There may
| sometimes have been a mistatement in
| one of the interviews as to what step
| of the prison stairs some prisoner was
| standing on when he was beaten, or
| some discrepancy of day or TWO as
| tc the time witness had actually seen
| the incident described, but that was
| about all.
| The counsel for the defense, uncon-
sciously perhaps, supplied the best cor
roboratton of the truth of the G e
interviews that he could Monday when
he identified an interview that the
Globe had printed without name as
| that of DIR. D. G. Beebe.
How did he do this?
The reason is plain.
The deputy warden knew that only
Beebe had witnessed all the incidents
| referred to.
If they were fakes" then the deputy
| warden must have been a good mind
reader, for he knew at first sight who
had given the statement to the G b e,
even though the name was not printed.
The commission will meet again to-
day at the room in the court house
at Minneapolis which is reserved for
the use of the members of the bar. 1t
is expected that this will finish the ses-
sions, so far as Minneapolis is con-
| cerned.