The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-19

| Yes, give 'em all the time they
want. Let 'em have anything they
want"
1t was Warden Wolfer who spoke.
| Some of the listeners thought he was
excited; charity would say that in his
| magnanimity to the accusers Of some
Of his staff, and his anxiety to have
the fullest facts brought out, that the
warden let his enthusiasm lead him
| into breach Of decorum.
Possibly the warden forgot for the
| instant that the only witnesses as yet
| appearing before the commission, who
are not being supported by the common
wealth of Minnesota, were only there
! through the persistent invitation of the
| G b e. But few days ago the same
| august prison official gave to the press
| of the Twin Cities, except the G o b e,
a statement that the &C O b report
ers were bounding" paroled convicts
one of whom had applied to him for
protection.
burrow of the fox?
Not this year.
The mask was torn off yesterday.
There has been no secret made Of the
fact that when the warden gave out
/ his statement to the press, he meant
Fred Douglass as the convict who was
being bounded" He was the most
conspicuous of the paroled prisoners
sojourning in st. Paul three weeks ago.
Then the Clio b e editorially nailed
that assertion to the masthead Of fic-
DIT 1Nn ~ Il
porters to various parts of the state,
that no legitimate avenue Of informa-
ton concerning the real state Of af-
fairs in the prison pen be overlooked.
Reporters were sent to these men, not
to induce them to get out Of the state,
but to tell what they knew, to the
Clio be, If they would; to the gov
ernor, or his agents, If they so pre-
ferred.
But when it came to a "show- down"
yesterday, to use technical express
sion derived from the national game,
Mr.. Nethaway appeared not as an
evangel Of mercy, with strong right
arms and incipient wings thrown
about the former prison charges, but
entirely unmasked, trying to creep
under a. discrimination to reveal
secrets of an earlier inquisition when,
they feared, Douglass, with other con-
victs, had testified damagingly to
Lemon.
The commission, be it said to their
credit, when appealed to by Mr.. Pen
ney, thrust between Mr.. Nethaway
and the now law-abiding citizen the
protection Of the governor and the peo-
pie.
It was intended to be dramatic-the
Wardens final appeal.
1t fell fiat.
Attorney Penney, who was only en-
gagged by the G o b e when the re-
ported intimidation Of prospective wit
nesses threatened to make fiasco OF
the entire investigation. asked a few
days adjournment Of the hearing that
he might familiarize himself, by per
sonaI communication, with the facts
alleged by the dozen or more witnesses
whose stories have appeared in the
Globe, and a half dozen or more
who have not yet even been inter
viewed by the G be.
Judge Flandrau, burdened with legal
business of his own, was willing, and
Mr.. Farmer, who is being detained
away from his home and business also,
wished to spend Sunday there. Be
sides, it was expected that Mr.. Har-
rison would be able to sit next week
with the commission. Everything
pointed tC a granting of the request,
when Judge Nethaway, with buster.
exclaimed:
1--WE must most strenuously protest
against this. This inquiry has broad
ened now. 1t involves not only the
character of Mr. Lemon, but of the
board of managers. These gentlemen
are here. Some of them have come
long ways The inquiry should go on"
"Au right" suggested Mr.. Penney,
with a modest suavity in striking con-
trast with the Saltwater mans brus-
ouerie. Let us have until tomorrow
morning"
Then it was that the warden, unable
To restrain himself longer, interpolated
his suggestion.
Even Senator O'Brien shared the
Warden'S enthusiasm.
"I told you it would do you more good
than harm this thing, Frank?" he eX-
claimed, hoarsely.
The saltwater attorney lowered his
voice an octave and half, and re-
Joined:
"Oh, well, of course. If Mr.. Farmer
desires to go home, we will not insist
But the investigation went over until
this morning, when number OF new
witnesses will be called on to tell what
they know of the mysteries of the Cha
teau st. CroiX.
WAS MOSTLY REITERATIVE.
A large portion of the session of yes
terday morning was devoted to an ap-
parent effort to make Guard Ewing be-
iieve that because the pay rolls said
he had been doing wall duty, he must,
perforce, have been a veritable Humpty
Dumpty. the fall of whom was to be
ACCOMPLISHED by an oracular attorney
with a, magnificent bravado.
Henry Feig, representative in the
state legislature from Kandiyohi coun-
tv. confirmed the testimony he had
given at the investigation of 1891, and
said he had never qualified his opinion,
as expressed in the report of the COM
mittee that year, which recommended