Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-02-11

iTlVEu ANON ~ Wv ~ SAAO S~A
ties Implicated.
Yesterday the Intelligencer CON
t.tped an alleged expose of the pic
.,re incident which occurred last
reek at the Wheeling steel works.
and in the article, which appeared
,,rder flaming headlines, undertook to
cri,jcise the Register for printing
what they boldly proclaimed to be a
lake.
The original item was received o.
tbe Register late at night, from a reli-
sble source, and was published simply
as an item of news, without thought
ar intention of making either a sensa-
tion or political capital out of it, and it
nassed unchallenged for a week, until
me incident found its way into the
Eastern press, and thence was referred
to in Congress. All of sudden it be-
can 10 worry the local Republican or.
Gan. and yesterday morning it &c
voted a display head and three-Quar-
ters of d column of space to an alleged
refutation of mere news brief in this
paper. The Intelligencer was evident
N worried, but with its accustomed
mendacity, and with all the character
i-tics which entitle it without dispute
to the title of Pecksniff, it assumed
that the Register had done what it
did not do-make political fuss over
the incident. All the fuss so far made
has been by the Intelligencer and RI
publicans in and out of Congress. The
Register simply printed the news.
In the article in the Intelligence"
Yesterday which was printed upon IT.
formation furnished by Labor Commits
sioner Barton, who is a Republican.
the statement appeared that the pic
lure was destroyed by stray snow
ball hUrled by some boys who were
PLAYING about This statement and
others contained in the same article
were proven to be incorrect by thor
ough investigation Of the., after maGe
yesterday by a Register reporter, who
visited the steel works and saw the
remnants of the picture hanging in
side the machine shop.
Instead of one picture there were
two splendid likenesses of Mckinley
and Hobart The pictures were about
two feet square and hung on the par
tition between the machine shop and
the blowing engine house. The rem
nants were hanging in strips
Frank Geraghty, the machinist,
who admitted being implicated in de-
stroying the pictures, stated that he
did so by throwing snow balls at
them, although the condition of the
pictures look as if they had received
worse treatment than could be pro.
duced by a stray snow ball.
There are only two Democrats en-.
ployed in the shop where the picture
incident occurred. By talking with
several of the men, the Register man
learned that the picture had been de,
stroyed with deliberate purpose al
though since the affair has stirred UP
so much discussion it is averred that
there was no malicious intent in mo-
testing the photographs of Mckinley
and Hobart.
The pictures were put up by James
Riddle, who is the master mechanic
Of the shop, and a strong partisan Re.
publican. In a talk with the Regis
ter man yesterday he stated that when:
Il discovered the pictures had been
molested | was very indignant, sup
posing, of course. that it had been
Gone through political prejudice.
This impression had been remov-
ed later however, when one Of the en-
ployes, who is also a Republican and
was implicated in the affair, came to
me and explained that the incident
had only occurred in fun
Whether it was fun or not it
remains with the public to
Judge Another machinisu in the
shop said he was present when
The pictures were torn. and that he
made the suggestion which caused
them to be molested The facts are
substantially the same as appeared
II the Register last week, when the
matter was first mentioned in a brief
manner