The herald., 1898-10-31

brevity, 80 far as u consistent with the
proper expression Of their visws.l
John Burns Talks
To the Editor of the Lo. Angeles Herald
AZ a so.called meeting of the Republicans
Of the Third district at the Columbia club.
was called a coward and a bastard for
trimming as Independent candidate for SUPER
visor IN the Third district against Mr.
Field and the wishes OF the push, and James
I. Copeland says he did not leave the hall
man that left the hall and did not return
until it was too late, he could not have been
the man who put me in nomination. re-
quested Mr.. COnrey to put Inc in nomination,
but he was appointed chairman, and then
requested Mr.. Thomas Hewes, and he con-
sented, but stepped out for a few minutes,
and not returning in time l asked Mr..
Copeland. He is the man, perfect stranger
IN this place, who dares to call me coward
He does not know what he is talking about
If had been in the hall when he made this
remark he would have retracted before he
left. 1t is only coward that will insult q
man when he is not there to resent it. If
the time ever comes that fear one or ali
of the push, l want to be taken over the
river and placed beside that little monu-
ment where the men lay that dared to fight
for what was right.
The last time I saw James L. Copeland to
talk with him he said il was a shame and an
outrage that did not receive the nomina-
tion, and he said he could control large
part of the fourteenth precinct, and as he
was the attorney for a number of the saloons
we could come together before the election
and he could be of great service to me.
| have been threatened on the streets Of
twenty years, and warned of the dire results
that would follow il did not stop exposing
the manner in which our poor and helpless
were treated and neglected in the insane
ward of the county hospital.
Ia it cowardly to call attention to the
state Of affairs. in the insane ward Of the
county hospital. which were 80 bad that
they were investigated by reporter Of the
Evening Express. and the result Of the in
vestgation published in that paper under
date of April l4th. 1898. which reads as fol
lows:
COUNTY HOSPITAL
Lack of Money Works Great Misery.
Down in the basement Of the county hos
pital are few dismal dark little rooms,
open to the light and air only by a heavily
barred window, and by a slot in the door
scarcely larger than slide for mail This
is the place allotted for the keeping of the
insane patients.
of the Express visited the place. Outside
the sun was terribly hot, yet inside these
cells, during the very hottest part of the day.
the air was dank and damp. and cheerless,
and tainted by a stencil so foul as to be al
most sitting.
1T was a relief to hurry into the open air;
hut peeking wistfully through the narrow
Sits in the doors were few poor wretches
who had to stay and endure it, despite their
piteous appeals to be let out.
yet, in comparison to the winter months
the place is quite ideal now. During the chill
of the rainy season the unhappy prisoners
are closed up in the foul place, and blankets
piled on by the sympathetic attendants as
the only possible means of keeping out the
cold. There is no way of communicating
furnace heat to a room in the basement. and
the absurdity OF putting stove in an insane
mans cell is too apparent to be dwelt upon"
In the building there are six cells, three on
the south and three on the north. The
south rooms are at the end of the hall. and il
chimney had been run up on the outside
years ago, and stove put in, some of the
s20O6.S2 worth of coal and wood that was
used in cooking S4005. SO worth of fish and
meat would have gone long way in helping
to keep the inmates warm.
The last grand jury, of which l was men,
Der, said: we have Recommendation to
make, viz: Under the new law, which went
into effect March 3lst, 1897, it became the
duty of our supervisors to provide, within
the time of sixty days, a suitable ward or de-
tention hospital for the confinement of the
insane pending their examination, such
ward or detention hospital to meet the
approval of the state sanitary commission"
The man who was renominated by the
Republican party for supervisor of the
Third district was the chairman of the com
mttee on county farm and hospital, that
should have seen these improvements made.
To me it seems very strange that the sealed
bids for the construction of an insane ward
Mt th, hosnita1 ananal ha
eve of the denomination of the chairman of
the committee for supervisors. Was it not
providental that five of the delegates to
that convention were men who furnished
supplies for the construction of county
buildings. The men who furnished sup
plies of all kinds to the county to the sum
of $Sl. leo assisted the members of the COM
mittee on the floor Of the convention, being
represented in person or by clerks. This
condition OF affairs is against the interests
of the people 1t is not fair to the people to
have men employed by them make it an OBJ
ject to merchants to vote for them
The people of the county would be better
off had Mr. Field and his managers given
them some OF the time and thought that was
given to finding places in the court house for
janitors. clerks, etc, who were given their
positions under the pledge that they would
90 to the convention and work for the re-
nomination of Field. His manager packed
tne l MIRA WdTu SO ClOselN tHdt HO HiuIl, IL lie
was known to have served his county, was
permitted to go as delegate that they could
stop. Only one passed examination in the
Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth precints,
and he was clerk in the court house.
The man that was to put me in nomina-
ton in the convention stepped out few
miuutes, and when he returned he was sur
prised to find that the nominations had been
made and that Mr.. Field had been elected
by one vote, and that proxies were voted
without being shown. There were. several
others out, and an attempt was made to Sc
cure time, but it failed. No one was al
lowed to go near the table when the votes
were counted The meeting was pushed
with a vengeance, and not Republicanism
If the people who took part in this conven
tion want me to tell more, let them call q
meeting, and I will hire hail. and will ex
plain to all the differences between pushism
and Republicanism.
Is this invitation cowardly?
Very respectfully,
JOHN BURNS.
Los Angeles, Oct. %.
Some Three-Cornered Questions