The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1900-11-02

I
10 Governor Rogers and the State Board Of
Audit and Control:
| Dear Slrs: Please accept NV resignation az
chief turnkey of the Washington state pepi.
tentlary, as L cannot conscientiously support
! the administration
To take effect not later than October -.
| 19OO ours truly, j. h. BAYMILLER.
A Whitman County POpul1st.
The foregoing is self-expanatory. |
Joined the pOpulist party because | be-
lieved it true reform party, and have
| consistently supported its nominees from
IFS inception, and have worked incessant-
ly for the triumph OF the principles it
| represented. Indeed | believe | can
truthfully claim the honor of being one
OF its first advocates and organizers in
that hOtbed OF pOpuIism, Whitman
county, but have reached 1.-The parting
OF the ways" and | decidedly refuse to
be party to the corruption which |
know is being practiced by the cOterie of
politicians seeking election on the demo-
cratic state ticket, headed by that chief
corruptIOnist, John Rankin Rogers. If
the democratic ticket is successful at the
polls 1T will give the Rogers Turner com
6lne license TO continue their question
able methods, and heavier burden on
the people will be the result. In order
to perpetuate their power they are fIch-
ing money from the state treasury, un-
der the speciOus plea of an advance of
wages to employees, but which increase is
promptly claimed by their chief agent,
George Hazzard. In order that Others
may know why it is impossible for me to
support the ticket, and thus enable all
honorable TetOTmers to vote inteIli2ently
to prevent continuation of such in
famous methods, | give a few of my
reasons to the public 1t pains me to
be compelled to acknowledge that reform
has come to such pass in Washington.
but desire to aid in rebuking rotten
ness under the cloak of reform is nv ex-
cuse for so doing. In the following
state facts, and the reader can Judge for
himself.
An Enemy to Labor
Rogers is no friend to the laboriDg
man.
The United States government apprO-
priated about $4,000 to build an ad
ditional wing at the Washington state
penitentiary, and the secretary of the in
terror let he contract this last August
to the Pauly Jail company, Of st. Louis,
Missouri. An officer told me that War
den CatrOn said, "Our appropriation for
maintenance of the penitentiary is run
ming short and we must manage some
way to get some OF that appropriation
to help us out, and We must do all the
work we can with the cOnvicts, but this
must not go outside the family"
Consequently, the cOnvicts are making
the brick for the new wing, and have
actually done the excavating and laid
the concrete foundation aud have done
half the hauling and are going to do
much more OF the same work.
Thus the Rogers administration is con-
tracing out the cOnvicts to private par
ties for work which rightfully belongs to
free labor.
The administration is also requiring
guards to work long hours overtime
without extra pay, when there is no
emergency, in order to make a record
Tor economy.
Manipulating the Hide Fund"
The convicts have made and painted
all, or nearly all, the banners and trans
parencies, eighteen or twenty in number,
for the local democratic club and some
honest painter was deprived OF the job,
Notwithstanding tremendous campaign
fund is being raised, but none Of it for
honest labor apparently,
1t is not lawful TO sell anything from
the penitentiary which comes into COM
petition with free labor except jute fab.
rics and brick, and the brick yard was
abolished over year ago by the board
OF control. The hides from the butch
cred stock are sold to the tannery for
something like $50 per month and a
"hide fund" is created, which cannot be
legally accounted for, but is used by the
warden for his own luxuFies, etc, very
small portion going to the guards table.
Notwithstanding this, the warden's sub
sistence amounts to over 81 per day ad-
ditiOnal, while the guards subsistence
only costs the state little over 25
cents per day each, and the subsistence
OF one convict for each guard is charged
to the officers mess. Thus any great
saving which the Rogers administration
may claim is due to niggardliness and
rObbing the tables and Oyerworked
officers
An officer who knows told me that
last winter Warden Catron sold 1876, 900
brick, which, at $6 per thousand, would
amount to $50, which in itself is not SO
very strange were it not for the factIthat
he turned the proceeds into the "hide
fund.- so the officer says.
Rogers friend to labor? | tell you
no. He or his board will hardly notice
or speak to a penitentiary guard or
workingman except when he wants their
votes or contributions.
Preparing for the Graft"
Rogers had the salaries of Lister, Ca
tron and John Scott raised to a hand
some figure from year and a half to
two years ago, but he never thought of
the little $40 man until a short time
ago, when all the subordinate officers
salaries were raised 10 per cent. And
now comes one of Rogers ''grafters, -
George Hazard by name, and demands
the full amount Of the 10 per cent. raise
for eleven months. the same being about
one months salary. 1t looks like they
had deliberately planned to raise saIar-
les to pacify the officers and then turned
the whole cheese over to the grafters.
At one time was commissary clerk,
but convict was afterwards placed in
charge of the commissary department.
| Before the convict took charge the
/ present board of control let the con-
tracts for supplies every three months.
They subsequently raised the time to