The Sunday globe., 1901-08-11

for fghting street duel in which the defumT
of his family was killed. Pardoned alter eight
years imprisonment, he proposes In The
columns Of the Globe to tell ga pain,unvar
nished tale Of lie in modern penitentlary.
-EDIrOR)
Believing that the personal narra-
tive of my crime (O, trial CD, and
conviction will best illustrate the ad-
ministration Of criminal law in our
courts Of justice where the prisoner
happens to be above the average Of
fender or professional criminal,
have decided to, as impartially as the
nature Of the case will permit, go
through, the distressing details again,
to the end, or rather, with the hope
that my recital may effect the changes
which the subject.matter will indicate
In the trials of accused criminals. of
the non-professional class. Probably
more than 500 similar cases have come
under my obseCyation, or, more proper
ly speaking, my investigation in the
Ohio Penitenliary and they only diff
fer slightly in unimportant details
All are uniformly a record of the same
forced" convictions brought about by
the public opinion created, fostered and
manufactured by the press.
Washingtons Birthday fell on Sun
day, February %, 1891 and was being
observed in Columbus, Ohio, as else
where, Monday, February 23d. In the
Sunday World Of February 22d appear
ed an article attacking the virtue of
the female members of my family,
written by a former employe Of my pa
per--the Sunday Capital-named Al
bert Osborne, whom l had taken from
his trade as roofer, educated and train
ed as a newspaper man. Rejected in
his suit for the hand Of my sisterin-
law, and discharged from the Capital,
after repeated forgiveness and warn
ings to reform, but the dissolute
ompanionship of both sexes TO which
he fell a victim was too much for his
weak character, and the Capital had
to dispense with his services.
In retaliation, and on my repeated
refusal to re-employ him, he secured
a position on the Sunday newspaper
mentioned which had been projected
but a few months previously and was
desperately endeavoring to obtain a
foothold principally on its abuse Of
the Capital which studiously ignored
the attacks. l had a reputation Tor in
difference and tough skin" to all at
tempts Of rival newspapers to irritate
or draw my fire, and Osborne, know
ing this characteristic, admOnished his
employer that 1t was useless to roast
me, as ! contemptuously ignored all
such attacks. He pointed out my rec
ognized social position and easy finan-
cial circumstances as being barriers to
reaching me in the ordinary newspa-
per way of "roasts." | had q town
house, the handsomest country seat in
Franklin County horses, carriages
etc, and an income of not less than
$4,000 per annum. | generally spent
my summers in Europe, and frequently
took my entire family abroad. This
family, Osborne was aware, was un-
usual devoted to and denied them
nothing ~ was also cognizant Of
hoI tendeCly / regarded the memory
of a dead mother, and he conceived
the diabolical plan of reaching me
through az attack on the living and
the dead. But his employer hesitated
The project was too atrocious even for
his depraved mind. The employer or
publisher of the World was a degen-
crate and drunkard named l.. w. Lev
ering, at present a resident of COiJm-
bus, and an object avoided and despis-
ed by every decent man and woman.
Inls man Levei,c~ had some political
mountaineering with the then COVER
nor CT the State James w. Campbell
through his private secretary, the no.
tCIious Claude Meeker. afterwards
consul to Bradford, England. This man
Meeker was ucdCr ao~r CIIEal4Ons 10
me, but his nature is essentially cal
lous to all manifestations of gratitude
or any of the other virtues. Early in
his career was compelled to discharge
him from the Capital which l had
just purchased, where he was employ
. ed as an advertising solicitor. | sent
him to a friend, city editor of the En-
quirer at Cincinnati gave him few
dollars, and on the strength of my let
ter OF solicitation, he secured employ
ment on the Enquirer. OF dressy and
dudeish figure, without morality or
restraint he held his own until the
campaign Of Governor Campbell, who,
struck with his engaging manners, and
following the precedents of the guber-
Material office in appointing newspa-
per men private secretary, Meeker was
selected and held the position two
years. Even in this crisis of his ca
reer, | saved him from dishonor and
dismissal. His step-mOther called at
my office, while his appointment as pri-
vate secretary was pending, and re-
vealed a chapter Of such heartless and
villainous conduct on his part that |
was shocked beyond measure. She
wanted il published and thus destroy
him, but persuaded her to let me in
terview ClaHde and prevail upon him
to do the woman justice he had so
infamOusly wronged Again | fixed
far for d i'm nd
the mother Of two children. from eX-
posure, besides securing for him a
most compromising and obscene letter
taken from his pocket and written by
Nl bne Of the upper ten young ladies of
.NNBroad street, who subsequently gained
a BONE notoriety.
~ This man aided and abetted Lever
"A ing and Osborne in their attacks on the
"A Capital and its editor ! knew it, but
made no remonstrance. l didn't care
However, my city editor discovered a
sensational suit which had been con-
cealed by the magistrate before whom
It was tried wherein the keeper Of a
bagnio, who was Levering's mistress
sued and obtained judgment for money
she had loaned him to run the World
It developed in the testimony that Lev
ering entertained his father and some
female members Of his family, who
had visited him from their home in
the country at this very house, and
that he represented to his unsophis-
ticated kinfolks that the woman" was
his hOusekeeper and the girls" his
servants.
The city editor had written up the
article or expose, and, as usual, sub
mltted to me the proof-sheet. I struck