The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-02-06
DOLE'S VERSION
OF THE ESCAPE
THE FORMER ATTORNEY GEN
ERAL TELLS WHAT HE KNEW
OF WRIGHT'S FLIGHT.

Before leaving for Washington for
mer Attorney General e. =. Dole gave
statement to the governor concerning
hiSepart in the escape of eX-Treasurer
William II. Wright. The report is for
use in the legislature, should an inves-
tigation be made, as f.. p. Dole will
not be here to make a statement during
the session.
The report is as follows: "At a recent
special session of the Senate a commit
tee thereof made some inquiries in re-
gard to the escape of w. H. Wright,
the defaulting Territorial Treasurer,
and reported that it was unable to
state the facts relative thereto on ac-
count of my absence from Honolulu.
AS l shall be in Washington when the
Senate meets again, think this report
Is the proper place to set forth the
facts within my knowledge. They are
as follows
ION the 23rd day of September, 1902,
as Hon. Henry e. Cooper and | were
going to the luncheon rendered the
Senatorial Committee by the Federal
officials, Mr.. Cooper remarked to me
that there was trouble in the Treasury.
On the afternoon of the same day, in
my office, he told me that William H.
Wright had confessed misappropria-
ton of public funds amounting to about
eighteen thousand dollars that he had
talked the matter over with you; that
Wright had expressed an expectation
of being able to refund the amount on
the following day; that, with your APP
proval, Mr.. Cooper had made an APP
pointment to meet Wright at O'clock
the next morning, and. without promis-
ing him any immunity from punish
ment for his crime. had given him to
understand that no criminal proceeding
would be begun against him in the
meantime. / regarded this under
standing as binding on me, and had
no intimation of the defalcation at that
time except through Mr.. Cooper. Be
tween 10 and IL o'clock on the morning
of September "a, Mr.. Cooper informed
me that Mr.. Wright had not kept his
appointment. l Immediately suggested
directing High Sheriff Brown to take
every possible means to search the town
and the steamship Alameda which
was advertised to leave for the Coast
at noon. Mr.. Cooper said that he had
notified High Sheriff Brown. The High
Sheriff and other officers made diligent
search through the Alameda for
Wright, two of the officers going out of
the harbOr to continue the search and
returning in the pilot boat. Wright
could not have escaped THE search
which was made without assistance of
an extraordinary character. An officer
with eXtradition papers was sent to
the Coast by the next steamer and if
Wright had been detained in quaran-
tine, as was expected, he would have
been returned. He has escaped to parts
unknown. While l was very anxious
to secure him, and would not have hes
itated to incur a heavy expense for that
purpose if he could have been located
and returned, it would have seriously
crippled the appropriation for civil and
criminal incidentals. This appropria-
ton is not calculated to meet the heavy
expenses of eXtraditing criminals from
distant states and foreign lands or pay
ing rewards for their capture, and there
is no other fund from which such eX-
penses can be lawfully paid. 1 recon-
mend an appropriation for such pur-
poses to be expended subject to the
approval of the Governor"