The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-22

of the trial-a trial which has no parallel
| in the history OF Anglo-Saxon Jurispru-
dence. and which shocked and appalled, the
country. In that condition Youtsey was
! convicted and sentenced TO life imprison-
ment. To the surprise of everybody he TOOK
appeal from this sentence.
| Powers and Howard. often as con-
| victed-twice each-have as often appealed
| their cases to the Supreme Court, and as
| often been granted new trials. foutseys
verdict would ALMOST certainly have been
appealed. Why did not he do so? That Is
| a question not yet answered 10 the salts
faction of the public in Kentucky or else
| where
YOUTSEY IN STATE PRISON.
| Soon after his conviction he was taken to
| the State penitentiary at Frankfort TO be-
gin serving his life sentence. He was not a
| strong man intellectually physically. He
had never done manual labor. He was
| stenographer only. and a good one. When
he was admitted to the prison at least two
of the contractors for prison labor put in
request for his services. each declaring that
he needed in his office to do office work
man of Youtsey's stenographic capabilities.
Undoubtedly he should have been put to
work at something of that sort; for he
|
| other Instead of putting him at work
he was familiar with and fitted and able
| to do the warden put him In the furnace
| room with a lot of negroes to fire the fur-
| naces But for the fact that the negroes
were more merciful than his captors he
must have died. They did part of his
| task for him. Even at that he was eventu-
| ally overcome by the heat and unusual
exertion, and collapsed in dead faint.
After remaining in the hospital a while
| he was put at work in room containing a
| Of chi 0f 10
| lutely nothing. Here he was kept till one
of his hands was mangled. In short. from
the day he entered the prison he was sub
| jected to a persecution without parallel in
| the history of the Kentucky penitentiary.
The warden of the prison has killed at
least one man. He is the same bully whom
the Goebelites elected doorkeeper of the
Senate in 1896 at the same time that Jack
Chinn was elected sergeant-at-arms. there
by making them. respectively. doorkeeper
| and sergeant-at-arms of the joint assembly
| when the two houses met to ballot for
| United States senator. He was with Goebel
at the time he was shot, and is altogether
| fit person TO do the work assigned him
| by the conspirators-make Youtsey swear
something that would hang Taylor and
| d the Republican party" From the first
| a guard was detailed to look only after
| Youtsey. He was TO endeavor to gain his
confidence, to influence him to make a
statement to their liking, to pour constantly
| into his ears the story that he need not
stay i'm prison a day longer than he chose.
| While this going on the thumbscrews
were being put to Youtsey; while being
| tempted be was being tortured at the same
| time. Numberless new rules were made
for his special benefit, that he might be
entangled in them and give an excuse
| for punishment. Sunday after Sunday he
was kept in his cell on bread and water on
one pretext or another.
BALL AND CHAIN.
For instance, at one time while the Legis-
lature was in session the wives of some
of the members and their daughters were
visiting the prison and asked to see Yout-
sey. He was in his cell at the time with
curtain hung up over the grating, a lamp
lighted and taking bath. The guard i'm
charge of the party walked up to his door
and jerked the curtain down without cere-
mony. Out of a sense of modesty Youtsey
blew out the light. For this he was kept
in his cell the following Sunday on bread
and water.
He has been made to drag a ball and
chain; he has been threatened with a fog
ging-possibly actually fiogged-always. of
course, ostensibly for some infraction of
rule, usually some rule made for his
special benefit. In the meantime, while this
was going on, he has had thrust at him time
after time a written statement ready for
his signature, and he was given to under
! stand that if he would sign it clemency
would be shown him. His brother has been
told that Youtsey need not stay in there
a day longer than he himself chose. The
| prison commissioners have been appealed
to to interfere and stop such a pitess
persecution They have said in substance,
almost in so many words: "Youtsey's fate
is in his own hands. When he gets ready
to tell what we know he knows Ca
synonym for what want him to say
| he knowsD he can have favors; not before"
1t is told in Frankfort that his wife, to
whom he is devotedy attached and who
! has been splendidy loyal TO him all
through, was approached with suggestion
that she use her influence TO get him to
make statement, and told that she could
take him home whenever he chose. Up till
short while ago his wife had been per-
mtted to visit him at short intervals. Re-
Gently, however. that has been stopped
upon the pretext that she welded a bad
influence over him, and that her visits
made him intractable afterward.
There he has been for two years and
more without the companiohship of friends
and absolutely within the power of men
more like demons than human beings. He
has been prosecuted, tortured and tempted.
other prominent Republicans and (there-
by damn the Republican party.
The press dispatches state that he has
| recently been before the Franklin county
, grand jury and confessed" and that a
transcript of his confession" will soon be
used as the basis for another demand for
the extradition of Governor Taylor.
The foregoing is plain, unvarnshed
tale-a statement of plain facts without
elaboration establishment. All has not
been told; time would fail to tell all that
might be told to illustrate the diabolical
villainy of some men and the pitifully
human weakness of others. / submit
[ though that if what have written is
true-and L aver that 1t is-any statement
wrung from Henry Youtsey or any other
man by such methods is a poor basis for
another demand for the extradition of a
man whose great and only crime consists
in having been honestly elected Governor
CHARLES FINLEY
: Martinsville. Ind. Jan. p.