Evening journal., 1904-01-18
MESERvE WANTS
INVESTIGATION
Will Bring Boards Attention
to Charges Made by
Former Guard
TRUSTEES WILL MEET WEDNESDAY

Chief Warden A. :. Meserve Of the
New Castle county workhouse Will in
all probability bring the matter Of
charges which are being made. by
former guard TO the attention Of the
, Board of Trustees Of the institution at
an adjourned meeting to be held on
Wednesday. These charges were made
by Franklin G. Howard, who was en-
ployed at the workhouse as night
guard for about a year.
! Howard charges that the manage
ment is lax. that TO this fact is due the
many escapes that have been made
during the past year or so. lie claims
the rules in regard to the sguards are
not enforced and that it frequently
happened that he was left alone to
guard the institution. single handed,
for hours at a time.
On the night OF December 10 the
ex-guard says:
Warden Meserve. his deputy and the
centre guard were all away from early
in the evening until near midnight.
There was no one, during this period.
about the place that knew the COM
bination of the locks to the cells. and
had there been a fire. or had any one
been sick nc relief would have been at
tainable. This condition of affairs.
he adds 'was not the fault OF 1.-The
deputy or of the centre guard. They
had been excused from service on the
evening named by the warden, but the
latter neglected to provide. as was
his duty, additional guard service. on
lanother occasion, December 13, between
8 and 6 o'clock a. m, the night guard
was left alone for nearly an hour in
the centre hall with fifteen negroes, and
. at any moment he might have been at
tackled, overpowered, the keys taken
. from him and all of the fifteen pri-
4 soners made their escape"
Some Of the guards. he says. do as
/ they please and openly boast that the
/ warden dare not discharge them ol
L even discipline them.
, Howard also charges that foot
= bought by the county for the institu-
y ton is wasted. While he was a guar,
he claims a box would appear at tbs
\ worlShouse at regular intervals. This
box was always locked and was looked
after in very secret and mysterious
manner. He claims that this box wa:
ipacked with bones on which there was
meat from two to three inches thick
This box he says belonged to one oi
the firm who has the contract for max
ing the clothing at the Jail and was
sent to Elsmere where he then had
kennel of dogs.
Howard also alleges that he ha.
some other matters of a more serious
! nature of which he will giTe the facts
to the trustees If they viii order al
investigation.
I Warden Meserve denies all thu
II.
: says there are no grounds for sucl
complaints. In speaking of Howard
e. Mr.. Meserve said: "The man was EN-
- ployed as an extra guard after the fire
Y but his appointment was neyer con
. hrmed by the Board of Trustees. While
he was on duty as night guard I learn
0 ed that he had been getting the officers
D cook. an old prisoner up at 10 o'clocl
at night to get him a meal, and ! pu
stop to it. The guard blamed Cool
!. Thackery for telling me. and was al
, ways at odds with Thackery after that
/. "Some time ago I issued an orde
q for this guard to call Thackery at
= O'Clock every morning. so that h
would not oversleep himself. Th
guard brought the order back to me
stating that he would give up his posi-
ton before he would obey 1t. I tol,
him If he wanted TO quit he could d
d so at once, or take thiray days notice
! He took the notice and at the end o
y thirty left
: J. Frank Ball, secretary of the Boar
: of Trustees. when seen today, said MI
- Meserve may bring the matter TO tn
attention of the board at an adjourne
meeting on Wednesday. He does no
= think there are any grounds for sue
4 charges.
Read the E,ueninr In,,rnnl