The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-13

When contributions were being lev
led for bail money for Gardner, Col.
AmeS was asked one afternoon in May
or Ames Office by Capt. John F'itchette
to pay share of the money. Col.
Ames refused to do so, saying that he
had nothing to do with the affair and
did not want to be mixed UP in it in
any way, Coffee John then made a
Sneering remark and Mayor Ames
said:
That's, right, Fred has had nothing
to do with it,"
Did you testify to this at the trial? %
asked Chief Justice Start.
mo, | did not" replied Wheelock.
why nOt?" asked the chief justice.
Il did not want to throw the entire
onus upon DR.. Ames. 1 answered all
the questions put to me on the stand,
and L was not asked anything in regard
to this conversation"
DO you. know what the law re-
quires?' again asked the judge.
Tell the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth l told nothing
but the truth"
when Fred Ames discovered that
grating was going on he went to his
brother after considerable hesitancy
and succeeded in getting Gardeners
scalp" resumed Wheelock. He then
had Charles Bracket and Chris Nor
beck furnish me with list of the
places that had been paying graft
money, and Icopied them off on a type
writer and gave it to him, SO that he
might notify them to discontinue the
practice. l am confident that Col.
Ames had nothing to do with the graft,
for Capt. Charles Hill acted as chief,
and Col. .Ames was only figurehead."
Tears came t0uthe eyes of Gov. s. r.
Van SAINT anc a. number of the men
who were present at the hearing when
Mrs. Ames made her plea for her hus-
band. She spoke firmly, with a clear
and distinct voice, which broke with
emotion only occasionally as she re-
lated the pathetic Situa ton in which
she and her family was placed by the
disgrace Of her husband, and when she
avowed her loyalty to him and asserted
that the hope of her life was that each
of her sons would grow up and become
as good man as their father had been.
mo one knows better than l that he
is innocent" she continued. During
that period when the condition of af-
fairs in his department began to come
to his attention he made eonfidant of
me, and told me day by day the new
things he had discovered. He said he
thought of -resigning, but 1 remon-
strated with him, telling him that we
could not we'll afford toslose the $4,000
ed that the trouble would pass off and
knowing that he was innocent of doing
any wrong l felt that no harm would
come to- hin1 even if the condition of
affairs was exposed. How poorly /
foresaw the. consequences"
AS Mrs A1nes proceeded with her
plea tears came to the eyes of her au-
ditors. Gov Van SAINT was the first
to be touched by her story, and soon
several Of the men about the room pro-
duced handkerchiefs. AS Mrs. Ames
neared the end and referred to her huS-
band as an example for her children,
several of the men broke into sobs.
w. M. Regain, spoke of Col. Ames
as a business. man of Minneapolis, as
a soldier, in the Philippine war and
extoIled his character. If Col. Ames
had been of a disposition addicted to
grating he could have lined his pock-
cts while in command at Manila, where
unbounded opportunities existed for
corruption. But his conduct as colonel
of the Thirteenth was exemplary, and
all reports declare him to have served
his country with honor" Mr.. Regain
referred to the case of Senator Bur
ton, of Kansas, and pointed out that
the sentence imposed upon AmeS was
extreme as compared with that given
the Missouri senator. The offense
charged against Ames, he said, was of
a mere local character, while that of
which Senator Burton was convicted
affected the nation at large.
Senator Hardy, of st. Paul; Thomas
Quinby and w. E. Goddard, of Mime
apolis, also spoke in praise of the
character of F. w. Ames.
The board took the case under adj
visement and will come to a conclu-
sion at a future meeting. the date Of
which has not been set.