The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-02-23
|OVERSEER
UNDER FIRE
Public Hearing on City Poor
Department.
ONE PERSON APPEARS.
Mrs. William G. Mitchell Told Of Her
Dealings With Mr.. Smith and How
She Was Treated by
Him.
ONE PERSON APPEARS.

The first public peep into the doings
Of the commission which is Investigating
the city poor department was afforded
last evening when a public hearing was
held at the city council chamber in the
City Hall. Only one person, Mrs. vii.
liam G. Mitchell, presented anything to
the comission. Mr.. Mitchell was pres
ent to enquire what has become Of her
farm in Orange which she signed over
to G. A. Smith, and to know if she is
being supported by the city. She Incl
! dentally passed her opinion of 0verseer
of the Poor Smith. The hearing devel
oped into a more or less absorbing dia-
loglle between Mrs. Mitchell and the
oyerseer, the former declaring that she
had never been treated as she was treat
ed by Mr.. Smith and Attorney H. w
Scott, both Of whom, declared the won-
an, had assailed her character
Mayor Barclay and Alderman Robins,
candidates for mayor, were also present
and were interested participants. They
occupied the same seftee, with one seat
intervening The former was dragged
into the discussion much against his
viii. But he felt called upon at one
time TO warn the oyerseer that his
words would come back to him.
Mrs. Mitchell's story is long one,
but briefly it il this. Last summer,
while riding bicycle, she fell off and
broke one leg just below the knee. She
was taken to Fred Cheney's in South
Barre, where she was stopping. DIR. w
4. Lazelle set the fracture aud the wom-
an was then removed to the city farm
Mrs. Mitchell said last evening that
she protested vigorously against being
taken there but to no avail. Overseer
Smith said that Mr.. Cheney had stated
that he thought it would be the best
plan although he did not want TO turn
| the woman out of his house, explaining
however, that his house contained only
| two rooms and an attic, and that the
Accommodations were not the best.
| In the course of several weeks the
fracture was healed, but new trouble
arose over the ankle She hobbled into
the hearing on a cane, After several
weeks Mrs Mitchell left the city farm
of her own accord and finally ended up
at Fred Cheney's farm, where she did
what she was able. That was small,
as her ankle troubled her much Since
she left the city farm, she had been
| given wrapper, a pair of shoes and two
dollars in money, and her boy dozen
years old had been sent back to New
Jersey, where they came from. Soon
Mrs. Mitchell began proceedings for di-
voTce against William g. Mitchell. She
got the divorce and alimony in the shape
Of small farm in Orange. There was
a mortgage on this farm, held last by j.
X. Anderson OF this city. It was stated
that Mr.. Anderson was about to bring
foreclosure proceedings.
AT this time 0verseer Smith stepped
in as private citizen, on the advice
Of the city attorney, and received the
assignment Of the farm from Mrs.
Mitchell, assuming the mortgage. etc,
with the intention, as Mr.. Smith stated
last night, Of disposing Of the property,
paying the bills and turning over the
remainder Of the property to Mrs. Nit
chell. Overseer Smith said last night
that this move was made to help the
woman ont as the holder of the mort
gage was certainly going to foreclose.
From that rises Mrs. Mitehell's chief
complaint She wanted to know con
cerning the title of her farm, saying
that she had not been able to get one
cent Of the rental, being told that the
collector, II, Il Scott, had no right to
turn over the money TO her. She want
ed to know also If she was being sup
ported BY the city. She didn't know
if she was, as she hadn't got anything
since last fall Overseer Smith ex.
planned the latter BY declaring that the
woman had not applied for aid and
that he Judged she was getting along
comfortably at Mr.. Cheney's.
simply ont in the world with moth
ing was the way Mrs. Mitchell stated
her position at the outset Of her re-
marks She also wished to defend her
character against the things said about
her by Mr. Smith and Attorney Scott
And she defended ii last night 0verseer
Smith was also not lacking for words,
and there was little chance for the com-
mission for an hour Mrs. Mitchell re-
minded the oyerseer that 1T doesn't
cost anything to be a gentleman" and
the latter declared that he had not
made statements rejecting on her char
acter.
Said Mrs. Mitchell. s'You called me
everything but a lady in your office"
And she added that she never would
have signed over her properly to such
man II she had known IL. AZ first,
she declared, both Mr.. Smith and Mr..
Scott We're nice to her, until she told
them that she would not sign over the
property to the former. Then they be-
gan to say bad things about her to her
face and otherwise, saying that if she
didn't sign over the property it would
be foreclosed in 24<holrs Mrs. Mitchell
consulted lawyer, NJ. NJ Gordon, who,
she declared last evening, played her into
the hands Of Smith and Scott She
signed over the property and there it
rests now.
The commission questioned Overseer
Smith about his accounts Of the tran.