The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-10-03
The Wessenger.
ASYLUM DIRECTORS REPORT.

I1C 1lodAC d0y Jun at 4eoACi6h oA
investigation of the manner III which
that institution is managed.
OF course it is a perfect vindicanj2
of the officials of the institution.
Nothing else was expected.
In reference to the Nall CASE b re-
port says that, as the o u men VINO
captured him are to be tried for nav
ing caused the patients death by I'll
and brutal treatment, it would be I'm
proper at this time for the board to ey-
press any opinion thereon, and thea
goes on with a long argument in an
attempt to prove that DR.. Mckee and
those other physicians who knew
nothing about the case except VIVA.
they got from the superintendent were
correct in their diagnosis of the case
and the cause of n death, and that
the two doctors who made a thorough
post mortem examination were wrong.
A very significant fact, though, is
that the report of the board, in discus
sing this feature Of the case makes
no reference 20 the fact that DR.. Mckee
testified that Nall was stripped imme-
diately on being brought to the asylum
and thoroughly examined and that
there were no wounds or bruises on MS
body and only one on his head, Whlle
the two physicians whose testimony
the board seems TO pay so little re-
gard to found a number of bruises Oh
the head and on the body.
The board says that "the most that
can be said IS that if there was al
error in the diagnosis it was an error
of judgment" 1t strikes us that the
facts in the case as developed by the:
coroner's jury show that the error in
diagnosis came from the fact that the
examination of Nails body and condi-
ton when he was brought back to Tie
asylum was entirely too superficial aad
of course the evidence of the other OK
Derts who testified in DR.. McKee's fav-
or was based upon that physicians
statement regarding this hasty and
SUPERFICIAL SAdl4LlLldIlOH VI Liz pdLASAC'
The report Is a very ingenious de-
Tense of DR.. Mckee and of the four
men who are charged with the death
of Nall. While the directors say they
refrain from saying anything as to the
guilt or innocence of these four men.
they nevertheless enter into an arSu-
ment to prove DR.. McKee's diagnosis
Of the case to he correct and that Of
the doctors who performed the autop-
sy to be erroneous.
What IS this but an argument in the
defense of the four attendants? Ii
DR.. McKee's testimony (including the
statement that there was only n
wound on the mans person. is to be
taken as giving the true and only u
of death in contradiction of that OF
the other two physicians (including
their statements that they found many
wounds on the head and body why
then. Of course. the four attendants
are not guilty of the charge against
them. The board of directors could
not have made a stronger argument
i'll favor of the accused men.
From the day the Raleigh POST made
the discovery of the escape, capture
ard death of the man Nall and fist
brought the matter to the attention of
the public there seems to have Oeen
an unwillingness on the part of all Of
icials, except the governor, to have the
public know any more about the case
than possible. All developments show
this.
There seems to have been a syste-
matte course Of favoring the superin-
tendent of the asylum and the four
attendants from the time one of the
daily papers of Raleigh attempted TO
belittle the charges and to make it
appear that there was nothing in the
case. all the way down through the
contradictory statements Of the aGten
dants, which were adopted by the sup
e~rintendent in his report to The Post.
after he found that paper had caugh.
on to the case, III in his letter to
the deceased's father, down to the &C
ton of the solicitor of the Raleigh dis
trict. in allowing the four MEN
who had been imprisoned by the colc-
ner's jury on a capital charge to be
discharged on small bail bonds with
out having any investigation of the
case by a judicial officer ared
to grant bail in such cases. On the
suing out Of writs of habeas corpus
by the defendants he entered into al
agreement with the counsel for the de-
PENDANTS that their clients might be
released on bonds.
We see hat the governor has desig-
mated Hon. Thomas B. Womack Ito
represent the state" in the trial OF
these four men. We do not know
whether this means that he is To ACT