The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-02


When I tod her that i was ready to
! hear what she had to say, she seemed
( surprised, and said she didn't have
anything to tell me. Then she said:
/ All ] could have to say to you is that
I one of your policemen followed me
around the block the other night when
] I went out to get a breath of air after
sitting up with my father, who IS sick
Il Immediately apolOgized for the
( policeman, saying that he probably
mistook her for one of the stray wom-
/ en- he was supposed to arrest, and said
! that I would speak to the man on that
beat about it. could see at once that
the girl did not expect me. and d1d1 I
/ know what to make of me for stopping
her. I turned to White for an eXplana-
ton, but he and the other girl We're
/ gone L called but he did not an
| sWer and then told Miss Scott to call
the girl. She did so, but there was no
reply. I had d date with the mayor
about that time, and was anxious to
{ get away, but 1 was bothered about
/ Whites actions, and couldn't leave
without finding him.
Il didn't tell Miss Scott that / sus-
pected any trouble, but told her to go
home and let me know if the girl had
/ gone home. Then I went back to the
/ station, but White was not there. Mrs.
/ White was there. and when I went out
on one side of the block to look for
White. she evidently went around the
/ other way, as I met all three of them,
White, Mrs White and Miss Main, walk
/ ing up thestreet together. In the mean
time Mrs Main had been to the station
/ looking for her daughter as Miss Scott,
when she found that her companion had
not reached home. had told Mrs. Main
of the meeting with White.
white was drinking that night, and
I didn't talk to him much. but the next
morning Z jumped on him about the
affair, and he denied having done any
thing wrong. I did not think that the
far1 wa h1c tn
be, but it bothered me a lot on account
of the scandal to the force"
Will Investigate Goodwin.
A special committee consisting of
five members will be appointed at the
council meeting this evening to investi-
gate the official conduct of Chief of
Police w. h Goodwin. The appoint
ment of the committee will be made at
the hands of Mayor w. H. Davis. Ac-
cOrding to the city's ordinance and the
city charter act in the state statutes the
mayor has almost supreme control over
the police department. The power has
been vested with him ever since the
repeal of the old metropolitan police
law. Accordingly it is natural that
Mayor W. H. Davis should take the ini-
tiatiVe in making a thorough investiga-
ton Of the head of the city's police de-
partment. Ordinarily the police conf
nittee is charged with an investigation
into the record of any member of the
trOduced and passed by the city eoun-
Gil Because of the absence from the
city of L. A. Ryder.a prominent mem
Der of the police committee, leaving
but two members of the committee in
the city a special committee consisting
of five members viii be appointed.
COuncilmen Horn and Joseph Griley,
the remaining members of the police
committee viii be appointed upon the
special committee as viii also Council
man Holiday. The remainder OF the
personnel of the committee has not been
decided upon as yet 1t will however,
be announced this evening and an in
vestigation will be commenced immedi-
ately.
Mayor W. H. Davis said this after
noon: ''I will in all probability ap-
point a special committee of five mem
Der to Investigate into TINS matter. i
haven't decided upon all the members
/ of the committee as yet, however, and
will not be able to announce them untn
this evening. We are going to investi-
/ gate this thing thoroughly, you can be
assured of that. We are going right
down to the bottom of things and il
there is anything there it will be laid
bare"
The mayor came to this decision
after a conference with Chief Goodwin
and Councilman C. X. Holiday. Prior
to that the mayor did not have much
to say. He claimed that he had not
Investigated the matter thoroughly
/ enough to know what he would do
4 Chief Goodwin came up to the mayor :
office at about 1870 this morning and
there related his story of his cOnnec-
ton with the trouble relating that
Patrol Driver White had told him a
girl was Oh the outside "WhO knows
something about that case" Clfef
Goodwin then stated that he had fol-
lowed White and interviewed me girl
to find out what she had to tell him.
/ Following the relation of hfS c0nlIec-
A.
c. K. BclHcay and Chief Goodwin re-
tired to the private Office of the mayor
and were there clOseted together for
several minutes.
Both Councilmen Horn and Griley,
members of the police committee state
their belie1Ethat an investigation should
be held asd that right away.
c. W. Horn, who is chairman of the
police committee, said: 4 am very
sorry that such thing should occur.
1t is unfortunate. I have always thought
well of Goodwin. I think though that
the only proper thing to do is to inves-
tigate this thoroughly It ought to be
done right away"
Councilman Joseph GriIey said: Il
don't know scarcely anything about
this. 1 intend to go uptown later in
the day and find out more about 5t.
believe though that an investigation IS
the thing that should be held. The peo-
pie have right to know"
Would Suspend Goodwin.
Temporary suspension Of Chief Good
win from duty until he is exonerated, is
the suggestion which Councilman
| Swendson offers. Il believe that it would
not be improper to demand that Chief
( Goodwin be suspended from avtive duty
| until the investigation has been held
and he is cleared. The whole thing Ger
tainly looks anything but nice said he.
! of couse don't know what action the
/ city council viii take since I have not
talked scarcely with any one about it but
an Investigation is the proper thing.
/ Il haven't got much to say about this, "
said Councilman Nipps. Il belieev an in
/ vestlgation is what we want"
/ 1T looks nasty, mighty nasty" said
1 Councilman J. w. F. Hughes. such a
/ thing as this not only hurts the man con-
( nected with il but it hurts the town. It
l really hurts the town worse than it hurts
the man.