Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-22

ASHEV1LLE. n. c., January 20, 1905.
| Maj Richard Sylvester. Washington, d. G.
Dear Sir-Mr. Rollins has just showed
me your letter of the 10th instant. and
| while there is usually a relationship be-
| tween physician and patient that is sacred
| and inviolate. yet there are times when
| even secrecy should be invaded for the
| good of the public. The White House epi-
sode of the Mrs. Morris affair is an in
| stance illustrative of this fact. Not only is
| our chief executive brought unduly under
unfavorable criticism. from which. owing
| to his high position, he Is unable to vindi-
| cate himself, but the whole nation is at
| tempted to be brought into disrepute by
designing persons who wish to exploit them
| selves before the world l deem IL, there
! fore emlnently proper under the circum-
| stances to state frankly as a physician
| my knowledge of Mrs Minor Morris from
a medical standpoint
About two years ago. while Mrs. Morris
] was in Florida, through correspondence,
I she came to Asheville and became my pa-
| tient, or, rather, l became her medical ad-
wiser, her husband being a physician. She
remained in this city about six weeks and
from all 1 saw and heard of her actions
was forced to the conclusion that she
was unbalanced mentally, or, in familiar
parlance, crank" or as we say, suf-
fering from mild form of insanity-a
monomania I do not deem II necessary
at this time to go into the details of the
| symptoms which would be confirmatory of
my diagnosis
l have the honor to be. sincerely. yours
III. BASCOM WEAVER NJ. D.
The meager results from the widespread
cast of the great executive dragnet must
have been a sad disappointment at the
White House. The biggest item in the
catch was the remarkable testimony of DIR.
h Bascom Weaver 'of Asheville, n. c.,
This testimony, it is stated by an Asheviile
paper, was secured from DR.. Weaver by
Republican State Chairman t. S. Rollins,
who was desirous of aiding the admin
istration," and "at the request of the chief
OF police of Washington"
DR.. H. Bascom Weaver is a willing little
cuss. ready to violate his professional honor
for the vfndication of our chief executive
and so he proceeds to tell elaborate story
of having treated Mrs. Minor Morris about
two years ago in Asheville for about six
weeks and that he came to the conclusion
that she was unbalanced mentally. The
White House evidently put high value
upon the testimony of DR. Weaver, obtained
through the desire of Republican Chairman
Rollins Ito aid the administration" for ii Is
paraded as the most important feature of
the testimony against Mrs. Morris furnished
by the administration to the postal COM
| mittee, and figuring prominently In that
committee 'confdentiaI' report In favor
of the confirmation of Barnes to be post
master. But its usefulness is greatly dam
aged by the irrefutable proof that Mrs.
Morris never in Asheville, never met
DR.. H. Eascom Weaver anywhere. never
wrote to DR.. H. Bascom Weaver and was
never aware of the existence of DR.. II. Bas-
com Weaver until he bobbed up wit
And now. worst of all, DR.. Weaver. cor
nered in his fabrication. confesses that he
never treated Mrs Minor Morris, though he
names her specifically in his testimony, but
he claims that he treated another Mrs.
Morris The Asheville paper publishing
Weavers recantation of his testimony COM
plains bitterly at the violation of Dr.
Weavers confidence in the publication or
his letter by some one desirous of bolster
ing up Barnes" and adds that this viola
ton of confidence must necessarily have
been by some person of some Importance
There seems to be considerable wriggling in
the viper's nesti
Next in Importance comes the testimony
of DR.. ]. Wesley Bovee, who does not
claim to have ever seen Mrs. Morris. but
who says that he has for a number of
years been intimately acquainted with Mrs.
Morris relatives fBrother HullD. and he
states that from the history of her case
and judging from reports he was of the
opinion that her mind was not right. Not
very weighty evidence, doctor!
Then Mai. Sylvester reports regretfully
that nothing defamatory of Mrs Morris
could be obtained from the department
stores, and the testimony finally peters out
with the statement of Mrs. Dunlap that
Mrs. Morris had on one occasion 'upbraided
her for having placed her own name as
chairman of the committee letter
head" Prodigious! Pro-di-gi-ous! as DOM
inie Sampson would say.
1t is to be regretted that the testimony
of the White House officials and employees
is not presented in a more intelligible shape.
1t is evident that the witnesses were not
properly coached. OF course the whole gang
were badly ratified by the exigencies of the
case: but really some supervision should
have been given to the shaping of the tesu-
mony. The policemen contradict Barnes
and one another in the widest fashion. No
two of the witnesses agree in their stories
except in the one particular of declaring
Mrs Morris crazy to excuse their brutality
in removing her. The most positive and
conclusive testimony on this point comes
from Mrs. Marilla Thornburgh, matron at
the house of detention. She testifes that
on the arrival of Mrs. Morris at the house
of detention:
''She seemed to be very hysterical; she
was indignant She was making
sweeping assertions with her hands
She dropped on her knees by the desk and
sent up a petition for guidance, and asked
that her enemies be confounded and that
the President be brought to view the case
of her husband; that 1t was a just and
Christian act to do, and that he was in
6uenced by people who had grudge or
srite against her-not her, but us. After
ward she went upstairs and prayed again
for support and the confounding of her
enemies, which, to my mind, in the place
where she was was what a person in their
right mind would not do. She prayed twice
in my room.'
Moral: The victim of a White House
knock-down and drag-out should never be
indignant and on no account drop on her
knees and offer up a prayer for Divine
guidance and support under penalty of be-
ing declared insane; and If she should fol-
low UP this discriminating act by praying
twice on her knees she must be adjudged
a dangerous lunatic, to be consigned at
once to padded cell.
But what does the republican Senate care
fo- evidence?
Barnes through whose bundering stu
pidity and incapacity this great national
scandal has fallen upon the White House,
will be rewarded by office with salary
considerably larger than is given to United
States senators and representatives, more
than Secretary Loeb gets, or the Secretary
of the Senate, more than the justices of the
Supreme Court of the District get
Down with the accursed muck-rake, Up
with the blessed muck-brush!
That is the latest edict from the White
House.
CHAPLAIN MILLER'S DEATH.