Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-11-05
M'GILLIS EXPLAINS

Editor Tribue:: My attention has
been called to an article in your issue
Of last Friday under the heading
Peculiar" which is SO misleading in
its statements and so unjust in its 7
conclusions as to suggest the thought
that the writer, whoever he may be,
is deliberately endeavoring to create
a wrong impression in the public |
| mind as to the manner in which the
prisoners in the county Jail are man.
aged and controlled The article in
question among other things says:
i A few days ago an unfortunate
was sent up for ten days for being
drunk and disorderly. Wednesday
the street commissioner went to the
county jail to get the man for work
! on the streets. He was told the man
was sick and could not work. The
next day the commissioner sought
the man again with like result, As
this had happened before the mayor
l. 4 u
thought it time to investigate the af-
fair and found that the man was
working yesterday for Peter Wilcox
at the waterworks. !" y
| Now, anyone reading the above can
draw but one conclusion If the al
LEGGED facts therein stated are assum-.
ed to be true, and that is that the.
street commissioner was deliberately
misinformed ais to the whereabouts
of the prisoner in question and when
it is read in conjunction with the
statement made later concerning
'tpeonage'' the inference is inevitable
that the labor of the prisoner was be-.
ing converted to personal profit by
the sheriff or official in charge.
wish to denounce categorically
and emphatically the statements and
: insinuations above set forth as being
I grossly misleading and in many in
I. stances absolutely and maliciously
: false. There is just sufficient truth
d in the account as to make it doubiy
e dangerous. For example: it is true
t that the street commissioner did ask
r for the man to work on the streets
and was informed that he was sick
l. and unable to work. The insinuat1on
# in that part of the article quoted
e above is that this was not true and
s. was meant to mislead the commits
sione,. The true facts are that the
l. may1 was sick at the time and unable
l. to work, nor was he working at any
d time that the street commissioner
it asked for his services and was In
leI formed that he was sick. On Thurs
70 day afternoon Mr.. Wilcox was in ur,
,ei gent need of help and, being unable
lyl to procure any down town, came K
al the Jail to see if any of the prisoners
,e were about to be discharged that day
If thinking that perhaps he could ge
ID one to help him. The prisoner re
II ferred to had at that time only da!
TO and a half to serve and as he hat
i recovered from his indisposition Mr.
\ WILCOX. WAS slulOlu eiAeHU - 49,
could procure the permission o
Judge Fort-the magistrate who i'm
posed the sentence--he could TAX
the man, and on that understanding
Mr.. Wilcox hired him at thirty cent
=, an hour and took him along. N
further charge was made against tn
: city for his board and it was sup
! iaposed that the permission of tn
magistrate had been secured. In thi
connection / wish to state that thi
= practice of saving expense to the cit
= under similar conditions has been i
- vogue for many years and has o
= more than one occasion been resori
" ed to by the present mayor and nj
- street commissioner. The man !
lauestion undertook to work for MI
ne Wilcox on his own free will and Ill
rs der no compulsion whatever and
TO consider his willingness to work
fo7 good point in his favor and sti
70 further justifying leniency toward
re him. The man was offered and r
ceived even more than the go1n
ne wages, and am quite unable to pc
q ceive where any question Of peonas
Try can be raised.
sss If the release of the prisoner
'aii short time before the expiration 4,
az AZ, his sentence is such a heinous GRIN
not and not, as l have stated, the col
Z N mon custom under proper COMO
Ter tions, will the mayor then expla
roll why one Cassidy was released aft
api- serving only fifteen days of thir
by days sentence, presumably on t
Z verbal order of the mayor or sire
commissioners but certainly witho
any official notice to the sheriff tn
such release had been made. III
man Cassidy was taken direct fro
custody and handed over to the q