The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1909-05-21

insist on having you do 1t. This was
at the close of the third day of your
struggling investigation, when you
began to talk about leaving for Lam
sing the next morning. UP to that
time had been given no hearing on
charges affecting my integrity as an
official, or my management of the af-
fairs of the prison generally.
| No Need to Make Defense.
"You substantially, Gas you now
admit over your own signature in
| your letter to which this is a reply
assured me that there was no need
| for me to make a, defense to any
charges that had been brought to
your notice. And after you had Civ
en- me that assurance in reply to my
demand that l be given hearing in
my own behalf, your associate on the
committee, Ogg, whispeSed to me
| that he wanted word in private
| with me. I went with him into my
reception room, when he, placing
| his hand on my shoulder. and look
| ing me in the face, said: Warden,
want to say to you that. owing to
| my newspaper experience. the report
| of cur committee will be written by
| me, and ii will be one that you will
have no cause to be dissatisfied
with. We have made a thorough in
vestigation into the conduct of this
| prison, and we are satisfied with the
way it is being conducted. | am not
here to aid your personal enemies
| and you need not worry about our
| report l am giving almost his ex-
| act language. / said to Mr.. Ogg that
| had not at any time been worried
about what the committee would find
or what it's report would be, and
thanked him for his assurance in
advance regarding its tenor. You
then left for the city, and that ended
your one-sided Investigation of this
prison and my conduct of it.
Found Nothing Wrong.
''When you got back to Lansing
you told the correspondent of the
Detroit Free Press that you had
found nothing wrong with my man
agement of the prison, that you had
given John r. Gordon and George w
Freeman and Others an opportunity
to prove their charges but that they
had failed to produce anything in
substantiation of them. This state
ment was published in the Free
Press Immediately after your return
to Lansing, and was in accord with
your assurance to me here when 7
demanded hearing from your COM
mittee.
Now you want me to believe that
you have been fair to me because
you opposed having embodied in
your report valueless recommended
ton, though you signed as chairman
a report to the legislature which, IL
what it charges against me is true
even part, establishes that I am I'M
fit to be in charge of the prison and
should be summary removed.
Permit me to remind you. Mr.
Whalen, that your committee was
not sent here by the legislature as a
whole, under joint resolution.
hence that what it has done cannot
be regarded as the act of that body,
duly authorized by concurrent action
of the house and senate. The ex-
pense of your little excursion up
here may have been paid by the
state ere this-I imagine you and
your thrifty associates lost no time
in getting your bills on that account
attended to-but do you think they
constitute a legal charge, and should
have been paid?
Asks Whelan's Opinion.
LAS an honest farmer and con-
scientious lawmaker, what is your
opinion on this point. Mr.. Whalen?
You held sessions here in secret, |
calling in convicts whose testimony
you desired to take as you wanted |
them. selecting the very worst men
in the prison from a list furnished |
you before you came here). and n
made no effort to hamper you in any |
manner. You visited the shops |
where the men were working at will,
talked with them in their cells, with |
no officer of the prison to interfere,
and their statements were taken |
down by your stenographer when
they were examined behind closed |
uOol III yOul IOOlu here
under oatIls. You held a day session
at a hotel in the city, also three
night sessions according to your re-
port, before which came as witnesses
every. enemy of mine who desired or
sought hearing. | had no repre-
sentative at these sessions, no oppor-
tunity to defend myself in any way
against the attacks made on me or
charges brought against me. And on
the testimony thus taken you frame
up a viciously false and utterly indie
feasible report, sign it as chairman,
and then write me asking me to be-
lieve that you have been fair to me
because you opposed having a recon-
that | be removed from
Office made a part OF the report.
You say that you are of the opin-
ion that nothing will be done with
your report. Rest assured that II
will do something with it, Mr.. Wha-1
len. | grant that 1t merits the rat
ing you Justly place upon it's value;
nevertheless. since II has been given