Cañon City record., 1910-12-22

bARNE- It's I
PETITION
GRANTED
CRIMINAL CAPIASES ,OREDRED is
SUED BY COURT AND PLACED
IN HANDS OF SHERIFF FOR
EXECUTION.

Judge Lee Champion in regular ses-
sion of the Fremont county district
court here at o'clock Friday after
noon, granted the petition of Attorney
General T. Barnett to be permitted to
file two direct criminal informations
In that tribunal in connection with the
recent investigation of affairs at the
penitentiary under the administration
of Warden Cleghorn and capiases
were ordered issued by the clerk OF
the court and were placed in the hands
of the sheriff this morning for exc
cution.
Bond will be required of the defen-
dants and a hearing of the case set
for as early a date as possible after
the beginning of the new year. There
are FIVE indictments, but the names
OF the defendants were not made
known at the time of the filing of the
informations and the clerk of the
court refused to divulge them for pub
Iication until after the capiases had
of the sheriff for service
Attorney General Barnett made no
argument to the court in defense. or
justification. of his application to be
permitted TO come into court to insd-
tute proceedings in his own name
as prosecutor of the defen-
dants named in the informations: that
question was waived for the time be-
ing, but will probably be fought out
when the case comes up for trial. Dis
trict Attorney Locke did not cite any
of the authorities in support of his
controversy with Attorney General
himself Not being required to do so
by the court. and II being General Bar
nett's own case.
On behalf of Mr.. Locke 1t may be
said that he has never at any time re-
fused to file an information in the pri-
son matter. but has asserted at all
times that he would take the necessa-
ry steps in the proposition whenever
sufficient evidence was presented TO
him to warrant action in the premises.
He made an exhaustive investigation
Of the evidence presented by Barnett
Of the affairs at the penitentiary under
the wardenship of John Cleghorn. and
was convinced that there was neither
graft" nor wrong doing. of any kind
there during that period and so re-
ported in a written statement to the
attorney general. Assured as the re-
suit OF his own inquiry into the prison
management that there was nothing
upon which to predicate criminal ac-
ton. Mr.. Locke dropped the matter as
one outside the province of his official
duties.
In explanation of his attitude in re-
spect to the proposition so zealously
worked up by Attorney Gneeral Bar
nett during the last few months, Mr..
Locke said Friday afternoon in ad-
dressing the Court:
II the Court please. | have not seen
the informations which are presented
by General Barnett At the session
of this Court on Monday last. General
Barnett presented to me two infor-
nations Just Immediately before COM
ing into Court, and asked the Court
for time until today to consider of my
duty in the premises. They relate to
alleged offenses of criminal nature
which General Barnett has hereto
fore presented to me, which he says
is all the evidence he has touching
the charges made in these informa-
tions presented to me for signature. /
have carefully and thoroughly exam
ined all of the evidence which he has
presented to me, and have heretofore
found and reported to him my official
conclusion that 1t is insufficient to
make out a prima facie case upon the