The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1911-03-02
RED Wing SCHOOL
PLACE OF TORTURE
SWEAR WITNESSES

was admitted by the superintendent
as was also the assertion that fog
ging contrivance is or has been en-
ployed, only Superintendent Whittier
preferred to call it a ''contrivance."
It was the assertion of Senator Steph-
ems that such an apparatus existed
that caused the present investiga-
ton.
The effect of the hearing is the
talk of the capitol and Senator Steph-
ems is being lauded for his stand.
Il was afraid 1 might be doing
wrong" said Mr.. Stephens after the
hearing, "but that volume of evidence
indicates that I should have been re-
mis- in my duties as a citizen had I
not presented the facts as I found
them
Another meeting of the investiga-
ting committee is to be held in the
senate chamber tonight. Yesterday
suhpoenas for 100 additional wit
nesses were being served.
Upon the suggestion of Mr. Steph-
ems the committee will listen to the
testimony of a physician as to what
the effect of 100 or so lashes on the
spine would have to a boys nervous
system.
Mr.. Stephens was present and he
presented the committee a list of wit
nesses. The committee is composed
of Senators A. J. Rockne of Zumbrota,
which is in Goohue county where the
training school is located; J. D. Sui
livan of St. Cloud; Frank Clague of
Redwood Falls; and Representatives
!. A. Lydiard of Minneapolis; Geo.
H. Voxland of Kenyon. No attorney
appeared to assist Mr.. Stephens in
his charges and Mr.. Stephens ad-
dressed the committee but briefly.
Stephens Suggestion Ignored.
Il merely want to sugest," he said,
that Superintendent Whittier go on
the stand for what we are after is
merely the actual conditions existing
at the school and l know of no one
more competent to give such infor-
nation than the superintendent He
might be able to save times and make
useless the calling of other wit
nesses.''
+ The committee ignored this sug-
gestion and Chairman Rockne, who
dosen't impress one as being enthus-
iastic over very searching investi-
cation of the conduct of his home in
stitution, curtly Informed Mr.. Steph-
ems that the burden was upon those
making charges to prove their as
sertions, and requested Mr.. Stephens
to proceed.
mo, it is not for me to proceed"
replied Mr.. Stephens, sit is up to the
committee to conduct this investi-
CATION"
Chairman Rockne then called the
first witness, Miss Emma Longorch,
who has been an Instructor in the
girls training school at Red Wing
since August 2, 1910 Senator Sui
livan, who asked most of the Ques-
tions on behalf of the committee, re-
quested the witness to tell what she
personally knew relative to corporal
punishment at the Red Wing school
and Miss Longorch replied substan-
ITALY as follows:
Young Woman Gives Her Experience.
zone night in September last, I
| went with a fellow Instructor from
our building to the main building to
get the mail AS we were going by
the first cottage I distinctly heard
the application of lashes. We stop
ped and counted 25 strokes, The
| fogging was taking place in the
basement and the means of the boy
were terrible and seemed to be muf-
fed as though something had been
| thrown over his mouth to deaden the
sound We went on, got our mail,
returned and still the beating con-
tinued. We counted 20 more strokes
As in all. l reported the occurance
to Mrs. Morse, superintendent of the
girls training school. I have never
had any trouble with Superintendent
Whittier and am still employed at the
school. One other time, in August,