Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1911-11-24
WHITTIER fxn0NfRATfD
(Conntinued from page three,

"a
complaints been made within al rea-
sonable time, are now scattered and
beyond reach Obviously this condi-
ton gives an undue advantage TO- any
witness who may be inclined to go
beyond the truth.
There IS little CT no possibility of
locating witnesses who were present at
the time. Where such are found, the
lapse of years must have dimmed and
often obliterated the memory of in
cidents which at the time they oc-
CURED in most cases may have been
considered trivial and nnimporta
Had they been otherwise considered,
complaint must surely have reached
the board under the method OF pro-
cedure above described, which, as
sumiqg the stories now told TO- be true.
would have led to the prompt dls:
missal of the guilty parties. To, be-
lieye otherwise is to charge that an
the members of the board during the
entire period covered have been IN
competent and neglectful Of their
duties. 81"
PERSONNEL OF FORMER BOARD.
The personnel of the board during
those years included Hon. James A.
Martin, Hon. j. F. jacobson, the, late
Judge O. b. Gould. the late Hon. L.
"A. Rosing and Hon. S. w. Leavitt.
We teel justified in assuming, until
thu contrary is shown, that these men
while members of the board performed
their duties with reasonable diligence
and understanding.
The general character Of the wit
nesses on one side has been in sharp
contrast with that of the witnesses on
the other. We have outlined briefly,
and in what we believe to be subdued
colors, the real character of the princi-
pal witnesses for complainant. We
deem it pertinent and necessary to a
clear understanding of the case that
we also characterize the witnesses for
respondent.
MANY RESPONSIBLE WITNESSES,
TOO.
''Such witnesses include some of
the best known and most highly re-
spected citizens of our state: Minis
ters of the gospel, who for years have
devoted themselves wholly or in a
large measure to rescuing young de-
linquents from vice and crime. and
who, in the exercise of their philan.
thropic duties, have come into close
touch, not only with tho class of
children committed to this school, but,
IN some cases, with the very persons
who now claim to have been subjected
to cruel, inhuman and unusual punish.
ment in that institution. -
Having dedicated much of their
lives to the service, rescue and recla-
nation of the very class whose testi-
mony is here relied on to make case
against respondent, it must be co.,
coded that their every day lives 4 and
vocation amply testify to their kindly
interest in that class. It is difficult to
believe that men of this character. an.
imated by such motives, should have
failed to dicover some evidence of
abuse OF children tor whose welfare
they have put forth so much effort, if
1t in fact existed.
INTEREST IS GENUINE.
g''Their lives and their calling
should be sufficient guaranty that
their interest in these children is
genuine, unselhsh, and militant.
Their opportunities for learning the
truth about the school were not only
ample by reason of their frequent
visits, but their peculiar relations to
many of the children gave them excep-
tional opportunities to learn the truth.
"One of these witnesses, Catholic
priest, for many years weekly visitor
eo the school. with peculiarly intimate