Arizona republican., 1913-02-28
Governor Hunt Sends Spe- cial Message to Both Houses Acquiescing in Desires of Citizens of Florence
SAYS NOTICE
 IS IRREGULAR
Never Having Been Notified of Objections But is Will ing to Consider Publicity Given Charges Sufficient Notice

1 NOtlce
 The penitentiary investigation re- gently held by the joint committees of the senate and the house of rep i resentatives of the state legislature i took an altogether unexpected turn | yesterday when Governor Hunt sent , to the legislature a special message on the situation showing his desire to meet the objections of the citizens of Florence and to keep the convicts i away from the city. 1 The message was totally unexpect- : ed except by those who are close to i Governor Hunt and who have been consulting with him upon the inti- mate questions of prison policy. The 1 conversation through the legislative halls yesterday prior to the delivery | Of the message was altogether about l the probability of the committee re- i port on the question and whether or not the petitioners, or the defense, { would be upheld by the committee.
 The effect of the report has been ! entirely forestalled by the message. f! Whatever may be said now in the i report will matter little either to the { citizens of Florence or the admins | tration as the contentious of the pe- 1 titiOners have been granted and they will no longer be troubled with con- victs on their streets in citizens clothes The governor explains in his message that he had not been in- formed of the serious objections held by the citizens of Florence to the presence of convicts in the city or ne
 would have been glad to order dis continuance of the practice of letting
 them go to town before.
 It is freely admitted by those close
 to the situation that about all the committee can do now in the way of a report is to place the verdict in one short sentence. we. your com-
 mittees, find the complaint of the
 citizens of Florence has been sub stantiated."
 However this is all speculation.
 Yesterday the committee had not met and no decision had been arrived at.
 It was however stated that the report
 might be in by Saturday. All of this
 was however interesting prior to the reception of Governor Hunts report. It had been even suggested that cer-
 tain members of the committee had refused to consider a report until the
 evidence had been transcribed and de- liVered What good this was OK
 pected to do was not stated, but the wind was taken put of this propositio.i also by the message. There are mem-
 bers of the investigation committee , however that have been said to state
 that unless the report is brought in by Saturday they will wash their r hands of the whole business | The following is the message of the governor:
 To the Senate and House of Repre-
 sentatives. First Legislature of the State of Arizona.
 Gentlemen
 In view of the hearing conducted
 by a joint committee of the senate . and house of representatives, of cer-
 tain charges. preferred by citizens of
 Florence. respecting the management
 of the state prison, I wish to say that
 shall with pleasure accede to the
 wishes of the people of Florence in
 those matters which they hold-and
 I doubt not. honestly hold-as affect
 ing and imperilng their physical and
 moral welfare.
 No fact was deduced at the hearing
 that would justify me in yielding any
 thing of my belief that no wrong has
 been committed, no harm wrought and no injury done. to any man, Wom- an or child; but I feel if the people
 of Florence have fears which the 1 nagement of the prison or I can quell, it is a plain duty to quell those :. fears. and if they hold views regari-
 ing the presence among them, even u though that presence be infrequent Q and wholly legitimate in purpose, oH = inmates of the states penal institu- S tio, it is my conviction that those | views regardless of my own and of the prison mana gement's should be N respected
 It is but fair to state that until the :, preferring of the charges upon Which u a hearing was held by the legislative . committed neither the superintendent
 of the prison nor myself had know
 edge of the views held by the people Il of Florence. as expressed in their pc 0 tition for an investigation; nor vet - was it suspected that objection was II had to inmates of the prison entering e the town, since that practice has been e constantly encouraged by the citizens II of Florence during the life of the y present administration. and has main d tained. without complaint, througnout g all previous administrations, and un .- til the appearance of the charges re-
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