The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1913-03-02

warden has been honest and Jealous
in his work could not be gainsaid eX
cept by such persons as are bitterly
preiuliced or consstitutionally sus
pcious and prone to find the 'worsel
reason
with its prelude the story was a
rehearsal of eleven years of public
service, seven of it as the unsalaried
mayor of Ardmore, during the time
of the city's greatest progress, and
| four as warden of the Oklahoma pen
| i'entiary.
Much public work having been
done, six anti-Dick campaigns were
waged and often aldermen were
chosen to fight him. The former
mayor in his testimony challenged
TIE committee to find one of these
men who Is not now his friend
Congressman Charley Carter tells
he writer he was one of the council.
Glen converted.
The warden told of his experenc-
es at McAlester, when from 500 to
GOO men We're brought here from
Leavenworth when there was no
place to care for them. He paid a
tribute to the loyal band of guards
that had held these men in custody
| He described how sometimes, when
tie lightning burned out the fuse in
| the electrically charged wire fence
about the wooden stockade, it be
came nece ssary to post men at inter
walls of every ten feet and how they
stood in terrific rains and amid the
clGsh of heavens artillery brave and
loyal as any soldier in hour of trial.
AS the warden defended the trusty
System and told just what it was and
what it was not, his auditors were
profoundly impressed
THAT more than one member of
the committee will criticise his han
ding of the prisoners is highly i'm
probable and that one must set his
face against the spirit of Goth cen
tury civilization
The writer confesses that when the
inquiry began at Oklahoma City Mon
day he had two grave doubts, but
after he heard Mr.. Dicks own story
with corroborative documents and
| other testimony and with his own
personal knowledge of some of the
conditions, he has no hesitancy in
saying that he believes Mr.. Dick has
been scmpulously honest and that
his devotion to the state to his SUI
bordinates and to the unfortunate
men in his custody is as lofty as that
of any preachers loyalty to his holy
cause. He would be willing to take
an oath to the resolutions adopted
by the Commercial club of McAlester
pror to the investigation as the true
expression of his present view.
This statement is made with full
realization that the public mind has
probably been made up on necessar-
ily incomplete newspaper accounts of
eX parte testimony. The warden
may already be condemned by many
and he may be legislated out of Of
flee.
But that will not alter the fact
Il at he should really be praised as
a faithful and competent servant, one
of the greatest wardens of his day,
whom it will be most difficult mat
ter to replace,
Expert accountants have spent
weeks on his books and have not
found a cents discrepancy. or the
hundreds of thousands of dollars
handled, the only dispute is over
whether Secretar. Clements paid a
private telephone charge of 60 cents
which he and Bookkeeper Turman say
was paid
The committee is now probing a
matter Of more Importance, The
states relations with the Texas
building Co. warden Dick opposed
his contract and the state board OF
affairs. composed of Messrs. Allen,
Hoffman and Chandler, put Eugene
Gill in charge as the states repre-.
sentative. Mr.. Dick stood around
and watched and protested to Gill
end sometimes over Gill's head. But
he had no official authority.
iHe did seek to collect over $2,4O0
from the company, which he claimed
Was due to the state and his draft
had been turned down and the matter
had been turned over to the attorney
general for collection.
when the contract with the Texas
Building Co. was made, the state had