The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1916-09-19
TROUBLE STARTED
AT LIMA HOSPITAL
Failure Of Many To Obtain
Work Responsible
The Hearing

papers over the state are rallying to
support prison convicts and others to
oust Warden Preston E. Thomas from
the Ohio peniteniary. Copies of pa
pers with editorial conclusions, reach
ed three days after the probe started,
advocating a new warden, are begin
ming to reach the city.
Meantime, prisoners are comforting
at intervals on plan for a riot if de-
MED their demands" w. r. Goulding,
fifth-term burglar, today denied he had
threatened Warden thomas a riot
would follow, but other witnesses will
testify he so stated, it is declared au-
thoritatiyely.
Gossip is filtering out of the prison
ers' quarters of plans discussed for
rushing the guards and trying to fight
their way out.
Causes for the present trouble came
nearer the surface today. Thirty-one
prisoners, returned from the state hos
pital for the insane at Lima last
March, insist they had an understand
ing they were to return to Lima from
the prison as honor men and be work
ed there outside the building.
Supt. Charles H. Clark of the hos
pital, is quoted as the author of that
understanding with the men. There
is evidence, it is reported, to justify
the claim of the men they were so
promised. Failure of that plan has in
tensified the situation now.
Have "Promise" Evidence
1t has been plain to many observ-
ers at the hearing that the men have
given a literal Interpretation to gen.
eral statements made to them by
Chairman G. C. Philbrick and DR.. E.
S. Rorick of the state board of ad-
ministration. The understanding the
men had was that they were to profit
personally from conditions and sur
roundings. Failure to do so is blamed
on the warden.
There was one sharp break in the
testimony today against Warden
Thomas. w. R. Goulding, alias Billy
Decker, burglar, gave the name of
Thomas Collins of Cleveland, pick
pocket, received July 1, as a man
whom Guard Hogan struck fifteen
times on the head with blackjack
before he was put in prison garb on
the day of his arrival.
Collins testified later he was glori
ously drunk when he got here, woke
up next morning in the solitary with
an awful headache, had no bruises on
his head and that the headache came
from liquor drunk while on the train
from Cleveland. He said nobody hit
him hard enough to leave a mark, and
he had no complaint to make on any
thing.
money Jim" Won't Talk
Money Jim" Smith, murderer Of
Policeman Ballard of Columbus, was
the one witness who declined to testi
fly in the hearing. He protested
against being dragged in, said he was
in for life and had enough trouble.
Ben Lands, fourth termer, in fol
life for the murder of the Sullivan
sisters at Toledo, bent, gray, gaunt
and broken, said it was unfair to drag
him from his bed in the hospital, in
crease his suffering and make him
testify. Protesting his innocence and
complaining his application for pardon
had not been handled rightly, he told
at length of his physical ills, and
claimed that Warden Thomas had not
done right in taking him out of the
hospital three years ago.
He is in the hospital now, incura'
bly, i'll, and does not expect to live
much longer. He said he had never
been beaten nor mistreated.
Goulding, the burglar denied saws
and files had been found in his cell.
He claimed his mail had been inter
fered with and held that his wife had
been arrested when she came to visit
him.
Attorney Walter s. Jackson, for the
Lima Daily News, asked Goulding how
long it was before being sent to Lima
that Prison Physician M. o, Kramer