davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20
b THOMAS MOTT OSBORNE.

TO, I am not getting excited over
nj my trial; IL is much wiser TO
= " let the lawyers do any worry
ing that may be necessary. As
a matter OF fact I am glad OF the
chance to get the true state OF things
understood.
The result? cannot conceive NJ
any Jury with a minimum Of honesty
and common sense being fooled hy the
kind Of testimony upon which the
White Plains authorities appeal 10 -.
relying.
have taken n deep interest IN III"
politics OF this state for nearly forty
years. and while they ave sometimes
been. as old John Adams called them.
the devils ~ incomprehensihlc.
yet I can recall In all my experience
nothing no utterly unwarrantcd and 81
damnable as his attack upon Sing
Sing prison. upon the prisoners AMI
their Mutual Welfare League. upon
/ me. and through me upon all honest
administration in the State.
There are a number Of questions
interesting to others besides myself
in this trial. II raises a very serious
question for the people Of Westches-
ter county: whether they wish at
tacks. outrageous, essentially lawless
in their nature. to lie made under
cover Of the law upon those who re-
side permanently or temporarily in the
county.
Then there IN the whole question ~
the Grand Jury proceedings. As n
lawyer friend Of mine recently wrote
me: 1.-THE system Of indictment by
grand juries was instituted to pro-
tect persons against the arbitrary ac-
lions Of petty Judges. who often conf
mitted q man TO trial without sui!i-
Gent cause m sometimes for pOliti-
cal or other improper reasons.
"ft was never contemplated. how
ever. that a man should he deprived
of his right to meet and hear his
accusers in tho first instance in open
court. with an opportunity To defend
himself. II was only after such a pre-
liminary hearing and as a further pro-
lection TO the accused that II was
provided tina, a further examination
by a grand Jury should be made be-
fore one could be put; on trial"
This system has now been perverted
70 that a man can he indicted and put
on trial FOR a serious crime without
knowing who his arc. what
they say. or what il the enact nature
of the crime charged.
The proceedings Of 'he West hester
county Grand Jury seem to many not
only a county scandal hu. a grave and
dangerous precedent of statewide. in
deed nationwide. importance. What
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20
Indicted Warden of Sing Sing Sees in Charges Against Him a Blow at All
Honest Observation-Disclosures Wrought by Welfare League Amply
Proved. He Insists Blannes Weakness Of Grand Jury System

done his accuser any good. for he
came out Of prison unreformed and
went at his crooked business again.
The question Of convict testimony Is
going TO he u the utmost importance
at the trial, but I want to make IL
perfectly clear that I do NOT share the
ielief Of many people that no convict
can he believed under oath simply be-
cause he II a convict. All Of my ex-
perience with convicts shows me that
the right Kind can be believed under
oath just as implicitly as anybody else.
The men al Sing Sing or any other
prison are just like the men outside:
some good and some bad.
When I testified before the Grani
Jury one of the Jurors asked ME IL |
believed the inmates at Sing Sing pre-
ferred the Mutual Welfare League
system to the old system. OF course
I said that ! most certainly did he
.leve 40.
You have been greatly mis,n-
formed" he said. Every man who
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

warning. Both sides initiated their
elders, lighting from behind trees, In
dian fashion. in summer throwing
stones NJ each other aud in winter
using snowballs an missiles, The cap
lives were "scalped' 10y having their
hair pulled and pulled hard. IL ac-
counts are to be believed,
But this game was interrupted. n
day, when hustle hurled a snowfall
in which he had concealed n stone
this being unfair and against accepted
rules. The missile struck George In
the eve. and 40 hard that Il caused
comment. Georges mother wanted to
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

punishment for the crime with which
he l. charged.
The friend from whose letter I have
quoted was indicted 10y a Grand Jury
III a neighboring State. lie never knew
what testimony had been presented to
them. he never knew the name of his
accuser-the District Attorney would
not permit 1t. For two years the Dis
,rict Attorney wr.gg,ed and squlrmed
out Of every effort this gentleman
made To have his case brought In trial
hut finally Wa forced TO withdraw the
indictment.
Every n congratulated this gentle
man. and a little later his accuser was
imprisoned for h.aChmt.l. hut the mar
whosr nam" lp had l~lack.n.d and
who had expended $50. 900 in clearing
IL had not even the satisfaction al
knowing that the punishment had
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

has testified before us has said he
preferred the Old system"
Well. III course II WAS the Grand
Jury and not | that had been mis!n-
formed. or rather missed Every man
whom they had heard was IA man who
had a grievance against me or against
the Mutual Welfare League because
special privileges had hcn iakcn
away from him. The league j. death
To- special privileges because the men
who get responsible positions are
elected 10y ali the inmates. rot APP
pointed ~ under the old system.
I wonder what the members nf the
Grand Jury would have SAID had they
been prcscr, AZ th- mc"tt- % IN"
alumni u n" league the mon Who ~,
gong straight. h 1T last Monday exec
ming in Carnegie Hall.
How can anybody doubt that the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

the sexton, frequently remembered by
his nickname Hobby, but whose real
name was Grove.
The fnrorite game he played with
other boys at this school was hat Of
soldiers. 4 considerable part OF the
world was at war then, and the COLO
nists IN Virginia were always expecting
Indian outbreaks, Sometimes the
gam" was more than innocent play.
One Of Hohhy's pupils was n sturdy
lad named William Bustle. who al
ways wanted to he In command of the
Indians" with whom the other lads.
representing the white men, were
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

"liEi were standing before the
historic mansion a. Mount
Vernon look ~ isgOss the
green lawn and uoNu taa lone,
s.op!ng shore at the broad river he
+ yond. One o! the group WA 4 d.>tr-
guished American n another an
equally distiugu shed Brl,on. The lat
ter it was who broke the silence.
"Do you believe" h" sl.a that
3 Wash.nct 81 did throw II s..ycr dollar
acro,s tn" Potomac"
why mott" reio.n Il the AMER can.
"D.dn't he throw a sovereign Acru.s
the gtlantic?'
Just who first told tho l.'tl. stony
+ or when or where Is not on record,
! In one form or another II has been
drifting around In" country for an
indefinite period. and It's variations
are manifold. But It's bass. tao phys
. ical proves oi Gcnrg" W.-hinGton,
II now receiving "A larger need of at
tlon from historians thar c."r before.
Perhaps this Is "A reflection OF the
Increased national interest in al.
phases Of outdoor If. ~ any rate.
some of the most pa~instah.us If re-
cent writers devote 90 Are shar" of
10 N~aSu.H-'"l 'I' ''Hi''''
notably FREDERICK Tr'V"' iva III MS
book on the iran "l N"-hinE'on
and IN" late = WEI Nit'h"l, whose
f~ascinai!ng Nolum" The Youth ~
washington l. IN IN" form Of an
autobiography. After r.a'!nH sn'h
books az these n cannot help W"h-
derins hat would hhN" happened N
North America II Washington had
been a narrow chested, irritable" dHa-
peptic, say.
Fortunately for all concerned, how
ever, George washington was neither
n victim OF dyspepsia nor a narrow
ch"sted. sedentary man. nor one OF
irritable temper, although he certainly
wal visited at times with a storm or
Iasr' WHICH ne ''ni"si :" ,o"''o'
WINE sun d ian v "a'"'T YOU
mucn 10 suskeSt NAV. 'n' SUCCESS "l
H"feTica" a'.hs' .ne i"ui'''S " ~
A'"e'Icah na''on' AUG ~ 'alhr "''aeu'e
the present power ot n 'h!'ed S,a'es
may rest 70 an appre'Iah'" "eeree'
upon the muscular Strength the st'e.-
IKE nerves inc mental pose "hic''
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

has happened 10 me might happen to
the minister in his pulpit. the banker
at his desk. the manufactures in his
office. the professor in his classroom.
ANY Of these or any other may DO
accused by perfectly irresponsible and
degraded men. and II the legal author
tiles Of the county, instead OF protect
ing him. choose 10 Join in the on
spiracy. where Is his safety? His du-
ties are interrupted. his character is
~blackened. he may he financially
ruined wen II he escapes the legal
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

1t a. coming from the men in that
shop:
Old pal, you play the game 100 square
With those who strive 20 hurl you
down
And though the blow 10 hard to bear.
Wen stand and stick BY YOU. Tom
Brown
You KEEP. the faith. YOU Tough; the heht I:
You stood b. us when others failed.
You played the man. you acted white.
And through IL all you never Qua!led.
You searched deep down our hearts. and
found
Tho good. and not the evil seeds:
You stopped. and plucked from out the
Flowers. whe others gathered weeds.
Your kindly smile. your friendly hand.
helped us face h dreary Years;
Because We feel you understand
Our utmost needs. our doubts, our
fears.
FeaNess and brave. YOU fought the
Beast
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

League a great deal Of harm II he did
o How could any one want a better
answer than that to the question
whether tho new system is a real sue
cess"
| consider Tony Marero a typical
product OF the Mutual Welfare League
system II n OF the many good
friends ! have among the men up at
Sing Sing. I want 10 tel, you that
there are very few men outside who
would make such "A sacrifice as ne id.
just for "a cause. an idea. He will have
to serve two years more in prison for
"-caping. even though he came back.
Here - something that shows how
rticr good friends in the knitting
Sop up there feel about the league
and the trial and ;he situation. a
convict wrote It, and convicts printed
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

have i'ustlc punished for has unfair
ness, His father said hat az George
was ten years old he ought to take
care OF his " troubles. So the boy
went back to school. fell upon the
good beating, Even at this early age
George Washington was no, only a
lad of unusual strength. but Of great
violence NJ temper as well, and In n
blind rage hc continued TO heat Rus,!s
after the latter had cried Enough"
by the time ne was ~ Washington
had begun t develop the spirit Of al.
venture, and nothing delighted him
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20
PRISON REFORM ATTACKED THROUGH ME"-OSBORN


not By the warden 10 ia-,;cr',.
prisoner. Tho honor ~
called, Is n scrj uf commercial 81.
tenn In which the warden -s. =, ~.
convict IN oe Il COOL ".''.' g., 90.
II YOU" XIV nv VOL ''3 .H -.
turn ihe p~''S'''r -''N' Em.t
Wen ena'e IN oio'i p" rt.1 son..
thlhs lot h'Hls'!I 'h' '.'.'.'
Under the Old system 81. iua" -
merely IA nurnh"r. L. r,v .-.,..
is really an amplird.i,r of 'f, o.,
spirit. something mos cat
derstand. They have .It. ,I, ~
planted in them the ole, u. .Ns
to the gang. We try q. '.Yol
loyalty to h bis sanI or ''uU H..
VINO are at S'hf S'nt' "..'. f.aI
~ "a community, I"ch W.. they 10.
out we 'Hi''h lh'E WI h'N Vie 49,
"l Iosa'y 10 tHc comm 90 Itj1.
the community III "h.'' '.'' ,ro
live ana make good
have hoen calm f. '"r '.v 81.
tenn and some poop call D. 'ee TO-.
borne system W " ih"'''r 90 t.H''
Mutual W"far' L'isN" ..t t'i.
came 10 m" 'hr '"EA " . A.
warden fat'iHan oil Nn'H'r 'r..'1
emitted 70 the 'f''' % i'.'' .. ~.
forcs.
Jack MURPHY. .. ~. '.rrfo. ~,
worked beside m" !r ... sA,
during the week "a" "ar
served IN A'hu'n ii'-' -
gested the ie"Ru" =" NJ q Co.,
We a on the Ffla's " w..
n Idea "f ~" l"'-N' ''' &
gested TO me thai day 80 mis-.
nj .hat ! "'' ''
Mou'o ' =
an. u'.' I'", A
"1
p'.9
The Mutuh We iai' . t.
the criminal him ''
'he ia,s''N "' ne
'ha' .A' ''a'"'.' '
: iHa''.' '',,'
n'e'
theory =" ''"''''''.
Some people. 'e,"' ''rH 'Hs
those o' Us "1o o'i'N' i :e
system would liz" 20 "' - ?
altogether, and set o. ~. 'r'' ~
prisons. Nothing 'f ' t'
have prisons 20; som" sou 80 .A-
men commit crime ''' Co. {! "
present Indications W. 20 q g.
many generations ~ come
No. | would not SCI n. n,,0 p.
p! from prison I would p"' NO., -
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-20

Thomas Mott Osborne. wealthy manufacturer and former Public
Service Commissioner. whose trial on a charge Of perjury is soon to
begis at White Plains. took Office as warden of Sing Sing prison on
December T. 1914. He organized the prisoners into the Mutual We'll
fare League for SELF government and made many other reforms in the
prison. IN the following statement he discusses the circumstances Of
hs Indictment and the aims and achievements of the Mutual Welfare
League. which was designed to reform convicts.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-04
THREE GIRL "RAFFLES"
Nv A HIGH SCHOOL


hundreds OF dollars, although their value
was mlnimizcd by Mr. Lewis.
The work Of practced hands is seen
by the detectives of tie goth and Button
wood streets station in the deft looting
of cloakrooms and desks. They believe
that the "Raffles' band is composed OF
students whose wits have been sharp
cned through poverty and envy of their
more fortunate fellow pupils.
RAFFLES OUTRAFFLED.
~ don't know II We have one Miss Raf-
fcs or two or three" said Mr.. Lewis to-
day "But II Is "A certainty that the stu
dents responsible for the thefts are play
ing their parts more ccvery than the
real Raffcs.
There is no cause for alarm. Cases
of theft are bound 10 occur in large gath
erinEs of persons
The epidemic of theft reached a climax
the day before school was dismissed for
the Christmas holidays. \ girl recitiug
in room iOj missed her pocketbook when
she sat down. She notified the teacher,
who summoned the principal. The doors
were locked and 30 pasteboard boxes
were distributed among the students in
the room. with the request that the miss
ing pockethook be placed into one of the
boxes, no questions to be asked. \ guilty
conscienCa was expected to cause the
surrender of the article,
While Mr.. Lewis was opening the re-
turned boxes a thud was heard and the
stolen pocketbook lay on the floor at his
feet. Tho money 1t had contained was
gone He notified the Goth and Button
wood streets station, and Detectives
Hammond and O'FIarc were sent to the
school. They searched every girl in the
room, but no arrests were made.
on the same day fur-trmmed turban
hat with two expensive blue feathers was
stolen from a cloakroom. It was the
property of a West Philadelphia girl.
Some of the furpIeces stolen We're val
ued as high as S25. The mother of one
daughter to wear expensive clothing to
school for fear of losing II. Another said
her daughter had been compelled to bor-
row Carfare home because her money
had been stolen.
TEACHERS NOT IMMUNE.
"Hello, Helen, have YOU missed any
thing today?" is a common greeting
heard daily I'm the lunchroOm. The girls
believe that they are being preyed upon
by a clique of adroit girl-thIeves. who
attend school solely for the purpose of
robbery, The property of the teachers
has not escaped the general epidemic and
the entire school has been enrolled into
amateur detective work.
There is danger of eXagserating the
value of the stolen articles" said Mr.
Lewis. THE total is only about So or
s.. The value of the things taken is
about p cents each"
This is the second epidemic OF rob
berry which has broken out in the school
recently, teachers said About a year
ago several thefts were traced to three
girls, II was said, and after an investiga-
ton they left school.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-04
LEAP TO SAFETY FROM FIRE
Six Persons Saved in Spectacular
Manner as Escape From Second
Story Is Blocked

Fire in the residence of Morris Tuhn.
900 Rituer street. early today cut of cs-
cape by the stairs, and 40 six persons
jumped from scCond-iloOr windows TO
safety.
To hc more exact. only five persons
made the leap. Tho sixth was Rose, the
2-month-old baby OF the Tubins. Rose
was rolled up into a bah of cloth aud,
without her consent, was dropped into
a waiting blanket.
Tubin. his wife and baby were sleep
inG in the front room on the second floor
when the fire was discovered. Max Sc
gal and his daughter Sophie were In rear
rooms. and Isidore Blunkin, Il relative of
Tubin. occupied another room. The occu-
pants made rush for the stairs, but
escape was blocked by flames which had
spread through the entire first floor from
the kitchen.
Spectacular feats Of rescue were then
performed before a large crowd attract
ed to the scene. Tubn seized his wite's
wrists and dropped her from front win
dow into the arms of men below. He
then bundled the baby up in cloth and
dropped 1t In II blanket. The rescue of
SOPHIE Segal was effected in the same
way as Mrs Tubn. Then the men lcuped
to the ground No one was injured Mrs.
Tubin received scratches on her hand
and Miss SeGals feet were slightly laCor-
ated.
The loss was about 800. The origin of
the fire Is unknown
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-04
NEW aIRARD OIL COMPANY
Is NOW IN THE MAKING
Formal Announcement of 500, 900, 900
Concern Expected Soon

NEW YORK, Jan. Formal announce
ment of the formation Of the PAN Amer
ican Petroleum and Transportation Conn
pany, with capitalization OF more than
SlW,WO"O, is expected hero within a few
daNs The California Petroleum and
MeNican petroleum Companies will he
the big hgurcS I'm tho new combine which
VIII include several other important oil
concerns. according to bankers who are
interested in tho deal
Tho new company will deal in crude
oil and will transport its product To the
marets. VI is said It will not he COM
petitor Of tho Standard oil, inasmuch ms
II VIII have no rcnucres
The banking companies and oil men
behind the project believe there will he
great increase In the MT few years
in use Of crude oil for transatlantic
liners and for locomotives everywhere
BY combining the Mexican Petrolcums
East coast territory with the wells OF
the California wells on the coast and
linking the two with their own oll-ca rry-
ing steamships. they hope to dominate
the crudeo il market.
According to tentative plans, there will
be but one class Of stock, par value $50.
and no bonds
Bernard Baruch. broker. is handling
some OF the details Of the organization.
but the real money behind the combine
is said to come from a group OF big New
York bankers. These men would not
admit today that Associated oil, n siO.-
ooN0o company. organized and owned by
the Southern Pacific galway to supply
fuel for the road. wouC be included In
the new company. II is said the Union
OIL Company. a coast concern, may be
one of the Independents of the merger
Rumors of oil combines have sent the
stock OF the two principal companies
concerned sky-rockCting
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-04
cambria STEEL RUMORS REVIVED;
81 gTOCK SCARED UPWARD ON CHANGE
Formal Entrance of DrexelRepogle Interest INTO the
Management Started Flurry-City Bonds Being
Steadily Absorbed by the Public

,.r,,aI entrance Of the Drexel- Replogle
...,o.t into the management Of the Cam
~. steel Company occurred today with
~ .,,ornccment Of the election of H. V.
r'.oock nj pittsburgh, to the board Of
i'.tors replacing Ehingham g. Morris.
ei rccentIv resigned. GLOWING tho sale
W,bo PENNSYLVANIA Railroad majority
y sost Arthur T.. Newbold was elected
lsi,map of the Executive Committee
.S powell Stackhnuse. director. was
msod IN the Executive Committee
The news promptly started the rumor
,.dtoriss working double time over vari-
sas deals mergers and combinations.
.huo on the stock Exchange traders
.,jzed the opportunity to mark up
~ nrice of the shares couple Of
.,,i,,s interests close tu the managers
n tho proposed combine asserted today
,bot dgure slightly better than $50 per
ssare had been agreed upon with large
toiders of Cambria stock together with
*. rriyitogc OF subscribing to the stock
of the new combine up to 10 per cent. of
,hoir holdings II was also said that
wing 10 difficulties raised by owners Of
some Of the companies which II origi-
nalI,. had been planned to include In the
rnorrer the combination would not be so
as had been first talked
obont II was, however, said that the
actual announcement would be made very
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-04

shortly. After selling up TO "a the supply
OF stock Increased and the price reacted
about a point
The remainder NJ the local market was
an unintercsting affalr and the general
tone was n tri7n uncertain
Philadelphia Company was n weak spot
recedIng about three points on light ouer-
ings. Philadelphia Electric bonds were
also trlflo reactionary. and so was Rapid
Transit, while the arbitrage group was
depressed. rejecting the selling movement
i'm Wall street
Bond dealers reported that the Offering
of new city 31-year I per cent. bonds
were being well takcn by the public on n
3S5 per cent. basis The general local
bond market Is only fairly active lust
now. but quotations are being well main
tained In face Of the big Anglo French
loan, which is still deterring factor
The last month saw n setback OF about
a point In the average quotations of rep
resentative bonds, but this was not OF
notable importance In view Of the re-
markable advance Of nearly points
which has taken place I'm the bond mar
ket during the recent months Follow
ing the panic of 1907 the average rccov-
cry more than points i'm two months,
with downward reaction of more than
two points in the following 20 days. after
which there was steady upward move
mcnt through the greater part OF 1908
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-04
ELECTRIC COMPANY
BOUGHT 'ANTIQUATED'
DEVICES FOR USE HERE
Witness in Hearing Says Arc
Generators Were Obtained
From Smaller
Cities
WERE INVENTED IN 1893

Philadelphia is lighted, in part by cleo
trio power from arc generators of type
discarded by other smaller cities accord
ing TO the testimony of Albert ". Man
warng. engineer Of tho arc lighting de-
partm"nt of the Philadelphia Electric
Company. before Commissioner John
Monaghan Of the Public Service COM
mission. Mt city Han today.
Tho hearing OF the charges or former
Director Cooke. Of the Department of
Public Works, that tho rates of the COM
pany are high and the service poor was
resumed this morning Mt city Hall, after
recess Of two weeks.
ManwarIng testified tttt the company
since 1900 has purchased IS Brush arc
generators Of n typo termed "nntiOuatcd"
in Mr.. Cookies charges They we've oh
tained from electric companies Of other
oites. he said and from the local electric
companies which the Philadelphia Elcc-
trir Company absorbed about 1900.
Did the companies selling these gen
orators do so because they were discard
ing this type Of Ccncrator?" asked Com
mission, Monaghan.
"Goncrally speaking. yes" replied Man
warinE
Questioned further by Commissioner
Mou1EhHu. tho engineer said that ono OF
the types nov I'm use was invented i'm
lN3. but that improvements have been
mad" ON IT. ono Of tho chief points u
MIR Cookies charges was that the ma
chiucry Of the company was autiquatcd.
The out-ot-town generators were bought
from companies in II cities. MauwaruE
said. Among them are Wilmington.
IhOeniNvillc, Jersey city. Allentown and
points I'm New York. Illinois and Canada.
There was no cross-eNaminatiou this
morning. tho witness being examined by