The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-06-30
-. Case Of James G. Mcknight Ex-
cites Interest and Pity in Two
Cities, as He Travels Back
and Forth.
NOBODY WANTS HIS CARE
..,sr TWO Round Trips Between keo-
kuk and saint Louis, He Prob
ably viii End His Days in
Lee County Home.


v;rginia gentleman who has for his
,riands the mayor of Keokuk, the
nnnnty supervisor, everybody who met
HIM here. the executive of the st.
- his provident association, and
others.
He is very old, and very poor, and
served in the confederate army In the
civil war, although he has lost all his
reeords of that service, and has for
soften names and dates and places,
90 that he can not prove it in court.
In December, 1913, he was convict
81 in Lee county and sentenced to the
Mort Madison penitentiary for forgery
~ note in Keekuk, and six months
,oter was transferred to the insane
ward al Anamosa Last September
no was discharged, having earned two
Years and three months time by good
behavior.
Then he quit the state institution at
Fort Madison, and at once was taken
before the commission on insanity
here and after examination pronounc-
ed sane.
His Real Troubles Begin.
Then began the real troubles Of the
cid man who impresses we'll every
body who has talked to him since.
Fort Madison sent him to Keokuk.
Here the superintendent of the poor
rot him a railroad ticket and sent him
10 Quincy, on his way to Richmond,
Virginia. where he said he wanted 10
enter the home for eX-confederates.
Quincy promptly bought him tick
ct TO st. Louis. Here the Provtdent
association took a hand to help him,
for everybody who sees and talks to
him wants to help him.
This association kept him while 1T
made strenuous efforts to get him in
to the ex-confederate home, and it was
aided by Colonel Noise, the head OF
the confederate veterans in st. Louis.
But they could not get evidence
enough to justify the home in taking
him and finally relinquished that idea.
Like Shuttlecoek.
st. Louis is in the agreement not to
send poor people anywhere except
where they have a claim of residence.
So the Provident association started
him on the back track toward his only
residence, Lee county, from which
baiiwick he had been sent to the
renitentiary.
His journey to st. Louis from here
had been broken several times, Keo- |
kuk had sent him to Quincy. which
sent him to Hannibal, which sent him
TO Louisiana which sent him to st. /
Louis.
So, st. Louis sent him back to
Louisiana which sent him to Hannibal, |
which sent him to Quincy, which sent
him to Keokuk. Here he saw the
supervisor Of the poor, the county
supervisor and the mayor.
Then the supervisor of the poor
bought ticket and sent him to St !
Louis again, this time direct. By this
time it was the last of January of |
this year.
Everybody Likes Him.
Like everybody else. the st. Louis
association liked him and instead of
sEcotlng him back to keokuk again,
tney kept him temporarily while they
conducted correspondence with the
authorities here. With nobody want
ing to be charged with the keep of the
old man, st. Louis insists that city is
IN no way connected with his past life,
and hence is immune from his care.
Mr.. Mcknight has not been in Vir-
shia for years and knows no one
mere who will care for him." they
write Mayor Lotion, land according
" me transportation agreement we
van return Mr.. Mcknight to Keokuk
at once, as he was sent to us from
Vat point. However, we hesitate to
no SO until we know that the old man
WIN nave some provision made for his
,sle' He is physically unable to main
alh himself, having suffered for
nv of years from rheumatism.
:. lHere is nothing in his mental condi
uoh now that would suggest insanity