Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, May 25, 1893, Page 2

CASE 1S SUBMITTED ' [CONTINUED PROM PIRST PAGE. | $500 and the $200 used both sums of money for philanthropic purposes, with 0 vicious intention. The expenditures re- ated to these penal institutions, and now these noble-hearted gentlemen are met with theso charges of impeachment. In the mat. fer of the asylum it is not charged that theso reapondents acted corruptly, but that they did not carefully compare the vouchers *In the beginning of the trial these attor- eys for the managers gave us to under- tand that they would bring the knowledge of the coal and flour frauds home to the re- spondents, but have they done this? We think not, only by an inference that the re- spondents should have had the knowledge. “The constitution of the state in defining an impeachable offense t it may be for tho commiss emeanor; the fule of construction would be misbehavior in office. This can be made perfectly clear by exawining Klliott's Debates touching upon the framing of the federal constitution “I have not heard the attorneys for the managors argue that negligence in office is ‘hable misdemeanor, though I have anxiously listened, expecting them to raise the point. No act'can bocome an impeac able offense unless it carry with it a crym- al intent, and is proven beyond a roason- ble doubt. This is an important point, for it must be applied when we consider the proposition of the board having hired Dorgan construct the cell house. The intent must proved as alleged.” His Closing Effort. £ Mr, Webster commenced the second and Inst hour of his argument by citing a great deal of law bearing upon the subject of im- peachment. Leaving the authorities and ing into the tall n legal lore, Mr. Webnwr urged that negligence could never be held as an impeachable offense. *“The violation of a law must be done will- fully, knowingly and corruptly,” said the Omaha lawyer. ~ *‘One does not impeach for incompetency and mere laxity, as we do not use steam hammers to crack nuts: if there is ot a violation of a criminal law there must be some improper motives. Are the founda- tions of the state to be rent asunder because tho Whitebreast Coal company sold coul, which was never delivered? Is the state in danger of being ruined if these gentlomen continue (in office during the period, for which they were clected by the people? No. I thinknot. The question of the intent must be proven, and anything clse will amount to an acquittal. Sometimes the excitement of the house leads to tne im- peachment of public oficials, which society in after years repudiates, ““The members of this court will remember the incident of George Washington at Valley Forge. This court will remember that while he lay tnere with his troops, without arms, without clothing, and without food. there were men in the Continental Con- gress that were ready to ask to have him removed for incomperency and neglect of duty. This court will remember that it is recorded historically that a committee was appuinted to see whether he should not be removed from a responsible trust. To go further, when the time came when it was proposed in the congress to appropriate $2,000 for a bust to the memory of Chief Jus- tice Taney, great senators arose in their laces and charged him with all sorts of einous offenses. Why, it was said m that case by Charles Sumner that when the name of Taney would be handed down on the pages of hiscory the people of an emancipated country would fix upon his name the stigma he ‘deserved; he had ad- ministered justice scandalously, had de- graded the jud: and had disgraced the age. Senutor Wilson denounced the Dred Scott decision as the greatest crime in the udicial annals of the country and aeclared tto be the abhorrence and scoff and jeer of the patriotic hearts of America. Senator Hale of New Hampshire in opposition said monument to Tuney would give a lic to all that has been said by the friends of Jjustice, liberty and down trodden humanity. Then the sterling Ben Wade of Ohio arose in his place and declared that the people of his state would rather give $2,000 to burn Chief Justico Taney in efiigy than to erect @ monument to his memiory. Prophecy of Johnson and Trumbuil. “Then came the calm thinking judgment of the at senator, Keverdy Johnson, who said to the great senator from Massachusetts that he would be happy #f s name will stand as high upon the historic page as that of the learned judge Who is now no more. Thep came Lyman Trumbull who said, *IHe has added to the reputation of the judiciary of the United States throughout the world; suppose he did make a wrong decision; no ono is_infalliole; ho was n great, learned and able judge. Mark, your honors, what Lyman Trumbull said camo to be true. Nine years afterward Salmon Chase lay dead. He had been the chief justice of the United States; the time came to put a monument to his memory. on tho pedestals that dec- orate the supreme court room of the United States. Then the great concourse of sena- tors and all without a single dissenting voice united their public sentiment that Chief Justice Taney was entitled to that monu- ment., Time has revolutionized public sen- timent. No mutterif he did make a mis- take: no matter if he had rendered o wrong decision; all things considered, he was a great lawyer and a great judge. In the Case of Old Pap Thom *Dowr a little later and I will refer to but one more. Most people about this court room will remember that on the dark days of the rebellion when Thomas was at Nash- ville, when he had been in camp about that city montb after month: the country became impatient; tho rebel hosts were gathered about, and danger seemed imminent, even sturdy old General Grant became impatient ; he had issued an order to General Logan to proceed to relieve Gen- eral Thomas from command on the charge of 1nactivity and neglect of dut, General n proceedea as faras Cincinnati. Ho felt Thomas was being wronged: ho stopped there over night; he gathered information that General Thomas was exerting every power he had to get ready to assail the enemy. He telegraphed back to Grant: ‘I am unwell; can't I wait a day or two. Grant answered: ‘Yes.’ Logan went o tho hotel and went to bed to wait for Thomas to get ready for his movements. Lo and behold! ‘Within two days Thomas had achieved that t victory which went thriling through tho hearts of the whole country and echoed through the mountains of Tennessee and tho l«:uthnrn confederacy became shattered into pieces. Object of His Argament. “Time rights wrongs; time d. that people are not mistaken. We have no right to fathom tho mind or the knowledge or judgment of another. We have to weigh the conduct of our fellow man by o higher standard than that. 1 stand here drawing near a couclusion of what [ have to u{. plem(h:%1 for these men, not because I think they have been guilty of any neg- lect of duty. do not appeal for them upon the mx:.o-lunn that [ think that they have guilty of any mi: conduct. But 1 am stending here, !‘r"ulng this case upon the broad proposition it this court, now for the first time n the history of the world, has to establish by words which come from a judicial tribunal ==not from a political senaté—what it is that shall constitute an impeachable misde- meanor. It shall then go down through the country as a precedent to which all lawyers und judges that shall come after us may nl!or..’ b ““These people whom 1 represent have boen clected to this trust, after it became kuown to the people at large substantially all that has been said here. 1 said during the course of the adwission of evidence that 1 should undertake to show that their re-eloction to office after this public disclosure, acted as it were as a condonation [ their wrong: they had commiited any, Ut as I watch the hands of the clock 1 am admonished that I have not the time to do but great men have spoker upon that Question, and great men have exvressed the :nnhn which I have expressed, and if I had time I should deliver it to the court now, ‘but I forego that. Tusists It Was Vindloation, {The fact, however, that is patent to the minds of every listener is, that it is consid- ered a great hemor when the beople of the state having lived for 1wo years under the adwinistration of a public ofticer to re-elect or & second term to fill that oftice; it considered an endorsement of his career and of his ofticial conduct. Yet a witness who spoke upon the question, says that what knew on this question was pro- moviug the respondents from ofMce, aud dis- claimed in the theater and published in the newspapers : two of them were admitted in evidence and T would refer to one of them it it were not that when I come to look about 1 seo the editor of the other and might create a rivalry about which of them has the largest circulation throught the state. 1 will grant it to both that both had told it to every- body, everybody had heard of it, republ can democrats and independen but mark. vour honors, when they came back to that election these men were reelocted to this office. ““The people said: ‘Nothwithstanding all you proclaimed trom your theatrs. Mr. notwithstanding all the as said about these men if there is any wrong about, we do not believe it; if ny wrong we condone it. We en- dorse your conduct and we put you back in these public places,” The question now comes to the court simply: Is it not time to pause before the court shall undertake to remove them from that trust to which they have been clected? You have the power to remove but you have not the power to re-elect, Would Leave Them Without Hope. “With' one thought more I am done with my remarks. T cannot quite close this discussion without thinking Just for a moment of the sore affliction to bo Riven to theso people if they should suffer under the ban of a conviction. It is not a simple punishment; it is not a simple re- moval from office that I speak about. ~ That of itself may be ummportant, but your honors should remember another thing that in the history of a human life, there is little about it that is of value when you strip it from ambition. The child_ thinks of it when it is but able to valk. No peda- gogue ever taught a common school but he undertook to tell the smallest child, ‘The pathway of fame is open to you in this great free country of ours’ Ambition has a wide ssope: it is the great prompt- ing machinery that stands back of man, that leads him forward to education, to wer and to place; the incentive that makes im a man instead of a mere machine. When by the judgment of the court you stamp out the right to exercise the thought of fame, ambition and hope, you blast the character just as much as Dante when standing at the gates of hell would have wiped out the last word printed by God on the face of man, ‘Hope. You might just as well bury him in the sea, which is described as the inexorable night into which the criminal laws of our coun’ry cast its victims. Asthere ‘e birds in the clouds, s0 there are angels of distress. Aud to such sentiments do appeal in behalf of these people for justice and charity, nothing more and nothing 1 Mr. Lambertson Closes the Caso. Hardly had Mr. Webster concluded his effort when Mr. Lambertson commenced the last of the arguments for the state. For two hours he stood before the court, speak- ing substantially as follows: ‘“The occasion that assembles together the three co-ordinate branches of government is full of interest. Theconduct of the execu- tive nch is chal od by the legislative, before the judiciary. It was the boast of the fathers of the republic that the powers and responsibilities of government were so distributed and divided by the Federal con- stitution that each department became checlke and balance upon the others. The executive, by veto, checks the legislature; the logislature, by impeachment, checks the cutive and judiciary, while the latter, by the final publ partments. The legislative branch is here secking to put a check upon the alleged mis- conduct of three of the executive officers of the state. The trial is unique. In the state of New York the court of appeals has sat with the senate as a court of impeac! but this is the first time i the history of the republic when the supreme judges of the state have sat alone us a court of impeach- ment. Whecher this hitherto untried ven- ture, which the framers of the federal con- stitution discussed and discarded, will com- mend itself to the people of ;today can better be discerned when the judgment in this case 18 entered. Che manifest objoct in confiding to the court jurisdiction of impeachment cases was to remove them from the domain of factional strife and animosities, from the arena of partisan influences and prejudices. The ramers of our constitution doubtless in- dulged the hope that no ofticer would be sac- rificed to partisan hate or escape through party favor. **As the respondents stand before a court, each member of which is proud to bear a loyal allegiance to the party to which re- spondents belong, they have as little dangor to fear that they will become the victims of popular clamor us they have to hope that they will be the beneficiaries of party favor. Effects of Conviction, It is easy to maguify the proceeding and talk ubout its far-reaching importance to the state and the serious con uences to the respondents. While I do not underrate this trinl, its stimulus to the performance of public duty, and ite effect upon these ofil- cers, yet the obloquy is not comparable to that resulting from a trial upon indictment aud conviction for a felony or infamous offense. The judgment cannot extend be- yond removal from ofice and future disqual- ification. Thereis no deprivation of life, liberty or property such as may follow con- victions in the courts. The right to hold oftice is simply curtailed in the present, pos- sibly in the future. Counsel for respondents have porrowed those high.sounding terms and sonorous periods that were aptly ap- plied to impeachment proceedings o hundred years ago or more, when capital punishment might be inflicted, property con- fiscated, amd blood attainted. Such lan- guage is exceedingly inavt in its application to impeachment trials of the present day, which may pe defined as a proceeding to re- mo=-e an unfaithful, corrupt, or incompetent ofticer. Hence courts have no occasion to feel timid because of the awful conse- quences that may ‘attach to defendants if found guilty. The people frequently declare at the polls their total want of confidence in the fitness and competency of an_oficer sl -kag re-clection, and but little is thought of it. Blocks In the State’s Way, *The managers of this impeachment Iabor under difficulties with regard to ovidence that can scarcely occur in any other prosecution, * * But are there no witnesses, unprejudicea spectators of these enormities, ready to come forward, from the simple love of justice, and to give a faithful narrative of the transactions that passed under their eyes? No, there are noue. The witnesses whom we have been compelled to summon are, for the most part, the emissaries and agents employed and in- volved in these transactions, the wily ac- complices of the prisoner's guilt, and the supple instruments of his oppression. But are there collected no written documents or authentic papers containing a_true and per- fect account of his crimes! No, there are none. Theonly pavers we have procured are written by the party himself, or the participators i his proceedings, wiio studied, as it was their interest, though contrary to their duty, to conceal the criminality of their cenduct, and, conse- quently, to disguise the truth ‘‘We have labored under the inconvenience of calling witnesses who are friendly to, and whose interests lie with, the accused. We were compelled to call Mr. W. Dorgan, who was reluctant to give evidence against the respondents becuuse he would be nccus- ing him Mr. Hopkins, the superintend- eut who succeeded, feels favorable to the respondents, and was an unwilling witaess for the state, We were unable to get tho testimony of John Dorgan or the White- breast Coal company, or of Gorham Betts, or to procure the books of Betts, Weaver & Co., because these witnesses and these docu- ments might incriminate either Dorgan or Betts. *'We examined Mr. Atwood, who sold the stono Lo the penitentiary st un exorbitant price, and he hesitated to disclose auything that would refloct upon the firm of 8. H. At- wood &(Co. The same is true of other wit- nesses, but notwithstanding the dificulties which we have encountered we feel justified in asserting that the cuse presented is smple to justify the judgment of this court in re- Qualifyiag them Tom holding any office of trust aud emolument in the future, Dorgan's Appointment. ““The court will take judicial notice of who Mr. Dofli n 8. He is in politics for revenue ouly. He was Mosher's man Friday, aud was always loyal to his employer. Ho wus an all-round wan for the prison contractor. As the manager of the prison coutract it was his principal business to lease the con- victs in the itentiary for the highest price. The tion of Dorgan to Mosher, the prison contractor, was well known to the board. Nevertheless the board em- vloyed and paid him to act for the state in building the cell house. Dorgan, as mau- ager for Mosher, sold the state convict labor, while as agent for the state he bought convict labor.. As agent for the state no aid for this labor, and as agent for Mosher o received it. As agent for the state it was his duty to procure this labor at the lowest price agent of Mosher it was his inter- ost to get for it the highest price. Dorgan simply took money out of one hand and put it into the other. There could be but one result. The state was sure to get the worst of it. ‘No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the oae ana love the other, or else he will hold to the one and de- spise the other. Yo cannot serve God and mammon.’ 1f Dorgan had attempted to bo true to both the state and Mosher, he would have found himself between the aevil and the deep sea. 1t is needless to say whore Dorgan would have gone in that ovent. “These respondents here, knowing that fact, not only employed Dorgan while he was acting as agent of Mosher, but con- tinued him after he became the contractor himself. So that Dorgan bought labor of himself, sold it to himself and was permitted to pay himself. After the board had appointed Dorgan as its agent to d all else followed without shame and without remorse, Having performed that indecency, we need not be surprisdd at the result. To what extreme lengths respondents were ready to go is shown by their retention of Dorgan for half a month as superintendent for the state after he became the contractor from whom the state was to tease its labor, This crowning act of deflance to all sense of propriety and duty proves that these ofiicers had become wholly disregardful of the state's best interests, Price Paid for Labor, It appears that no one ever paid for con- vict labor more than 40 cents perday on work like this. That was the ruling price, The state paid $1 per aay on a contract that was to run for a year and o half. It paid that sum whether the convicts were sick or well; whether they worked or not. The total amount paid for day labor was about 200,25, for 12,200 days, almost forty years forone man, working six days in a week. The total payments to Dorgan and Hopkins exclusive of materials and free labor, otc., are as follows: Total amount of money pald Dorgan by tho board Total pald by Dorgan to Hopkins. Balance (‘K‘)l‘fllll'll by Dorgan.. Amount pald prison labor by Dor- gan Amou Kins.. 32,100 00 6,331 15 25,768 85 9,064 50 232 75 Total amount paid for prison lahor, Amount paid prison teatns, Dy Amount paid prison team Salar 1 borg Sulury paid Hopkl Total amount paid Dorgan and Hop- kins. PATIRIIY ..$14,259 25 ‘'The whole blame rests upon the board. in employing Dorgan. If some man had been employed who was as eager to protect the state as Dorgan was to protect Mosher, do you behieve that §1 per day would have been }mhl for labor; that the contractor would have been paid when his men were idle or sick; that the material would have been di- verted to other purposes; that two prices would have been paid for stone; that all the purchases would have been made without in- quiry and without inviting bids; tha § all moneys would have been paid in advance? Some Remarkable Feutures. ‘It is a little remarkable that there were no plans; that there was no advertisement for bids.' Dorgan, without inquiry, closed with the first man he talked 2 about stone. Without inquiry of any on to the price of stone, he agreed to buy it all of S. H. Atwood & Co. If proposals had been ked for Dorgan could have bought the tone as cheaply as Atwood did. “If Dorgan is to be believed, he was the most complete ignoramus that ever superin- tended the erection of a building. He was soignorant about the different kinds of stone and their prices that he must have gradu- ated at a college of ignorance with the high- est honors. “‘When we consider that the state pays 40 cents per day for boarding, lodging and the keeping of the prisoners, $1 per dav is equal to almost $2 per day paid for citizen labor. Thisis especially true, as they can do but little more than half the work ina day that a free 'man performs. In view of the relations of the state to the prisoners, if any one was to get the labor of cinvicts cheap it should be the state. B “If any one performs labor for the s'at: or furnishes supplies the rule is to get the labor done and supplies furnished before payment. If the labor performed or ma- terial supplied is not up to the contract then payment is refused or a deduction made, This is the only safe rule, and all private_busiuesses, with few exceptions, ob- serve this rule. But Dorgan came within the exception, He was paid in advance; he was given warrants drawing interest almost before any work was done. He was paid on estimates that meaut nothing and were in- tended to mean nothing. They simply offered a pretext on which to pay money. “*How long could a manager of a railroad company hold his place if he entered into a contract with a contractor to build ten miles of road, then appointed the foreman of the contractor to look after the interests of the road and paid him in advance. Such conduct puts a premium upon rascality, The board must know in advance that the state will pay the highest price for supplies and labor. After Dorgan’s appointment it was easy to predict that Dorgan would buy labor at thehighest price. Spent the Money In Advance. “To show how slender a pretext there was to justify this expenditure, I call the atten- tion of the court to the vouchers and esti- mates, viz: These vouchers and estimates give no idea of expenditures made or to be made. They contain no data whatever unon which to base an intelligent judgment., Itis impossible to tell whether the vouchers and estimates cover a past or a proposed expenditure. Mr. Dorgan says they are in the nature of a false token, used to éntice money from the treasury. That the warrants were drawn in advance of ex- penditures appears from the fact that at the time Dorgan maie his first report show- ing an expenditure of only about $5,500, an- other warrant of date of June 2, 1891, was drawn for $3,000, Again at the time he settled with Hopkins he had $6.300 on hana above all his expenditures. Then Humphrey said in his testimony before the investiga- ting committee, ‘the warrant to meet the ex- penses had been drawa in advance of the expenditures.’ “A careful examination of the evidence shows that mgl{:fl“ paid for stone by At- wood & Co. the owners of the Nemaha quarries was $5,565.32, so that the over- charge for stone purchased is $3,262, That the market price for the stone at the Ne- maha quarries is the price paid by Atwood & Co., is proved by the testimony of Zook, Van Court and Keys, who own all the quarries in Nemaha county. Zealous archi- tects may swear that the market price is beyond the figures paid by Atwood, but the testimony of the mine owners must be ac- cepted as conclusive. We also have the tes- timony of Zook that he wrote a letter to Mr, Dorgan, pricing stone at the same figures that Atwood bought it for. We are thus justified in asserting that tile prices paid for stone by Dorgan were extortionate, and there is a strong probability that Dorgan was made acquainted with this fact by the letters of Zook, the owner of the quarry at Johnson. Sell-Evident Wrongdolng. “Specifications 4 and 5, charging the re- spondents with permitting Dorgan to con- vert to his own use #£232 and permitting him to overcharge for convict labor are proven beyond doubt. These twospecifications may be cousidered together. The $232 paid out of cell house fund for sand and cement used in vesetting a couple of boilers, Mosher, as contractor, was bound to furnish himself. Mosher, under his lease, is bound to furnish | the hieat for the penitentiary and the power for all the companies employing labor, an idle pretext to say that the boile to be used in heating the cell house. The cell house had hardly been commenced when this money was expended. It could not be g:t ready beforea year or moie, and the ilers, if necessary at all, could not be used to heat the cell house until the building was completed and the cells were constructed. *The truth of specification 5 is practically admitted. There were ten days in January, 1892, when the couvicts did not work, for whieh the state paid about $350. It is also true that the state paid for other labor when convicts were sick. If any other maun than Dorgan had been superintendent these pa: wents would not have been made. Tho respondents are tesponsible because they pat it into Dorgan's power to defraud the state. It is no answer to say that the rule was to charge for the meu whether they were employed or not. Such a rule does not obtain as to the Western Manufucturing mun.v that employs \76 men, and has the of the convicts, and pays only 40 cents Iv is were ¥ per day. The rule, |ém obtain as to the stateywhich pays 81 per day for convict labor, 1 8 Dorgan's Expénditures. ‘Tt appears from the Yestimony, first of Mr. Hopkins, that at the time he was ap- pointed superintendenssof the cell house it had not been decded to take down or re- build any portion of north wall, and that only the south wall been completed and one-third of the east wall at the time Mr. Dorgan resigned as $upérintendent, so that the north wall wad- té¥n down and rebuilt and two-thirds of thareast wall and the roof put on after Mr. Hopkins became superin- tendent. T It appears from the testimony that Mr. Dorgan had received from the state $32.100, and paid back $6,381.15, leaving a balance of about £25,768.85, which was expended by Mr. Dorgan in building the south wall and one- third of the east wall. It is alsoto be re- membered that the south wall was con- structed largely of rubble stone and t viet labor t! cost £1 a day, while the north wall was constructed by free labor costing from $3 to $3.50 a day, and the material con- sisted largely of dimension Stone. paid for free labor 5,005.57, and for labor $3,838.7 The fact should also be re called that only £50 per month was paid for the supor\nwu&nnt during the construction ofythe south wall, while £ ver day was paid for the superintendent on the north wall. ‘Superintendent Fisher testifies that the value of the south wall, completed, is #10,050, and of the east, $1,832. Aading one- third to the cost of the east wall will make the total cost of the building constructed by Dorgan equal to about $10,500. Mr. Coots figured the value of the south wall, com- leted, at $10,482.85, and Beindorff at 10,416.59. ‘It appears that Dorgan paid for trips of the board and Elder Howe, and for material and freight as follows, $13,215.42, while he poid for laborand teams, surveyor's fees and architect's fees, salary of superintend- ent, $12,658.42. Ot this amount Dorgan paid for free labor only $2.634.67. In other words, Dorgan received himself, exclusive of the CostOT material, more ‘than tho cost of the construction of the south wall and one-third of the east wall. He received for convict labor before he turned ovor the work to Hop- kins, inclusive of $475 for salary, $0,425.7 It we accept the figures of Buliock and Fisk, who put the cost of the south wall at $6,472 and §6,600 respectively, the disproportion be- tween the expenditures of Dorgan and the estimated cost is still greater. It is also to be remembered that in making these esti- mates as to the actual cost of the wall, free labor is made the basis of the computation, Illegnl in Every Sende. ‘“The expenditure by the board of 500, ap- propriated by the board for its own use, and d over to the warden, as sot out in specifications 1 and of the sec- ond article, were clearly illegal. “The appropriation was for ‘building a now cell house by day’s work, $40,000. By what canon of interpretation can vhis language be distorted into meaning ‘traveling and hotel expenses of members of Board of Public Lands and Buildings in making a tour of state prisons in the west?' When the board took this money to pay fora tour of in- spection of prisons they knew they were rverting the fund. If this money had not en previously put into the hands of D gan, who handed it overto the board, the count would never have passed the auditor. The auditor would have declined to draw the warrant, because-the expenditure was clearly without the appropriation. “It will not do for the, membors of the board to assert that their motives were lsudable, their intentions honorable and purposes praiseworthy, 'and therefore the expenditure excusablg, Tyery officer knows that he has no right to take money from the public treasury unless it is, appropriated by the act of the legislature. If an executive officer can appropriate money because in his judgment the public good will be subserved, what is the necessity of a legislative act’ If ho can take 2500, why may he not justify the taking of $5,000, simply; becaase the end sought is for the public:good? “The argument against the expenditure of the $500 n%plics with equal: foree to the $200 expended aylho warden, 80 I need not do more than direct attention of the court to specification 2 of the second article. Money They Might'Have Used. “Why did not thesg respondents use tho funds at their disposal for traveling ex- penses? The act appropriating.$40,000 for a new cell house appropriated for trav- eling expenses for attorney general £600; for the commissioner of public lands and _buildings, $1,000; for the Board of Public Lands and Buildings, $1,000; for the State Board of Transportation, $1,000. ‘These respondents might very properly have used money taken from either of these funds except the Inst. When we remember that state officers and employes rarely pay railroad fare, tho above sums, amounting to $3,600, were more than ample to cover all traveling expenses of the board or its mem- bers, unless the board charged for transpor- tation, which was free. The failure of the board to return a voucher for the expendi- ture is significant in view of section 3 of the act making the appropriation for the cell house. “The pretext that this visit to the various state prisons was for the purpose of examin- ing the different kinds of cells in useis hardly worthy of consideration when we re- call that the trip was made in 1891, and the building is not yet completed and cannot be got ready for the placing or construction of the cells for at least six months yet. ‘“The only case in which an ofticer of this state is authorized to incur an indebtedness beyond the amount appropriated in the bill 15 to prevent disaster. Iiven ina case of disaster, the most the oficer can do is to incur an indebtedness. He has no right to take money out of the treasury to liquidate such an indebtedness. Conl Vouchers. “The eleven svecifications of the third arti- cle, hayving reference to the delivery of coal to the insane asylum at Lincoln, Neb.. may be considered together. It appears from the evidence that it was the custom of the Board of Public Lanas and Buildings to re- ceive proposals for the delivery of coal, for each quarter of the year. In some inscruta- ble manner, either Betts & Weaver or the ‘Whitebreast Coal and Linie company always secured the contracts to deliver coal ap the asylum at Lincoln. They were always able to underbid all competitors. ““The eleven specifications charge that for the last quarter of the year 1800, and the whole year 1801, and the month of February, 1892, there were delivered 7,689,600 pounds of coal, while vouchers were submitted to the state and the state paid for 17,551,000 pounds, leaving a shortage of 9,963,807 pounds of conl. In other words, the state paid for more than twice the coal actually delivered, “I think that it appears clearly from the evidence that the charge respecting the non- delivery of coal in every respect has been sustained by competentovidence. The state has put in the evidence of Randall, who checked the carsas they came from the track, the train fopwarding books, the freight receivod books, apd the yard checks for the purpose of tfagiug every car that could possibly have heewsdelivered or put upon the asylum mwitch. While the respondents at the owtset lustily asserted that it would be !mpvhfb e to prove these frauds, they have noy, hégh able to add oue single car to the for which we have given them xredit. Indeed they have abandoned thdir'.defense to these frauuds by proclaiming that mo{ were the first to really umurer;u‘c’m, and asked the grand jury to find indfcbmonts against the real criminals, and arg faking great credit to themselves for this-discovery, and their efforts in behalf of theostate. own by the Regapitulation. 1 think it clearly sppmas from the tes- timony that the respon; 8 are respousible for the following losses which oeccurred to the state, eithel by directton of the board by their negligeuce or from their own acts. *The losses iv the peuitentiary may be re- capitulated as follows: Excess of price paid for conviet labor..$ 7,000 Labor pald for, not used 850 Bupplles puld for that wery divoriud (o tho use of prison contraet. .. . . fimount m b v.‘-‘-. boud‘.‘ o . for Wi~ 800 A0d KIdor 11OWonerr. e Awmount pald for sto market price. ... Excess charged for ¢ Total. “All of which is. di ly chargeable to the appointment of Dorgan as the superin- tendent except as to the excess charged for coal. If a suitable superintendent ncquainted with the value of stone, whose interest la wholly with the state, had been appointed, these amounts would certaiuly have been saved, and I believe at least 5,000 or $10,000 more for the purchase of other supplies and An the employment of labor. Besponsible for Thelr Dutles. “The respondents are chargeable with w, ought not to | notloo of the feauds committed at the peni- tentiary and asylum. The act giving the Board of Public Lands and Buildings suver- vision of the different public institutions of the state makes them responsible for the proper disbursement of the funds appropri- ated for their maintenance. It also requires them to audit all accounts of tho officers of the various public institutions of the state. It is also made the duty of the board to ex- amine the accounts of the public ofMcers con- templated in the act and to determine whether the same are entitled to be paid out of moneys appropriated for tho purpose of maintaining the institution for which they are charged, and ir correct, shall approve the same, which approval shall signed by the president and by the secretary under date of such action, and if the accounts be incorrect, exorpitant, or not entitled to payment from such appropriations, the same shall be disapproved and- roturned to the claimant, such board keeping a record of *“Lhe two important duties of an account- ing oMcer are, first, to know that tho sup- lies in the voucher were actually received ; second, that the prices paid were reasonable, and, whero bids have been accopted, that thoy correspond 1o the proposals, faras the charge against the respond- ents of frauds committed in connection wivh the cell house, they are directly r ible, at least, as to their own ac hey ap- pointed Dorgan as superintendent when they knew he was tho agent of the con- tractor; thay advanced to him the money ho received ; they authorized him to pay $1 per day for convict labor; they received and ap- propriated tho 00 and authorized the ex- penditure of the §200; and as to those acts the question of notice does not apply be- cause all these were directed and instigated by the board. ‘‘And in tho case of the vouchers approved for supplies delivered to the insane asylum, the board either had notice or was put upon inquiry by the vouchers themselves which would have led an ordinarily prudent man to the discovery of the frauds that were being committed. Theso vouchers contained no data from which the board could form an in- telligent judgment as to whether the coal was in fact delivered. It certainly was the duty of the board to have required uvon the face of the vouchers sufticient data to inform them as to the amounts of coal delivered and the times of its delivery. ‘‘The board had, first, either knowledge of these frauds or, second, there was sufficient upon the face of the vouchers to put them uruu inquiry, which would have lead to the discovery of the trauds; or, third, the board willfully shut its eyes and determined not to know of any fact which would have led to the discovery of the frauds. In either case the law would charge them with nouice. If one, coutrary to his duty, closes his eyes and refuses to see, he caunot excuse his conduct by showing that he did not discover that for which he did not look. What Is Ground for Impeachment? “Willful or habitual negligence, or palpa- ble omission of duty is ground for impeach- ment. “I am of the opinion that willful or habitual neglect of publ duty is sufticient ground for removal from office. The test is whether the act of omission or commission is detrimental and prejudicial to the public service. An act of omission may be of as serious consequences as positive and wilful misconauct. What matters it to the public whether an officer is venal himself, or by lack of vigilance permits others to defraud the state? The stato scores the samo loss in either case. The Board of Public Lands and Buildings are the watch dogs of the treasury. 1f they cease to be vigilant, and the state suffers, cau they excuse themselves. by saying ‘we wot not of it? The seutinel that sleeps at his post is as blamable as the traitor who betrays the camp. These re- spondents are the guardians of the state, and when they cease to be on guard they should be removed. The acts of the re- spondents ure not to be judged by their in- tent, but by results, whether the act be one of omission or commission. ‘Whenever the law, statutory or comwon, casts on one a duty of a public nuture, any neglect of the d\;}y or act done in violation of it is indict- able.’ ‘It will not do for an auditor or account- ing officer to say, I relied absolutely on the certificate of another. To do that is for the auditor toabdicate his;functionsand'disregard his duty. What is the use of an accounting ofticer if he sumply approves the approval of another? “The fact is that the defendants never read the vouchers—never cared to read them; never inquired as to their correctness by letter or word; never investigated the purchase and sale of supplies to any of the state institutions; in fact did nothing, so far as superintending the disbursements of funds for the state institutions, more than suck their thumbs and approve vouchers. Find me one voucher in tho list disapproved, or one corrected after it came into the hands of the board. 'They seemed to think because the word approved was printed upon the voucher, the duty was mandatory to sign their names below it. I venture toassert that the mismanagement of the insane asy- lum and penitentiary fairly illustrates the method of supervision exercised over all the state institutions, and if there have been no frauds committed else- where the board can take no credit for it. Its Efficacy Kather Doubtful, “If tho board could not smell out rank frauds under their noses they werenot lixely to smoke them out in institutions away from the capital. The board threw the door wide open to fraud,aye, even held it open, and when it camo in they expressed greatsurprise. An accounting ofticer that says ditto to the cer- tificate of a subaltern or clerk without ex- amination of the vouchers, instead of being the guardian of the treasury, is a fence to facilitate and protect those who seek to loot the treasury. If the court holds that the board had a vright to rely on the certificate of Knapp, superintendent of the asylum, then it must also hold that Knapp could rest on the certificate of the book- keeper and the steward and so on down the line until responsibility is so diffused that it is dissipated, I take 1t that when these men were liv- ing within gun shot of the asylum, it was their duty to know at least something about the delivery of m”?:““ at that institution. But the evidence shows that they did not, for in the year and four months the proof shows that they allowed $12,000 worth of coul to be stolen; if they had but made the attempt they could have stopped this wholesale robbery. Instead of doing so, what did they do? They folded their arms and stood as lilent witnesses while the state was being burglarized and the treasury looted; not only this, but they abdicated their duties as publicoMcers and transferred them to their subordinates. If these gentle- men have an idea thatin this trial they have been vindicated let them come before the people of the state; the people of the state of Nebraska have read the testimony that has been admitted and in so doing they have rned their verdict. : “The incompetence, ignorance and negli- gence of Mr, Allen is shown by the testi- mony which he gave before the committee appointed by the legislature to investigate the matters under examination here, Thelr Plea of Overwork. ‘“These respondents are overworked. In order to wisit all the institutions under the supervision of the board lhe{ must travel 6607 1-10 miles. They would have us believe that they scorn delights, and live laborious days in the performance of their public funi tions; that they are bending under the bu den of public duties. The early hours found them at their tasks, and midnight vigils found these Nebraska statesmen worn and weary from the cares of state. I cac imagine the souls of these men fired with unquenchable ardor and un- flagging zeal, pouriug over these vouchers in the early morn and dewy eve, their brows perplexed with anxiety, lest a coal contractor or a stone merchant should escape their sleepless vigilance. “This defense of the respondents appeals to the imagination, but when brought to the test of truth and fact, is found wanting. How often, rather how few times have they visited the public institutions in the exercise of their supervisory powers! What vouchers have they correcte ‘What one rejected? A voucher was always to be, and always was approved, How many times have the judges who sought these halls in the early morning, or left them late atnight, been saluted by these respondents’ The respondents have a large office force. The attorney general has a deputy and a stenographer. The secretary of state has a deputy, kkeeper, recorder and clerk, The commissoner of public lands and buildingsa deputy. chief clerk, two bookkeepers. five clerks and o drafts man, while the Board of Transportation has three secretaries, the department of bank- ing one clerk, making twenty assistants in their mpoo‘lvo olf:u The clerks never work more than six hours por day, while on Saturday they gonorally close at 2 p. m. That Wonderful Vindieation. *'It is claimed that these matters now be- fore the court were published before the 1ast election, and the respondents wero vindi- cated by re-clection. Itis true that they were ro-elected by a very narrow plurality. In n total vote of 200,000° they received only 80,000 votes. ; ‘It was only by a superhuman offort that they were pulled through at all. The repub- lican party never made such an active and spirited canva last fall,and with all that effort, in a presidential year whon party lines woro drawn very tight, and national issues were to the forefront, the outcome was more than doubtful Had the election oc- curred in an off year, when these frauds would have been thoroughly ventilated, republican defeat would have been fore- doomed. Besides, we lost the legislature and the senatorship and three members of congress. In view of the fact that four years ago the attorney general polled 102,028 votes, the secretary of state 107,166 votes and tho commissioner of public lands and buildings 103,040, while at the last election the same ofe received respectively 78,011, 89,032 and 79,903 votes, tho respondents came out of the campaign with very little glory or prestige. Some victories are worse than a defeat, and this was one of them. *If theso respondents think since the pub- lication of the ovidenco taken before this in- vestigating commiitee, and in this trial, that the people are with them, let them run for an_ office agam. They will find thom- selves disillusioned before the campaign is half over. TLet not these respondents think because they have the sympathy of a coterie of friends that gather about them day after day that the avtitude of such friends is in any sense symptomatic of the feeling mhroufilwnt the state. The testimony in this case has been read at the firesides of the voters of Nebraska, and the judgment of the people, based upon an intelligent knowledge of the facts, is not favorable to the accused. ““The conviction that these respondents are guilty of these charges has plowed itself deeply into tho public mind. It is so deep seated that the judgment of this court may confirm that conviction, but it caunot up root it. “In conclusion allow mo to say that the duty devolving upon this court is graver than that imposed upon the senate engaged in the trial of an impeachment caso, This 1s Not the Senate, “If the senate oxcuses, justifies, or acquits an ofticer accused of the commission of ofti- cial misdemeanors the public may tolerate if not condone the verdict because tho senate is a political boa, ROV~ erned by wpolitical considerations. It is expected that such a_body will subservo party ends. But it is different with a court, which is a nonpolitical body, and therefore intended to be removed from the influence of politics. A court is expected to do justico though the heayens fall. Hence their judg- ments have greater weight with the peoble than the action of a purely political body. As more is expected of the court it is highly important vhat by its judgment here it meas- ure up to this high standard of public e: mate. If the court of final resort, the most august tribunal in the state by reason of its dignity, learning and integrity, shall decide that it was becoming for the Board of Publi Lands and Build- ings to appoint as its agent and superintendent William H. Dorgan, the representative of every interest adverse to the state, that it was proper to vay him and his principal $1 per day for the labor of con- victs when all other lessees of convict labor were paying but 40 cents per day; that it was in the line of duty for the board to expend or authorize the expenditure of $700, appropriated to build a cell house, for a tour of inspection of state prisons and to send delegates to a prison congress; that it was right to pay for labor that never was used and permit the diversion of moneys and materials to the personal use of Dorgan and Mosher; that a_purchase of stono &t threo time the market price was the act of vigilant officers and careful business men; that the method of approving vouchers for coal delivered at the asylum adovted by the board, whereby the state was defrauded of $12,000 in one year and four months, re- lieved the board from all responsibility and acquits them of gross ov wilful negligence; that respondents were in all matters under consideration guiltless of intentional mis- conduct; that noune of the charges under the evidence rise to the gravity of an official misdemeanor: that respondents be therefore restored to their offices, commended by the court as good and faithful public servants, then will the court throughout the borders of the commonwealth pronounce for the first time as a tribunal of impeachment & judg- ment that will not only produce a profound sensation, but one that will seriously impair the respect and and veneration in which it is held and lessen that high sense of public duty in ofticers which is at once the safety and protection of the state.” ————— BADLY CONDUCTED, Lax Methods Employed in the Conduot of the Weather Bureau. WasniNeroN, D. C., May 24.—Assistant Attorney General Colby today made his re- port to the secretary of agriculture on the weather bureau investigation. He enters into voluminous details to sustain his con- clusions that the system of manage- ment adopted by the chief of the weather bureau, In addition to the objection to being without authority of law, has re- sulted in the relieving of subordinate offi- cials from responsibility and, in the entire absence of the business methods so noticea. ble in the general conduct of the executive work. Neither the chief of the bureau nor any subordinate oficer is regarded as re- sponsible for the vast amounv of property or the funds of the govern- ment in his charge, although over $600,000 have peen expended through the officers of the bureau auring the year. The evidence shows that the property of the government has been taken from the bu- reau for private use or illegally sold, that official theft and embezzlement have been discovered and brought to the notice of the chief of the bureau, but the offenders, with perhaps a single exception, have never boen I)unlshed, and that many thousands of dol- ars worth of public property carried on the official rolls is not to be found in the bureau and 15 unaccounted tor. It further appears that there is a lamentable lack of harmony in the relations existing between different oficials of the weather bureau. Officers of high rank are on terms of personal enmity with one another, In conclusion, General Colby makes this significant suggestion as to the powers of MERIT ACKNOWLEDGED By the Sisters of Mercy. The Kickapoo Indian Remedies Found to be Invaluable at & Famous New England Proparatory School.— Thelr Use 1s Always Found to bo Benoficial, The Sisters of Mercy who conduct the St. Augustine's 'Preparatory Board- ing School at Hart- ford, Conn., write that they find the Kickapoo Indian Remedics invaluable to them in caring for the health of the scholars under their charge. ‘‘Kick- apoo Indian SBagwa, Kickapoo Indian Oil andKickapoo Indian Cough Cure' they say, ‘‘have been used Lere with the most gratifying results. These simple remedies of the Indian race de- serve the widest possible recognition, sud their use s alwiys beneficial.” The Kickapoo Indian Remedie A Kickapoo Indian Cough Cure, Kickapoo Indian 0Oil, Kickapoo Indian Salve, Kickapoo Indian Worm Killer and KICKAPOO INDIAN SAGWA, ‘The Grandest Remedy of the Universe, For the Stomach, Liver and Kidneys BOLD BY ALL DRUGGISTS. the secrotary In the premises: “The congeess making _opropriations for weathor bureau for the fiscal yoar of contains tho express provision that the & retary of agriculture 18 authorized 1o me such changes in the porsonnol of the weatit} bureau, either limiting or reducing expen as ho may deem necessar, ol Sundny Opening of the Falr, .l Wasmivorox, D. (., May 24.-—Unj States District Attornoy Milonrist 44 Chicago had an interviow with Attos Genoral Olnoy today with regard to 3 action of the general commission in pers! ting the opening of the World's fafr: Sunday. In view of tho absence of violation of the law the attorney decli to give Mr. Miichrist any definite st tions, and informed him that until violation has been officially presentod, | must use his own_discrotion. Mr. Milehxld left here for Chicago this evening. { Assistant Auditors of the Treasury, Wasmizaros, D. €., May 24.—The dent has appointed J. €. Kdwards of (lling deputy second auditor of the troasury Samucl Blackwell of Alabama third audigy of the treasury. 3 hy Will cure You, is a true statement of th action of AYER'S Sarsaparilla, when | taken for diseases originating in impure |} blood ; but, while this assertion is true 0 AYER'S Sarsaparilla, as thousands can | attest, it cannot be truthfully applied otlier preparations, which ungrinciple dealers will recommend, and try to im-§ § pose upon you, as “just as good as Ayeor's Take Ayer's Sarsaparilla an¢ Ayer’s only, if you need a blood-purifie: and would be benefited permanently, This medicine, for nearly fifty yedrs, has enjoyed a reputation, and made s} record for cures, that has never beent' equaled by other proparations. AYER'S| Sarsaparilla eradicates the taint of he-'"§ reditary scrofula and other blood dise | eases from the system, and it has, desel vedly, the confidence of the people. ““T cannot forbenr to express my joy ats the relief I have obtained from the use of AYER'S Sarsaparilla. Iwas aflicted %} with kidney troubles for about sixT months, suffering greatly with pains in &, the small of my back. In addition W‘.' this, my body was covered with pimply % eruptions. The remedies prescribed s failed to help me. I then began to take ! AYER’'S Sarsaparilla, and, in a short~ time, the pains ceased and the pimples« disappeared. I advise every youngman or woman, in case of sickness result-% ing from impure blood, no matter how 3 long standing the case may be, to take AYER'S Sarsaparilla.”—H. L. Jarmann, %] 83 William st., New York City. Will Cure You Prepared by Dr.J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mass | AMUSEMENTE. - THURSDAY, MAY 25 Hers wo are agaln, and overybody glad of 1f the Direct from thelr phenomonal succoss on o const. PRIMROSE & WEST'S FAMOUS MINSTRELSE, Thia Is truly the greatost company we have ever owned snd tho most magniticont First Part ever given in tho annals of minstrolsy. fo momber, EVERYTHING 1S ENTIRELY NEW RTho sale of seats will open Wednesday at the ollowing pricos: First floor, 81; balcony, Toe. NEW REE Friday and Saturday, May 26 und 27, MARIE WAINWRIGH And Company in the following ranerwlref Friday Night, & “SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL.” | Saturday Matineo, i “THE SOCIAL SWIM.” Saturduy Night, “AS YOU LIKE I’ rTIm snle of seats will open Thursday o hu ut the following price balcony, 73¢. RNAMST. THEATER *°* g 150, 250, 360, 500, 150 P 'ONIGHT: ublime scenic and dramatio ‘prod; wmokiiddns FA U S Matineo Saturday, FARNAMST. THEATER "°"%if; 15, ’Bi “h?x?b"' § NIGHTS "N i SUNDA | Matineo Decoration Day, T rn Engagement of the Laugh Make HENSHAW ~ TENBROECK IN The Naboh Matineo Wednesday, Any Eeat 25 Conts. ERLAN - - ON D -81YBu THEATE ALL THIS WEEK-——— A Buperb production, by the Bljou Slocly Company, of Bartley Campbell's most pro) nounced success, THE GALLEY SLAVE, And a refined speolalty program. Matinees—T0 all paris of tiie house 20 cants. Evonings—Baloony, 20 conts; parquet. 25 conts. EXPOSITION HALL4 TONIGHT, 8 O'CLOCK. Lecture on [ CAMERICANISM,’* By REV. THOMAS EWING (son of General Bnern Musie by the Second United Blat band frow Fort Omaba., Seats on sale at Kinsler's, Sixieenth and Furnam streets. Adwission 60 ocents, UThe Muman Brain Cousidered in the) Light of Auimal Intelligence,” Is the subjeos of a leoture to be given by REV.JOS. T. DURYEA at the FIRST CONGREGATIOMAL CHUROR on FRIDAY EVENING, Strawberries and los cream after locture. Locture, S0 MANUEAGTURERS EXPOSITON Open Dully Except Sunday. MAY 22 TO JUNE 3 Frow 10 a. m, to 20:80 p. Admisslon, .....oiviiiiriiiinieess 200 First floor, 81,0 Speol R Infantr;