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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1912)
7 Chas. enry Replies to Governor West THE MORXIKG OREGON1AN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1912. K H Portland, Or., Sept. 10, 1912. To the Editor: n Inasmuch as Governor "West has seen fit to vent his spite upon the undersigned through the press of the city in relation to the Oregon Electric depot property, and when proved a liar in the first instance, in which he declared I was one of the owners thereof, he apologizes therefor, but adds insult to in jury by hastily concluding and by innuendo stating that I had taken advantage of the Oregon Electric Railway Company, when the facts are to the contrary. That particular block on which the Oregon Electric depot is located had been purchased by the Oregon Electric Eailway Company through another firm of agents prior to my having anything to do with the company. Then they offered to sell the portion on the westerly side of their track, declaring that they would reserve that on the easterly side for their warehouse ; and they, the Oregon Electric Eailway Company, proposed that if a building were erected for them, they would locate a depot on that portion which they had sold, - and which I had not bought for them at all. Another gentleman and I bought the property from the Oregon Electric Railway Company and erected a building thereon, leasing it to the "Weinhard Estate. Surely there is nothing crim inal about that. The City Council issued licenses for the saloons to the lessee, and the lessors were in no way responsible therefor. The Governor is deteriorating into a chronic character assassin. The recital of the following facts may prove of interest, as well as show the animus for his venomous attacks published in the press : Some three weeks ago, while on the train going to Seaside, sitting with Hon. W. D. Fenton, of this city, and prior to this last crusade of the doughty Governor, Governor West came into the car and commenced conversing about the beautiful place that he was erecting at Elk Creek, which was of interest to me, as I had owned properties at Elk Creek, and his statement that the grounds were being developed by convicts or ex-convicts at tracted attention, and led up to his proposing a "talk on his policy." . . I took the opportunity then of saying to Governor West: "Governor, I am perhaps one of the most straight-lined Democrats the state affords, and I wish to say now to yon, sir, that I do not approve of your policy at all; that I feel, in your mistaken zeal, you are working more harm with the youth of the state than any other three agencies for good can overcome. I helieve that the true system Is not coddling, pet ting, paroling or pardoning vicious and low criminals; that a policy look ing towards the redemption in the house of correction of wayward or evil-minded youths should be followed and parole to youths during a pro bationary period is wise and just ; but that trifling with old and hard ened criminals is wrong and dangerous to society; that as Governor it was his duty to insist on the strict observance of and enforcement of the law; that all should be taught that "'the way of the transgressor is hard'; that all must live straight or suffer the consequence; that there was no sense in reprieving the murderer Johnson, or of paroling the infamous Mrs. Kersh, his partner in crime; that he was not enforcing the law when he reprieved those self-confessed murderers, the Humphrey brothers, nor in reprieving the hardened criminal and murderer, Roberts, who killed young Mr. Stuart. All should have been promptly hanged as ordered by the courts, as a warning and deterrent to others. " - At this Governor "West declared I was hard-hearted. I then told him that I was an older man than he, and had exceptional experience with criminals when a young man acting as U. S. Marshal in "Washington Territory, having gone through the Chinese riots in Seattle, facing mobs of miners and strikers with clubs and stones, while I was delivering Governor "Watson O. Squire's riot act proclamation, backed by a few deputy sheriffs ; under John H. McGraw, afterwards Governor; mentioned a num ber of instances where I had been warned by Judge Roger S. Greene, of the Seattle District, Judge John P. Hoyt, of the Olympia District, and Judge George Turner, of the Spokafce Dis trict, to be cautious and careful in those troublesometimes with smugglers on the Sound, seamen's strikes, and gunmen from the Kalispel country, many of whom I arrested and. took to the U. S. Penitentiary at McNeil's Island. -1 therefore felt justified in saying to Governor West that if he persisted in his policy of truckling and pandering to the low, vicious and criminal element, we would be confronted by the . necessity of a vigilance committee, as was the case in the early eighties in Seattle, where robbery, holdups and murders had be come frequent. The opinion had become general that the courts and law officers had become too lenient with evildoers, and crima had become bold in the face of lax justice, with the result that when young George B. Reynolds was murdered in the early even ing by Howard and Sullivan, two holdup thugs, a'vigilance com mittee quickly arrested them and, after a short trial, finding .them guilty, rushed them down to Mayor Tester's old home, in front of which stood some tall trees, ran a scantling through same, and hanged both thereunder, and then went back to the County Jail and took out Ben Payne, who had murdered Police Officer D. Sires, and the mob hanged Payne along with the other two on the same scantling and that scantling was maintained there for years striking terror to the heart of all evildoers. All this did not please Governor West at all. "Evidently the . Governor's overweening ambition in politics is unsettling his mind. He evidently 'hopes to win Senatorial honors, as is openly charged by Mr. Gay Lombard, of this city, by his constant and persistent pandering to the low element of society throughout the state. As Governor of the state, he. has neglected the duties thereof and assumed the duties of Constable and Town Marshal of many of the towns and hamlets of the state, and is now usurp ing the duties of District Attorney, Mayor and Chief of Police of the City of Portland, as well as those of County Sheriff of the County of Multnomah. Could presumption run more mad t It would seem that West hoped to climb to political prominence by defaming, slandering and villifying his betters. It is but a iew days ago the valiant Governor came to Port and with the blare of trumpets and with much publicity to the effect that he would clean up the city and county, that he x was after all the crooked officials then, that he was after the social evil and finally the drink habit, declaring that perhaps he "might be carried out on a shutter," and that the West savings might be spent for the effort. It has all simmered down now to the one petty fight on the saloons in the Oregon Electric Depot. Hence his chagrin. How the mighty have fallen ! Chas. K. Henry T. R. PETITIONS FILED SECOND CONVENTION' WILIi BE HELD, IS ANNOUNCED. Candidate for Presidential Electors and Possibly Other Officers to Be Named. SALEM. Or., Sept. 10. (Special.) With the filing of peUtlons today by Oliver M. Hickey. of Portland, and George F. Rodgers. of Salem, which purport to contain more than 7000 names, the Progressive party becomes a party recognized under the laws of this state. As a result, another con vention will be held and candidates for Presidential electors and possibly for Congressional and other officers will be named. This Is considered a neces sity by the Roosevelt Progressives, ac cording to Mr. Hickey, who says they now recognize that those nominated at an assembly In Portland several weeks ago will have no status as nominees of the now party under the law. He considers it more than likely that the Progressive convention, wnicn must be held sometime before Sep tember 20 to give it time under the statute for filing, probably will not nominate Dan Kellaher as the Presl dential elector. Kellaher is a candi date for State Senator on the Republi can ticket anil also for Presidential elector on that ticket from Multnomah County. The petitions name the following 43 members of the Progressive party state central committee: A. V. Swift, T. A. Lotrdon. George Peary. Max leirora O. V. Kastham, F. J. Tooze. James Galttens, H. P. Ross, W. P. McClay, W. W. Blakesley. J. W. Allen. C. E. Lake. T. J. McGinn. J. W. Campbell, P. Huntington. S. E. Hall, F. W. West. H. U Irwin. Walter B. Jones, H. F. Slattery. Martin Svarvend, S. W. Phil lips. G. E. Sanders, O. Middlekauf, P. B. Wallace, I H. McMahon. Levi W. Myers, George Skiff, George H. Cop- ptnger. I. C. Brownell. R. H. lionrig. Hugh McCalL C. T. Dowell. H. J. Goff, J. C. Hodson and Charles Rittenhoff. While this manner of selecting a committee was conceded by Mr. Rodg ers and Mr. Hickey to have no author ity at law. they gave It as a basis for the plan to make nominations and put out a ticket at a convention to be held soon. MOTHER AND BABE ESCAPE Chivalrous Wena tehee Man Foils At tempt at Kidnaping. WEXATCHEE. Wash, Sept. 10. (Special.) Eluding her husband and a posse or otiicers attempting to pre vent her leaving Wenatchee with her year-old babe. Mrs. John Hllsabeck. wife of a prominent fruitgrower, se cretly boarded an east-bound Great Northern train yesterday and today Is speeding to her parents' home In Da kota. Objections to one of her husband's first wives living in her home brought on a family quarrel, resulting In an attempt of the father to kidnap the babe on the main street here when the wife left her aged spouse. When Hll sabeck attempted to wrest the child from its mother's arms, a bystander. Frank Freeman. knocked Hllsabeck down, giving the woman time to es cape to the train. Hllsabeck declares he will follow her and threatens to shoot. lie has been married four tlmea f 1 ! JL you only Knew wnai pleasure; Victor-Victrola brings into your wouldn t foe witnout one ror a single toe h ome, you day Any Victor dealer in any city in the world will gladly play any music you wish to hear. Victor-Victrolas t $15 to $200 Victors, $10 to $100 Victor Talking Machine Company - Camden, N. J. 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