HE circumstances attending the so

called "investigation" of the charges against the superintendent of the Hart ford County Temporary Home were unsatisfactory from every point of view, To any one who followed the proceedings in detail it was plainly evident that somewhere behind the scenes influences were at work balking a genuine inquiry, endeavoring to shield the accused, and studiously attempting to minimize the It is facts and discredit the witnesses. impossible to believe that the latter had concocted a wholesale scheme of falsehoods, for people do not indulge in that sort of thing unless an extremely profitable result is anticipated. The charges were brought by citizens and employees who had seen or had personal knowledge of instances of cruel and abusive treatment of the children by the superintendent. But their protests and straight-forward testimony received scant attention credit with the Board of Investigation. Their united evidence counted as nothing apparently against the general denial of all charges by the Board's highly An important witness favored servant. was effectively tampered with at a critical moment by a person who had no particular right to be on the scene at all. This witness was induced to say she had previously sworn falsely, but a part of the "falsehood" at least was later admitted to be true by the accused official himself.

or

The Commissioners
swallowed denial, retraction and admis-
sion with wonderful docility, refused the
remonstrants the right to ask pertinent
questions, intimated that no arguments
were needed or wanted, and finally re-
turned a report exonerating and endors-
But the whole
ing the superintendent.
affair from beginning to end had about
it such a strong odor of Algerine white-

French courtsome indignant

washing methods and
martial verdicts that
citizens promptly appealed to the grand
jurors of the town of East Windsor to
take the matter up.

With a few noticeable exceptions, the
press of the State evinced but a languid
interest in the affair, and editorial opinion
the commissioners'
took its cue from
report. The significance of the incident
lies in the fact that the pernicious canker
of "influence" and "pull" seems to
have eaten its way into the smallest as
well as the greatest spheres and that not
even the humblest public institution is
Public life
devoid of it or can escape it.
seems to be like a house of cards: the
whole structure will fall if a single card is
touched. We have mixed up our
business, social and personal relationships
so inextricably with political and public
affairs that to touch a single official would
mean involving a score of others who are
either under some obligation to him or to
some one interested in protecting him.
This sort of thing is going on all over the
country in every village and town, city
and capital, and will continue to exist so
it.
long as public opinion chooses to ignore
Ignoring it, however, does but en-
trench it more strongly, and when
change is wanted it will be no small
matter to cleanse the Augean stables of
our local and municipal administration.
At present the indications are that the
majority are willing the condition should
continue, because they have not yet had
their turn at getting " what there is in it."
Every such incident as this Warehouse
Point investigation suggests these things
by implication. If they are untrue those
most closely concerned ought not to fear
or be adverse to the fullest and plainest
disclosures.

a

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