The Use and Need of the Life of Carrie A. Nation [51]
many letters from poor, distracted mothers, who wrote so
often: "For God's sake come here." In some letters there was money.
One letter from a United Brethren church in Winfield, Kansas; the minister,
Bro. Hendershot, wrote me that he took up a collection in their
church for me of $7.38. How I cried over that letter and kissed it! I
knew that I had some friends who understood me; and just after this
letter, one from a Catholic priest came, which was a great comfort. The
many letters I got from all kinds of vice was a great encouragement to
me. I must say: "All hell got hit, when I smashed the saloons." For
I never, until then, knew that people thought, or could write such vile
things; letter after letter, of the most horrible infidelity, cursing God,
calling me every vile name, and threatening me.
I was not allowed a pillow; I begged for one, for I had La Grippe,
and my head was as sore as a boil. Mr. Dodd frequently brought
me the papers, and nearly every time that Wichita Eagle would have some
falsehoods concerning me, always giving out that I "was crazy," "was
in a padded cell," "only a matter of time when I would be in the
insane asylum;" that I used "obscene language" and "was raving." The
bible says: "All liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with
fire;" so the Murdocks of Wichita ought to tremble. I associate the
name "Murdock" with murderer. The real depravity of such people
was shown, when a lone old woman with a love of humanity, was in a
cell suffering so unjustly, that these people should have left nothing
undone to prejudice the people against her. Even when my brother
died, this Murdock paper spoke of me "raving in jail," and I was not
privileged to go to him in his dying hours. Such people drove the nails
in the hands and the spear in the side of Jesus.
This Wichita Eagle is the rum-bought sheet that has made Wichita
one of the most lawless places in Kansas.
When first arrested in Wichita, in violation of the Constitution, I
was denied bail and compelled to bring a Habeas corpus proceeding in
the Supreme Court to get a trial or bail. Sam Amidon as attorney
for Simmons proposed a return to the writ, and filed a false certificate
from Dr. Shults, president of the Board of Health, stating that Board had
quarantined the jail. Rather than face the Supreme Court with a false
return the case was dismissed. I do not believe that history ever recorded
a quarantine of a jail before, for public buildings, such as post
office, court houses or jails cannot be made pest houses, and such buildings
are cleansed. There was not a meeting of the Health Board. This
was a conspiracy, signed by Dr. Shults and the sheriff, for the purpose
of keeping me in jail, preventing me from seeing my friends or lawyers,
and by persecution to get me in an insane asylum. Below is a copy of this
fraudulent notice:
ORIGINAL NOTICE TO O. D. KIRK, JUDGE, WARDEN EBEY,
CLERK, CHAS. W. SIMMONS, SHERIFF. SERVED
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1901.
To O. D. Kirk, Judge, Harden Ebey, Clerk, and Charles W. Simmons,
Sheriff:
You, and each of you, are hereby notified that the following is a
copy of a paper purporting to be a statement made by J. W. Shults,
President of the Board of Health, of Wichita, Kansas, and attached to
the return of Charles W. Simmons in the The Matter of the Application
of CARRIE NATION for a Writ of Habeas Corpus now pending in
The Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, viz:
"Wichita, Kansas, December 29, 1900.
"At special meeting of the Board of Health, held in the City of
Wichita, Kansas, on the 29th day of December, 1900, at the office of Dr.
J. W. Shults, President of the Board of Health, the following resolution
was adopted and ordered spread upon the minutes kept by the said
board. 'Whereas it has come to the knowledge of the Board of Health
that the inhabitants of the jail of Sedgwick County, Kansas, have been
exposed to small pox and that one Isaiah Cooper confined therein has been
exposed to smallpox and is infected
often: "For God's sake come here." In some letters there was money.
One letter from a United Brethren church in Winfield, Kansas; the minister,
Bro. Hendershot, wrote me that he took up a collection in their
church for me of $7.38. How I cried over that letter and kissed it! I
knew that I had some friends who understood me; and just after this
letter, one from a Catholic priest came, which was a great comfort. The
many letters I got from all kinds of vice was a great encouragement to
me. I must say: "All hell got hit, when I smashed the saloons." For
I never, until then, knew that people thought, or could write such vile
things; letter after letter, of the most horrible infidelity, cursing God,
calling me every vile name, and threatening me.
I was not allowed a pillow; I begged for one, for I had La Grippe,
and my head was as sore as a boil. Mr. Dodd frequently brought
me the papers, and nearly every time that Wichita Eagle would have some
falsehoods concerning me, always giving out that I "was crazy," "was
in a padded cell," "only a matter of time when I would be in the
insane asylum;" that I used "obscene language" and "was raving." The
bible says: "All liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with
fire;" so the Murdocks of Wichita ought to tremble. I associate the
name "Murdock" with murderer. The real depravity of such people
was shown, when a lone old woman with a love of humanity, was in a
cell suffering so unjustly, that these people should have left nothing
undone to prejudice the people against her. Even when my brother
died, this Murdock paper spoke of me "raving in jail," and I was not
privileged to go to him in his dying hours. Such people drove the nails
in the hands and the spear in the side of Jesus.
This Wichita Eagle is the rum-bought sheet that has made Wichita
one of the most lawless places in Kansas.
When first arrested in Wichita, in violation of the Constitution, I
was denied bail and compelled to bring a Habeas corpus proceeding in
the Supreme Court to get a trial or bail. Sam Amidon as attorney
for Simmons proposed a return to the writ, and filed a false certificate
from Dr. Shults, president of the Board of Health, stating that Board had
quarantined the jail. Rather than face the Supreme Court with a false
return the case was dismissed. I do not believe that history ever recorded
a quarantine of a jail before, for public buildings, such as post
office, court houses or jails cannot be made pest houses, and such buildings
are cleansed. There was not a meeting of the Health Board. This
was a conspiracy, signed by Dr. Shults and the sheriff, for the purpose
of keeping me in jail, preventing me from seeing my friends or lawyers,
and by persecution to get me in an insane asylum. Below is a copy of this
fraudulent notice:
ORIGINAL NOTICE TO O. D. KIRK, JUDGE, WARDEN EBEY,
CLERK, CHAS. W. SIMMONS, SHERIFF. SERVED
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1901.
To O. D. Kirk, Judge, Harden Ebey, Clerk, and Charles W. Simmons,
Sheriff:
You, and each of you, are hereby notified that the following is a
copy of a paper purporting to be a statement made by J. W. Shults,
President of the Board of Health, of Wichita, Kansas, and attached to
the return of Charles W. Simmons in the The Matter of the Application
of CARRIE NATION for a Writ of Habeas Corpus now pending in
The Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, viz:
"Wichita, Kansas, December 29, 1900.
"At special meeting of the Board of Health, held in the City of
Wichita, Kansas, on the 29th day of December, 1900, at the office of Dr.
J. W. Shults, President of the Board of Health, the following resolution
was adopted and ordered spread upon the minutes kept by the said
board. 'Whereas it has come to the knowledge of the Board of Health
that the inhabitants of the jail of Sedgwick County, Kansas, have been
exposed to small pox and that one Isaiah Cooper confined therein has been
exposed to smallpox and is infected