Manly's Side Of The Case

The Grand Rapids Leader of Sunday has. a long interview wlth Capt. Manly from which the following is excerpted: "It is posslble wfcen I am again a private citizen. I may be willing to relate all the circumstances of my retirement and. the causes tfaat led up to it, but just now it would, in my ju dement, be manifpscly in poor taste to aii any grievances I may have," eaid the comnuandant „vesterday morning a he sat in hts office at the soldiers'' home, peacefully smoking a cigar and readin gthe morning papers, occasionally paustng to listen to the strains of gospel hymn mtusiic wafted in on the breezes from the religieus services in progress ira the chapel. "I nin still commamdant of the home, the memDers of the board of managers are my superior offïcers and it would nciilwr be cobrteous nor +r n-.ilitary etiquette for me to cricieiBe or find fault with them," he continued. "It wuMn.'t be good discipline and .would be setting a bad example to the inmates of the home. J am in somethiiMT the same fix I was in durin# the Jero-me admtaistration. I was captain of the Ann Arbor müitia oompany and ateompanied thi troop to Yorktown. You remember, perhaps, the scandal that airóse f rom that trip amd the chajaes that were made .icrainst Opii. .Tfrorne, of drunlfiennees nul imp op reonTuct. My qurxtersa Yorktown were close to those of the governor. I knew that the charges auraiinst him were tme. but upon retnrning home I decliined to make any 6rtatmfnt rrflecting on him or his conduct. He was my superior officer and as long as I held a commifesion undor hiim T feit myself bniind to say nothing. That is my position now. When I become a primate citizpn apaiTi t'hen I, mny bo '.vitlins; tOi talk, but not now." Aftr relatiTic: this .Trrome incident, Capt. Manly told how he i"am to be appointed commandant. He w-inted to be aidJutamP-ffenprnT. but wasn'fl eore when Forrar jrot the place, fíov. Wioans then gave him the unsolicited appoimtment of a place on the soldiors' home board. It was sugsrested that he become co mm. -ín riant, and dcclüned at first, but aftorwards aeaepted. "My fin'ist' official ax?t as commandant," he sa&d, "was to appoint Mr. ■Valker, of Ann Arbor. as my adjutant. He is a warm pereoiial friend, and a man jn whom I hf d pvery confidence. I kww we eould dweil under the same roof im peace aod harmony. I have not reftpptted the appointment for one minute." "Was tlH.r' i 'fíon to Mr. Walker's appointment?" "Yes, Mr. Rutlwrford wanted me to appoint a f:-iend of his to the position. a man nanned ïlïorp, I. believe, of Hart, I knew notMng about Mr. Thorp, dkl not know if lis would bé congenial or not, know nothtns: of his family, and decltned to accommodate Gen. Ruihprford in a matter that was 0 fso mach importante to me personnlly. Tile :i(!jut;uu. yon klttCW, Ï8 ál gort of a private secretary and conflddntial olerk to tile commandant, ahd I di] not proposet to have a total gtraingeir íti that position. Gen. Ruthcrford ivas displeased because I would not do tas hei asked me to. Jerome V. Shan); was appolöted qnartermaster on Dr. Shank's recommondation." "You had troublo wfth the quarterma.ster?" "Yes, and it commenced on the fonrth nteht alter his arrival at the home. In a eonversation with me he maflp eertaiu proposnls wliieh caused Mm to drop completely out of alght in my pood opinión. I will not mention -n-ïiat those proposals wcre. but ïc is onougrli to soy I had no recpect foi or confidence ín him therea'.ter. Thing went alon,? pretty smoot'hly 'for perhaps a month, and thpn I reuionstrated watfli liim for iailjwï to observe' rulos made by the 'board relative to the purchaso of sunplips. What followod you alread.v know. On July 3 1 discharged him for disobcdince of ordors and Inoubordlnatlon. Th fo!lowinjr week th bonrd reinstated him a.nd I resiRined., The aerion of the board in reinstating th- quartormaster was entlrely unwarrontecl and conrary to law. DM you evor read the ?t creatina; the Soliiiers' home? Just let read a seetion. of it for rour !i":Wit." . :n .Man.y varnfil for a copy of , rlov.-oijl'a titatnteo, oponed it at a marked passage and read as followg See. 10 The board of managers (of the Solditers' home) shall have power nnd it shall be tteir duty to appoint a. commandant for said home wli o shall nomínate for the aetion of said board of managers all necessary subordínate officers, wno ma.y ba dtenöBsed by sn,id commandant for ineffioiency or misconduct; lut in case of every sueh remo val a detaileö statement of the case Bhall be reported to t'h board of managers by the commandant. "Kow, what warrant has the board undor this section of the law, to . in state a subordínate wliora the commandant discharges for cause?" obwrved Capr. Manly, laying aside the law book. "They had none, whatever: but, in view of subsequen proóeedlngs, I di'd not care to dispute their authorjfcy." "Did the board ask for your resigliation. or diid you do it yourself?" "I have 110 dolicacy in that matter wiatever. When the board decided to reinstate Shank as my quartermaster, I retired from the room and coming to my ofii.se I wrote out my resisnation. Then I returned to the room whert tho board was in session. TVforc I cpuld hand the resignation 1 had wn-ittpn to the secretary, I was informed that in my absenc the board had adopted a resolution asking me for my resignation, giving me until the following morning to do as requested. I tokl them then tha:t sueh aetion was entirely uainecesisary. If they would withdra)w the reso'lution I would reefign of my own voliition. Thn resolution was withdrawn and my resiürnatlon to takfe effect 1, was received and aecepted. I fixed the darte of my retirement at August 1 so Tha'.t I rfiuUl have my Teports made. me statement that it was that I mipfat have my accounts made out is not true. My accounts are balanced and ready for inspection at all timos, and as fair as the accounts iiire ooncerned. I couM have turne the home over to my suecessor that very minuta. The report s are different, however, and I wanted time td put thpm into shápe.' Mr. Manly matóss a long and detailed statement relative to the elmrscTPS of fxtravasraince. He eatö Ko would make the board very -weary of tho charges before he got. throiiKh with theni. His extrava?ance oonfíisted, he declared, in koopina: things clonn at th home. The sickeninc: odor whlch fonnerly prevalled there. Sa no loiijrer No more dead fcata are foiuid in corner.-; under rubblsh haps, and instead of benig covered with du?t and Krease, the ;nachinei-.r in the engine room is kept poüshedj painted. Those lace curtains a bout which there lias been ko much talk, ha iiNiisted, ar? clieap cotton affairs. and. of the $1.000 appropriaitod a little over $100 has b?en in neccssary kitchen repairs. The RTOundd h'ad been graded and improved at an expens so small that persons familiar with this gort of -vvork marveled. He adnÉtted that he kept his norse at state expense, but inaisted that the animal more ttoan carned lts boafrd in -ork done for the state, having been even employed in the gradina;. He had also had a boafr house built at an. expense of $10, for his stpam. launch. but th? stiucture was easily worth $35 and would still remaln after he left. "The charges of extravaxance," he said, "are without foundation, but are made Bimwly as a cover for something else. I öo not intend to give any details or ko into any particulars until I ara agai'n a private eitizen, and then, it is possible, I may be willinjc to talk. I have reeelved many letters from Ann Arbor friends, tirging me to mlake a fu'U statement of the situation, but I have written them' that I cannot do so now. I shall bó out of here just ono Aveok from next Frklay, nnd then can talk, if I want to, without discourtesy to my superiors in authority."