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burdens heavier than ever placed upon any of our governors before, he overcame all obstacles and solved all problems, and gave Nebraska the best administration it ever had. He will long be remembered as a governor for all the people.

The little army of soulsavers that his prison warden refused to feed at the expense of the state, were, of course, opposed to the governor, and the lies that they scattered broadcast about the atrocities at the prison, lost the governor many votes, likewise did the division of the Republican party. In one of those landslides that comes every so often, and puts a democrat in office, he went down to temporary defeat, to rise again before long to a still higher office. He is today the strongest Republican in the state. Those who turned against him realize their mistake and regret it. Were the elections to be held over again now, he would sweep the country.

In the office of the chief clerk at the prison,

 
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hangs a large picture of Governor Aldrich. There were also pictures of him on the walls of the other offices, but it was astonishing to see how quickly they were taken down. One of the officials, a turncoat, a two-faced skate, even sent down to Lincoln for a picture of the democratic governor-elect, on the day after election. He got it and hung it over his desk. When the democrats came smelling around and were telling about "what we are going to do when we take possession" this man used to tell how he had supported Mr. Morehead. He managed to hold his fifty dollar job and is at the height of his glory.

But the picture of the governor remained upon the walls of my office. When Mr. Fenton, the democratic warden, took possession he suggested that "we take Aldrich down and put Morehead up." I told him that it was not a matter of politics with me but the picture hung there on account of my admiration of the governor's


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personality, and besides, it was a present to me from the late Warden Delahunty, and for these reasons I would like to have the picture hang there as long as I was in office. The new warden is a gentleman in every sense of the word, a man who respects the feelings of others. He said: "Well, that is all right, you keep Governor Aldrich in your office but I will put up Governor Morehead in mine."

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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
WARDEN MELICK COMES

Usually when a new governor takes office, there comes from all corners of the state a small army of patriots to offer their services to the state. Scores of them cast their eyes longingly upon the office of the prison warden and move heaven and earth to land that office. But after the assassination of the deputy warden, the murder of the warden and the two officials, and the wounding of still another, these patriots were noted by their absence. They were not anxious at all to expose themselves to the assassin's dagger or the murderer's guns. On the seventeenth Governor Aldrich announced the appointment of Mr. S. M. Melick, of Lincoln, to the office of prison warden. "I believe that Mr. Melick is competent to discharge the duties of the warden," said the governor, "and that he will make a good officer. He is now in