Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-13

fancy in the handle until thoroughly fin.
ished and packed for the trade.
RUGS FOR THE WORLD.
In the mat and mating factories It Il
much the same. Earnest and industrious
they all look; an ordinary class Of working.
men they would be pronounced If seen with
other environments. Here 10 one who
seems younger and more prepossesSing than
the rest, which fact is remarked upon.
Chow old are you?" asks the warden.
"Twsnty-two," came the answer with q
smile from very boyish looking face, with
almost roguish eyes and wavy, golden hair.
"What Is your sentence?"
"Nine years"
"Is II possible? What's his crime?" asks
the visitor, moving on.
"Murder," answers the warden.
On through the various rooms Of the fac
tories, until the one Is reached where the
rugs, mats and mattings are all in state of
completion. What lovely patterns, what
exquisite taste has been used in their de-
signingl Here'sa lot ready for shipment
in the morning. Where. and TO whom?
IN. f. & Co., Chicago, is printed on the
coverings. Is it possible that Marshall
Field s. Co. purchase all Of their rugs and
mattings here? What would the very swell
ladies who patronize his store think If they
knew that convict labor was utilized in
their manufacture?
Up into the tin shop and tailor shop, the
same attention to business, the same respect
to the Warden. Down into the bakery,
where the great loaves of bread have Just
been taken from the oven. 1t smells good
and doesn't taste bad. -Four prisoners sit
around in their uniforms and bakers caps.
One breaks off loaf and the Warden SAYS:
"Now, I'm going to talk about you This
man will be released next Monday"
GLAD, YET ANXIOUS.
"Ohl aren't you glad?" he was asked.
"How do you feel about 1t, and how long
have YOU been here?"
"Yes, am glad" was the reply, and the
face. a pleasant one, lit up wonderfully. 81
can hardly wait for the time to come. This
day has been Sc hours long, 1 am sure"
"How long have you been here and what
are YOU going to do when you get out?"
"I have been In seven years and three
months, and L don't know what will do
when / get out. To tell the truth am quite
q little nervous about going out, anxious as
1 am for the time to come when I will be re-
leased"
Have you any wife or familyF"
81 had both"
The emphasis on the word "had" was ex-
pressive.
"Why are you nervous7"
az don't know how to make q start and re-
deem my reputation" the old, old query Of
q convict.
"He was q bank robber," says The War
den, as he IL left with wishes for his success
In the future, o
Now the kitchen. Here's the coffee and
the supper In readiness for the prisoners,
who are marching from the various work.
shops 10 their cells. A. they pass the win
dow II 10 passed out 10 them. and taken 10
their cells 10 be eaten. The head cook shows
the bill OF fare for the week. breakfast for
the different days, cheese, eornpone. pork,
hash and smAekerelj dinner rice and
beef, beef stew. shoulder and beans, soup
ana meat, mutton stew, bean stew and
potatoes-and bread, OF course, IL included
with each dinner Supper consists Of bread
and coffee, unless granted extra for hard
labor on the new building, at which large
number OF the prisoners are working. Sun.
day dinners include fruit Of some kind with
the regulation piece OF shoulder, potatoes,
onions and other vegetables occasionally.
IN THE HOSPITAL.
Up W uohplbhl 10
into the far ward, Captain" says the guard,
as he touches his hat 10 the Warden.
The visitor therefore merely peeped In
and saw crazy man strapped In his chair,
awaiting his removal 10 the lunatic asylum.
Here In the other ward are O number Of
cots, occupied by poor fellows deprived OF
their liberty both by the laws of health and
State.
"well, Pat. how is it2" says the Warden
to an invalid in the last stages Of consump-
tion.
"Very bad, sir; but mother will be here
Monday, the last with ray OF hope, was
the labored answer of the consumptlve.
"Will she? Well, tell her to come and
see me, too, when she arrives"
HE will hardly live until that time"
says one of the nurses.
Here's the man who tried to commit
suicide by cutting his throat, proud of the
great round hole in his throat that will
never heal, and over which he has to put
his hand when he speaks.
Now to the kitchen OF tine hospital.
There, at the end Of the table, that very
boyish face-can it be? Yes, it is the boy
reared in luxury, educated at Princeton,
ruined by extravaganza. A trace of the
gay youth is still there, though in defiance
OF prison bars, and the countensnce of re-
fnement has not been shorn.
The men are in their cells for the night,
and it is music hour from 6 to z, when the
whole wing resounds with discordant
melody. Any and all are allowed to play
upon any instrument they may own or have
given to them. A very enjoyable concert is
given by two colored men ON guitars, and
they are roughly encored by those near them.
Music hour is over, and from z to $50 the
men read or sew or write, as it pleases
them, when lights are ordered out and they
are one dav nearer 1ihartv