The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1898-03-03

entirely out of consideration, If yol
prefer. Assume, if you will, that it i
not opr intention or desire either t
give you relief Or to make your cas-
harder for you. There are fiftee,
hundred human beings in this prison
and they are under the absolute con
troll of one man. If serious wron,
is practiced upon one, it may be upol
others. l ask you in the name of com
mon humanity, and as one man o
another, to pot US in the way Of work
ing justice in this prison. If yol
have the instincts of a man within
you. you will comply with my request
Speak out, therefore, like a man, ant
have no fear of anything"
| The convict was touched and stnng
He looked up steadily into the chair
mans face, and firmly said: "There il
nothing in this world I fear" TheI
he hung his head, aud presently ht
raised his head and said: Il wa:
sent up for twenty years for killing
man. l hadn't been a criminal; ]
killed him without thinking, for be
had robbed me and wronged me.
came here thirteen years ago. 1 had
trouble at first-it CALLED me to be 8
convict; but I got over that, because
the warden that was here then under
stood me and was kind to me, and be
made me Que of the best men in the
prison. l don't say this to make you
think I'm complaining about the pre-
sent warden, or that he didn't treat me
kindly; 1 can take care of myself with
him. I am not making any com
plalut. I'd ask no mans favor, and l
fear no mans power"
THAT is all right. Proceed"
AFTER the warden had made good
man out of me l worked faithfully,
sir; 1 did erything they told me to
do; l worked willing and like a slave
1t did me good to work. and / worked
hard. 1 never violated any of the
rules after l was broken in. And then
the law was passed giving credits to
the men for good conduct. My term
was twenty years, but L did 80 we'll
that my credits piled up, and after I
had been here ten years I could be
gin to see my way out. There were
only about three years left. And, Sir,
l worked faithfully to make those
years good. 1 knew that if did any
thing against the rules I should lose
my credits and have to stay nearly ten
years longer. I knew all about that,
Sir; never forgot it. 1 wanted to
be free man again, and l planned TO
60 away somewhere and make the
fight all over-to be a man in the
world once more"
"We know all about your record in
prison. Proceed" Z
"Well, it was this way. You know
they were doing some heavy work in
the quarries and on the grades, and
they wanted the strongest men in the
prison. There weren't very many;
there never are very mauy strong
men in prison. And l was one of
'em that they put on the heavy work,
and l did it faithfully. They used to
pay the men for extra work-not pay
'em money, but the value of money
in candles, tobacco, extra clothes, and
things like that. / loved to work,
and l loved to work extra, and 50 did
some of the other men. On Satur-
days the men who had done extra
work would fall in and go up to the
captain of the guard, and he would
give to each man what was coming to
him. He had it all down in q book,
and when man would come up and
call for what was due him, the cap
tain would give it to him, whatever
he wanted that the rules allowed.
'One Saturday l fell in with the
others. A good many we've ahead of
me in the line, and when they got
what they wanted they fell into new
line, awaiting to be marched to the
cells. When my tnrn in the line
came, went up to the captain and
said l would take mine in tobacco
He looked at me pretty sharply, and
said. How did you get back into
that liner l told him 1 belonged
there, that l had come to get my ex-
ira. He looked at his book, and he
said, you've had your extra; you got
Tobacco And he told me to fall in
to the new line. l told him 1 hadn't
received any tobacco; said l hadn't
got my extra, and hadn't been up be-
fore. He said, Don't spoil your re-
cord by trying to steal little tobac-
co. Fall in 1t hurt me,
Sir. l hadn't been up; 1 hadn't got
my extra, and l wasn't thief, and
never had been a tnief. and no living
man had night to call me q thief.
l said to him straight, 4 won't fall in
till l get my extra, and Pm not a
thief, and no man can rob me of my
just dues He turned pale, aid said.
Fall in, there; said, 4 won't fall in
till l get my dues
with that he raised his hands as q
signal, and the two guards behind
him covered me with their rifles, and
guard on the west wall, and one on
the North wall, and one on the porti
co In front of the arsenal, all covered
me with rifles. The captain turned
to trusty and told him to call the
wa-den. The warden came out, and
tue captain told him was trying tc
run IOuOle Ou my extra, ana SAID
was impudent and insubordinate, and
| refused to fall in. The warden said
Drop that and fall in l told him
wouldn't fall in. said l hadn't rune
double, that l hadn't got my extra
and that l would stay there till 1 dice
before l would be robbed of it. He
asked the captain if there wasn't some
mistake, and the captain looked at his
book and said there was no mistake
he said he remembered me when
came up and got the tobacco, and he
saw me fall into the new line, but he
didn't see me get back into the old
line. The warden didn't ask thu
other men if they saw me get my to
bacco and slip back into the old line
He just ordered me to fall in. tole
him l would die before 1 would d,
that. l said l wanted my just due
and no more, and / asked him to cal
on the other men in line to prove tina
l hadn't been up.
1