The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1899-09-04
FROM
EDITOR JOYCE
lie Will Once Again be Free Man
This Month.
SAYS LlPE is As We MAKE 1T !
The Former Mahanoy City Editor stin
Shows an Independent Spirit and
WIN Again Enter the Jour
nalistic Field

We republish extracts from letter written
by Thomas J. Joyce. founder Of the Black
Diamond. published az Mahanoy City, who
is now an inmate Of the Eastern penitentisry.
Mr. Joyce was sentenced on June i6. ls9s,
charged with perjury. The prosecutor in
that case was ex-senator John J. COyle, and
it is a coincidence that the latter will be
called to trial charged with attempting 70
bribe a member Of the Legislature to vote for
the McCarrell bill, about the same time that
Joyce is released. The latter's term expires
about September 10th, while the case against
Coyle will be called in Dauphin county Sep
tember 2sth.
After reviewing the past, in which he pays
high tribute to sincere friends and in no un-
mistakable language expresses contempt for
the cowardly and decietful, Mr. Joyce pro-
ceeds to give an idea Of life in solitary con-
fnement. He says
The rules Of this place are in no way
Calling OF severe If man behaves him
self he need have no fear of any kind Of
punishment The cuisine is not exactly what
a boarder at S5-a-day house would put up
with without q kick, but il it was improved
much, there are hundreds of sojOurners here
whom the state malitis would be unable to
drive out when their sentences had expired.
Taking everything into consideration, /
what il claims to be-the Eastern is run on
business and humane principles, in manner
which do not believe could be very well im-
proved upon. The only drawback | find
here is no provision having been made TO
keep the prisoners in employment.
This grave error is not attributable to the
Eastern's management; it is the FAULT Of
wOOdeu-headed and hannel-mouthed legisla-
tors who calouse at Harrisburg every two
years. These equine Tosetts say that prison
labor Injuries the legit., don t-chersknOw.'
All they care for Legitimate labor centres in
and about election day, the 364 other days Of
the year the legitimate may eat straw If it
cannot steal hay.
Il see the question How in the werld have
you managed TO pull through. anyway ?
starting from your lips Everything is pos
sible to the man who grits his teeth, calls
smattering Of philosophy TO his aid and de-
termined not to butt his head too hard against
the tough wall they call The Inevitable
| accepted the i. as gracefully as a buxom
Is year old fills an elastic shirt waist, and
have had very little trouble with myself out
side the awfulness of the solitude and silence
that surround me.
ITO an active mind aud body solitude and
silence are fearful punishment. But early in
| the game / concluded that If | hoped to keep
my mind clear of the approaches of paresis,
/ must employ mind and hands in some pro-
fitable way and / did. / took the vital
questions of the day under the dissecting
point of my pencil and proceeded TO decorate
the walls and ceiling of my 'bOudoir' with
| leaders -
He then proceeds to show how be solved
the Cuban and Filipino question, and takes a
rap at the diplomats who met in conference
at Hague. He also at some length shows
that he has taken advantage of the excellent
| library there, read and retained everything
from Gibbons Rise and Fall of the Roman
Empire" to the life of Signor Blitz. The
writer then proceeds to comment upon his
future as follows
II do not see why I should not resurrect
| the sprightliest journalistic high kicker that
ever trOd the path Of independence. There
| is positively nothing in the county which It
need fear. Whether it be argument, wit,
humor, pathos satire or vituperatiOn the
public is in need of, the yOungster can give it
to them to a finish.
IF / had given Black Diamond only
| luke warm attention in its business depart
ment l could have made a good deal Of
money. / have learned thing or two those
Is months which shall not be wasted on
ThinestOnes in future.
81 return to Mahanoy City prepared to
| look any and every man square in the face.
| / have committed no crime; but, instead
have driven the worst scOuDdTel of time into
the pale of political and social Ostracism.
| lnete are many Otner good things which
Tom Joyce has done which need have no
mention in this. Never having cared for the
| good or bad opinions of the fellows with Sun
| day school regulations, but whose real
| characters favored of Cain and Oman, have
no occasion to change my opinion. | still
have hosts of warm, personal friends whose
| good opinions i do respect, Never having
acted the hypOcrite and sneak by claiming tC
be better than l am, and never attempting u
hide my skeletons in closets, / can with the
greatest propriety aud consistency spike the
small bore guns Of the evil aud malicious
minded with the hottest of red-hot shot.
Those endeavOring to be decent, / shall
treat decently; but nothing shall give more
delight than to make the skeletons Of the
| 'hOlier than thou fellows do the cOuchee
cOuchee on the house tops of our city.
so you see, Brother, that l have moi
reduced my stock of old time independence
and nerve to any appreciable extent. How
ever l shall be guided much by Mrs. Ti
advice and counsel-as il is about time
bowed to her better sense and Judgment.
Society here has its stratas and barriers a.
well as the outsde-the-walls article. Every
cline and land the sun shines on has a repre-
sentative here The population hovers rount
the 1900 mark, hut like the tent-foldin,
Arabs, it changes in a night, transgressor
being discharged and rOped In continually
There are no lines more severe and impreg
nable than the chalk lines between "a,
fellows who are here because Of their fond
ness for other peoples door mats and tn,
rooster who sent emptiness into the content
Of a bank. l would like to spoil about gros
more sheets, but | am afraid the censo
would light his pipe in disgust with tn,
whole.
MY health Is excellent-my kidneys no
having been as yet introduced to Mr.. Bright
My liver works as steady ss a Dago unde
Y padrOne surveillance, and my head is a
ambitious as a mammals wbOse fourtee
I daughters are manageable and shrieking 70
husbands"