Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-11-08
No. 2O34
BY KENNETH HEREFORD.

The line of dingy-coated men
stretched along the broad granite walk
and like great gray serpent wound
in and out among the wagon-shops ana
planning mills that filed the prison yatd.
Down beyond the foundry the begin
ming Of the line, the head of the Ser
pent, was lost at the stairway leading
to the second floor of long, narrow
building in which whisk-brooms were
manufactured.
An hour before, on the sounding Of
brass gong at the front, that same
line had wound round the same corners
into the building whence now it
crawled. There, the men had seated
themselves on four-legged stools be-
fore benches that stretched across the
room in rows. Before each man was
set tin plate of boiled meat, heavy
cup of black coffee, Il knife, fork,
and thick bowl of steaming, odorous
soup.
During the meal other men, dressed
like the hundreds who We're sitting, in
suits of dull gray with little round
moved in and out between the rows,
distributing chunks of fresh white
bread from heavy baskets. Now and
then one of the men would shake his
head and the waiter would pass by but
= usually a dozen hands were thrust into
basket at once to clutch the regula-
tion bit of half pound. The men
ate ravenously, as if famished.
And now. their dinner over, they
were marching back to the shops and
mills of the prison, where days and
weeks were spent at labor. Those en-
ployed in the wagon works dropped out
of the line when they came opposite
the entrance to tn 2ir building. Those
behind pushed forward as their prison
mates disappeared, and never for more
than ten seconds was there d gap in tn,
long, gray line.
marched beside the line on its way
from the mess-hall, six on each side,
at two yards distance. Their caps bore
Guard in gold letters, and each
carried a short, heavy, crooked cane of
polished white hickory
On entering the workroom of the sec
ond floor, the men assembled before a
rallied platform, upon which red
faced, coatless man stood behind a
desk In cold, metallic tones he called
the numbers of tile convictS employed
'on the whsk- broom contract" and
bn lott IN t,,r
when their numbers We're spoken.
'Twenty -thirty-four.' called the red
faced man.
There was no response.
Twenty -thirty-four." The red faced
man leaned over the desk and glared
down. Then a voice from somewhere
on the left answered. Here"
What was the matter with you the
first time:" snapped the foreman.
The man thus questioned removed
his cap and took three steps toward
the platform. In feature the word
"hard' would describe him. His head
was long. wide at the forehead. and
yet narrow between the temples. His
eyes were small and close together
His nose was fiat, and his mouth hardly
more than a straight cut in the lower
part of his face. The lower jaw was
square and heavy, and the ears pro
truded abnormally. A trifle above me-
dium height. with pair of dropping
twitching shoulders, the man looked
criminal.
To the question he replied doggedly,
81 answered the first time, sir, but
guess you didn't hear me-"
The foreman gazed steadily at the
man. Their eyes met. The fOreman's
did not waver, but ''2O34" lowered his,
and fumbled nervously at his cap.
"All right" said the foreman, quietly,
"but | guess you'd better report to the
warden as soon as you get through In
here. Don't wait for any piece-work.
Go to him as soon as you have iinishs d
your task. III tell him you're coming.
He'll be waiting for you in the front
office"
''Yes, SIR The convict did not raise
his eyes. He stepped back into line.
Then, at II clap of the foreman 5
hands, the men broke ranks, and each
walked away to his own bench or ma
chine. Five minutes later. the swish
of the corn-wisps as they were separ-
ated and tied into rough brooms, and
the occasional tap of Il hammer, were
the only Sounds in that long room
where Ga, cd.
Now aa i one of the men would
go TO thS pl. form where the foreman
sat bent over half dozen little books.
in which it was his duty To record the
number of tasks" completed by each
of workmen ION his contract'-a
"u in the prison vernacular. being
the "fnount of work each man Is COM
pe..ed to accomplish within given
space of time. On the approach of Il
workman. the foreman would look up.
and few whispered words would
pass between the two. Then the
broom-maker would dart into the