Sunday morning globe., 1901-11-10

III his paper would accept the articles
unsigned at s. per column inasmuch as
my signature might evoke criticism of
the prison management I'm allowing a
prisoner such an unprecedented liberty.
Here Warden James said: "Neyer mind,
Bill | do not care what they say. You
can write the articles and make the
money for your family" However |
informed Gessner that l would consult
my relatives and friends as to the
propriety and wisdom of the undertake
ing and to call in a day Of two for
my answer.
OF course, I never intended to write
over my signature, as my main OBJ
ject in life was to make the public
forget me, to the end that any efforts to
secure a pardon or commutation of the
sentence / was undergoing might be
perfected without the nOtoriety Of pub
lie announcement in the press. Here
tofore every attempt Of the kind, and
even when there were no intentions Of
applying or i'm contemplation, the
Columbus newspapers would come out
in scare head lines and in passionate
denunciation of my friends and my
self for our Cheeky" attempts to avoid
the penalty Of the law"
Gessner never called for my answer,
but his paper was circulated through
out the prison a few days after his
pretended mission containing my pic
ture and an interview with myself in
which. of course. there was not one
word of truth This interview was de-
signed to exploit the enterprise Of the
ewspaperand hold me up to public con-
demnation for not only the crime Of
which / had been convicted but for
the easy and luxurious manner In which
was eXpiating or paying the penalty
Of my "atrocious murder of two re-.
spectacle citizens" Gessner had bid
den me good-by with tears in his eyes,
promising to call again i'm a day Of two
and to do all that he could to further
the efforts Of my friends to secure my
pardon. He condemned the brutality
and inhumanity of the Columbus news
papers, and completely won over my
poor old friend Superintendent Mum
shower The indignation Of this kind
hearted official knew no bounds and
he looked for the appearance Of Cess
ner i'm Columbus to thrash him for
weeks after this incident, but Gessner
took precious care to remain in Gin
cinnati where my friends were unac-
quainted with his personal appear
ance, and as description Of the same
would be impossible as a means OF iden-
tiication, the incident was dropped, but
as will be seen, the man whom Gessner
so grossly and cowardly abused has
lived to expose the miserable whelp to
the execrations Of the manly and the
sympathetic, who fully realize the
depths of his infamy in endeavoring
to destroy the unfortunate under the
guise Of friendship,
I will now refer to the semi-tragedy
within the prison walls which was
the direct result Of infamous newspaper
abuse if not committed for money
paid the wOuld-be assassins who at
tempted my life and who succeeded in
maimingme. Theconyict who created a
sensation throughout the state Of Ohio
by Telling me from behind with the
brass nozzle Of a hose, and while ly-
ing insensible from the blow, poured
vitrol from a bottle over my face. was
named w. w. Varney. He was a pro-
fessiOnal thief, a native Of St. Louis,
and he had a prison record from that
and other states where he had done
time. His real name was Burns and
he was the degenerate scion Of a low
Irish family Having spent the great
er portion Of his thirty years Of life
I'm prison, both as boy and man, he
had the literary instincts and tastes
begOtten Of reading prison library lit
erature. He was thoroughly depraved
with a seemingly refined exterior, hav-
ing piercing black eyes, regular fea-
lures and withal an eliminate physique
and manner. When assigned to a cell
/ was placed between this man and
William Berner, the author or rather
cause Of the celebrated Cincinanti riot
Of 1884. This was done to emphasize,
i'm mute prison parlance, the gravity
with which my crime was regarded
by the prison authorities, and specially
to afford the newspapers of Columbus
the opportunity to make comparison.
Varney made my acquaintance, APP
pealed to my sympathies, and, as usual,
/ became the victim of what prisoners
term the econ game" Through my
pocketbook and pull" I secured him
better treatment and one Of the desir-
able jobsof the prison. He was familiar
with my case and pretended a deep
sympathy He was as l afterward as
certained, the confidential friend Of w.
w. Bond. the Columbus Dispatch-Press
reporter and the brother-in-law Of Con.
gressman Charles GrOvesnor. This fell
low Varney was possessed Of the usual
low order Of cunning typical of his
class and he shrewdly designed to
make use of me in some shape or form
to secure a commutation Of his seven
years sentence. He had been sent up
from Cincinnati for robbing in open
daylight the jewelry store Of the
Niche Brothers, and getting away
with a tray Of diamonds by the
aid Of a companion, the notorious
Prentice Tilford, who escaped with the
plunder, but Varney was captured by
the mob which pursued him, and for
which / reigned up my horse as led
"a G.. A. r. procession through the
streets at the very moment OF the
daring robbery.
After having secured him the easy
berth in the prison, he was caught
with some others, In an attempt 10