Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-03-30
Weaves a 10000 Word Romance
From His Prison Cell
AUTHOR Is" open" LIBRARIAN
warden Dow Pleased with the Pros
duciion aud Hopes that IL VIII He
a Success Sent 10 Cincinnati

Several months ago a News repre-
sentative read a manuscript prepared
by G.. w, Walsen a prisoner serving
four years sentence In the utah
state prlsonand IL was then announced
that the book would appear under the
title Of "The Mormon Queen since
that time the prisoner has been en-
gagged, during his spare moments, as
custodian Of the prison library and as
teacher of the prison school, in revising
his work, and the manuscript has now
gone forward under contract with the
publishers, and will soon issue from the
press of the Editor Publishing com
pahy, OF Cincinnati.
A reporter saw the author in the
prison library yesterday just after ne
had put on the finishing touches and
had delivered his manuscript to War
den Dow to be expressed to his pub
fishers. lie WAS cheerful and light
hearted and expressed great faith and
pride In the success Of his work
That's the result-that package
said Walsen, mot only Of every spare
moment from my duties, but Of many
anxious hours Of thought IN my cell,
after three bells had rung FOR lights
out at night There lie 10000 words
OF the most conscientious labor | ever
did in my life. and / want to say, that
II had never seen the inside of peni-
Tertiary | wouldn't be ashamed Of my
work Yes, it's a romance. Of course,
but my heart Is In that story and be-
lieve In It. The best truths ever writ
ten were clothed In fictlon-in fact,
can't see how any one could have the
patience 10 construct a romance If he
didn't believe IN what II portrayed,
No. I'm not a socialist In the political
meaning of that term, I'm not even a
Bellamyite and I didn't so on that ex-
pedition which Jules Nerne's magma
ton sent TO the moon but | do believe
a social revolution has set In, and that
means more enlightenment and less Of
class prejudice. No, I'm not a Mormon
either, are you?-but no matter wheth-
er you are or not II you are familiar
with Latter-day Saint doctrine you
will find ideas In my work not In accord
with their belief, or rather their histo-
ry' but then you must remember my
sources Of information have been some
what curtailed BY those walls out
there.
Sorry, on your account. TO tell you
so, but / used TO be a reporter myself
and ! know what IL means to be able
TO go and dig into and investigate for
ones self, but--it's different now How
ever, ! didn't write II as a text book
anyway How did | come 10 write It?
Well, to tell you the truth, the Roberts
case Is responsible for Il. 1t was some
of the Wild deas-concerning Utah af-
fairs during the sitting Of the commit
tee on franchise and electlons-propa-
gated especially by the ministers Of
other churches.
My father is minister" continued
the prisoner but that doesn't keep
them from going wrong sometimes
nor their sons either, for that matter
But my book will show that have per-
feet faith In the fairness OF the Ameri-
can people when once they have
grasDed the whole truth. A penlten-
tiary Is not the most pleasant place In
the world In which 10 do literary work
or TO weave cheerful rOmances hut |
don't believe there Is another prison in
the world where more announcement
- 'iAtiN Gu lllnbHfi W 40 something
worthy than Is held out by the man
agement here. Ny manuscript win
make a volume Of over 300 pages"
Almost as highly pleased as Walsen
was Warden Dow, when he received the
manuscript for shipment TO Cincinnati.
Yes, | have read H. but" said the
warden with smile. II am too modest
to go before the public as a literary
critic. My opinion OF its merits wouldn't
be accepted anyway. Let the people
read ii and see II they are not pleased.
one thing ] will say, however and that
is that Walsen has done a great deal
OF patient, and, | believe conscientious
labor on his book. and shall be slad
OF It's success Any one who reads
It Will find himself on new soil and
out OF beaten paths But there's one
thing I'm especially pleased about. You
Know I'm somewhat Of an optimist on
the matter OF prison reform We'll
you VIII notice that vlndication OF nv
views, on that subject leaks out ali
the way through the story. Those pa
thetlc appeals 10 the public TO recog-
nize the efficacy OF reform treatment
would not have dubbed no so spon-
taneously II they had not come from
the heart II the good results have
found expression In his writings n is
reasonable that the same results have
been achieved with many others who
nave not expressed their feelings on
paper"