Delaware gazette and state journal., 1902-12-25
Ask your doctor about Ayers Chd
Pectoral for colds, coughs, Group, asthn1
bronchitis, consumption. He knows. s.s.t. g A.;
NE MADE MoSEr IN JAr1.
Without Leaving His Cen Newspar
Man Wrote for Eastern Journals.

4 -- ]
Without Leaving His Cen n Newspaper
Man Wrote for Eastern Journals.
,alt Lake Herald
/ A. w. Clapp, alias Marcott, the
artist and correspondent, who has
aimed notoriety throughout the couv
~ by converting his prison cell
lhe county jail here into sucoessfi
correspondence bureau, has been rd
leased and has gone further west
continue the work that he has bed
carrying on SO successfully in jail IL
ne past year. Clapp was serving I'll ~
In Salt Lake for obtaining mon
under false prstenses, but notwi&
standing the fact that he wasn't olW
side OF the county Jail for year,
| wrote columns and cojmpus of stlM
| Tor some of the leading journals n
the country, on matters Of intereX
That were going on in the West, al
| 40 Tar as the publishers knew, he "
travelling around gathering mp H.
naHs that he wrote so copiously sbouH
His little six by four steel barred ceu
IN tne Jail was a regular newspa peU L
1fnce, ana from early morning until
lasa at Eight Clsrr might be seed
sitting at typewriter clicking OH
stories Tor the numerous papers fol
which he was acting as Western corl
respondent. In this way he made IRON
500 to SO per month, got his boar
ana lodging from the county, and, III
ne otten said II he could stay there II
lew years be would come out a rich ms#
ana could afford to retire from publf8
life. 10 those who have heard storieH
Of his work his accomplishments undeH
the handicapped conditions he labore}
nave been mystery, but Olapp say
IL is easy.
Clapp has novel record. When ia
came here, little over a year ago,
he was promoting an advertising
scheme, and was arrested for passin0
borged checks, which he claimed 10
have received in payment for advertis-
ing. lie was in California when he was
arrested, and he and Sheriff Naylor
mad merry game at habeas corpus
before the sheriff was finally able 10
get the prisoner back. After being
Drought here, he was induced to plead.
guiity TO charge of obtaining money
unoer false preLenses, and received
sentnce OF one year in the county Jail.
In view of the fact that Ho other
onarges of forgery were hanging over
him, Clapp accepted the sentence
gladly, and no sooner had he been
put in Jail than he set about working
up correspondence with journals and
papers throughout the country. To
keep the publishers from lsarning that
he was in Jail, Clapp rented box at.
rne postoffice. and each day had a bow
BRING him his mail to his cell, He
soon had the correspondence of a
dozen or more journals, mechanical,
electrical and other kinds. He rigged
up a typewriter desk that fastened to
the bars of his cell, and there he
Wonid SIT from morning until night
writing his correspondence and grind
ing out short stories for various maea-t
zines. Clapp used an average OF 81
worth OF postage stamps day, and
tne postman never called at the jail
but ne went away with a bag full Of
mail. One OF the stationery stores ,
IN tne city printed special letter head
Tor Clapp, and all OF the prisonerrs
correspondence went out on paper, hear.
ing the heading, "a. w. Ciapp, artisa
and correspondent. CIapp made a
specially of corresponding with rail-
road journals and sent in detaiI
stories of the many railroad improves
ments that were going on in the West,
Illustrations drawn by himself accom-
panied these articles
OF coarse, the publishers never sus-
pected that he was in jail, and the
orders he got for stuff were SO numer-
ous that ar times hs hal to call upon
some newspaper man on the outside to
help him out.
How could he do it? This was the
question that puzzled those who knew
OF the business he carried on in his
iron barred cell This is the way: He
was furnished with all the exchange
newspapers by the newspapers and news
dealers in the city, and his correspon-
dence was, of course, all made uu from
clippings from these papers. On special
stories that we're not sufficiently
covered by newspapers, Clapp would
hire some person to gather the re-
CURED data and furnish it to him.
When any pictures were to be drawn.
ne got some person to describe in de-
tail the object or piece Of work to be
and his Imagination.
COUPLED with his artistic skill, did the
rest.
In this way Clapp made handsome q
'alary even If he was in Jail, and lived T.
high even il he was on the ground floor
II the rotary. He paid for special meals
that we're cooked for him, and wentI5
nut of Jail with good bank account 1, n
lis credit.
M