The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-17
"W0RK WOULD MEAN
GUILT" SAYS CONVICT.
Therefore This Prisoner Refuses to
Go to the. Rock Pile.
From the Baltimore Herald.


From the Baltimore Herald.
II killed my friend in self-defense
The state may imprison me, but can
not make me do the hard work it has
decreed. 1 don't care if the imprison-
ment shall last for life. My spirit will
be unbrokcn to the end"
Matthew Hunter, young, beloved and
beseeched by his sweetheart and moth
er, has thus defied the state of Iowa.
Although placed repeatedly on bread
and water diet and solitary confne-
ment in the penitentiary at Fort Mad
ison, he still holds his head high and
refuses to join his fellow convicts on
the penitentiary rock piles.
His sentence of twenty-five years
at hard labor, according to eminent
lawyers, has not commenced, although
he has been in Jail for more than two
years They argue that it will not be-
gin until he goes to work with the
others.
Hunter was convicted of the murder
of his chum, Homer Holland, after one
of the most sensational trials in the
legal history of Iowa. 1t was shown
in the pretty town of Mount Ayr. Their
fathers were wealthy, and their edu-
cation in fashionable private school
was supplemented by a. course in
Drake University, Des Moines. Meth
er of them did a hard days work in his
life.
Their gentle breeding and manly
ways won for them immediate admis-
sion to Des Moines society. 1t was at
% ,rfxr -
elusive homes that they met one of the
prettiest young women of the college
set. Both men were hard hit, and both
received permission to call at her home
in the town of Leon.
Holland made the first call. 1t was
argued at the trial that he had been
almost crazed by jealousy, and that
this led him to tell the young woman
that his chum, Matthew Hunter, was
a confirmed gambler.
The story reached Hunter and vio-
lent quarrel resulted. AS a conse-
quence, both men went armed. The
feud became known and mutual friends
tried in vain to bring peace between
the two hot-headed young men.
One day they met face to face. Hun
ter shot and killed Holland. He assert
ed that Holland had drawn his revolver
first and that he would have been
killed had he not fired.
He was tried twice for the killing
The second trial resulted in the SEN
tence he will not obey.
They could force me behind these
bars" he said, but there is no power
on earth to compel voluntary ac-
acknowledgement of any crime on my
part. l will not go to their rock pile.
l will rot here rather than do that.
Il know my mother and some one
else are longing for me to change my
mind and work out my sentence. Lib
erty would be sweet, but self-respect
is sweeter. 1 will not make the ac-
acknowledgement of my guilt that the
court has ordered"
Warden Jones is at his wits end to
know what to do with his intractable
prisoner. He feels that the example is
demoralizing to prison discipline, but
apparently there is no way to prevent
it. He has placed Hunter in dark cell
for days at a time, and has fed him
bread and water until the young man
has been weak to the point of col
lapse. These things have not weak
ened Hunters determination in the
slightest degree.
Most of Hunters punishment has
come ostensibly from charges of inso-
lence and insubordination preferred by
wardens. These follow his violent out
breaks of temper. and are brought on
by efforts to compel him to go to the
rock pile.
He keeps aloof from the other pris-
oners, and seems to live only in the
thoughts of the past His sincerity is
evident when he declares that he will
die before he will work.
Had Hunter gone to work when he
entered the penitentiary, and continued
on good behavior, his term would ex-
pire in January 1917. Allowance OF
good behavior of eleven years and three
months is made by the state for
twenty-five years term.
The obstinate young man is the only
prisoner in the history Of the Fort
Madison penitentiary who has refused
to work for his freedom. His case is
attracting attention from criminal law
yers and citizens of the state gener-
ally.
In the meantime, an aged woman
weeps day and night i'm her home In
Mount Ayr. She is certain Of her boys
innocence, and at heart is proud of his
determination, but with the pride is a
heart-breaking desire to have him with
her again before she dies.