Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-25
ORDERS FOR LUXURlES
PRISONERS AT MoUNDSvILLE
ALLOWED TO BUY FOOD.
.acial Correspondents Of The star.

| Special Correspondence OF The Star
| MOUNDSvILLE. W. Va, February "a. 1906.
] Orders for Injuries received by merchants
| from the guests at the state prison here
do not indicate that DIR. Stewart. the prison
| physician. is soon TO be called upon 10 give
| treatment for govt to any of the five prs-
| oners who are serving sentences in cases
which resulted from the investigation of
| affairs in the Post Office Department. All
the prisoners In the institution are per-
| mitted to make purchases outside at stated
| intervals, the nature of the same depending
largely upon the amount of cash they nap
pen to have. Under the rules of the prison
most of the inmates are supposed to be able
| to a little money, but the post office
| prisoners are not in positions where they
! can do So In order to get THIS PIN
money it is necessary to labor in me
shops and perform more than the amount
| of work that is required. 1t has often
| been remarked that the white prisoners are
! fec or porterhouse stead and the coiored
/ inmate chicken, but such Is not the
case at this Season. especially with the
! post Office squad. Eggs have been In great
! demand by them, with an occas onai STEAK
and some fruit. Because of the assign
ments of the five men 1t is Il matter OF
| convenience that they take their meals IN
| the hospital building instead OF III tie p's
| dining room.
Not so much regularity is observed as
| regards the serving of meals in the hospi'al
| dining room as is in the auditorium, Wheio
| one thousand or more men are smu.tahe-
| ousiy accommodated, but 1t does not iollo"
| that meals served at all hours as tley
| are In some of the dining rooms IN tne
| town outside the walls. The COOKING III tlle
| hospital part of the prison Is not exactly
| the same as 1t is IN the big Kitchen, put II
| is nothing like good as one might expect
| to get at a first-crass hotel or other pupilc
place Toast is served in abundance, and
| the prison diet for the sick ones is ABOUT
| what is expected to be served in such an
| institution. While the prison ofhelals see
| that the post office prisoners are well fed'
they do not provide anything in the form
| OF luxuries and such articles as butter,
| eggs, steaks and poultry have TO be palu
| for by the prisoners who desire them frls-
oners are permitted to have certain articles
| of food sent them by their families ana
| friends, and the five men convicted of con-
| spiracy in connection with the analrs OF the
| post office are particularly fortunate IN TINS
| regard. In fact, they much more so
than are most of the other prisoners
Works Early and Late.
Gus" Machen, as the former chief of the
rural free delivery division is Familiarity
known, works early and late, and it would
| be almost an impossibility to have him OBJ
| serve the rules of the prison they apply
| to the matter of eating. Machen is out of
| bed in the morning long before the other
| prisoners arise. and he is also at work at
| night long after they nave retired. II Is
| not an unusual thing for him to be In the
| office as early as o'clock in the morning,
| although 1t is his custom to start his
| labors about o'clock. Much depends upon
| the work of this efficient clerk, and his abb
sence from his desk. for a few days,
| would make a great difference in the con-
| duct of the prisons affairs When Machen
| was taken to Washington to appear as a
| witness in the Crawford case, his absence
| was keenly felt by those who remained i'll
| the office to look after the records and
| keep up the work
| Il wish Machen would hurry back" was
| often remarked during his absence
| Machen has not been forgotten by his
| friends since he reached here more than
| year ago. They are continually sending
him what they think will make life in the
prison easier than it would otherwise be.
| being careful not to violate any OF the
prison rules. Since he has taken charge
| of so much of the Office work the matter of
| keeping records has been simplified and
| modern methods have taken the place of
| the old ones. new steel file case has been
| placed IN the office the card index system
| adopted and the latest improved books pur-
| chased. At the end of his days work he
has time to read and study, the lights in
as those in the other buildings. When he
! is ready to retire, he simply has to walk
across the hall to the Office of the deputy
| warden where he has a cot.
| Samuel A. Croft, the inventor of the Croft
| fastener. does not have to perform labor
OF any kind because he is physically in
| ordinary attention. because he Is constant
| ly insisting that he is innocent OF the
| charge of which he was convicted and
| fails to understand why he is in nrison
| The other post office prisoners have also
| declared that he was not implicated In the
! deals with which they We're connected and
declare he is serving time unjustly. He
! spends most OF his time about the hospital
| building, and the warden and his assistants
| do what they can to make his as comfort
| able as possible. He IS permitted the free
a RI Ion nF tl,a
physicion, but his condition is such that
| ne Is not always able to take the neces-
sary exercise. Some of the officials con-
nected with the prison are of the opinion
that Samuel Croft is innocent ana so ex-
press themselves. He is the only one OF the
| several prisoners who were sent here for
Post Office Department frauds who com
plains that he has been unjustly treated.
Application for Pardon.
1t is said that a physician is to be sent
| here from Washington to examine Croft
for the purpose of reporting his condition
to the Department of Justice in the matter
| Of the application for a pardon. DIR. Stew
art, the prison physician has sent a letter
| to Washington telling of the mans physi-
| cal condition, and some of the prison Of
| ficials willing to give testimony favor
able to him If called upon.
Diller B. Croft, brother of the inventor, is
| detailed in the library. He is a heavy
| weight and is not sufficiently young to run
| a sewing machine or perform other manual
| labor where rush work Is required. He is
| rot very communicative and does not care
| to receive visitors. Much of his time is
| spent in keeping the library IN order and
| reading books. While he does not expect
| much in the matter of clemency he thinks
| some consideration should be shown him
| because of his army record.
Finds Plenty to Do.
DR.. Lorenz is the prison chemist and he
finds plenty of work to keep him busy dur
ing the day. When he is not actually en-
gagged in putting up medicine for some of
his fellow prisoners he is studying read
| ing some If the literature that Is found in
the prison library. The doctor, is the
case with the others receives frequent mes
sages from home and is doing all he can TO
make time pass rapidly until April, 1907,
when his term of two years will expire and
| he VIII return to Ohio.