The Washington herald., 1908-02-09

/ 1t blesseth him that gives, and him that takesi
'lis mightiest in the mightiest; If becomes
The throHed monarch better than his crown;
His scepter shows the force Of temporal power,
| The attribute 10 ave and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear Of kings:
| But mercy Is above this seepieTed sway;
IL IS enthroned in the hearts Of kings
/ II IS an attribute Of God himself.
Aud earthly power doth then sh0E kest Gods
/ When mercy seasons justice.
/ Within few days after the receipt OF
| this letter one of ArnOld's poems, entl,
/ tied Man to Man" was placed in the
haads Of Gov. Hoch by the cOnvict's
mother.
Once Taught school.
Arnold had taught school one term
when be started on the trip to Oklahoma.
which ended with the tragedy al Kings
/ ley, but his education was meager. When
/ he first went to Lansing as a convict he
was employed in the penitentiary coal
mine. From the outset he was good
prisoner. Good behavior won him place
in the prison tailor shop. II was then
/ his study and development began.
Noticing his thirst for knowledge and
taste for literature. the chaplain became
interested in Arnold, and obtained his
I o.
Arnold was employed IN the library FOR
nearly six years. and every spare hour
was devoted to either reading or writing
/ Writing the book ''Th Kansas Inferno"
and smuggling TIE manuscript out for.
/ publication through a discharged convict
got Arnold into his first trouble wleh the
/ prison authorities. and finally caused his
removal from the liE airy back to his old
/ place In the tailor ship
| For monthS after the book was publish
! cd the prison officials could not determine
/ its authorship. but il was finally fas-
! tened on Arnold They found little or 80
/ fault with the book itself, as Il deals
only with the prison system, sticks close
/ ly 20 facts, and does not show personal
/ prejudices, but the violation Of the rules
/ in smuggling the manuscript out could
! net be overlooked, and cost Arnold many
/ privileges he had enjoyed.
Writes at Odd Times.
The book was written al odd times.
| The difficulties under which Arnold
worked viii be understood when it is
/ considered that he was constantly under
surveillance during the 1--WE years he
worked on the book, but no officer dis
covered what ne was doing in his in
/ trOductory, Arnold makes the following
1 slight reference 10 the difficulties under
/ which ne laborcd while preparing his
manuscript:
IF the book is wanting IN literary
merit. the author can. plead his lack OF
natural ability. the defects Of self-edu-
Gated mind. and the fact that the book
was written in odd moments saved from
/ the almost constant toll Of penal serpi-
/ tude. and under the most depressing cir
cumstanccs imaginable"
Arnold is quite proud OF the book NOW,
and frequently refers to MS authorship.
! In the book are given the daily routine OF
prison life. descriptions Of the peniten-
tidry. the various manners of employ
mcnt. punishments and rewards, inter
I spersed with observations regarding the
advantages and weaknesses OF the whole
Kansas prison system. as viewed by
convict In his concluding chapter. Ar
mold makes "A number Of interesting rec
concentrations for the betterment of
I prison The striking feature of tine mat
ter IS that with one exception the rec
concentrations have been adopted
Convicts Not Paid.
No provision has yet been made % pay
convicts the profits accruing from their
labor, less the cost Of their maintenance.
which Arnold advocated Regarding this
matter. Arnold wrote in his book.
AS noted in a previous chapter the
most expedient and certain way TO. re-
form a prisoner is through an appeal 10
his self-interesL AS surely as YOU can
convince him that honesty and industry
viii promote his personal happiness. so
surely you can reform him. Experience
the universal experience of a hundred
/ years-has amply demonstrated shat he
cannot be so convinced with sermons and
tracts mingled with beatngs and tor
ture: then appeal 10 his understanding by
a sort OF object lesson that he cannot fail
10 understand; let him see and feel the
/ benefits of the course you would have
him pursue.
By giving the prisoner the profit Of his
labor. you Will give him an absorbing in
teTest and pleasure I'm his work. for which
he now feels only a sensation OF hate
the fury OF the bond slave You viii en-
courage him, open before his dull eyes a
new world of which be knows but little,
for the average criminal is familiar
enough with poverty and hard shift. but
with him the responsibilities Of property
anu tiit littiiite ttiNlA tI ownership dlR
untred. Under the regenerate force of
such conditions his comparative estimate
Of things viii be altered, and it viii soon
dawn on, him that the best dollar is the
honest dollar. and that the returns Of
honesty and industry are more TO be de-
sired than the delusive fruits Of crime
that delight for a brief moment a He-
praved palate and then Invariably turn to
ashes and bitterness"
Has No Plans Made.
Arnold has as yet made no definite plans
for the future beyond a determination to
spend several months with his mother
who resides at Kansas City. Il do not
know what / viii do" he said at the
prison recently. My time will not be up
for several months. 1 know little or moth
ing Of the outside world now. Nearly
fifteen years ago I came here Those
years have brought many changes 10 a
society / did not then understand. I think
I understand it now, but ] will make no
plans until ] have opportunity to look
around and convince myself that ! am
doing the best thing. First OF All. though.
must visit a good long time with my
mother. She has been my firmest. most
faithful friend"
Harvey attracts much less attention
than Arnold. He has less mental capacity
and has read lines Sull, he is equipped
to make his way well when released from
prison During his confinement he has
learned two trades. He is a first-class
printer, and is said to be the best cab
inet-maker ever developed at Lansing.
He expects to find work at the latter
trade Immediately after his release.
Hark, from the Tomb!
From Golfers Weekly.
Who believes in ghosts2 Feu u.i1