Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-08-27
Day Of Freedom for Iowa Convict
Like Tableau of Aladdin's
Lamp.
FINDS WORLD OF MYSTERY
Only Grass and Sky the Same and
Autos and Airships Are Beyond
His Comprehension.

cACldllliSo llAAa NAy "
thirty-one years a convict in the Iowa
State prison here, as he stood at the
railroad station and waited for the
train that was to take him to Cedar
Rapids. The day had been q tableau
of "Aladdin's Lamp to him, a New
York Evening kilograms Fort Madf
son (Ia.) correspondent says.
In the morning he was the oldest
convict in the prison, with a record OF
having served the State longer with.
in the darkened building than any
other inmate. When liberated he had
been whisked into town in IN auto.
mobile and had put in a busy day
looking at things which are familiar
to children of to-day, but strange 70
him.
"Only the grass and the sky look
the same" he said with a smile, and
I feel lost, although / remember we'll
how things looked the day I was
taken to prison.
Everything has grown up" repeat
ed Glyndon.
Il tell you it Is fine to work out
among the trees and the flowers. No
one knows how to appreciate them till
he has been shut away from them for
many ears, thirty-one In my case.
didn't know what a telephone wa
until given my release. Yes, l talked
over one and some one talked to me.
I couldn't hear very we'll at first. MY
ear wasn't accustomed to it, / guess,
for after a while I could distinguish
the words and understand. Men seem
to be flying, so rapidly do they move
about. When / left the world good
horses were a luxury. Much labor
was being done with slow OK teams.
I rode in an automobile. I thought
my freedom was to be brief, for I ex.
pected to be dashed to pieces every
minute. And the streets now are all
brick and stone and wood. Every
thing looks prosperous. The world
has been moving. So changed Is It
that it all seems like a fairy story.
and ! believe most anything is With
in the possibility of man. They tell
me they nave flying machines. ! am
anxious to see one Of them. These
moving pictures are the greatest
.hihgs I have ever seen. In prison the
first year was as long as the next Tour
years, and the first five years were ~
long as the other t~wenty-six. After
five years l became reconciled to my
fate"
Glyndon was convicted in April.
1878, in Grundy County, Iowa, Of the
murder of one Wipka Martens, q Ger.
man girl of about IA years OF 8
She was found dead in a cornfield and
Glyndon was arrested and convicted
on the testimony of one man, who
claimed to have seen Glyndon u the
vicinity a short time before the girls
death. Glyndon, when he was arrest
ed, told the officers all about where
he had been that day, explaining all
his movements and persons he had
met, which was co%rroborated in his
story.
The strong point in Glyndon's case
is that he was convicted wholly on
circumstantial evidence. Glyndon al.
ways has maintained his innocence.
Glyndon can get no recompense from
the State. He has been In prison ex.
actly thirty-one years and t~hirty-one
days and has performed labor for tho
State to the amount of tens Of thou
sands Of dollars. He served In the
civil war for three years and has an
honorable discharge. He has drawn
a pension of $12 a month from the
government since 1890. He Is 10 years
of age.