The Washington herald., 1909-07-04


Four hundred years ago Francois Wiz
Ion. poet and vagabond. lay in a cell in
France, sentenced 10 torture and death.
4 week-perhaps a day-and dawn might
bring the guard and the gibbet To the
poet. whose bohemian life, not untouched
OF shame and crime, had not quenched
the fire Of literary genius. the weary
sameness OF immurement and the terror
OF death suggested a plea for liberty IN
verse.
Poetry. often not badly styled the froth
OF soul. has many times been produced
under stress The vision OF the hungry
bard writing his masterpiece with death
gnawing al his weakened frame is one Of
the respectable fancies. But it is true.
nevertheless. that many masterpieces
have grown from conditions Of mental or
physical depression OF pain. Bunyan in
prison, Milton in the darkness OF his Un-
waking night, Byron outcast and ma
ligned. Poe in poverty and disrepute.
Schiller when love and fortune alike were
awry-sang songs which hold an ire
movable place in classic literature.
But Villon. OF all who have written IN
prison-poor scapegrace Vnlon-was the
only one whose pen wrote away the pris-
on bars and brought the liberty OF which
he dreamed.
Wrote Way 10 Liberty.
In cell in the Kansas state Peniten-
tiary there is a twentieth-century VfIon.
over him, too. the sentence 10 die has
hung. and when through the interference
Of executive clemency he escaped the
gallows. the courts punishment resolved
itself into that living death-immurement
for life. Like VHlon. 400 years ago. Carl
Arnold-that is the Kansas prisoners
name-has written his way 10 liberty.
(Arnold and another, when mere youths.
went tramping, and tried 70 'hold up"
the mayor Of a Kansas village. One of
them shot him. They narrowly escaped
lynching. but mandamus proceedings to
compel the governor Of the State 20 sign
a death warrant failed)
After fifteen years toilIng over the
looms in the prison Jwine-planJ dream
ing Of the world outside he had not seen
since boyhOOd, Carl Arnold murderer,
young tough. and adventUrer. wrote
eight stanzas Of verse 70 Gov Hoch
They formed a plea for reinstatement
in the society to which Arnold was max
ing requitaL The verses constituted a
supplicatiOn for a chance 10 supplement
mis- prison term by giving the world
practical restitution IN the efforts Of the
lest Of his life.
Governor Interested
Gov Hoch, himself q man with some
literary accomplishments, read the stan
zas and said the man who had written
them was a genius He made a special
trip 10 the prison, talked 10 Arnold hours
at a time. read the better nature Of the
prisoner in the depths Of his devotion TO
a higher thing, and decided that he
should be free That is how and why
when the prison doors grind open early
In May, Carl Arnold will walk down the
long walk. past the playing marble foun-
tain and the flower beds. fresh in their
new verdure. into the open and into the
sunlight OF liberty thai hasn't shone for
him for fifteen years.
1 cannot faWningly impl0re.
As feeble false hearts can
But. in humility before
The power that bars my prison door,
plead as man 70 man.
That Is the way the verses which made
murderer free begin. Man to Man"
is the title.
The verse won Arnold his liberty. but
a book, The Kansas Inferno" which
Arnold smuggled out Of prison and had
published. paved the way. The prison
authorities stormed about It. for il was
wonderfully graphic recital Of life In
mi
smacked Of the inquisition. philosophy
from behind bars, epigram and discern
ible literary merit.
Once a week. when the prisoners are
given the privilege 10 write letters 20
their friends on the outside. Arnold
hlched some Of the time TO compose a
few sentences or paragraphs OF his book.
Al long intervals, having hidden his writ
ten pages about his cell OF the yard, he
smuggled 1t out through the aid Of
friendly guard. a chapter at a time. In
the same secret way he carried on all
the correspondence with his publishers.
a Wichita OHans) firm, who knew how
70 address the prisoner so that his letters
would be smuggled in to him. Finally.
the book was published. He gave It the
name. The Kansas Inferno"
PunEent line.
A volume reached Gov. Hoch. He read
II with consuming interest and saved
Arnold from any OF the punishment that
otherwise would have resulted from his
bitter attack on prison methods The
book contained line that particularly
inhamed the officials and the little town
of Lansing. which clusters about the
prison, made up chiefly Of prison guards
md fnrf~
Aentiary. Arnold called Lansing "a 1y
feeding upon a sore"
Shortly after the appearance OF the
book. which had caused Gov Hnch "a