The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1911-01-19
|GANFlELD
VOICES PROTEST

4 9 n MOND. VA.,-(Special)- -
SINS hiS tongue as a sandbag. his
- a stiletto and his crutches as
accessories, ex-convict Charles
l''i''teio entertained a crowd of
people az the Academy of Music
night with a DISCOURSE on ssFSif-
~ te'S "a Aetl.' which, being in
= ~ tSo. means a lecture on cOndi-
~ 90 tne state penitentiary
q -. - ' 49, s@nueld, though soon TO fig
80 tnt lecture platform in various
a. In. ~ - toe commonwealth, is an erst-
,.-S ttetn roboer and won his stripes
~ MS spors, in the Acuuia Creek
~ AoS4S -xur Jflrs ,-cterprise on
II lcnmond, Fredericksburg and
~ railroad, he got an eighteen
NQce, which trimmed down by
more or less good behavior
MS sojourn in the hell afore-
lfteen years, seven months and
otF-fiVe days.
Nr. Morganfield has no love for the
1tt4ntiary or any of those officially
t'',HcG thereto. In truth. his venom
An uisB0ised. He is not only a good
ont picturesque hater. Yer
1giit almost call him a lurid
i This tlncture OF "OId Nick" in his
''akenp last night. transformed what
peer ordinary circumstances might
We oeen called a lecture into bit
TRADE. It's savagery at times was
4n0st blood curdling.
The Man Is No Fool.
ksut MT. Morganfield4 for all that
10 Tool. nor does he lack educa-
~ OF certain sort or ready wit.
can crack his Joke with the best
them and use humor to point a
- pr adorn a tale.
such fine-spun grammatical
as conble negatives. he col
kpder the fervor of oratoricaI
1cAf, but. like Shakespeare, he
rvs some Latin and possibly less
ast night he used the term "reduc-
pa abSurduIn." which sounded de-
fully metaphysical.
would not be accurate to say
the moving spirit Of the AcQuia
ek Qnpleasantness has no ability as
peaker- On the contrary, his flu
~ IS above the average and his vo-
ulary is both large and elastic.
lie he generally uses his words in
right place
lis address, however lacked CONT
~ though some excuse ought to
made even for this, since he ap-
bred to speak ex tempore.
The weakness ~~cf the discourse.
ich was. nothing If not unique. lay
the ,unfettered acerbity of this
nge malefactor, who puts no bride
lizRal apparatus.
-ConVict's Lavish AppIause.
con-
lion OF laughs last night. for
were times when he was really
and on several occasions he
voked sincere applause Yes.
sacere Is the adjective, for in his
hdsence were several ex-convicts.
Every word he says is true" remark
d one OF these gentry, who seemed
Father proud OF being an alumnus Of
Lthe institution which Mr.. MorganfieId
abused.
Nobody introduced Mr.. Morganfield
or. rather, nobody but himself At
BE- appointe6-@9our he swung into Wis
on his crutches, darted forward
knesitatingly and waved his hand b..
s. ay of salutation to his crowd.
n striking figure he made, toO-this
sray-haired, shabby, strong-faced, out
.rnSt cripple whose dominant trait is
|Etndictiveness. There are far uglier
|men and there are few weaker men
roo, though most OF his hearers be
pore the evening was over, were
|rouSnt 60 conclude that there arc
80 more dangerous to society.
That the close confinement which
rs generally described as one of the
unpleasant features Of life at Mr.. Nor
Rnheid's alma mater. has gotten on
nerves. was obvious from the very
inning OF the lecture.
Rls>fnaTfs- with q dreadful but par
Tally becIouded past. last night paced
&pack ana forth on the stage like a
Raged hyena. rarely stopping a min
e and frequently kicking at the
kaSied-up edges Of the carpet that
DActed his peregrinations
eadly in earnest was he; there
what might almost be called a
koniac sincerity of purpose about
Occasionally the crutches he
tded so deXterously were used for
8rayorical effect and sometimes they
zen aided in the mans mimicry. At
Atlme was there hesitancy.
After the Shoe shop Folks.
M QrRl Nominations were
hurled at the pFesSrfe--errseria tSe4-
nt or surgeon OF the prison-he
lok pains to explain that-but he so
item spoke in the present tense that
Is hearers could not always tell
neither he referred to the past or
he present
Particularly did the embittered ora
harm on the evils of the shoe shop
stem and the unspeakable cruelties,
Ihich. according 10 him, grow out of
ne contract with the Thacker Shoe
pmpany. popularity spoken of as the
avis Shoe Company.
The eX-convict declared that the
hoe people purposely did all in their
$3.50 prevent the prisoners from
Sredits for good behavior
he prescribed. four days ia
nth.
Ter words, each mans work
Is money to them, while the
receives only ~ cents per
the contract. BY pre-
from getting any credit
the company profited
SUm of figures.