The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-11-07

AAAAHAf INNNNNA "a NNNNMNAN
one might almost say historical, attack
has been made, In serial running IN
the SEN Francisco Bulletin, on Rcv. A.
brahms, the pastor Of the FIRST For.
eign Church. The title OF the article
is "My Life in Prison. by Donald
bowrie, paroled convict and second
termer, "Story OF His Crime, Capture
and Conviction; and What He Saw and
Learned at San Quentin"
The attack by the ex-convict Is based
on no charges, for, rs a matter OF fact,
very few facts are cited and what
might be SO termed is OF an insignif.
cant nature. Such as the facts are,
they are easily retuted by MIR. brahms.
The condition mentioned above was
mentioned by Mr.. brahms last week,
when a representative of The Adver-
tiser interviewed HIM in regard to the
article in question. The attack was in
the main one on his personality, he said,
and therefore difficult one to refute.
Whether do really look like toad
and whether / chop off my words in a
disagreeable manner, as the article
says, is not for me to say, but for those
who know me to judge" said he.
The only chapter in which what you
might call facts are mentioned is that
which speaks o. purported funeral, ="
continued Mr.. brahms. "The funeral
is reported to have been that of Char
lie Bryce, a life prisoner. Now, there
never was such a funeral in San QUEEN
tin, nor was there ever such pris-
oner there at all. Here is the prison
record, from 1851 until the time when
left the institution, and you cannot
find such name in it. 1 have myself
looked it over very carefully. 1t con
tains no such name, assuming my reg
lister to be correct.
"On the whole all the incidents re-
lated in the funeral which Lowrie de-
scribes are a tissue Of falsehoOd That
/ never officiated at funeral with my
hat on goes without saying. That there
never was any excitement at any fu-
neral service conducted by me, is also
evident, as anything of that kind would
Immediately have thrown the entire
prison in turmoil and would have
lost my position instantly. On the con-
trary, the prisoners always treated me
with respect and listened to me with
attention.
''Lowrie further charges that in my
book on criminals say that the love
of pets is a common trait with prison
ers, is in itself evidence of criminosity.
In my entire book, copy of which is
in the HiloN Library, say no such
thing.
1T seems rather peculiar, in this
connection, that this man Lowrie should
make such charge, in view of the fact
that / gave him, early during his first
term in San Quentin, beautiful pet,
which he kept through almost his entire
term. The man is an migrate.
1.-THE record of the man may interest
those who read what he has written.
This record will show that he was orig
inally sent to San Quentin from south
ern California, under a five year SEN
tence for burglary. he left prison Feb
ruary 2, 1905, but returned again on
November Is, 1906, to serve a fifteen
year sentence for the very same crime,
he having this time committed it in
Alameda.
."This ex-convict Lowrie is an able,
hearty and strong man, well able to do
an honest days work, if he wanted to
do so, but he preferred the life of a
criminal.
''The character of the article shows
quite plainly the anipus which lies be-
hind it. It is explained by the fact
that ] once had to report Lowrie to
the warden. He usurped or rather
tried to usuro, the office of the chief
librarian Of the prison library by circu-
lating through the library, books which
he had obtained from the outside As
ehoplain was in charge Of the library,
and therefore, as it were, responsible
for the proper conduct thereof. To pro-
tect myself and my librarian had to
report the infraction of the rules of
LOwrie to the warden, and this evil
IDENTIFY explains his animus against
me'7