The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1913-05-08

WALLA WALLd. May S.-You must
not knoa0 7ohat Thoughts are his. He is Man
WHhom Hope. Il is better that you should not
even kno1O his name. for others bear it, He
qmt The a0orld he kne70 ten years ago, and since
has Hved a HVing death. He is no longer a man.
bm numbered hing--No. .5e54
He had his day. though it qoas brief For
Hhle q0hile he moved among his fello7Os For
space he stood in the HmeHgh. And then
do not kno10 7ohy he did the thing he did.
True, 0ohiSky 10aS partly to blame. Bm other
men drink 7ChiSky, and some are moUed BY 1t TO
laughter, and some TO mandlin tears, and some to
hreSome garrulity.
Bm him II moUed TO a Berserker rage, in
7ohich he Slea0-hiS brotheri Though d,ink-sod-
den, he planned cnnningly and Deliberately And
7chen the brOther G0aS dead, the monster qCas not
content Long after life aoas gone, he struck and
struck again, until the face Of him aoho had been
ms brother acas CORY bnib
That was ten years Before that he much
other men know II YOU had him in streets OF
Seattle may have done you would not have picked
n out a. monster 90 not mean merely that he had
The usual complement Of fingers and toes, legs head
and torso
coven hoof is not visible the material eye For Of
you, il YOU had this you could not have told Off
hand whether he saint sinner
He laborer He had wife and family He work
60 every day loo often he lett his pay envelope with the
saloonkecpers the home Of a Saturday night
liked practical Jokes better than the subtle kind He enjoyed
a ppefu of tobacco.
You he of the crovvd-outside Inside
lurking the thing that mpelled him do that which
the law says he do-take life. You shuddered
when you read in the newspaper the awful details of his
He sentenced be hanged. The death warrant
duly signed is record a. the penitentiary Within
30 days"-that is how it reads
He had Hope then, and it justified He
waiting and hoping in the death cell when the
him and said:
Your sentence has been eommuted life imprs
Then Hope grew strong He was not to die He
had visioned himself hanging and swinging the end
OF rope He livel
He fell naturally into the routine of the institution He
was assigned to cell He was given loom in the ute mill.
chancal movements over again After even short
time make those without thinking There
no conscious coordination between brain and hand.
You make those movements perhaps 10 times minute
or 600 time hour 5000 times day. 10000 times
week. You always make them the way.
No 1924 has been his loom every day for 10 years
When his days work done, he marches to the dining
is not permitted to talk fIe doesn't want to talk
Then his cell and he is locked in. Others read or
cells 1924 long ago gave up reading He never writes
letters for there to write to His wife died long ago
saw No 1924 his loom, dinner and in the prison
playground during game OF ball Sunday stood lean
ing against the wall looking straight before him paid no
game the shouts and laughter around him
The convc enjoying to the full their hour play
time in the week was with guard the wall
"IIe always stands like that" said the guard.
"Not if a nod a scow will You see he obevs the
rules escape the black cell Good conduct can't get
him anything. No chance"
Years ago before hope quite dead he before the
pleaded for pardon 1t refused again
Day endless day The crashing looms sang always
the one dscordant refrain
He made automatically, the $4,000 times a
week for living death eternity of hell on earth
and he cannot del
He is not old and he strong And there is nothing
for him to hope for but death.
He passed me close l his eyes They are as
expressonless glass They told
If the soul of him dead, though his body lives.