The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-12-18
'CUNMEN'S LIFE
IN DEATH HOUSE
Becker and Four Other Convicted
Men Hope for New Trial

hope this is the atmosphere whic
now permeates the death house q
Sing sins.
1t Is only an item of news to IN
rest of the world that the appeal
Judges al Albany are expected Ia an
nounce the result of their deliberatio
in few days, or weeks, but To In
/ four young products 81 New York
east side and TO the lionwlled polio
Lieutenant who hired them to STAY hi
SAMPLER enemy il Is the one suprem,
! fact of existence which blots out al
| Others as the light Of the sun blot
] ont the stars
The jokes and the curses are fewer
| The shouted checker games are not :,
eagerly debated the voices raised in
hymns AT eyentide are stronger an,
more soulful, the callous featured
guards are affected and pace theh
way about the hateful corner of IN,
prison with an even greater tacituru.
ity than usual.
-Four mon have Becker and his ac-
completes seen pass through the lit
tie green door 10 the execution cham
Der The ganmen are placed in cell,
from which they have an unobstruct-
I'd view Of this dread portal. Becke,
IS unable To see H. but his cell is in a
fearful a position. The head OF his
col Is against the wall on the other
side of which stands the chair with
It's straps, bars and electrodes. The
four men who have gone away" have
been put 10 death within a few feet of
his head
But from this il is not To be con =
cluded that the life OF the death cell
inmates is all sorrow and despair.
They have little democracy of their
own. They have their own language
and customs. Their privileges are.
many OF them. barred 10 other Sing
Sing convicts. They have their rec
ogn!zed captain, or president. who is
now Becker
Call Him "Chariey."
The daily life of the death house is
well known by the accounts brought
out by Lawrence j. Spohr and Mau-
rice Lustig, convicted men who went
free recently and by the writings of
Roland h. MolineauX, who also spent
many months and years in this shadow
Of death.
Before Becker came. the men i'm the
condemned cells had some of them
decided 10 snub him. because he had
been cop Becker. like most new
corners, was silent i'm his cell for sew
eral days after he arrived Spohr had
been a military musician. lie was en-
tertaining the death house with se-
lection on The harmonica, when he
heard voice from next door.
That's very nice old man, Very
nice"
Spohr made a hesitating reply ad-
dressing him as Mr. Becker" The
.ce was broken and soon everyone was
calling him Charley.
one evening Becker asked Spohr if
he knew The Church Across the
Way" They got up a quartet of MUIR
derrrs 10 sing this old fashioned mel
tenor, Muhlfeldt. bass. and Lingley,
second tenor. They sang it over and
over again. Mulraney, Gopher band
leader would usually follow each rem
dition by bowling out Casey Jones'"
Or some other lively air as a protest
Becker would laugh at this. Becker
would read n few chapters from the
bible every night. while the others
listened in silence.
one diversion was the singing of
their own parodies on songs, putting
Ia their guards and fellow prisoners as
Becker, also, according 10
SpDhr, started an anti-Swearing cru
SADIE, hut gave it up after the prison
guards proved more frequent offenders
han the condemned men.
Becker is extremely liberal, buying
tobacco and many other things for
all his prisoners, who have grown to-
ike him and call him mayor" \ fire.
Iuent pastime of Becker and the four
sunmen is To curse together Jack Rose
md the other informers who put him
where they are.
Should those fateful appeals fail
here are three wives who will take
cave of the Rosenthal murderers.
There is Mrs. Louis Rosenberg. the
gay wife of Lefty Louis" There is
Ilond Mrs. Lillian Horowtz, still a
mere sirl, who has been working in
4 department store To earn a little
money 20 buy her husband, "Gpy the
Blood" a few comforts. Finally there
s Beckers wife, a New York school
e3cher still on duty
When an appeal is denied there is
MYSTERY in the death house about the
lew date OF the now quite hopeless
prisoners taking off. No verbal an
is made To him, but one
saturday, on stepping from his weekly
,ath. the fortunate one as his com
AIDES call him, is ordered into q new
ell
Here" writes Roland r. MolineauX, |
he receives everything new, new
BEDDING, new clothes from head 10
DOT. books and the package Of let
ers from home, ragged and blurred |
rom reading and rereading have been !
'arefully searched But he knows |
hat he has received something else !
lis unuttered notice that one week |
rom the following Monday he will be