The Washington herald., 1913-12-14
COMRADES ALL,
IN Death HOUSE
Former Inmates Tell How
Sing Sings Doomed Men
Spend Their Time.
BECKER, is POPULAR
Former Police Official Is Mayor" Of
Little Colony Whose Lives Are
to Be Snuffed Out

to Be Snuffed Out
New York, Dec. 12-Suspense. watching,
waiting, an indefinable air OF foreboding
mingled with an attempt to concentrate
the gaze on the ray of hope-this Is the
atmosphere which now permeates the
death house at Sing Sing. It is only an
item Of news to the rest Of the world
that the appeals judges at Albany are
expected to announce the result Of their
deliberations in a few days or weeks, but
TO the four young products Of New York.
East Side and to the lion-willed police
lieutenant who hired them to slay his
gambler enemy, II Is the one supreme fact
of existence which blots out all others
as the light OF the sun blots out the
stars.
The foxes and the curses are fewer; the
shouted checker games are not so eagerly
debated; the voices raised in hymns at
eventide are stronger and more soulful;
the callous-featured guards are affected
and pace their way about the hateful
corner Of the prison with an even greater
taciturnity than usual.
Have Seen Four "Pass Out"
-Four men have Becker and his accom-
pIices seen pass through "the lit
tie green door" to the execution
chamber. The gunner are placed In
cells from which they have an unob-
structed view of this dread portal.
Becker is unable to see It, but his cell is
in as fearful a position The head Of his
cot is against the wall on the other side
OF which stands the chair with its straps,
bars, and electrodes The four men who
have gone away" have been put to death
within a few feet of his head.
But from this it is not to be concluded
that the life Of the death cell inmates is
also sorrow, all despair. They have
little democracy of their own. They
have their own language and customs.
Their privileges are many Of them
barred to other Sing Sing convicts. They
have their recognized captain, or presi-
dent, who is now Becker.
The daily life Of the death house is
well known by the accounts brought out
by Lawrence J. Spohr and Maurice Lus-
tig, convicted men who went free recent
", and by the writings of Roland B.
MoIineaux, who also spent many months
and years in this shadow of death.
Becker Makes Friends.
Before Becker came the men IN the
condemned cells had some of them de-
cided to snub him because he had been
a "cop." Becker, like most newcomers,
after he arrived. Spohr had been a mill
tary musician. He was entertaining the
death house with a selection on the har-
monica, when he heard a voice from
next door:
That's very nice. old man. Very
nice"
spohr made a hesitating reply, address,
ing him as Mr.. Becker" The ice was
broken and soon every one was calling
him Charley"
One evening Becker asked Spohr II he
knew THE Church Across the Way.
They got up a quartet of murderers to
sing this old-fashioned melody. Becker
was BARITONE; Spohr, tenor; Muhlfeldt.
bass, and Langley, second tenor. They
sang il over and over again. Mulraney'
a Gopher band leader, would usually fol-
low each rendition by bowling out Casey
Jones'" or some other lively air as a
protest Becker would laugh at this.
Becker would read few chapters from
the Bible every night, while the rest
listened in silence.
One diversion was the singing of their
own PAROLES on songs, putting in their
guards and fellow-prisoners as characters
Becker also according to Spohr, started
an anti-swearing crusade, but gave II up
after the prison guards proved more fire.
quent offenders than the condemned men.
Becker Is Liberal.
Becker is extremely liberal, buying to-
bacco and many other little things for all
his prisoners, who have grown to like
him and call him mayor" A frequent
pastime of Becker and the four gunner
is to curse out together Jack Rose and
other informers who put them where they
are.
Becker was in the death house for some
time before the four gunner arrived.
Spohr gave this account Of the breaking
of the ice between Becker and the
quartet:
You know, We all have checker boards
and checker pieces in our cells. We play
games by calling the numbers from one
to the other. Every spot is numbered.
The GUNNER had been there couple of
days when Whitley Lewis accepted a
challenge from a man on our side of
the death house to play a game. Whitley
called out in his curious accent:
From TO- to saiven."
Lefty Louie and Gyp the Blood began
to initiate him and Whitley cursed them
Then Mulraney began to call "Na-a-a,
referring to their getting Whitey's
goat" and everybody in the place, in
GLIDING Becker, took up the joke. Becker
and the gunner all laughed together.
a
ing a rose. One OF the gunner asked
another what kind of a rose it was.
ga Jack Rose" cried Becker. After
that there was no more formality.''
Spohr laid emphasis on the brighter
side. But Lustig said:
Scenes of Sorrow.
There was one scene to which could |
never become accustomed. This was the |
last parting of the relatives with the |
man who was to pass through the little |
green door. The shades were mercifully |
drawn, but we could not shut out the |
cries and the screams that rang through /
the death house. Oh, II was awful
ST will never be able to forget the |
depths of despair sounded by those |
agonized cries. Fathers, mothers, sis
ters, brothers, wives, and sweethearts |
went by US weeping and in Mysteries. |
They were carried out fainting. They |