The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-09-07
The Lonely Corridor
change of His Liberty to Where He Peases " -

maintains all of this simply as municipal
collection agency-and not for the collection of
r"rarnment money either. but to collect the
smallest from the most insignificant
threadbare debtors upon almost any trumped
up claim that has an unprncipled lawyer to
push it before the courts.
From this House OF Collection" every In.
mate obtain instant release. morning, noon
or night, at any hour Of the twenty-four, If he
has the price. 1t is Imprisonment for revenue
only. We never asked the newcomer what he
was in for, but how much. And the sums at
times were absurdly small. One case that came
under my observation involved the payment of
dollar and half
Reputable lawyers know very little OF the
intricate legal machinery of Ludlow. There
are a class of lawyers that use Ludlow as q
sandbag to rob the petty tradesman and the
huckster and the foreigner ignorant of his
rights. The floating population of this squeez
Ing press is almost entirely made up of strang.
ers to our language as we'll as to our laws, and
the babel OF tongues is wonderful. We had an
initiation ceremony to our midst. At the cry
New Member" we formed ourselves into the
semblance of court Of interior jurisdiction.
We had our judge and attorneys for defense
and prosecution. and the novice was told that
he must prove himself worthy to associate with
be relegated to an imaginary limbo
termed by THE other part of the Jail"
That was the way we made the new member
ride the goat"
They came III bubbling over with their
wrongs and it delight TO get them to
pour them forth. very few suspected that it
was not all necessary part of their catastro-
ply, but for the most part overawed and fright.
ened by the sound of the closing door behind
them they were ready to believe anything that
was told them. and they took their oath the
book without ever discovering that the tome
was the Farmers Digest for 1895.
Probably tho most amusing part of our In.
QUESTION came when 1t was all over and the
member told 1t was all joke and we
watched the feeling of indignation at being
made n fool Of change to gleefu anticipation
the next new came in.
But always and always the foreigners! The
very zest and seasoning Of our sport lay in the
struggles OF injured innocence to tell his woes
in unknown tongue while our inquisitor de-
libcrately tangled him in perfect network OF
variegated language.
Poor devils, they had for the most part run
up against these sharpers and shysters to find
themselves in jail without the remotest idea or
shadow of understanding of why they we're
there
These tricksters OF the legal profession
swarm about Ludlow ambulance chasers do
about the municipal hospitals and they have
at their iinger-tips every cunning little device,
every sharp little technicalty and trick and
they use Ludlow for their treacherous ends as
shamelessly as card sharper uses his para.
phernaa OF his calling Sit as | have sat, over
and over again through several months, toy
judge at mock trial of real prisoners. have
seen horeheads beaded with the sweat of a
great fear while wife and babies are waiting
at the portal wondering where rood is TO come
from.
We the little band Of "AlimonIacs." were the
arlstocracy the first families as it we're We
knew why we were there, many Of US had come
very willingly as to an insolvency hosnitaI ~
nave our obligations softened or amputated, and