The Washington times., 1914-07-26
WeIIand Canal Dynamiter Dis
cusses Modern Questions
With Rare Judgment Consid-
ering His Isolation.

new faces.
Luke Dillon awoke, after a lip-
ing death of fifteen years in a
Canadian prison, to see a Hep
world. As one talks with him the
listener literally sees the porld and
recent progress through new eyes
Moreover Dillon's mental piston
is clear. That is why his story OF
his experiences in Canadian pri'
son are unusually valuable. Not
soured, not resentful, but retaining
good humor and sane judgment,
his testimony is more Illuminating
than that of any outside inpestigd-
tor possibly could be.
But most interesting of all, per
haps, are the piews of man iso-
lated from human intercourse for
fifteen years, on such topics as
poman suffrage, on present day
fashions, on modern nopels (Which
he read in PRISON., and on Irish
home rule.
By J.R. HILDEBRAND.
Luke Dillon stood on Broadway in
New York the other day in Silent
amazement. When, for fifteen years,
one has been thrown into a dungeon
for a week If he whispered ne
learns to hold his tongue.
IF George Washington only could
come out of his grave you have
heard the commencement orators
suppose. II he did he would be
most surprised at the happenings
of the last decade or two.
George Washington has not come
back, but Luke Dillon has just
awakened from a virtual death And
when he came to life, or to what
most folk regard as routine living.
he retained that Irish humor which
may explain his survival. and
drawled, to his son, RIP Van
Wrinkle ought TO have slept on for
fifty years more. Then waking up
would have been worth the trouble.
That remark was made few days
later On Broadway Luke Dillon
simply looked. rubbed his eyes to
make sure he was not seeing
things" and looked again.
The old place looked top heavy
with those sky scrapers where L
remembered four and fve-story
buildings," he explained afterward.
Sees First Flying Machine.
Il went down to Atlantic City In
a hurry, because I thought the old
ocean would be the same. But the
first day l saw ono of your flying
machines. Then my son took me
to a moving picture show. 1 thought
II was a sort Of punch and judy al
fair. 1 had heard there were aero
planes, but I had not known that
you could make people move about
on a canvas And my son tells me
they even can make those ghosts
TALK"
Grasp Luke Dillon by the hand.
A surprise awaits you almost as
startling as the strange sights that
astounded him. For he will look
straight at you, give your hand a
hearty grip, and talk to you as flu
entity and as intelligently as II he
had been in daily touch with the
world and in constant communica-
ton with mankind. Not the furtive
glance you had expected. Not the
halting speech you had anticipated
from one who has experienced the
horrors of n penal system Neither
the diffidence, on the one hand. nor
looked for from one just released
from fifteen narrowing years OF the
most acute mental torture.
Discusses Current Affairs.
Talk to Dillon. and the obvious
comparison to Rip Van Wrinkle. the
temptation of the Arabian knights
alIusion are obliterated in your deep
impression with several unexpected
facts.
Dillon neither regards himself as
a martyr or hero. nor does he ex-
pend any effort in self-pity His at
titude is one of keen interest in an
experience which few men have
lived through unaffected in mind
and hodv-
Though allowed to see no newspa-
pers or MAGAZINES with any refer
ence to current happenings by some
sort Of intuition and ingenuity, he
has managed to keep fairly we'll in
formed on what has been going on.
His comments on such varied top
les as Irish home rule. woman suf-
frage. penal reform, present-day
fashions. and new novels are sound
and sane enough to do high credit
to those who have had an unham-
pered access to facts about these
TOPICS.
And the final wonder Is that such
an eminentlv sane. Unconditional
seemingly well-balanced mentality
could have conceived the idea of
dynamitinP the Welland canal locks
in canada during the Boer war, and
could have taken an active part in
the execution OF this crime for which
he was shut off from world and
family for fifteen slow moving
wears.
And family was the rub in Dill
Ions case. From the time when.
while living in washington, he mar
ried a dark-haired. brown-eyed lit
tie woman who. despite adversities
which onlv strong soul could sur
vive. still shows traces OF beauty
and charm. Dillon paid little atten-
ton to ANYTHING else save his family
and an occasional visit to meetings
of Irish-American organizations and
the Clan-na-Gael.
Pathos of His Life.
The nearest he came to dwelling on
the pathos of his Imprisonment was