The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-25

4
be paraileled sby what Is currently done
in prisons here.
This one feature Is the absence in
the Russian infernos Of all hypocritical
protestations to the public Of humane
treatment and Of aversion to sever.
tiles. The Russian cannot do more
than beat. torture and kill his pris-
| oners: but We do the same. 1t is done
| at Blackwen's Island. at Sing Sing, at
Auburn. at Jefferson City, at Leaven-
worth (until the other day at least), IN
San Quentin and countless others, in
GLIDING my own Atlanta: only there
the policy of suppression of news Ia
perhaps carried to q more nearly per-
feet extreme than in most other prisons.
A few years ago. but under the pres
ent regime at Atlanta, the workers in
the stone shed there were pursuing
their occupation in the torrid heat Of
summer day when one of them, a
young man named Ed Richmond. asked
the guard on duty for leave to retire
for few moments. Such requests
must OF course often be made. But
Richmond was man who had not been
lucky enough to win the favor of the
higher officials in the prison. and this
was known to the guards. who felt that
they might with impunity treat him
harshly.
Richmond had been q good deal
abused. and his mind had become some
what unbalanced: he would sometimes
talk inCoherently and act oddly. 1t
had been noticed that the stone shed
guard had it In for Ed" as the pris-
oners say. but nothing very serious
was looked for.
Be that as IT may, something serious
was about to occur. Five or six years
after this day I was walking under
convoy Of the deputy warden in the
prison grounds that lie outside the
walls when We stumbled upon the
prison graveyard. 1t lay at the crest
OF some rising ground partly over
Swallowed by second growth timber and
was merely an unenclosed clearing in
the rough underground with rows Of
headstones standing one behind an.
other. each with a name and date on
Il.
But under all Of them lay all that re-
manned on earth Of prison tragedies.
for even II a prisoner die a natural
death in prison lie dies with a broken
heart and poisoned mind, abandoned, in
gray despair. friendless, shut out from
sky and freedom. hearing with dulled
ears the changing Of steel gates, seeing
the blank walls. deprived Of the SYM
pathetic words and glances Of friends
a miserable, unknown death. Silence
and obliteration close over him; and
here he lies.
On one Of the headstones I read the
name OF Ed Richmond and the date of
his end. He had not died a natural
death. but there was nothing on his
tombstone to show 1t. I already knew
his story. having heard it from several
eye witnesses.
On the day above mentioned the guard
had granted his request. but after the
man had been absent n few minutes he
called to him to come back. Richmond
did not at once respond. The guard
called to him again. more peremptorily,
and advanced toward the place where
he was, outside the stone shed building.
Richmond, as the guard came nearer.
mumbled something: the guard seemed
angered and stepped up to him. raising
his club to strike. Richmond instinc-
lively put up an arm to ward the blow,
and as it descended he caught the end Of
the club in his hand. This was the head
and front Of his offending and for this
he was to die.
The guard dropped the club, drew his
revolver and shot Richmond four times
in the body. He also fired another shot,
the bullet going through a wooden par
tition into part OF the shed where
some prisoners We're working. barely
missing one of them.
Richmond slowly dropped where he
stood and lay huddled on the ground;
the guard stood looking coolly at him.
One Of the prisoners. a negro. ran up
and took the dying mans head on his
knee: others looked on. After a while
an official came up and ordered the man
taken to the hospital. But his hurts
were mortal and in few minutes he
was dead The men in the stone shed
continued their work.
An investigation within the walls was
held, the guard was eXonerated and was
still on duty when l was in the prison.
The officials who had dislked Richmond
were relieved Of the annoyance OF his
presence. There were no inconvenient
newspaper reporters about. II the dead
man had friends outside they never
were able to do anything.
1t seems unlikely that the guard who