The Washington herald., 1914-07-12

I rades say under their breath as he proud
\ ly ratified to his seat at the long table
over against the wall Of stone and steel
| Perhaps he would get a rousing convict
cheer. Anyway he would be hero. and
praise OF him would run from cell to cell.
"Old Dick" hidden from sight, broke
rock for a month. No imprisoned brother
knew Of his return. Then, one morning,
looking exactly like 1000 other men, he
was slipped into the parade to the break
| fast room. His near neighbors, mere
bankers and train robbers. did not know
him. The incident, alive with sensation
bursting with dramatics, 50 "Old Dick"
imagined, was over.
Such is a glimpse Of the life that Is
going on behind the tiers OF stone and
the grated windows and doors Of gov
ernment penitentiary. The warden Of
such prison must match his wits against
the wits of the shrewdest criminals in
the country. Furthermore, he must see
that contractors give full weight, meas
ure, and quality. Mr.. Morgan was equal
to "old Dick in the humor and strategy
Of a picturesque situation. The contrac-
tors, il they ever test him, will discover
that he is not asleep at the switch.
All the canons governing the appoint
ment were against the selection Of Mr..
Morgan. He lives in Kansas; the peni-
tentiary is there. Friends might tmpor-
tune: politicians might persuade. Mr..
Morgan went to Washington. No reader
of this article would deny him any favor
were he to ask for it face to face. His
candor. simplicity, friendliness, capability'
and character are manifest.
Besides, going back to the appoint
ment Mr.. Morgan had never been the
warden of a penitenitary. Everything,
indeed was at odds with his candidacy
except his personality. Here is man,
any one would say. that I would like
for brother. q son-in-law OF the trus-
tee OF my estate" Confidence can go
no further.
Professionally. Mr. Morgan IS an edi-
tor. Once he was a school teacher. The
Democrats Of Eureka told him they
ought to have an organ. He did not
know how to set type. he had never
chronicled anything in writing but the
suggestion seemed promising. His capi-
tai amounted to $3.50 It was all his own
money. But Eureka was a small place
and the Messenger could never be
large newspaper. Then one day the in
habitants of Ottawa learned that
sduare-shouldered and Gray-eyed man.
named Morgan. had bought the Repub-
lican. The ''an" was dropped from the
name-because Morgan was still a Demo-
crat-the weekly was turned into a daily,
subscription price s. a year. and adver-
ustlng rates were more than doubled.
The Chamber of Horrors.
Show me your chamber Of horrors"
/ said to him. after passing a sentry on
the wall-who wanted to know II were
armed-and going through two grated
doors, guarded by men with revolvers
in their pockets and rifles near at hand.
The penitentiary is a mile and a half
from town. On the way from the rail-
way station / saw convicts working in
an orchard. They were unguarded and
I was told that many prisoners are daily
employed in the fields, that they come
and go within the reservation, as the
farm is called, as freely almost as hired
men. The penitentiary itself. standing
in a scene OF rare pastoral beauty. is
clean. wonderfully light, new and odor-
less.
The phrase, chamber Of horrors"
caused Mr. Morgan's secretary, a polite,
young prisoner with an uncommonly