The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-19

In this title, Louis Untermyer, in nls wonderful poem has put the miner in the position of asking for something of the beauty of life. This poem is a fitting introduction to pitful letter sent to The Age Herald by the convicts of Flat Top:
 God we don't like to complain.
 We know that the mine Is no lark.
 But there's the pool from the rain,
 But there's the coal and the dark. God. You don't know what 1t Is, You, in Your well-lighted sky.
 Watching the meteors whizz
 Warm, with the sun always by.
 God if You had but a moon
 Stuck in Your cap for n lamp,
 Even you'd tire of 1t soon. Down in the dark and the damp.
 Nothing but blackness above,
 And nothing that moves but the cars; God. if you wish for our love, Fling us a handful of stars! The following letter has been received by The Age-Herald from the state convicts at Flat Top:
 We are state convicts working under the lease of the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron company. but we just as well to be county convicts, we are working under no rules and no system of the state at all. Of course the state furnishes us a bank boss and an assistant bank boss. ] In the mines they are supposed to look after us according to contract made be- tween the state and the Sloss company. They are altogether in favor of the com pany The state also furnishes us a warden and deputy warden. and a yard sergeant but that Is money the state could save. We are pleased with our warden. but the one thing, he lets the deputy and the yard sergeant talk him the company. If the washer breaks down or the trip don't run good they will keep us in the mines 12 and 1s hours. The state bank bosses won't give us calling time unless the bank boss says so Several nights we don't eat supper | until 10 and 10.9O o'clock at night: the deputy warden sends word to keep Us down in the mines until we get done If II is all night.
 They take coal for state and we must make 1t up. then get a beating. The deputy don't whip us, but beats us; the yard sergeant won't give us clothes and shoes to work In half the time. Sev- eral of the convicts are working every day barefooted and ragged and half naked. We ask him for shoes and clothes, he will tell with an oath we did not wear no shoes here.
 Flat Top has been a hard place for a convict ever since MT. Kendrick has been here as q yard sergeant; he says. that he hates convict and we guess that's the reason he treats us so rough and bad. We know Flat Top is the hardest camp in the state. We have visiting days on third Sunday in every month. He gives us from one to two hours then calls the visitors out. He refuses to let more in, not caring what he says to them. He will speak to a woman as rough as he will to a man. We know that we are convicts and we don't look to get free peoples treatment, but we would like to have convicts treatment; as 1t is now, we don't get dogs treat ment. Such treatment as we are getting only makes tho convict study evil and take chances that they would not take to escape.
 This Is special from the convicts at Flat Top Ala.
 We want the country to know our treatment"
 The letter published above may seem to many an exaggeration, but the follow Ing statement. which can be substantiated will prove the convicts are generous in the statement they make From a most reliable source we find that convicts at Flat Top have averaged 15 hours q day this month. A more recent example Is that on Tuesday. July 13. convicts were kept in the mines until 12 o'clock mid night and lacked POO cars of performing their task. The day before, Monday, they stayed in the mines until after 10 o'clock