New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-19

etc All prepared, | ratified it off some
thing like this: 80.
well. I'll be here exactly one year
on Monday. The judge gave me t"o
and half to five years, and II thihgs
80 right I'm eligible TO come up peIore
the Parole Board in 1917" III.
More interest brought more TAIN
from me. the convict. :
The man manifested quite bit OF
sympathy and said ! seemed to be 700
Intelligent TO be in prison. ana thaI nc
would like 10 see me when w.n0
out" In fact. he handed me ms cara.
still have il. The peculiar thlhE
about the situation was that the man
was making his living IN tashlon
that. according 10 the popular the0ry'
should have enabled him more readlly
10 distinguish between a rear anu =
fake convict.
New Prison Spirit.
II lust indicates how much the pup
lie knows about the men benind thg
big wall. ! don't mean TO say ina. ar
prisoners are fine men, any more tna''
that all who are out of jail are me
men. But / do mean TO say that men
don't change their natures wh"n tneg
are exiled by the world, and that LOW
prisoners are 800 men Just the SAINT
Some of the finest certainly some
Of the most interesting men i nave
evcr met are IN that prison. lhl5
must sound like an eXaggeratlon' OF
course. | myself never thought tina,
IA write so Of a Convict But u
would be hard man, indeed, VINO
would go inside that prison now anu
rot see that the very air IS su6chargea
with the new spirit that brings gu,
fneness in men. 1t is just as keen as
the frgt breath Of spring. r
/ don't know what we did just after
ward. except that | do remember. dinner
Il was Friday, and we had Dig pieces VI
coarse. white fish. IL was good, 100
Tho prison fare at Sing Sing is whole
some now. | remember that n man
told me: IL. T..
eneI that fish as far away as the mat
shop. We we're not allowed to SPEAK
hut the minute the men got IN the mess
hall they would set up 'boo-oo' all
over the place. That noise Is the only
kind YOU can make and keep your lips
shut" c,,
Attends Musical in Chapel.
After dinner we went up into the
. chanel. where some of the boys VINO
can sing and play were practising. a
little dark skinned boy sat at the piano
|, He played well. He reminded me OF
, tho boys who play in the movie,
shows. for he had the stool pulled hall
wav between the middle of the piano
, and the left end and his feet stuck out
| slantingly TO the pedals. Every time q
= singer would reach the end OF line
| the piano player would improvise. II
, didn't matter to him where they began
/ or where they stopped.
; 4 bow with hair like a torch and
biq red-faced fellow sang. Then there
, was a little Italian, who, they said, was
. the best singer in the prison. Wher
. he sang he never looked at any one, Du
r out of the Window barred window, o
, course. He sang 81 Want to Go Baci
I to Michigan" and some of the othe
things. but what brought the creates
2 applause was his song, Don't fo'
= Wish, Dear Old Pa, You Were HON
- Again 2" There was lot In IL apou
Y firesides and girls with pretty, curllnl
hair leaning against piazza posts II
the moonlight.
One of the queerest things | eve
4 saw happened while the singers wer
= entertaining the audience audlenc
!, of. saw. fifteen or twenty men.
/ The Story of Logan.
A negro was setting up little col
I lection of brass platforms on stag
= near by. You could see he had been
8 sleight-of -handman, with some travel
h ling show, perhaps. He was gettini
p ready to do some tricks with cards
I Suddenly he turned around as he hear
I a man next to me say something. III
:. rushed over. ,o,
- "Sav. amt dis Canada Blackie'?" h
s almost yelled. Blackie smiled an
nodded
n Don't you remember me?" the negr'
o said. He was excited and Laughing
:, and he grabbed Blackie by the arm
n "Don't you remember me? I'm Logan
= Remember, Roll dem barrels Don,
YOU remember when | was in darl
. cell next to you at Dannemora CONF
e over here. boy. | want TO talk to you.
Z He led Backie TO a bench, and wheI
y Canada came back to me he said:
Y THAT man never saw me before II
{ his life. lie only knew my voice. H'
Z was in the dark cell next to me, ant
Q everybody thought he had gone crazy
d He'd yell all day, Roll dem barrels!
{ You see. he thought he was loading
= ship with water kegs. II was because
S he didn't have but gill of water da,
when he was in the cell with the sheet
iron door. I'll never forget those cells
Wood. Steel floors, with rivets in then
7 that stuck into your back
n Would Yell All Day.
. This niger thought he was on thu
$ waterfront. He used to yell all da.
C and all night. Sometimes he'd yell
a Water. water, waterl Dis amt nuth
r ING but old Logan. Gimme some water
Roll dem barrelsl' Once they put
:. big mattress up in front of his door 4
I keen him from being heard. Most o
s what air there was came in, you know
{ through the little three-eighth incl
z holes in the sheet iron door. | thinI
. th.re we're $50 in mine, | used TO coun
e them"
e This man Blacke spent five year
b in solitary confinement and twent!
Y months in dark cell. Think of that
|, will you? Try to remember where yol
I were in May, 1913, and see how long /
!. is since then. That will give you jus
n an inkling of it. A deep cough SHOOT
= Blackie. Then he recovered hlmsel
and went on:
"They used to put handouts on tina
/ niger, but he always beat the cuffs
. Ii didn't matter TO him what kind thel
were, Lilly cuffs or any kind. TIL,
J screws would go in the cell and shack,
: his hands behind his back. He'd vel
, out:
. care dey on good %"
, ayes, think they'll stay the screw
; would say.
"'All right. come back in two min
, Wants Books for Army.
Colonel A. l.. Smith. L. S. A, depo
/, quartermaster for New York City