Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-02-04
C0NvICTS KNIT
FOR THE POLES
Sing Sing Prisoners Are
Now Working for
Others.
Take to Knitting Like a
Duck to
Water.

NEW YORK, Feb. ito Mother.
and the Wife, and Sister Mary. Watch
your knitting.
To Aunt Jane You who learned TO
knit so long before the rest of us and
smile so condesceudingly at MS now:
| Watch for your laurels
To Peter Slovcovish OF Poland:
Greetings-from Danny the Rat. OF
/ Sing Sing.
In his cherries, warswept cottage.
| Peter VIII open package one of these
days. In it he will find muffler,
! heavy warm, of gray wooden texture.
and he viii throw 1t about his neck.
or perhaps give II 10 little Paul. or
tlny Katherine, who may need it more
! than Peter And he will 20 forth on
/ the snowy paths and hum a Polish
folk song for he will be warmer. and
! happier to know one i'm far orr Amer
lea has remembered him. But he will
never know who knitted his muffler.
Peters muffler is being knitted to-
day up the river" A sharp faced
pickpocket, a burly gunman or
maybe a lifer, who has taken "A lie
and is paying for 1t knitting knitting.
counting one-stitch- drop i'm the
| long hours after the tier doors are
locked and he Is alone in his cell
Are Experts at II.
Peters muffler will be well-knitted,
though, for the pickpocket, thug,
gunman or fine-handed forger can
drop a stitch and pick 1t up as well as
you, or sister Mary or even Aunt Jane,
who Is the best knitter in the family.
There are five hundred conyicts
knitting at Sing Sing. Mrs. Ernest
Smelling OF the American Polish relief
committee, taught them how. She was
at the prison the other day, and took
her knitting along. Warden Osborne
said he was knitting too.
I'VE need mufflers for the Polish
children, women and non-combat-
ants" Mrs. Sheling told him. and sug-
gested that the prisoners might knit.
/ Osborne gave his consent.
The convicts took to it willingly"
said Mrs Smelling. Some Of them
are more adept than many women /
! know, and they like It, for II gives
them occupation during the hours
they are forced TO stay alone in their
cells, and takes their minds off their
surroundings.
II went into the chapel and picked
out four or five men TO teach first.
One Of them was a big, burly fellow,
perhaps a burglar, and I was sur
prised at the keen interest he took in
the yarn.
Was Fascinating.
i "He worked few moments. got
the swing of 1t, and said:
Gee, this is fascinating
Another of my first pupils was a
Russian. He had knitted before, and
was glad to get his hands on the
needles and yarn again.
" I've got a wife back in Russia
he said, and she thinks I'm bad. Now
I'm write her that | am knitting for
the Polish. Then she will think more
of me-
-Four or five hundred Of the con-
victs volunteered to knit" Mrs. She'll
ing continued. warden Osborne
told them of our committees work
and the need OF aid in Poland where
the devastation has been worse than
in Belgium.
I'VE are going TO furnish the yarn
and needles, through donations to our
committee here. only mufflers big
and warm. will be knitted by the pris-
Oners at first. They are not yet suf-
! ficiently adept to try knitting socks
indeed few people are-but some of
them, l believe, will surpass as knit
ters many persons, even women who
are not in prisons. And they will de-
vote more time to it, one can knit in
the dark, you know. and it is an in
teresting way to pass solitary hours.
That is something big i'm the
thought that these prisoners are doing
something freely for people they never
saw. II is their first opportunity 10
help, and. beino unfortunates them-
selves, they more than any one else,
appreciate that misfortune needs re-
lief
"Qur committee cannot work in
other states; we have too much to do
here, but l hope that prisons else
where take up the practice
Mrs. Shelling's visit to Sing sing
has aroused her interest in the pris-
oners more than she would have be-
lieved possible.
81 went there thinking ! might help
the Polish unfortunbtes' she said,
but now | think we are helping the
Iprisoners, too. Conditions are wou-
derfully better at the prison now than
a few years ago, but the men hovo
too little 70 do during their lone
hours
Hundreds Of knitted articles are be-
ling received at the offices of tlle com-
lmittee. 4S7 Fifth avenue, every week.
Mrs gheIinp has looked over most
OF thcm. and declares that American
women are learning 10 knit almost ~
well as their gr3ndmotne s. did.
Married life is one sweet song,
Poets say.
Just chin music bll day long.
by the way