The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-04
He Has the Al Cell. but
lie Is Not in Al
Spirits.

''fNF "t't hNVN 81 Noti
oleaniy shaver and partly bald. He's
wearing coarse gray trousers. a blue
and white striped cotton shirt and a
gray coat that matches his trousers.
His feet are clad In heavy shoes.
He Is sitting o n the edge Of a bunk
In a steel cell. the Hrst Of a long tier
Of cells and nearest the door through
which the prisoners walk when they
leave the Monroe county perltent,ary
In his hands V n magazine. BY the
weak light OF an incandescent lamp In
the rather dim corridor he is trying Ia
read a tawdry story II Is 9 o'clock In
the evening.
The cell Is the psrlor. library. din
ing room and bedroom Of a man long
accustomed to the luxuries Of a spa
cious home and wealth.
The small man so engrossed in the
magazine 10 Henry siegel. the former
dry goods merchant Of New York city.
row occupant for ten months Of cell Al
in the p~enitentiary.
Siegel's assignment OF a room was
only by coincidence. at least SO vouches
Big Bill Craig. superintendent of the
penitentiary. Big Bill declares thai
II was by chance only that the boarder
got that FIRST cell In the long row In
the main building hat holds 332 pris-
oners.
No Special Favor.
Not because Of It's high sounding name
did Henry Siegel fnd place in the Al
cell. which. were the number system
applied to penitentiary prisoners. would
give the rich man the same name as
that OF the king OF the tramps. That
cell happened to be empty when Siegei
was turned over to be the guest"
Of Superintendent Craig. 1t was no
special designation. no special favor.
say the superintendent.
Siegel hasn't an opportunity to do
much more than read diverting maya
zine stories. nor does he seem TO have
the inclination. His surroundings are
a~ntagonistic to his taste. His change
to them was abrupt. Siegel Is in
clined to be downhearted. He IL q
stranger In a strange land.
Gone are silk shirts. silk underwear
and hose of silk. Gone are suits of
finest wool. white collars and snowy
neckties. In their place are the plain
suit Of gray. trousers and coat only.
the coarse shirt of cotton. the heavy
cotton socks. the shapeiess shoes. He
has no underwear at all
No more does the man revel in the
careful touch of an obsequious barber.
\ rough shave at the hands OF the
prison barber. a close cropping OF what
little hair he has, must, perforce. sat-
isfy him now. His mustache Is gone.
He doesn't look like a merchant prince
any more. The change was made In less
than two hours.
When Siegel entered the institution
his first words to tho warden were
to ask what were the rules OF the
p~enitentiary. When he heard them he
prepared to live up to them. He said
that he would DO his best.
Not Fit for Hard Work.
When he was asked what work he
would like to do Siegel. who IL Of slight
M IS years old. looked into
the face OF the kindly warden. smiled
a weary smile, and said: well. I'm
fit to do much hard work."
Siegel isn't ft to do hard work. He
hasn't the physical strength. Superin-
Craig decided that the prisoner
do clerical work in the Bertillon
room whenever there Is work there to do.
the superintendent expects that
will be able to help in the book
OF the institution.
His work at present consists in the
of photographs Of petty crooks,
to take down the measure
ments of drunken and disorderly roust-
abouts, small %swindlers and the like,
common run of penitentiary in
Anything in the office that
does not require the attention of the
or the deputies Siegel may be
to do.
Knowing the ropes" by this time,
Siegel does not accustom himself to
them. He is not all reconciled. SUI
Craig believes that the
man feels keenly the pain Of II all. Big
Bill describes Siegel as a man who
doesn't say a word to his fellow
prisoners. to the TRUSTEES, the depu-
ties, the guards, or even to h warden
Only when 1t is absolutely
does the prisoner open his
Many times when II seems
hat he should speak Siegci
means Of saying nothing.
He goes about his daily work in a
hazed way. yet he seems to be anxious
TO do the work we'll. His labor Is far
perfunctory but his heart isn't
IN It. and his mind Is with his lost
InliilOTS.
Keepers wonder IL Siegel always was
1uiet. or II he In naturally morose and
down on his luck because a slip OF the
has brought him behind the walls.
He has not shown them enough in his
ten days stay with them on which to
base an opinion. Most of his fellow
prisoners are far beneath him in the
scale Of education, culture and intellect.
He never notices them. None Of them
holds a grudge against him for his
taciturnity. Most Of the prisoners
now the identity of the elderly
man In cell Al.
How does Siegel spend his time?
lust about the same rs the other 332
prisoners. He has no special favors.
He has nothing that any drunk" in
the place cannot have. Superintendent
Craig may have his own opinion OF the
man, but Big Bill plays no favorites.
When first Siegel came to Rochester
from Geneseo. where he was tried. he
was accompanied by a dozen New York
newspaper men. He seemed to enjoy
with them. When they were
he told Warden Craig, i've seen
OF newspaper men. / don't
IA rhitr Thn