The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-04-27
PLAYS CHECKERS
UNDER THE MOOSE
MAN KEEPS UP MAIL GAMES
WITH WOMEN AS MOTHER
PLEADS FOR MERCY.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, KAN
The sun of spring afternoons pro-
iects the sharp, black shadow of the
gallows' arm from which he'll swing
across the checkerboard of Robert
F. Stroud, 80, "two-time killer IN
the death house of the federal peni-
tertiary here.
Still Stroud plays checkers.
He plays three games at one time
by mail-with women in Seattle,
Fort Worth and Washington, D. G.
He can hear carpenters mauls
completing the scaffold in the yard
outside his window, where he must
hang for the murder of Robert Turn
er. prison guard, unless President
Wilson heeds his mothers cry for
mercy before April %, the eXecu-
ton date.
Before Stroud's cell door a guard
with a revolver and a shotgun has
orders not to let his eyes stray so
long as a single second from the con-
demned man. At night a blazing
electric light throws the whitewashed
cell III VlNlQ DIi4ildlCy. AhSy NAiNN
no chances with Stroud.
Seems Unconcerned.
But this young man, the first con-
demned to legal hanging IN this
state in fifty years, reads and writes
and plays checkers, all unmindful,
apparently, of the nearness of the
hangmans moose.
Because Stroud whitfield half
through a wall that builders said
use no tool but table knife he is
dynamite alone could pierce and
not permitted so much as steel pen
now. He must write from wooden
platter and never know a moments
freedom from the eyes of the prison
guards.
Stroud was born in Seattle. He
went to Alaska when he was IS in
1908 He had been in Junea two
weeks when he shot an elderly man,
the rival for the affections of a
woman 40 years old.
For that he was sentenced to serve
IL years. He began his term at the
Mcneil Island penitentiary in Wash
ington.
He stabbed a prisoner there with
in the month of his arrival. He lost
his good behavior time" and six
months were added to his term.
Studied-Then Killed Again.
Stroud was transferred to Ft.
Leavenworth in 1912, and for three
years was a model prisoner He be-
came a correspondence college stu
dent and studied rhetoric, music and
drawing.
Then Stroud killed his second
man. There are two stories of the
killing. One is that it was plain
murder. The other, Stroud's, is this:
A brother whom he had not seen
for eight years came to visit him
here on Saturday afternoon. Prison
rules forbid a visit then. and Mar
Gus, the brother, was told to come
on Monday.
II was excited at his coming"
Stroud says, $50 excited that l broke
a prison table regulation in the din
ing hall that evening. Turner took
my number, and l knew that when
my brother came on Monday l would
be in the guardhouse, unable to see
him.
Didn't Mean to KILL
II stopped Turner in a corridor on
Sunday noon and asked him to eX-
cuse the offense. He raised his club
to strike me and l killed him with a
table knife in self-defense. We had
all heard he was western bad man.
who had Dragged he could handle
prisoners. | just lost myself in ter
ror. | did not mean to kill"
Stroud had three trials. Two were
mistrials and the United States SUI
preme court upheld the verdict of
death passed at the last trial.
Stroud's mother, Mrs. Elizabeth
Stroud has never relaxed her efforts
to free her son since his first con-
viction. She has made dozen trips
from Alaska to Washington and
spent S10,000-money she saved and
borrowed, according to Stroud's half
sister, Mamie Stroud.
The sister says: Bob wasn't a
bad boy He didn't have much of a
chance, that's ALL He always wanted
to be an electrician, but he never
got the training.
Mothers doing everything she
can to save him, but I'm afraid she
can't. III continue to go over and
see him as long as they will let me-