The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-08

den did not; and I knew that fol what Murphy had done for me, fare from there to Chicago was indeed poor recompense.
 CHAPTER 34
 Throughout the latter half of 191; l and onward for many moons I con. tinued to write with varying success | I wrote a little bit of most every thing-stories, articles. verse, tales miscellaneous editorials and the | like-and the work appeared 1T scattered publications all through. | out the United States.
 I found out that magazines are something like human beings in the matter of meeting obligations. But nine editors out of ten will when a would-be contributor is will l ing to listen to counsel, go far ou' i of their way and take much pains | to help him in the matter of giving readers what they want and fitting him for doing still better work il the future.
 As gradually reached out in dis. | tributing my production, I was also reaching out and striving never tc l overlook an opportunity for making | a we'll wishing friend. Irrespective of how poorly written letter ad- dressed to me might be, I always put my very best into the answer.
 From many different places came others who had son, brother oi friend somewhere in prison. They would invariably begin with z statement that the writer had read about me in such -and-such paper o1 magazine, and because of the fact that she had a dear one in the prison in such and such state, she wondered if I would not write to him direct and try to influence him some in the right direction. Without fail would not only write the person who made such request, but would en- close a carbon copy of a carefully written letter that I had mailed tc her dear one in prison.
 Because of increased correspond ence and a desire on my part not to overburden the front office; the rule was that all incoming and outgoing letters had to be looked over-I was forced often to write my newly made friends that 1t would be i'm possible for me to communicate hoped they would not forget that I was thinking of them often, and that later on they would hear from me.
 ITO Christmas Presents.
  persons that had me in mind in a friendly way because of my activi- ties one Christmas I received re- membranes in the way of presents letters or cards from 16 different states, and the total number ran up to something like ITO.
 Among those presents were many books, all of which l sent to my old Missouri home later on; and now, as l write these lines, I may look up from the machine and across to where scores of precious volumes are smiling at me.
 Some of the work that did there saw daylight in one way or another without many persons knowing that my brain and hand wrought It. wrote things from time to time that were published anonymously.
 Moreover, because of having some intimate friends there the guards got me to prepare all kinds of papers to be read in all kinds of places. Some = times l would smile to myself when reading a paragraph that said Mrs So-and So had read a paper on such nd-such; and I would so smile be- cause l myself had prepared that paper.
 My best reasoning told me that ] ought to keep on making real friends through good service whenever and wherever l cold. I knew that most of mans former friends will gradually drop away and lose interest in him after he remains in prison for years, and on the other hand his enemies do not forget so easily--the moment he files a petition for executive clemency, they will be up and doing whatever they can to keep him in prison, So in one way or another l kept on pounding away.
 ss Years Till Parole: 2 0 Q
 For every "lifer" serving there under conviction of first degree mur- der. and particularly for those who had few or no friends, the hope for future liberty had nothing to stand upon except a common knowledge that in the past such men had been released from there. In the year of 1910 one 'lifer" had been turned free on account of communication of sen- tepce, and the latter part of 1912 another. Dutch Charley. had been set free. Two serving life sentences had been released from the place during the almost nine years of my time tence had been received; and those 14 added to the eight that were already there made 22 'Iifters" in all at the end of 1912.
 On the statute books of that state was law whereby a prisoner serv- Ing life sentence for murder might at the option of the pardon board he paroled after he had served 25 years actual time.
 Such law became rediculous in light of the fact that the longest any man had ever remained in that prison was nineteen years and two months, and that the average time first degree life men remained was thirteen years and five months. Of course that law precluded any thought of paroling such men, and the practice had been either to par don outright or to commute their sentences.
 Anyone with reasoning power and a little insight could see the grounds Tor an argument in favor of a sen sible parole law in accord with the spirit of generosity and forgiveness peculiar to the great country of the lntermountain west. The best way TOT trying out man to see whether he could live as a good citizen would be to give him a parole or condi- tional release.
 Plan q New Law.
 l thought much over that matter. l had read Spencer's works. remem- berlng well his observations upon egoism vs. altruism, and felt that if l might be instrumental in setting in motion such thought as might event. ually result in a law whereby others and myself might be benefited, then l would be taking a course that vas in line with the good.
 To be specific, I began to harbof hope that I might be the very one who would set on foot a movement looking to the enactment of a more