The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-22

would not stand for anything of the | kind?"
 An Inquiry Recalled.
 "The people, eh?" l looked him right in the eye as I spoke. You're ! speaking as one of the people now when you say they would not stand | for thus-and-so. What do the peoptc know about 'the inside of these | places anywhere, except what the warden and other officials may see l fit to tell them?
 T know of a time when a joint 1 delegation from the two houses of this states legislature came through this very prison on tour of in ! spection. The head of this place walked with them. Four or five i guards were walking on the flanks and bringing up the rear; they were there in order that no prisoner might | get d chance to whisper anything to one of the lawmakers or hand him l written communications. Well, you l just ought to have read the glowing | report-maybe you did read it-that those learned men went back down town and made about the manner in which this place was being run.
 And right that very half-hour during which the delegation was in here, four men were swinging up to those rings back In the dungeon, and two of them had bruised and bleed ing heads. Besides that, on the day the delega tion was to come We had much better food than usual on the tables, and we heard tho warden himself stand there and deliberately 1 tell those legislators that that was about the way we were fed every day.
 Butter Thrice Year.
 q heard with my own ears these very words from him: You know. senator, we have here on the place a herd of fine Guernseys, and we al- ways make it point to give the boys plenty of milk and butter To that the senator replied: That's more than I get all the time.' And the re- jonder by the warden was: Well, this is a day Of progressiveness and we've found out that better results are obtained by feeding the prison CTS we'll And the truth of the mat ter was" I concluded my speech. i've never at any time got anything but little bluish thin separated milk and we were allowed to have butter about three times a year"
 q take 1t that such talk failed to Inspire much confidence on the part of the prisoners" smiled the warden.
 "On the contrary" I told him, it made most of the inmates hate the warden, the guards and most every thing else with the bitterest kind Of hatred, and their sole hope was some day to get out of the prison and try to break even by inflicting further ! injury upon society at large"
 But about that half cell and half tomb thing, where's the key to it?" | Its around here somewhere, no ! throw it away before leaving"
 of knew where it was," he re- turned, wed go In there tonight and look tho place over. But I'll see 1t tomorrow-and then, MT. Man." he chuckled, you and others will get to see what l do to your celebrated 'tombs'."
 We did get to see what he did to 1t. First, he managed to get into the place; and then after an inspec- ton he came right out and tele-- pho ned the governor. That official and others who came down were as much astonished as he had been when they saw the dungeons with rings for stringing up convicts. And when the old records were produced. which showed the length of time that convicts had been kept in there. they looked at one another and said nothing.
 Dynamite the Tombs.
 What do you want to do with it?"
 "I'd like to get force of men busy with sledges and dynamite, If neces- sary," answered the warden, and we'll tear that relic of barbarism away-and in it's place we'll set up black smith shop and something else looking to construction, rather than to destruction"
 That part of their conversation was within my hearing.
 Get busy then" the governor told him; the sooner the thing is gone and forgotten. the better"
 At that instant new thought oc- cured to me. and after the governor and the others had departed, l ap- 1 prached the warden with it.
 T Just wonder. warden" said l, If | 1t would be permissible for me to make a suggestion, privately. about that tombs business"
 Why. of course" he replied. Well, here it is," said l. It's all | most certainty that there will be some criticism of the present policy | here, and the other side-not par tieularly the other party, but all l those who favor oldtime penology- will bring up everything possible against the present system. And be- cause of that. I'd suggest that be- | fore the tomb like thing is destroyed some record be made of it."
 What kind of record?'
 For The Last Time.
 why, simply make a perfect pho- tograph of 1t both inside and out. More than that. I'd get some of tho fellows in there who have actually been strung up in the place to allow you to string them up exactly as the old regime did, and then I'd take the picture and keep the plates under ! lock and key. Do you get the idea?"
 That is exactly what was done. l was present when the photographer took the flashlights of the interior | of the place, and I went in person and explained to the three old timers what was wanted in the way of their posing there for the pictures. The result was a perfect picture of the whole thing-including the naked men strung up there by their wrists was obtained.
 A few weeks later the merry ring 1 of an anvil and the hum of some other machinery could be heard com ing from that particular spot
 CHAPTER 42.
 It goes without saying that I found little time for writing any thing for publication. In an indirect way I managed to get few of my own thoughts published. but they were not under my own name. That indirect way was a result of the calling of a few newspaper people mostly beginners who wanted un usual coloring-at the prison.
 One case that comes tG' mind was that of young woman, very youthful looking little widow, who I called on a summer afternoon. was out under tree reading a magazine when one of the other men called to me that I was wanted In the war dens lffice.