The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-06-24

wanted me to walk down that way. Only low conversations between the dining room employees were permitted and none whatsoever between the diners except when they wanted something special. and then but a few brief words would be allowed. Strictly speaking the prisoners should have asked to see the guard, rather lthan me; but the guards generally being only too glad to sit in a chair and watch the men rather than to be having to walk around among them, custom had kind of grown up whereby l would hear complaints and adjust them, unless it happened to be something that I could not pass upon. O O O
 Tie Riot Starts.
 On that particular day the gong had scarcely rung for the inmates to sit down and begin to eat, when an old time convict who was near one end of table caught my eye and gave me a slight gesture indicating that he wanted me to step that way.
 What is it, Billy?' I inquired, all most in a whisper, looking down at his plate.
 see this stuff?" He indicated the gravy already on his plate. Its rotten-and there's a torn-up fly in it. A fine holiday dinner!" I could feel in the atmosphere a something that spelled rebellion, and at heart I was in sympathy with it though. of course, l would not sanction violence.
 q have nothing to do with the diner, Billy" I murmured to him, "but I'll wash out your plate and have the boy get you another supply of gravy"
 Never mind"-he held on to the plate-"I don't want any. It's all a out"
 Never mind the talk over there, Garlin," the guard diagonally across the room called out to Billy in low but firm voice. And that admoni- tion seemed to be the signal for general outbreak of mutterlngs, loud words and oaths.
 Both guards jumped to their feet and a third officer who was on duty inside during the meal hours walked in. The guards were not armed, pe- cause in such an emergency their arms would simply have been taken away from them.
 Keep quiet, you men! Sit down over there!" one of the guards began to call out to the rising crowd. He might just as well have addressed drove of stampeded cattle.
 Gravy-laden plates, cups, spoons, pieces of bread and chunks of that tough beef began to fly through the air in all directions. As yet no knives and forks were permitted in the place, and the greatest lnJury that could have resulted was bruise from some missile or a burn from coffee or gravy.
 I Don't Want To See It.
 I walked back to my corner and busted myself with some odd dishes in the sink. My time in prison had taught me that of all things a pr1s- oner does not want to see such hap penings and have to appear as Wit ness. The uproar kept getting loud CT behind me, and I could hear the tnllle of window panes as cups went through them. Once l glanced out the corner of my eye and saw men at the tables lodging and getlns down on the floor, and the most eX- citable of the three guards was down close to those two main riot tables and getting more than his share of the bread and chunks of tough beef.
 The noise lasted three minutes. which does not seem long, yet 1t IS quite a time for such activities In a dining room; and then one of the guards rang a gong, the usual sig nal for the men to go to their cells. All but about 70 of the prisoners fell into line and went back to their cells, some of them lodging as they went. The crowd of rioters turned over a few tables, kicked out some window lights. and then scattered and went to their cells.
 All three guards had gone into the cell houses to lock the main body of inmates in their cells, and the dining room force and the rioters were for brief time in the dining room together.
 I was still anxious for some ex- cuse to keep from seeing the trou- ble and so side step being a wit