The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-08-08
New and Amazing Serial Describes Ont
Mans Long But Losing Battle
for Freedom
WHEN Biackle declined to be


W transferred to Clinton prison,
Tom arranged for his comfort
In a special room on the top
floor of the warden's residence.
The sick man was carried up
and installed there, with Billy
Duffy as his nurse. After that,
at all hours of the day and
night, Blackies wracl1ing cough
kept us reminded of his APP
preaching death, making life
tragic and more burdensome
than ever.
Excuse for Drink
Not that any of us thought of
Il in that way, for we all liked
Blackie tremendously, and were
willing to do anything in the
world for him. 1t is only now.
as / look back in the effort to
understand what happened to
myself and to explain it. that |
see how Blackie's wretched enc
ing affected me. and gave me
additional excuse for seekins
solace and night oblivion III
whiskey.
Mrs. Annie P. L. Field, of
Brooklyn, became deeply in
terested in Blackie's case. and
came to Sing Sing every other
day to read and cheer the
stricken man. Mrs. Field sub
seouently became the author of
'arhe story of Canada Blackie,
I book which had wide circula
ton in the East. Day by day IL
became more and more certain !,
that Blackie was doomed. until
along in the middle of March
was Sone morning dispatched to
Albany, bearing certificates from
two doctors to the effect that
Blackie had but a few days of
life left.
A specialist. called from New
York by Osborne a few days be-
fore, had taken one hasty hook at
the patients throat and refrained
from further examination, declal
Ing afterward that there was alb
solutely no hope.
To see our friend sink lower
and lower! always smiling OF
trying to smile, when conscious.
had been a hard ordeal.
I arrived at Albany, the cap
ital. determined that il 1t were
In my power to secure the par
don 1 would leave no stone un-
turned.
Chance to Study Whitman
1t was just before noon when
/ was received by the governor.
Briefly but forcefully as posi-
Bile / stated my mission and
handed him the doctors certifi-
Gates. I remained standing be-
fore Whitman's desk, not hav-
ing been invited to take a seat.
AS he looked over the documents
I studied him. His face was
that of fighter, with heavy
laws and cold. eyes-gray or blue
eyes, I'm not sure which. re-
membered his bulldog determine
ton in the Rosenthal murder
prosecution, and how his name
had figured in the daily newspa-
per reports during the trial of
"the four gunmen,' already cleo
trocuted, and his vigorous, bitter
prosecution OF Charles Becker.
the New York police lieutenant
who at that very moment was
awaiting the ''chair" in the death
house within Sing Sing walls.
1t had been that case-the
prosecution Of those charged with
responsibility for Rosenthafs muir
der-that had made" Whitman
and won for him the governor
ahip of New York State. ~
/ could not help feeling as
stood. there before him, that he
had been elevated to high office
on a sort of fluke, without ever
having evinced any real executive
or administrative ability. Sud
denly he looked up at me. 1 do
not think he knew who was,
1. e., my claim tor authorship. and
my lecturing on prison facts.
felt quite sure he took me to be-
merely a clerk at the prison.
What do you think of this
case?" he asked, in what seemed
to be half petuIant tone. "I've
already passed my word to issue
a pardon when his case became
hopeless-which it now evidently
is. But what will be the result?
His offense was a particularly
grave one"
1T will have a very beneficial