New Britain herald., 1925-07-06
By WlNNlFRED MASON HuCK Former Representative to Congress
 From Illinois

forher Representative to Congress
 From Illinois
 Watch your step" said 1 to my. seIl' all the way to the superinten- dents office. had been warned that both Mir, and Mrs. Mittendorf were persons not to be easily fooled
 One of the girls told me that l was to "set my history taken" I wondered what that meant.
 Alter short wait, l was ad- mlttcd to the superintendent's off, flee.
 No one but convict can know what it means to face a questioncr whom the law has put in absolute control over him.
 The superintendent's main goal was to learn my past, and my main goal was to prevent him from learn- ing it,
 He WIS q tall. dignihed, gray haired man and one whom l in- stantly guessed to be a good judge of character.
 His attitude was so gentle and so kind that l actually began to feel guilty at the deception 1 was play. ing on him, and to regret that he was not disagreoable and ugly.
 All My Ability
 Two minutes after the opening of the Interview, l realized that it was going to take all my histrionic ability to carry me through the scene.
 What is your name?" he asked.
 Elizabeth Sprague." l answered.
 "ls that your right name?" This from clear sky,
 "WeIl," explained, it Is the one my mother put in the family Bible for, me" This was true of "Sprague," which was a family name.
 Did you ever 80 by any other name?"
 l said nothing. was foundering 
 Come, Elizahcth," he said, you might just as well tell me, for we will find out anyway.
 l knew that even better than he.
 l confessed to having d married name, but was too proud to drag 1t into jail.
 Did my husband know of my trou- ole? Did l have any children and where they were? Why had I left my state in the first place?
 These questions were wholly un- expected. I felt the cold sweat beading my forehead. l longed to iump up and run out of the room, but instead, I could only stand up, shift from ono foot 10 the other and Jig my fingers into my sweater pockets.
 Real Patience
 You are going 10 put me In the dungeon if I do not answer7" I half asked, half accused
 No" he answered with real pa fence and with q touch of kind ness. And whatever you say here s absolutely secret. Not even your natron will know"
 It all seemed fair enough, yet I was caught in the maelstrom. I Jared not talk. 1 looked at him de- 'pairingly.
 Turning to the secretary, who vas recording the dialogue, he said. Put it down that the prisoner re- uses to answer"
 Those wonderful words, They 'ounded like surrender, and though
 knew it was but a temporary ar nistice, and that the clash of his will and mine would begin again atcr, l was gaining time.
 After that l met every question with silence.
 At the close, he said to me, "Eliz- lbcth, what started your trouble? You have education, good parents, , wholesome background. These hings l can sec. What happened?"
 Like a clever lawyer, once baked tt details, he was striking out for nore general information.
 Did you get into bad company"
 Across my mind flashed vision ,f the house of representative at I saw myself sitting n the speakers chair, the first woman to preside over either house 'f congress. saw my fellow con- sressmen seated before me.
 Then l looked out the window, est he read my eyes.
 "Well," said I, some people do ooll down on them, and even call 'ome of them crooks, but l never cit that way about them"
 Serial of Thrills
 Soon l was dismissed. I went ,ack to "B" corridor and sat down O wait for the next chapter in this trango serial of thrills,
 You know We have real good ats here," said one of the girls to ne, Today at noon we had vanilla and tonight we get apples, md sometimes we have pie" We lid, just once, while I was there.
 l decided that she was just try ng to get acquainted, and that the ood was really pretty bad. In this, however, I was mistaken, It was probably better than 90 Ter cent of the prisoners ever had outside. But as for me, it was about
 week before l began to eat. No natter how hungry was, the sight f the table killed my appetite. Elizabeth" said the girl next to ne, If you don't eat, you'l be ick." But I knew that the skinned nilk that I managed 10 gulp down would save me from that. .