The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-11-17
The Authors Own
Fascinating Story
OfHis Long But
Losing Battle
For Freedom
and Health
ssfsoME on out here" ordered

66fsoME on. out here" ordered
~ the leader.
was taken upstairs. where, 1
was stripped of all clothing and
my garments thoroughly. searched.
The little fellow was all anticipa-
ton during this process. He
kept dancing about. When moth
Ing was found he seemed much
disappointed.
where's the money? where's
all that money you've been grab
bling Off" he asked irritably.
Drink As Excuse
Spent It for booze-spent all
my money for booze the past two
or three weeks" replied. ''I'm
still drunk: Wish you could get
me q drink. =
! felt the Importance Of empha.
sizing that / had been drinking
that I was under the influence OF
liquor when arrested intended
to make that my excuse for hav.
ing broken the I7w.
guess it will be long time
between drinks this time, . derided
the little man as my clothes were
handed back to me. When dress.
ed l was taken back down stairs,
but instead OF being placed In
the detention cell again, was
pat in the bull pen. where 1t was
dark and filthy. with scarcely
room to move about because OF
the crowd.
The contrast to sunshine and
freedom was CHASTITY. The foul
air was heavy with blasphemy.
Several human wrecks were lying
on the iron floor, huddled in
oblivion. sleeping of the effects
Of bootleg. One, over in corner,
was raving in the throes Of de-
urium tremens, group OF young
Mexicans haunting him and egg
ing him on. It was literally the
~scum Of the earth. A griiny
electric globe, outside the bars at
the farther end OF the place, cast
q sickish light. I felt I had de-
seconded into hell, but knew in
my heart that was no better
than any OF those who were
there with me.
Newspapers Tell Of Arrest
/ remained in that place fouc
days. All my opportunities that
! be permitted to send out 4
message were to deaf ears. L
slept on the floor with the herd
-ythat is lay on the floor dur.
ing the hideous nights. So far
as the oAtside world was con-.
6erned was dead. There had
been an account in the Houston
papers of my arrest, but the
name had been Townsend. No
one on earth knew where Don
aid Lowrie" was The mere fact
Of being arrested had deprived
me OF every human right.
Removal to Cell
The night of the fourth day,
got me. / was led out, hand.
into. a waiting automobile, and
driven through the city streets
to the county jail. There was
searched and then taken to a rear
cell on. the ground floor. where
there was straw mattress. It.
was dark in there.
/ sat on the mattress, filled,with
despair. Four days had passed
and / had not been able to do a
thing toward heading off pfosecu-
ton or for preparing a defense.
How much longer would it be
before I could do anything? OF
course, had been sick, physi-
cally-the inevitable aftermath of
bootleg and veronal. The second
night / had narrowly escaped de-
HRiuml trenaens. But my physi-
Cal misery. was nothing com.
pared to what l suffered men,
tally.
And right here let me say for
the benefit Of young fellows
caught by the glamour of crime,
or tempted by it-what I went
through is the regular process.
Misery, squalor, starvation, filth
and abuse follow arrest. In
some cities it is not as bad as
In others, but it. is general. And
1t is the forerunner of the peni-
Tertiary, with years and years of
life as an animal, not as a human
being. Crime is wrong and should
therefore be- avoided. The conse-
quences .of crime are wrong also
and cannot be avoided. Too late
one awakerls to the realization
that a criminal, or one who has
committed crime. Is not a hero,
but bum, a pig, a creature to
be despised. There Is no heroism
about 1t. 1t is all sordid, sicken-
ing-a taste of hell on earth-even
before conviction.
The shuffling footsteps stopped
before the door of my cell and a
light shone In through the bars.
1 looked UP and saw an undersized
man with deeply wrinkIed visage
and yellow teeth. His small gray
eyes were oyerhung by bushy,
straw-colored bfows.
He reminded me OF the jaiIers
one reads of in fiction. had
noticed him. standing to one side,
while / had undergone the proc