The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-01-02

prison faces.
"CofIee and crullers, ordered the Englshman,
naming the diet of all those who wander along
the roads of America, and pick up their food like
the sparrows where they can find it.
"Ham and eggs" said Hill
Gland and eggs and French fried and Coffee"
said Blackie
"ITam and eggs" said Ramon, in a muffled
voice.
The restaurant proprietor, fat cheerful man
in white apron had been counting bills at his
cash register and talking crops with young
farm hand in oyeralls. He locked the register
with sharp snap and took their orders leisurey
the while guessing their status with his shrwed
eyes, He repeated the orders into the little cubby
hole leading to the kitchen.
SOLITARY confinement, Ell, what?" Blackie said
to the Englishman, pointing at the forlorn, mid
dle-aged face of the cook that pered out of the
cubby hole and repeated the orders as if in
voice from the tomb.
Neither Brown nor the others answered, but
waited with grim patience for their food. When
it came, they wolfed it down rapidly, as if some
one were watching over them Blackie could not
be still however.
"This is better than the damn beans and rotten
stew every day at the other hotel" he muttered.
Real ham and eggs! Oh, Boyn
Brown looked at the clock 1t was just noon
81 guess the boys are having their grub now," he
said. eyes, there goes the whistle Gosh you
can hear it all the way over herer'
Yes it was the prison whistle, the high whining
blast like the cry of some cruel hungry beast of
prey, rising and falling over the little town and
all the fiat cornlands, the voice of the master of
life, the voice of the god of the corn-lands. The
four prisoners in this restaurant knew that call
well; and everyone in the town and everyone liv-
ing on the cornlands knew it as thoroly as they
did.
"Look," said Backie, pointing thru window
behind them, "yOu can just see the top of the
prison walls from here. Who would have thunk
You could see it so far?" AA2is s"vg
The men turned from their food to stare gloom
lily, while the fat proprietor hid knowing smile
behind his curled moustaches
"Two thousand men in hell" said Jones
quietly, "and all these HOLSTERS know is corn and
hogs. God, is it worth while? Twenty-Five of
our boys still in there ninetysix still in Leaven-
worth-God, why do we let ourselves be crucifed
for these Hoosiers?"
"Jim DOwney's got fifteen more years to go;
so has Frank Varrochek, Harry Bly,, Ralph Smell
Inns and four more" said John Brown quietly,
piercing with his deep blue eyes thru all the dis
lance. "And Jack Small has consumption; and
George Mulvane is going crazy-zHill, do you
think we'll ever get 'em out alive?"
Ramon suddenly became hysterical
He stood up with brandished fists and shook
them at the distant prison, quivering with the
rage of five years of silence His olive face dark
ened with blood and locks of his long raven-black
hair fell in his eyes, so that he could not see
lie famed into sudden Latin eloquence
Beasts he cried, in choked furious voice,
robbers of the poor murderers of the young;
hangmen, capitalists patriots; you think you
have punished us! You think we will be silent
now, and not speak of your crimes, You dirty
fools, you can never silence u.s. You can torture
us, you can keep us in prison for all our lives"
"Oh, Ramon" Blackie cried, pushing him back
into his seat and patting him soothingy on the
shoulder. Easy easy! We all feel as sore as
you do, Ramon, and we hate just as hard. BY
God, we hate them. But easy now, old-timer,
easyw
The others helped quiet the nerve-wracked
young Mexican, and he finally subsidized and sat
there with his face between his hands until they
had finished their food. Then the four paid their