The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-09-13

times made. My being brought from
I the city Jail to the police station
on Monday to be finger-printed after
having been photographed and
finger-printed on Saturday was also
a mistake"
"What you bring that niger back
here for? We got him Saturday"
"His name wuz on the list"
"Hey, Cole, here's that niger
Red out here"
"Send that black son of a bitch
in here"
"Sit down in that chair! Round
here telling the niggers they is as
good as the white pepul."
Employing a rubber hose, after
throwing a lighted cigarette in MY
face, they attempted to impress me
with the logic of white supremacy.
They failed miserably. With every
blow that was placed upon my bare
head became more convinced that
here was a group of men who did
not themselves accept the premise
of white superiority, but on the
contrary, did recognize the poten-
tial equality of races and were re-
sorting to such barbarous methods
to maintain position which they
recognized as having no base in
actual fact.
Later in the day a charge of
vagrancy was placed against me
and l was taken to the county Jail,
the real Birmingham Jail. They call
it the "big rock" They didn't mis-
name it. 1t is close, hot and stuffy
and between you and freedom there
are nine locks. Escape seems i'm
possible, though it is said that
condemned man once got as far as
the outer wall. I confess frankly
l don't believe it. But even so es-
cape was a long way off as the
wall is about twelve feet high and
the top covered with bottle glass.
Prayer Meetings And Prison Riots.
Holidays (not Sundays are ex-
ceptions. On the Fourth of July
we had roast pork, applesauce and
pie, plus vegetables. An unfortun-
ate incident, however, nearly spoiled
the day for most of US. A preacher
(not the one arrested with mel came
down to bless the dinner. He started
like this: "Lord, bless this state,
bless this city, bless the state of
ficials, bless the city officials, etc."
and ended up with a demand that
god bless the Jail. This remark re-
suited in a small riot. 1t was fifteen
minutes before the prisoners could
be quilted again, and the preacher
who had planned to eat with the
boys thought better of the matter.
The beds are about what you
would expect in any Jail. They are
not lousy, or at least l did not see
any lice, but there is a standing
army of cockroaches with numbers
and discipline surpassed only by
that of the Red Army itself. Their
command seems to be to crowl over
you at night and keep you from
sleeping.
The Jail is filled with young
workers ranging from the age of
IL to 80. They are charged, with
but few exceptions, with very small
crimes, petty crimes committed in
the act of striving to survive. Theirs
is a sort of revolt, revolt that
needs guidance, that needs direc-
tion, that needs to be marshalled
into the channels of revolutionary
struggle against capitalism. Talk
with them in their cells and you are
irresistibly drawn tosthis conclusion.
They take you out of the "bull
pen" where you are all together and
lock you into your small cells every
day at four o'clock. The boys then
begin singing spirituals, blues, play
ing cards and occasionally hold
church services. The last night
was there they had a prayer meet
ing--a fine prayer meeting, con-
Quoted by a burglar doing a ten
year stretch for grand larceny!