The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-08-09

JunkleS.
| also want to tell about the
junkies and cokies at Welfare Island.
There are about six hundred of
them here and every day they go
down to the right hand wall against
the north prison and take out their
tools with them, which consist of
needle, deck of coke, a little
sponge, water and union Leader
can, and shoot themselves up in the
arm.
1t is well known that about two
thousand ($2,0OO) dollars worth of
dope comes in through the keepers
every day; the keeper who gets it
is the one who operates the tele-
phone there; through that keeper
it is distributed through a nurse
called Red. Pete the Pollok is the
agent; he is in the front tier of
the second section and he makes
about two hundred dollars a day
easy.
Holiday"
| might as we'll tell about our
last New Years and Christmas. For
Christmas dinner we had stinky
chicken which was all black and
nobody could eat it; after dinner
we were locked into our cells for
recreation; the newspapers claimed
that there was entertainment but
that is absolutely untrue; there was
no entertainment or movies at
Christmas or New Years.
For New Years dinner we had
soup meat and for New Years sup
per we had bread, tea and jam.
About two months ago there was
fight at the penitentiary between
Robbie Werner and Green, on one
side, and an Italian whose name is
Joe Lobano or something similar to
that. The Italian was cut up by
, Werner and Green with razors and
knives. He was badly injured and
was sent to the hospital, where he
still is. Werner was put into No. 2
cell for one day, then shipped to
Queens for one week and is now
back at the penitentiary and has
the run of the place and all the
freedom he wants. Green is captain
of the clothes box, That is the re-
ward they got for cutting up the
Italian.
There is a man at the peniten-
tiary by the name of Bertz, or
something similar; he gets visitor
almost every day, but l and other
convicts can get a visitor only one
in two weeks.
money Talks"
If you have money at the peni-
tertiary you can buy everything
you want, including steaks and
chops, and cook it yourself.
Two packs of butts buys two
pounds of meat. Two packs of butts
buys a pound of coffee. On pack
of butts buys a pound of sugar
This is the meat and the coffee and
the sugar which is supposed to go to
the convicts but which they have to
pay for if they are ever to get it.
Bing is equivalent to solitary
confinement and fellows are put
there from ten to thirty days; there
is also cell No. for those who
are put in for a twenty-four hour
stretch. In this cell there is nothing
but a pail and it is so low that you
cannot stand up in it; they give
you nothing to eat when you are
in Cell No. 2 and you are kept there
until five o'clock in the afternoon
of the day you are put in and then
you are told to get out and sent to
your own cell.
Graft.
Graft is very much the thing. 1t
is we'll known that Cokey Shoehan,
the keeper, will give a special pass
for two bucks; that means you can
sit in the outer office when you
have visitor; he is now deputy
warden there. If you give him five
dollars you can have all the clothes
and any other stuff sent in without
the bundle being opened.
Another incident in connection
with Sheehan is as follows: There
was a convict at Welfare Island by
the name of Albert Peck; one day
he was receiving a visit from his
sister; this was some time last No
vember. AS his sister was scoming
down the road Sheehan, the keeper,
tried to make date with her for
that night and said if she would go
to New York with him and stay all
night with him and have a good
time he would see that her brother
would get six months break, that
is, six months off his time. She re-
fused him, and told her brother
about it on that visit. Her brother
spoke to Sheehan about it and Shee-
han smaeked him in the nose and
told him he lied. Five days after
that they took Peck out and put him
in the bling for five days for dis
orderly conduct. Peck was released
in May of this year and he is now
in the Jail at Worcester, Mass,
where | am sure he can be reached
and will verify this story.
Sheehan.
In fact, at IL o'clock noon, of al
most every day you can see Shee-
han coming from the bridge with
some fellows wife or sweetheart,
or sister. He gets a convict's wife
to make a date with him. nrnmisas