The Wilmington morning star., 1944-02-23

Ediotr's Note.-The Star and the News accept no
and often disagree with them as much as many OF
his readers His articles serve the good purpose OF
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER
CHICAGO.-Perhaps should not have writ
ten about Robert Stroud, the murderer who
has spent the last % years in solitary confine-
ment in Leavenworth and Alcatraz, because
now his press-agent is all over me with prop
uganda about his wonderful service to society
in developing remedies for the diseases of
birds, and l can see no other safe course than
to keep him locked up, and in solitary, until
he dies. If it could be arranged to let him
resume his studies that might be good idea,
for he apparently has done work of consider
able value to the poultry industry but he and
his cult have brought themselves to a belief
that he had a right not an unusual and re-
vocable privilege to raise canaries in his soil
tary cell at Leavenworth and study their ills
and carry on sales for profit by mail all over
the country. 1 say he apparently has done
good work because I am not able to judge
not knowing the difference between blackleg
and the pip. His press-agent, L. G. Marcus
of Minneapolis who even has letter heads,
proclaiming himself agent for Robert
Stroud, says that if the prison authorities
would really give the man facilities he could
greatly curtail the loss OF poultry, especially
turkeys. He says also that Stroud has way
to shorten the war by means of something
don't believe that.
But if Stroud should be deemed to have a.
right to keep canaries and peddle them, then
the next man would have an equal right to
raise dogs or goats or pigeons and complica-
tons would ensue quickly And the fact is
that he did enjoy remarkable special priv
ileges for long time and lost them only be.
cause he has an ornery streak which makes
him an imminent menace to his fellow-m men
and began to take serious liberties little
over year ago. Just for that they whipped
him off to Alcatraz where he can't keep so
much as sparrow and can't even associate
with the company of the damned and for
gotten all about him. However, the warden
of Alcatraz did let him finish up his manu-
script for his book on bird diseases now is
sued at S. copy, of which one dollar goes
into the bank to Strouds credit. He would
seem to have no use for money, however,
except to hire lawyers to discover what he
knows already, namely, that he can never
get out and can't even get out of solitary.
Stroud his killed two men, one of them
Leavenworth guard, and stabbed a third
prisoner, and the prison system has been I'm
usually patient with him.
There are number, not many proportion
ately, but a number of remarkable prisoners
in federal and state institutions who have
Whiled away the days and years and stood
off the rot by study One is mathematician
and another from whom receive occasional
letters smuggled into the mail, has become
an impressive writer although he was just an
ignorant, murderous little gutter-snipe when
he went up more than 20 years ago. Warden
Lawes, formerly of Sing Sing, who knows
this one has said that he should be released
now or never for if he stays much longer he
won't be able to adjust himself to the outside.
Stroud feels very sorry for himself and so
do the members of the little cult Of canary
breeders who think he should be allowed to
carry his work. They have lost sight of
the fact that he is twice killer and once
was condemned and received the gift of life
by favor from President Wilson in 1916. How
ever, it would be cruel not to try to ina CINE
his own frame of mind and he certainly has
good reason to feel that he has done some
thing to justify that gift. It is hardly a ques-
ton now of payment of his debt to society
The weight of that debt cannot be measured
against his contribution to the world but his
record proves that he is not a man to be
trusted at liberty and anyone who took re-
sponsibility for letting him out might be re-
sponsible any day for the death of one or
more innocent persons.
| The prison system might, however, find
way to make use of its Strouds The revo-
cation of his privilege to raise birds was an
act of impatience and convenience. He had
been obstreperous after years in special sta
tus and his bird business was physical
nuisance and a tax on the prison facilities
But actually he could still be kept guarded
in solitary and allowed to have his birds and
continue his contributions to knowledge of an
important subject in which few men possess
equal information because so few are inter-
ested That, however, is about the best that
o,o he coid for Mr. Stroud
| -V-
1t won't be long till husbands protests will
have to be cut short before the lawn is.
A huge shipment of butter is coming from
Argentina We sincerely hope Uncle Sam will
let us help him spread it around
If you can't be glad for the good things you
! have, there are plenty Of bad things you can
be glad YOU haven't