Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-17
! Mas Giininayy Insane
Ex-convict's Stark Story Begins With
His Arrest at Union Station in 1852
CHAPTER
conyrght. 1856. BY The Evening Star Newspaper Co.
BY HAROLD ]. HALL

There are thousands of like fill the fails and
prisons and mental hospitals We unrooted men, unwaned
running from the that u.s. insure of
thing; living by wits
Like thousands of Others wandering from city
TO city working day or two here and another day there
taxing IN the race tracks to make killing passing
for money to eat and pay my another city
The man you at the watch counter store
looking busy wedressed alert and in hurry
over check for the hundred dollar watch
might be Harold Hall the hundreds like me Watches
are easily pawned With social security card an automobile
license and some armed services letters documents
checK Tor Just the price OF the merchandise easily
Its hard to get cash for check you pawn the watch
Tor fourth OF what We nuisances SICK
people,
our conscences and actions listen which tell
US the check isn't bad deposit in the bank-we
always make token deposit and anyway wel make
Dig deposit That long shot in the fifth will surely
we'll find big fat purse the rich uncle will make
it all good We tell aren't thieves There are
many atonazatons my kind Of people make prove
we've done wrong.
And then gimmer of reality penerates our sick minds
Shame and guilt hit us and want to die We paranoid
manacs always turn to death the solution rye heard
stories OF other men ike myseyeS too and
it's always the Mine the story of thousand like
myself who could be cured.
The Wait for Arrest
When the wandering gets unbearabe and there isn't any
energy left to cash another check then sit
arrested That was how sat in the Union Station
ington, D. called the wife I'd in my wanderngs
for knew the police would notified by her They had to
De- Io mad pked her. too, OF of her life Savng-no
to steal from herbut to play races to make
killing to give to her and show the world that was
man. capable OF getting rich
The wait wasn't long. well in police circles
F1teen or twenty arrests in cities from Wales
California had made me marked when nuisance checks
appeared According to the statute State like New
York, habitual criminal liable to a life sentence
Well like others who doing life terms in prison
had reached the end of the line Maryland New
York. Washington, and number cities this would
surely be my end was doomed to life sentence maybe
successful attempt at suicide this time Always before my
attempts at suicide unsuccessful this might
accomplish it.
The police station the ngerprinng the routine
the CITY Jathese were familiar to But in the City Jail
felt at home 1t like rs others been in Some
fed better some had cleaner cells they the same
everywhere There always the characters These
were the people avoided the outside you always
tet at home with them in JAIL You they were like
yourself, liars, and cheats, framed" like yourself
The Other Prisoners
There they werethe guy in the double me who
had been pnched for peddng dope He told me- Now here
was only accommodating poor devil, when sell him
couple OF sticks and he is stoole planted to get me-
But in the next BREATH he asked did you the
Look that's my picture Bgge from New York. The conflict
was going on in him. too big shot with picture the paper
Continued Page AS, Col.