xt7d251fnc1p https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7d251fnc1p/data/mets.xml  Kentucky  1961 newsletters  English Eddyville, Ky.: Kentucky State Penitentiary  This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Physical rights are retained by the owning repository. Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Please go to https://exploreuk.uky.edu for more information. Castle on the Cumberland Kentucky State Penitentiary -- Periodicals Journalism, Prison -- Kentucky Castle on the Cumberland, December 1961 text Kentucky State Penitentiary v.: ill. 28 cm. Call Numbers HV8301 .C37 and 17-C817 20:C279 Castle on the Cumberland, December 1961 1961 1961 2021 true xt7d251fnc1p section xt7d251fnc1p  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume I, Number VI CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND December, 1961

 

 

 

 

LL
ADVIINISTRAT ION TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Honorable Bert T. Combs warden's Page , 1
Governor
Institution News 2
Wilson W} wyatt
Lt. Governor Eflitorial
W. C. Oakley Sports Report
welfare Commissioner
Articles
Marshall Swain
Deputy Commissioner ZExchange Page
Dr. Harold Black Meet the Prisoners
Director of Corrections
- Tall Tales
Luther Thomas Lloyd T. Armstrong
warden Deputy warden Department Reports
Kathlyn Ordway W} T. Baxter Poetry
Business Manager Guard Captain
,V‘ Crossword
Rev. Paul Jaggers
Chaplain Statistics & Movies
Henry E. chan William.Egbert
Supervisor of Vocational
Education Instructor
-~Parole Commission-— STAFF

 

Dr. Fred MOffatt Lawrence J. Snow Harold.Arnold

Exec 1113 ive Director Edit OI? As 5 o ciate Editor
walger Ferguson . Billy Howell Joe White
hairman Sports Editor Art Editor
Siméon Willis Ernest Thompson Hughie Hammock Charles Garrett
ember . Member Lithographer ‘ Secretary

 

 

The CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND is published monthly by the inmates of the Kentucky
State Penitentiary at Eddyville. Subscriptions, one dollar a year, payable by
money order at: CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND, Subscriptions Dept., Kentucky State
Penitentiary, Eddyville, Kentucky, and by inmates at the Chief Clerk‘s Office.
Articles are solicited, but the CASTLE reserves the right to reject, edit, or
'revise any material submitted. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not nec-
essarily reflect those of the administration. Permission is hereby granted
to reproduce any part of this magazine, provided proper credit is given. Where
possible, a marked copy of the quoting publication is reqUested.

 

“. _

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

I wish to take this occasion to extend my very
best wishes for a joyous and happy Christmas to each

,employee and inmate of this institution. Our relationy

ship for the past few months of my tenure have been
most pleasant and a very soul-warming experience. It
is my fervent hope and desire that we shall continue in
our forward movement to make this institution one of
which we can all be proud. we can only do this with
enthusiasm and dedication to a united purpose.

Programs, gift, and special meal are being planned
for the inmate body. While it is a sad occasion for
many of you being separated from your loved ones during
the holiday season, I urge that you dedicate yourselves
to the task of rebuilding your life and elevating your
thoughts and sights whereby that you never again shall
be separated from your family upon your release.

May God's richest blessings be yours during the
holiday season and the coming years.’

 
 
 

 

 

gjLuther Thomas; warden

 

 

Page 1

CAsmLE ON THE CUMBERLANDWMMMwwM

 

  

 

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23 ES?" :1? “£7 fifi AW" WK"

 

(4444) i291) ~C/A/a/Lcc / (9 ““7 “3.7

 

EDDYVILLE PRISON GOES ON.KER

 

At long last, this prison has taken
to the airwaves.

On the 27th of last month, State Re—,

presentative Shelby McCallum, who also
manages Radio Station WCBL in Benton,
and James Wilkins, Assistant Manager of
the station, brought taping equipment
into the prison chapel and recorded the
first in a series of programs scheduled
to originate here.

The institution's popular Hillbilly
Band furnished the theme music, then
followed it up with a number of other
selections, all delivered in top-notch
style. The Swing Band, playing under
the name of "The Rhythm Kings," belted
out two numbers, too, and did a remark»
ably good job considering that one horn
went out of commission on the second
number. The rest of the musical side of
the program consisted of spirituals fran
the chaple's Negro Choir and Negro Quar»
tet.

Sandwiched between numbers were inr
terviews with warden Thomas, Deputy wars
den Armstrong, Chaplain Jaggers, and.Reu
creational Director Everett Cherry.

The idea for the program originated
with Representative McCallum, 'who had
heard other prison programs in other
states. Arrangements were made by'Mr.
McCallum and Mr. Wilkins through warden
Thomas, Deputy warden Armstrong, the

‘Chaplain, and the Recreational Director.

The first show was heard at 1350 pm
$unday, November 5rd, and the second
program, a special Christmas show, will
be heard at the same time on gunday,
December 17th.

The inmate body would like to express
their gratitude, to Representative Mc~
Callum and Mr. Wilkins, as well as the
prison officials responsible for the
program, for this giant step forward.

MANY IN ERISONSIRECEIVE.A. A. HELP

 

(AP) More than 350 mental hospitals and
hOO prisons in the United States have
established Alcoholics Anonymous chap-
ters. Results have been striking. A-
bout 8Q% of the alcoholics released from
these institutions find permanent free-
dom from drink. Without .A. A., only
about 2q% escape from alcoholism.
*, a *
PASTRIES MAKE HIT WITH MEN

 

The coffee cakes served recently in
the messhall were delicious. EWeryone
seems to have liked them, and many of
the men would like to see this kind of
pastry Served more often, especially for'
breakfast.

a * a
1033 AND FOUND DEPT.

 

An inmate who prefers to remain anon-
ymous has found a wallet-sized snap-shot
on the yard, and has requested the ed—
itor to try to find its owner. The pic-
ture is of a baby about one year old.
On the back are stamped the words,"Blair
Studio, Detroit, Michigan," and the
words "From Tony” are written in green
ink above the stamp. Owner can claim by
describing the object the baby is hold-
ing and reminding us that we have the
picture in our wallet. The latter re-
quirement will not help to identify the
owner, 'but will probably be necessary
since we often forget where we put things

* e *

OVERHEARD ON THE YARD:

 

Inmate #1: "Gimme a ceeg-aret, man."

Inmate #2: "What you mean, gimme a oeeg-
aret? I done smoked so many butts my
breath is beginning to smell like every»
body'sfi"

Inmate who lost an argument with Deputy
warden Armstrong and won several days in _
the hole as a consolation prize: "Man, (
and Khrushchev think he's tough!"

 

CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND

-;—hfi

 

Page 2

 

 

 

  

Institutio In News

 

 

CANTEEN HELPS PAY FOR XMAS

 

EWery Christmas, the inmates of KSP
eat a Special holiday meal and receive
gifts from the state. Each Thanks—
giving, there's turkey on the table. On
the hth of July, there's a barbeque,
and on other holidays throughout the
year there are special meals served....
with all special dishes costing the tax—
payer of Kentucky not a penny.

Each weekend, there's a movie--com-
plate with newsreel and cartoon —-shown
in the prison chapel. EWery day, in!
mates use sports equipment in their idle
hours. Inmates who need dentures or
glasses receive them from the state free
of charge...and not of cent of the cost
has to come from the state treasury.

Where's the money tree? I In the
prison canteen, which pours every cent
of its profits into the Inmate welfare
Fund.

In an interview with Canteen Manager
Joseph P. Ruppel, we learned something
of the way the canteen and the welfare
Fund operate. we learned, for instance,
that the canteen is an entirely self—
supporting corporation operating inde-
pendent of the state for the benefit of
inmates.

Chartered under the name of Kentucky
Commissary, Inc., the canteen Has a
Presidentw—warden Thomas; a Secretaryh-
Mrs. Ordway; a Treasurer—~Mr. McGee; and
even a Board of Directors, comprised of
several Department of Corrections offi-
cials c

 

The corporation meets all its own ex-
penses, including salaries, and the In-
mate welfare Fund gets the cream.

It's Big Business, too. Each of the
1200-odd inmates may draw up to $20 a
week in the form of canteen tickets, the
only "legal tender" other than pennies,
nickles and dimes allowed in this closed
world. In return for their tickets,’

inmates get cigarets, tobacco, toilet
articles, and food to be transformed inr
to hot meals by the two cookshack chefs,
"Hap" Mercer and Junior Jackson, who es-
timate they prepare from 50 to 80 meals
on an average day.

In addition, inmates who are assigned
to institution jobs are paid a minimum
of $2.50 a month for their labors, payh
able on or near the 15th of each month.
When "state payday” arrives, Mr. Ruppel
and Officer Lowery, as well as the two
inmate clerks, Frank Brown and Clarence

"Kewpie" White, are kept jumping to han-

dle an average of a customer a minute
for as many as three straight days.

With that many customers, it's not
always easy to keep the tiny canteen
building clean and orderly, but the crew
manages amazingly well.

"We’re still in the process of re—dec-
"we‘ve rearranged

crating, said Ruppel.
the stock, cleaned and painted all the
shelves, and added a new refrigerator,
meat-cutter, and Pepsi-Cola fountain.
But the hardest job is to arrange the
stock so that it can be reached convene
iently and expedite that line of custom—

ere.“

"It would speed things up," he went
on, "if the men would remember to have
their I. D. cards handy when they come
up to the window.‘ Some of them have
forgotten that they must show their
cards to buy, and it slows down the line
quite a bit when a man has to fumble in
his pockets for identification."

we talked about leather sales for a
while. Formerly, the leatherworkers
here had to buy their supplies from the
canteen, and there is a small room where
the hides and lace were stored. It is
now being cleaned out to make room for
merchandise, and inmates who are as—
singed to the leather shop may buy their
craft materials from outside firms, pro-
viding they pay for the orders from
their own accounts. (Cont. on Page h?

 

 

Page 3

CASEIE ON THE CUMBERLAND

 

 

 

 

  

 

I
.
‘\ .

Institution News

 

CANTEEN PAYS FOR XMAS (CONT.)

 

The telephone rang as we were talk—
ing, and the tall, husky Canteen Manager
paused to answer it. The call was from
the isolation cellhouse.

"There's another thing," he said as
he hung up the phone. "we give the men
in lockup and on the farm custom ser-
vice. They write down their orders and
7 we .fill and deliver them during our
lunch hour.

"I don’t feel sorry for anyone here,"
he continued; 'they got themselves into
trouble. But I do think they should get
a fair shake while they're here, and not
be walked on, and that's the way I try
to operate this canteen. I try to keep
a good stock, and I watch my 'buying so
that I can offer the boys a little bet-
ter price on the items whenever pos~
S ibleo"

Another break that is given the men,
he explained, is the absorption of state
sales taxes by the canteen.

"we have to pay state sales tax like
any other business, " Ruppel said, "But
we take it out of our profits and charge
the men nothing."

we also learned that the Officers'
Canteen, located in the Administration
Building, passes its profits back to the
officers in the form of uniforms and
other necessities.

He had to leave then 'to- pick up the
lockup orders, and we went back to our
office to write this story, feeling that
we had a little better understanding and
appreciation of the way our canteen is
operated. ~

* a *

UNLICENSED SURGERY?

 

A picture of a barbeque scene in the
November 5th COURIER JOURNAL MAGAZINE
was captioned, in part, "Overall view
catches the spirit, chefs slicing meat
and hungry people."

'mained for the Catholics

CHRISTMAS OLDER THAN CHRISTIANITY?

(Based on data from, Religions 2f the
world and the Encyclopedia Brittanica.)

 

 

On the 25th of this month, some 800
million persons throughout the world-—
almost a third of the planet’s total
population--will celebrate a holiday
that is, in one sense, even older than
the religion that fostered it.

Although Christmas is today the most-
significant of all Christian holidays,
the practice of feasting and gift-giving
during the latter days of December seems
to have been adopted almost intact from
the old Roman "Saturnalia" or "Feast of
Saturn," a pagan holiday practiced for
centuries before the birth of Christ.

And, although Christmas, which means
"Christ Mass," honors the birthday of
Jesus of Nazareth, no one really knews

' for certain on what day, or even in what

year, He was born. However, Biblical_
scholars are generally agreed that Jesus ‘
was born some 3 or h years before the
Year One A. D., and probably not on De-
cember 25th. For some 3 centuries the
Birth was celebrated on various days of
the year, a practice that understandably
led to confusion and prompted Bishop
Liberius of Rome to set the date offi-
eially‘ at December 25th, the day on
which the Saturnalia Feasts ended.

Some nations, however, guided by the
Old Sty.Le Calendar, observe Christmas on
January 6th.

Tune has wrought considerable changes
in the holiday. Inifingland, where the
day was at first kept only by religious
services, celebrations of the Birth
eventually grew so wild that in 165h
Parliament passed a law abolishing
Christmas from the calendar. And in the
New World, the New England colonies Jig~
nored the day, while in the Massachu-
setts Bay' Colony, the observance of
Christmas was a prison offense! It re-
of the South
- (Cont. on Page 5)

 

 

CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND

Page h

IIIIIIli-llIiIIIIIIIIIIE:_____________——————————————————————————————————————————————————v*

 

 

 

 

  

 

Institution News

CHRISTMAS OLDER...? (CONT)

 

and the Dutch of New York to make the
holiday generally popular in America.

And Santa Claus himself is an Ameri—
can invention, although the legend is

based on fact. In Asia Minor, in the
5rd Century'A. D., there lived a Saint
Nicholas who was known for his gener—

ousity, and eventually became the patron
saint of children-~and Russia. He came
to be a symbol of Christmas gift-giving,
and the tradition was brought to America
by the Dutch. In 1822, in New York, a
poet named Clement Moore wrote for his
children the noweimmortal poem, "A Visit
from Saint Nicholas," in which the ven-
erable saint was for the first time pic-
tured as a fat, jolly elf who rode about
on the Yuletide in a sled pulled by
reindeer and loaded with toyS. Both the
poem and the image caught on, and child-
ren shortened “Saint Nicholas" to "Santa
Claus" before many years went by.
' * * *

ERLE STANLEY GARDNER COMMENTS ON PRISDNS

 

This came to us via the BAY BANNER.

"I don't know about you, but I don't
like the way society runs its prisons.
The weak young man is turned into a
criminal, the criminal is turned into an
embittered convict with a hatred of so-
ciety, and the embittered convict is all
too frequently turned into a killer. I
feel pretty certain that our penologists
who know the system is wrong could do
one hell of a lot to improve it if they
only had the public support, instead of
public condemnation, whenever they try
to do anything worthwhile in the field
of rehabilitation."-4ERLE STANLEY GARD—
NER. ‘

*- a *

And most women's slacks make you wonder
why they aren't called something else:

-—Via ROCKY MOUNTAIN enemas

ST. EDWKRD SCHOOL ANSWERS EDITORIAL

 

In a recent issue of the CASTLE, we
commented on the fact that.a large numr
ber of the men here are idle, and wonr
dered if there weren't some worthwhile
task we could undertake for the sake of
others.

In Jeffersontown, Kentucky, Sister
Joseph Mark read the editorial, and de-
cided to do something about it. First

of all she wrote to the Governor, urgirg
him to consider the idea of setting up a

strong musical program in the penitent-
iary. Then she put the problem up to
the 7th-Grade class at St. Edward's

Catholic School, where she is a teacher.

The result was a sort of chain letter
in which each student contributed a par-
agraph or two of ideas, some of which
follow:

An art gallery, with prizes to the
best painting.

with track and
boxing, and

A prison Olympics,
field events, tugs of war,
wrestling.

Ceramics, sculpture, and wood-carving.

Short-story contests, stamp and rock
collections, poster contests.

Furniture-making and auto-mechanics
classes; writing and painting classes.

And one boy who had just taken a trip
through Kentucky said he noticed that
many of the road-signs were rusted or”
bent. He suggested that we make signs
commenting on the beauty of Kentucky and
pass them on to the Highway Department.

Our sincere thanks to Sister Mark and
the stuients for their suggestions. If
more people in this world took that kind
of interest in others, crime and prisons
would no doubt become things of the
past.

* * *

 

Page 5

CASTEE ON THE CUMBERLAND

 

 

 

 

  

Institution NeWSn~Columns

 

USELESS INFORMATIONL-by USeless Dave YAGER'S CONTRIBUTED FOOIDSDPHY

 

If a snail travels two and a half feet --James Bell Yager

an hour, it would take 61 years and 73 '

days traveling 2h hours a day for it to Dean of women: "Didn't you read the let-
reach IaGrange from Eddyville. ter I Sent you?"

Not all Civil war Troops were blue or Coed: "Yes, ma'am. I read it inside and.
gray. The Fifth New York Volunteers, outside. On the inside it said, 'You are
for example, called themselves the "Dur- requested to leave college' and on the
yea's Zouaves" and wore fez, red panta- outside it said, 'Return in Five days'
loons, and leggings copied from the ...&0 here I amt"
French-Algerian uniforms. (They fought ‘t
for the Northi) An attractive young lady entered the
lingerie shop and, after looking at some
Playing cards were not invented by the sheer nylon hose, asked if she could
Russians. They were first used in Hind- have the words, "If you can read this
ustan as early as 800 A. Do you're too darn close," embroidered on
the tops.
Henry ProchoW' profoundly says: "If you i
lend someone 5 dollars and never see him "we can do that," said the clerk. "Do i
again, it may be worth it!" you want block or script letters?"

According to Don Rich, one of our more "Neither," the beauty said. "Just
erudite students, the meaning of "para- Braille."
ydox" is a couple of doctors.

At birth, some baby whales have been 22 When an oilman who had crashed into a '
feet long and many weigh more than 2 telephone pole and brought 'down the

 

 

 

grown elephants. I wonder if "Mamma wires recovered consciousness, his hands
Whale" ever has triplets. Wow! were clutching the wires.
Dr. Charles Fisher, a noted specialist "Thank heavens!" he exclaimed fervently,

in psychoanalytic theory, states: "It's a harpi"

"Dreaming permits each and every one of

us to be quietly and safely insane every' There's a new deoderant out called van-

night of our lives." ish. After you rub it on, you disappear
and nobody knows where the smell comes

And the average smoker can get 18 drags from:

off a Pall Mall before he smells flesh

burning; therefore, don't' let a friend A customer in a restaurant had been par-

who is saving you the butt go past 9. tioularly loud and obnoxious, generally
giving the waiter a hard time. Finally,

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas from--DAVE COLLINS he said loudly, "What do you have to do
* * u to get a glass of water in this dump?"

GEM swrrso FRJM THE ENCHANI‘ED mews: "Set yourself on fire," replied the man
- a t the next table.

"Tum men looked out through prison bars

The one saw mud and the other stars." There's nothing wrong with teenyagers

that reasoning with them won't aggre-
--Stevenson vate:
GAME ON THE CUMBERLAND Page 6

 

IIIIlllllIIlIIIIIIIIE:__________—————————————————————————————————————————————————*’”

 

 (be
.EDITORIAL Slfli

 

It happened during the Christmas season. A
cat-burglar was silently and efficiently ransackh
ing a private home when, unexpectedly, he came
across a small leg—brace of the type used by paray
lytic children. Without a moment's hesitation, he
took a 20—dollar bill from his own wallet and
wrapped it in the straps of the brace. Then, re-—
placing the valuables he had collected, he just as
silently left the home, poorer and yet richer than
when he entered.

It's a true story, and yet not really an ex-
ceptional one; for generousity and a touch of sen-
timent--and often a great deal of honesty and loy-
alty in personal dealings-~seem to be integral ,
parts of the makeup of professional criminals-~the I
thieves, heistmen, safecrackers, and burglars who
inhabit the prisons of the world.

 

And when Christmas time rolls around, the
spirit touches prisoners in much the same way as
it touches free men. There's a lot of walking
done in prisons on Christmas days..a lot of visit-
ing and sharing of packages, a lot of touching,
generous gestures of friendship.

And, inevitably, there's a lot of reminisc-
ing, too. Christmases and New Year's Days of the'
past, however mediocre they may have seemed at the 3
time, become memorable occasions with the retell-
ing. Parties and Christmas dinners get a little
bigger each year, gifts a little grander, and
friendships, a little warmer.

it's a good time of year, even here.

 

 

 

 

Page 7 cassm ON THE: CUMBERLAND

 

  

PERTH

BILLY HOWELL,

  

67

(f (4/

 

 

This is still the season for foot-
ball, so each Sunday we bear witness to
the slaughter. This past Sunday we
looked on as CARTER’S COLTS defeated the
BEARS 12-0 in a real thriller..

While talking to Bill Coley on the
sidelines, he informed us that hitting
the big Bear fullback was like hitting a
Mack truck. He wasn't kidding. ' He had
all the bruises to prove it. Joe Ander-
son said he did well in the game—~his
only injuries were an injured shoulder,
bruised ribs, and a swollen ankle!

John Brent, the big 220-pound back,
has been doing a good job for the Colts.
Brent informed us this is his last year
to play, as he is pushing 50 and he
feels he will have to go back to a mild-
er sport, like boxing.

we would like to give each player a
writeup, and try to do justice to his
ability. Unfortunately, our Space does
not allow for this, so we will have to
do the next best thing, and list each
team at the end of this column.

As usual, we are short on sports,
therefore we have a short report.

On this most joyous of all holidays,
'I want to wish each of you a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.

COLTS ROSTER

Herring Housman Robinson
Coley Meriweather Cole

Pyle Penn Lyons
Underwood Anderson Hollis
McCutchen Ehgland Crazy Jack
June Bug HBtes

Carter Houchins

Mercer Smith

Brent Lewis

 

ORTS ED.
BEKRS ROSTER
Ford . Badeye
Hobo McHenry
Skin . Mooney
Stiles Hollowell
Hammerhead Tippy
L. C. -Iewis
Petty

 

MOE: What does one car approaching a
railroad crossing at 80 miles an hour,
plus one train approaching a railroad
crossing at 108 miles an hour, equal?

JOE: I don't know, what does it equal?
MOE: A caboose full of scrap metal:

Contributed by JOHN METHERTON, Jeffer-
sontown, Kentucky. ‘

 

 

 

BEATNIK‘VISITING THE GRAND CANYON:
"Dig that crazy irrigation ditch!"

Via The PRESIDIO

 

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
watch the Russians for a trick
Play it cool and play it slick
And be like Teddy, tote a stick:

"Professor Dizz"
in The PRESEDIO

One explanation of the meaning of
"Canada" is that early Spanish explor-
ers searched there for gold, but, finding
nothing, said in disgust: "Asa nada," or
"Here is nothing."

 

 

 

CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND

 

 

  

 

SHTAN HAS A PARTY

A Short Story by David Holmes

Lucifer,

alias Satan, alias The
Devil, sat behind the large desk in the
middle Of his office. The office was
located near the center -of his domain,
and the new Sears air-conditioner had

little effect on the heat which seemed
to come through the thin walls. He had
just sent for 5 men who were suffering
their fate. As he awaited them, he un-
buttoned the top button of his shirt and
wiped beads of perspiration from his
forehead. He made a mental note to have
one of his workers bank the main fire.

He was just beginning to lose pa-
tience when the door opened and his Num-
ber One boy stepped into the room.

"They are here, sir," he said with a
big grin.

Satan rose to his feet, buttoning his

shirt. “Good: Good: Send them in."

The Number One boy turned and left
the room, and a few minutes late 5 men
entered. Lucifer nodded to each in turn
and waited until they stood before he
spoke.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Be seated
and make yourselves at home." He

laughed at this last remark.

The 5 men sat down and each held a
look of wonderment on his face.

"Ah," said The Devil, taking his own
seat and folding his hands on the desk,
"I see you are wondering why I sent for
you. well, you have good reason to won-
der, so I will explain." He paused for
a moment. "Each one of you has lived a

pretty bad life while you were on earth
or you would not have been here, am I
right?"

No one spoke.

"I see you refuse to answer. It

makes no difference. The fact that you
are here speaks for itself. There never
is any mistake in that. But I have a
deal to make with you...one that is very

unusual and has never been made before
and will never be made again.”

The 5 men moved uneasily in the chairs.

drawn your inter-
"That is good. I

"I see that I have
est," said The Devil.
picked you because of your wonderfully
bad records on earth. I need a group of
people up there to work for me...to harm
other people. In other words, to lead
then here. I'm sure you all know what I

mean."

One of the men stood up. "But why
us?"

Satan gave him a sneer. “I've told
you once, stupid. Because of your re-
cords on earth. wait! I'll spell it
out for you." He shuffled some papers
on his desk. "Ah, here we are." He
looked up at the man standing nearest

him.

"Now, take you for example. Your name
is Nero. You were, at one time, the
Emperor of Rome-~until your little fet-
ish got the best of you and you burnt
the place down. Made it almost as hot
as it is here: At times, you killed
thousands of people just to have some-
thing to do. Now, I'm not blaming you
for that. As a matter of fact, if I
gave out medals, you'd surely get one.

I'm just showing you why I picked on
you."
He looked at the other men sitting

"That's the same reason I
Each of your records

before him.
chose all of you.

is as good as Nero's." He pointed to
one of the remaining four. "You,
Caesarl Do you remember all the slaves
you ordered killed just to honor your
weddings? And you! And youl And you!"
he said to the other men. "Your records
are just as good~—or bad, depending on

which way you look at it."

The man called Nero sat back down.
"Now," said The Devil, "I’m sending all
of you back to earth with new names and
faces, and I want you to work for me. I

 

Page 9

CASELE ON THE CUMBERLAND

 

  

Articles

 

 

SATAN HAS: A PARTY (CONT)

want you to be as mean and dirty to your
fellow man as you can. And as long as I
get good reports from you, I will let
you remain there. I want your number to
grow and growl"

He stopped talking and pushed a but-
ton on his desk. The door opened and
the Number One boy entered with the
smile still on his face. "Yes?"

Lucifer looked up at the 5 men. "Do
you understand your jobs?"

The men got to their feet. All
nodded. '

"Good," said The Devil. "You may go,
and good luck." He turned to his Number
One boy. "Show these gentlemen the way
to earth."

The boy bowed, but as the men started
out, Satan stopped them.

"Before you go, I think your group
should have a name.‘ He paused, strok-
ing his neat little Van Dyke that thrust
itself from his chin.- Then, his lob—
ster red tail wagging gleefully, he
chortled and said:

I

"How about calling yourselves the
Party?"

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: The author of this amus-
ing story had inserted one of the polit-
ical parties where there is a blank.

$ince this is a nonppartisian paper, howe

ever, we have left it up to the reader
to insert the party of his choice}
a * '*

Blessed are the deaf....
For they cannot hear the dumb!

Via the Penal Press

TWO BUMS
in a
RAILROAD YARD

--Jonathan Parks

"Hey, there! Yep, you...where ya
headed? Dago? Los Angeles?"

"What: Frisco! Hell, man...Frisco's
cold this time of year...cold and rainy
wet."

"You don't care? You say you've got
a sister there that'll take you in?"

"well, that's different. A man's got
somebody there to help him, he's all
right.“

"Me? Ah, just travelin'. You know
how it is...caught a freight outta Chi--
man, it's colder'n a well-hole in.Alaska
back there-~migrating to Sunny Cal.
L. A. for the winter, that's for me!"

"St. Louis your home town? Yep, I
know St. Louis well. Used to operate
outta there, you know, but that was 'way
back there. Probably before your time;
prohibition."

"Nineteen, you say? Yep, you 'us
just a little squirt then. Say, boy,
come to think of it, ain't you pretty
young to be out on the road?"

"Been roamin’ around since you was
12, huh? Ever since your mother died
an' the fambly broke up? Yep, that's
the way life is, I reckon. Kid grows up
kinda wild-like when his Ma passes on.
Best friend a boy ever has, his Ma."

"Myself? How long I been trampin'?
Oh, 'bout 20 years, I 'spect...20 years
therebouts. I must like hit? waal...

I'll tell you,,boy, it’s a fair—to-mid—

dlin’ way to go through life. Course,

nowadays it's a dang sight different

than when.I started out.’ Yessiree, nowa

adays a man don’t hafta have any git-up
(Cont. on Page 11)

 

 

CASTLE: ON THE: curssamnm

Page 10

 

 

 

 

  

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TWO BUMS (CONT)

 

and-go about him atall. Don't hafta
worry about findin' a place to sleep or
gettin' somethin' to eat. Big organiza-
tions to take care '0 things like that
new. Man wears his clothes...gets hun-
gry, or wants the feel of a .bed on a
chilly night...why, all he's gotta do is
go along to a 'Sally' and show em his
Social Security card."

"was things harder back in the old
days? well, boy, that depends on how a
man looks at things...how he evaluates
ideas, as the big shots say. Take a man
on the road back in the Twenties. That
man had two choices about gettin' some-
thin' to fill his belly. He could ask
the woman of a house for a hand-cut, or
he could offer to do a little work for a

bite to eat; either way he lost his
self-respect."
"You say that's the way it is now?

well, now, you're right to a point, boy
—-to a point. The difference ain't in
the act, it's in the idea behind the
act. What I'm driving at is this; the
man that had to go up to a house to beg
for somethin' to eat, well, that man
knowed that he didn't have no right to
ask a woman for the food her husband had
earned for his fambly. Nobody has the
right to take somethin' for nuthin' from
a person that's worked for it...a man
knows that! I don't care what kinda man
he is, a man knows that an' goes ahead
and.begs for food regardless...why, that
man can't help but have no self-respect.
He'll feel guilty...start hating hisself
an just become no good in general ,
worse'n an old egg-suckin' houn' dawg.
But you take nowadays it's different. A
man don't hafta feel that he's lowh

ratin' hisself, or think that he's a
good-for-nuthin', no-count bum just by
askin' for somethin' to eat. Hell no!
Special outfits been set up for to take
care of him. It ain't a personal thing
anymore, he don't hafta face a woman and
beg somethin' knowin' that it's been
worked for by her husband. Hell, it's

a man's duty nowadays to take all he can
get from the Sally or any other social
outfit; iffen he didn't he'd be makin'
liars and hypocrites outta the kind
folks what're trying to help him."

"You don't think it's like that, you
say? You think a man's supposed to
stand on his own two feet, work for his
livin', eh? waal, I reckon this bein' a
democratic country that a man's gotta
right to his own opinion. But, boy,
you gotta look at both sides of
things. There's always two sides, it's
a law...it's what democracy is. Now
you take this little idea we been kick-
in' around, 'bout whether a man should
take all he can get from outfits like
the Sally, like I think, or stand on his
own two feet and-ask for nuthin', like
you think. Now, boy, this is a very imp
portant thing we're talkin' about. It's
a big social issue, a big economic is-
sue, and a big religious issue. It con-