xt7gqn5z9695 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7gqn5z9695/data/mets.xml  Kentucky  1963 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, August 1963 text Kentucky State Penitentiary v.: ill. 28 cm. Call Numbers HV8301 .C37 and 17-C817 20:C279 Castle on the Cumberland, August 1963 1963 1963 2021 true xt7gqn5z9695 section xt7gqn5z9695  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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Dr. Fred Moffat, Executive Director
Walter Ferguson, Chairman
Simeon Willis, Member

Ernest Thompson, Member
PENI'IENTIARY ADMINISTRATION

Luther ' Thomas 9 War do n
Lloyd Arms tr ong, Deputy War den

W. To Baxter, Captain of the Guard
Reverend Paul Jagger's, Chaplain

Henry E. Cowan, Supervisor of Education

William Egbert, Vocational Instructor

 

 

 

The Castle on the Cumberland is published
of the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Edd
Opinions expreSsed in this magazine do n
istration. Permission to reproduce any part of this magazine is granted,
credit is given to author and source. Marked copies appreciated.

yville 0

Tall Tales

Department Reports
Nigitheper's Report, 1886
Crossword Puzzle
Statistics 8c Movies

The Castle Laughs

CASTLE STAFF

Lawrence Snow, Editor
Harold Arno 1d, Associate Editor
James Fe McKinney, Art Editor

John Busbyg Multilith Operator

Lune} III, Number II August 15,
CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAm
‘f
ADMINISTRATION TABIE OF CONTENTS E:
t? ‘
’5
The Honorable Bert T. Combs, Governor Deputy Warden's Page

m
Wilson wo Wyatt, Lto Governor Castle News
Marshall Swain, Corrections Commissioner Editorial :
Dr. Harold Black, Director of Institutions THE PHILOSOPHER CAT Ki
W. Z. Carter, Director of Education JIMMY ME THE BULL 1:
ft,"
FOR YOUR INFORMATION k
BOARD OF PARDONS do PAROIES xi
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: DEPUTY WARDEN’S PAGE

By Deputy Warden Lloyd Armstrong

First of all I want to apologize to the
readers of this magazine for not having
an article for these past few months.
ActualLy I do not have an excuse. I
have received numerous letters and phone
calls asking me to resume my article
each 1110th

Since there has been so much talk about
rehabilitation and treatment.9 most of
the letters I received asked my opinion
of rehabilitation, treatment and capital
punishment. I do not care to discuss
capital punishment at this times as I
feel I am not qualified in this particu»
lar field.

In my opinion rehabilitation is based on
two factors, discipline and education.
However. there are several "trimmings“
that could be added to these which would
contribute considerably to the overall
program. Speaking in plain old English,
I believe if most people had discipline
and education, they wouldn"t be here.

For one thing I don“t believe you can-

rehabilitate anyone. You can only put
rehabilitation before them and they must
rehabilitate themselves.

You do not see many people in an instie
tution of this type who are educated.
Furthermore,. I do not think you can go
(very far attempting to rehabilitate an
educated man, because in my opinion if'a
man has a good education and gets into
trouble, he is not interested in any re—
habilitation program for the simple fact
that he probably knows more about rev
habilitation than the man teaching him.

Rehabilitation is grand in an institu~
tion; it gives the interested inmates an
opportunity to rehabilitate. Howeverg
it seems that institutions and penal dew
partmente take off on one subject and
cannot look in any other direction at
the same time. I think there are many

factors one should consider before draw~
ing a definite conclusion. because many
times when one goes overboard on a parw
ticular subject he may be interfering
with another which ndght be just as his
portant to the innate and the function"
ing of the institution.

I believe one great advantage an insti=
tution can offer is someone the inmate
may consult who has the time and
knowledge to dig into the inmate's probe
lems and make an attempt to help him
with them. I think most people throughr,
out the United States and probably-the
world need someone that they can go to
and talk with in privacy concerning
their problems. In some cases, Protes~
tant and Catholic chaplains play a
leading role. However, there are some
cases that need consultation other than
that of a clerical nature. These cases
are rareg and we find that the chaplains
are helpful in most instances.

As far as the treatment of the inmates
of the institution is concerned, I bea-
lieve all inmates should be treated'with.
equality. One inmate should not have an
advantage over another. One condition
that causes unrest in the fact that some
inmates and employees do not understand
how to carry out prison rules and
regulations. By this I mean all should
be acquainted.with and governed by the
same rules. Furthermore, I believe a
good recreation program ani a system
whereby each and every inmate has a job
to do is a must in the overall program.

Everyone should be aware that there is

a difference between good and loose

treatment. There is a great deal of

conflict in institutions that is entire-

ly uncalled for. I feel that treatment

and security have a lot to do with each
(Please turn to Page 15)

 AT PRO RATIO lemme SEMINAR

mNG PAROIE PERIODS, EXCESSIVE BAIL,
ATTACKEDg PRISON RECOMMENDATIOIB MADE

Kentucky’s most knowledgeable expert
on crime and prisons and one of the
country's leading authorities on proban
tion and parole were both on hand for
the Fourth Annual Probationpparole In»
stitute last month, according to
IDUISVILLE THWEi stories.

Charles L. Newman, Director of Correc-
tional Training at the University of
Louisville's Kent School of Social work,
directed the twOmweek session. Sol
Rubin, Counsel for the National Council
on Crime and Delinquency, was there as a
speakero Also on hand at the University
of Louisville for the seminar were pro-
bation and parole officials from 15
states.

During the session Newman criticized
unnecessarily long probation and parole
periods, saying they are 8"demoralizi ng
for both the parole officer and the man
on parole." He also ripped the idea
that long prison sentences deter men
from crime, and said that excessive dew
nial of parole will "make a prisoner
worse, not better, when he is releasedo"

Newman was quoted by the TIMES as saying
there are four keystones necessary in
the building of a sound correctional
program: personnel, program, physical
plant, and public relations we in that
order. He recommended the upgrading of
corrections workers, exnansion of prison
industries and rehabilitation programs,
better food and segregation of prisoners
by age and seriousness of crimeo

But, he noted, a sound program of re»
habilitation must come before physical
improvements of the prison plants, He
stressed the importance of public relan
tions in such a program.

During the same session, NCCD Council
Sol Rubin noted a trend toward liberam
lized parole and probation pancadures;
but, said the TIMES story, he also said

2

that sentences generally are increasing
in severity. He attacked excessive
bails, which he said are imposed in many
states today.

Both Newman and Rubin have published
books, articles and surveys in the
crimewandwpunishment field. In one of
his books, Rubin argued for the necessi~
ty of allowing prison and parole
officials to release prisoners under
supervision when they reach the point of
psychological readiness to live in a
free society, rather than at the end of
an arbitrarily determined period of
time. Kentucky’s new parolewreform law,
enacted in special session this summer,
prevides for such a policy by removing
arbitrary time limits on parole eligiw
bili‘bYe

ASK PRISONERS ABOUT PRISON'PROBEEMS

 

Psychologist Robert Hardin of the
Indiana Boys School, speaking to the
Indiana Reformatory Press Club, said
persons looking for solutions in prison
problems should take the obvious step of
asking the prisonerSo

According to the PENDLETON REFLECTOR,
Hardin said those wishing to solve "the
many complex problems of crime and de»
linquency often overlook a source of
knowledge that could be of great value,
particularly to societyo

"In mental health," he went on, "much of
the progress has been due to what we
learned from the patients.“ He feels
there is just as much to learn from
prisoners, who are the persons most in»
timately concerned with the problem.

LIFER DIES 0F HEART TROUBLE

 

Roy Carter, 72, died suddenly of heart
trouble in the prison hospital on the
17th of last months

The elderly colored lifer had performed
light duties in the cabinet shop for
several years before his death.

 V
l

RUNBEY TAYIDR, MAN WEED REMMBERS SPORTS: GREATS, CONTRACT SYSTEM, SPEAKS AT KSP

In an interview with the CASTLE last
month a prominent Kentuckian recalled
the days when the contract labor system
prevailed in the prisono

Rumsey Taylor, Princeton Democrat who
dropped out of the gubernatorial race
before this year's primaries, mentioned
the period in his response to a question
concerning his interest in penal reformo
Reform of the state's prisons‘Was one of
the four planks of his platfonne

Inclusion of the reform plank, he said,
was not an attempt to gain votes, for as
he put it, "Penal reform is frankly not
a popuhar issue in Kentucky. The people
must be awakened to the need for its"

Asked how far in the past his interest
in penology extended, Taylor replied
that he had been around the Eddyville
institution since he was 6 years old.
He cited idleness as one of the major
reasons why Kentucky prisons are "crime
schoolso"

"There were quite a feW'instances of the
convicts? being taken advantage of (dur-
ing the contract labor period), but at
least they weren't idle then," he saido

Under the contract labor
state furnished convict labor, for a
price, to, private concernso InfiEddyb
ville Prison, one of the major contrac-
tors was a "whip and collar" firm.which
put convicts to work manufacturing sade
dles, horse collars and other leather
items. Other firms, said Taylor, used
convict labor to produce brooms; mops
and similar items. Organized labor out
an end to the system in the early 1950s.

system the

He said his interest in reform probably
began the day he'Walked into the office
of the late Jesse Buchanan, then warden
of KSP. Three teenage have had just
been admitted to the prison, Taylor
said, and he found the powerfully built
Buchanan actually in tears over the fate
he knew awaited the boys on "The Hills"
Taylor said he made uprhis mind then to

Ithe Orange Bowl and

wake people up to the conditions in

Kentucky's prisonso

Prison reform is one of the tasks being
undertaken this year by Governor Bert
Combs, whose term ends in January, l96h.
A bill liberalizing parole procedures
has already been passed in special ses-
sion, and indications are that addition—
a1 reforms will be considered by the
regular session of the legislature this
winter.

Rumsey Taylor, who said that lack of
sufficient campaign funds was the cause
of his dropping out of the fiercely-run
race for the governor“s chair, was here
to speak to the premrelease class and
other members of the inmate body. An
estimated 3oo-hoo inmates crowded into
the tiny chapel to hear his address.

Vocational Instructor William Egbert in»
troduced the Speaker, relating some of
Taylor's varied history as athlete,
sports official, businessman and family
mane He cited the speaker’s h5 years as
an athlete and football official, a ca-
reer that took him over much of the
country to offliciate in bigmleague
games, including some in the Rose Bowl,
otherse One of
Taylor's three sons, Rumsey Jro, was
himself a star Georgia Tech halfback who
distinguished himself as high=yardage
man in the 19h5 Orange Bowl game against
Tulsao Two other sons, Bob and.Fred,
were outstanding footballers at Vanderw
bilt Universityo

In his talk; richly larded with anecm
dotes about such Sports greats as Babe
Ruth, Knute Rockne, Jack Dempsey and Joe
Louis, Taylor urged the prisoners to
"think straight and face up to reality,"

He touched briefly on his campaigno "I
dan't deny it,“ he said. "I wanted to
be governoro But never cry over last
Saturdayfls game; got ready for next

, Saturday's game instead."

He said he was glad he had "sown the

3

 

 seed" of helping to awaken people to
what he said is the "imperative need for
prison reform in Kentucky."

A native of Princeton, Kentucky since he
was 5, Taylor and his son, Rimsey Jr.,
operate the Princeton Lumber Companya a
general contracting and building materi-
als firm that the senior Taylor and his
father began years ago. The company has
constructed buildings for’ the prison.
His two other sense Bob and Fred, are
now a lawyer and a minister respective-
ly. He also has a daughter. now
married.

MINISTERS, MISSIONARIES AND BUSINESSMBN
HAVB' ALSO ADDRESSED INMATES RECENTLY

A prominent area businessman who is also
active in State politics, a missionary
who spent 16 years in the Congo, and two
area ministers were also on hand during
recent months to speak to inmate assemr
bliss at the chapel.

Sam Steger, Princeton contractor and
lumber dealer and an important figure in
Democratic politics in Kentucky, spoke
to a large portion of the inmate body in
June. as did Reverend Reid Thompson;
Pastor of the Kuttawa Methodist Church.
and Reverend Charles‘ Rigs of the
christian Church in Versailles.

The Reverend Joe Whitmsr, formerly a
missionary and now Paetor-et-Large for
Western Kentucky Christian Ch lrches,
delivered a talk on the missiomry and
American ublic relations. In addition
to his years as e Congo missionary,
he spent two years in the Caribbean and
at other posts throughout the world.

Reverend‘calvin Wilkins of the Kuttewa
Baptist Church and Reverend R. G.
Shelton, Eddyville Baptist Church, are
alternating in the pulpit on Sundays
during the absence of chaplain Paul
Jaggers, stricken with bone cancer some
months ago. Wilkins also appears in the
chapel-library during the week as Acting
Chaplain. Wednesday is the day set
aside for guest speakers.

14

IN SPAIN, FRANEO CUTS CONS' TIME

As every reader of Hemingway’s For Whom
the Bell Tolls will remember, General—
issimo Francisco Franco emerged victori~
one from the Spanish Civil War 5h years
ago. Many Spanish convicts now have
reason to be glad he did.

According to a Chicago Baily News
Service report last month, Franco cele-
brated the Bhth anniversary of his
victory by granting "indultos" to pracn
tically all of the criminal and politi-
cal prisoners .in Spain's penal
instituti 0118 c

The indultos - reductions in sentence
-- were granted to all convicts who had
not committed new crimes on probation,
caused trouble in prison. or who had al-
ready reoeived oommutations of death
sentences.

For the first time, repeat offenders
were included in.ths blanket time cute.
The cuts ranged in amount from 50 per
cent for those serving two years or less
to one-sixth for men serving more than
20 years. Inmates who had served at
least 20 consecutive years on their senp
tenses were released outright by'the
order.

DETROIT H18 NOTHING BUT SIZE 0N E'VILEB

Scraps of wccda toothbrush handles and
odd pieces of wire may be Junk to you,
but to Roy "Moon" Brunner they are me-
teriels that can be converted -- with
the added ingredient of elbow-grease --
into trucks and cars.

'Peinsteklngly carving and sending indi-
vidual parts, Moon spends hourst of each
day, as well as part of most nights.
making strikingly authentic replicas of
antique cars and trucks. His production
so for has included a 3.910 Cadillac
Touring Car and a Model T Ford truck of
like vintage.

The autos are complete to the Nth de-
tail, including gas lights and a mini-
ature lantern for the truck.

 MASONRY INSTRUCTOR, A JOURNEYMAN TRADES-
MAN, SAKS CLASS IS BEST HE EVER TAUGHT

 

Interest, enthusiasm and hard work
characterize the seven neophyte bricks
masons in the new prison masonry class,
says inmate-instructor Edward Burleson,
himself a journeyman bricklayer with
years of experience behind hhn.

"This is really the best group I've ever
taught,” said Burleson, who taught his
craft in the penitentiary at Michigan
City, Indiana before his transfer to
Kentucky on a detainer -- a warrant for
an old crime. "They're here every day,
they work hard, and they are trying to
learn to do the work right. It's a
pleasure to teach them.“

It was obvious that the
craftsman wasn't exaggeratingo As we
talked, the students were cheerfully
sweating under a hot sun to erect the
walls of what would soon be the masonry
part of a small dwelling, complete with
Chimne yo

33—year-old

The walls they build aren“t "pretty."
Their laboratory is a narrow concrete
slab laid between the ends of the school
and cannery buildingso A walkway to the
back gate, used by outside trusty den
tails each day, Splits the narrow work-
Space further. So the dwelling is being

built in two separate sections, one on
either side of the walks The bricks
used in the class are old. When a wall

has been erected, it is examined for
flaws? Then it is torn down, the bricks
are cleaned, the mortar is salvaged and
screened for revues, and the same bricks
and mortar are used the next day to
build a* new, correct version of the
wall. To make matters worse, the bricks
are of mixed sizes and many are crumb-
ling and uneven from continued use.

But aside from the appearance of the ma~
terials, the walls they build are plumb
and true and even, and it's obvious that
Burleson has inculcated his fledgling
masons with a digh regard for crafts-
manship. .

"we don't worry about speed,“ he said.
What we worry about is learning to do
the job right from the beginningo The

speed will come naturallyo"

That the men are learning quickly and
well was evidenced by the remarks of a
well-known area contractor who visited
the masonry class recently0 Impressed
by the quality of work done by the be-
ginners, he said that here were poten-
tial echonvicts he could be happy to
hire. He complimented prison officials
on making the course available.

The concern for craftsmanship and the
extraordinary will to learn disPlayed by
the inmates assigned to the class are
rare in prisono Part of the high morale
and interest of the students can be at»
tributed to the fact that they are vol-
untarily learning what could be a
valuable trade. But a large part of the
credit goes to Burleson himself, a man
who has evidently gained the respect of
his students .

Born in Bakersville, North Carolina,
Burleson also plied his trade in
California between the years l95h=l9619
He was classed as a journeyman member of
both the Santa Barbara and San Jose AFL
Brickmasons Locals and gained a wealth
of experience on residential and commerw

cial structures in the booming Golden
Stat 60

More to the immediate point, Burleson
takes pleasure and pride in helping

others to learn his skill and he has the
easyegoing personality and patience
necessary to teach an inmate classo

Burleson himSelf, however,9 gives most of
the credit to William Egbert, vocational
instructor for the prison and assistant
to Supervisor of Education Henry Cowan,
the man responsible for all institutionw
a1 educational effortso Egbert, he
says, has gone to bat for the class in a
big way, scrounging materials and tools
that would have been hard to obtain
under the school“s limited budgeto

Whoever is responsible, the seven
students an Johnny Starks, Ronald
5

 Tiptong James Mays, James Stephens,
Silas Manning, Fletcher McGuire and
Benjamin Kelly -- are learning quickly
and well. The course, which will proba—
bly last approximately 18 months, in-
cludes a weekly classroom ocurse in
theory, asthmation and (later) blueprint
reading, as well as full-time practical
experience in the use of tools, the mix-
ing of mortars the laying of the various
bonds and the hundred and one other
things that an accomplished bricklayer
must know about, including the laying of
block, glass block and tile.

At the end of the course, the seven men
(or nines if two more students are ac-
cepted as planned), will be equal in
skill to a journeyman bricklayer and,
with any kind of luck at alla should be
able to be recognized as journeyman
by the trade unions within a short time.

AUID MECHANICS COURSE BEGINS IN PRISON

 

A 1956 Ford 6~cylinder truck and a set
of mechanic“s hand tools recently pure
chased for the school Will serve to
train seven inmates in the mysteries of
internal combustion engines, announced
Supervisor of Education Henry Cowan.

Paul Hollands a shortwterm inmate who
has had 22 years of experience in auto
mechanics and body and finish opera-
tions, will teach the 018530 Students
ares William Baldwin, Buford Cox,
Charles Fowlerg Douglas Koonce, Charles
McCarthy, Virgil Moore and James White»

The class will be held outdoors
west end of the school building.

at the

 

PROFITABLE BRAINSTORM

 

A New Yorker named.Walter Hunt invented
the safety pin in just a few hours one
day in lBhés reports world Book Encyclom
pedia, when he twisted a piece of wire
into the familiar shape still used to~
day. The people of Italys howeverg are
believed to have used similar devices
as long ago as 23000 B. C. , Says the
famed encyclopedia.

6

JEFFERSON COUNTY MAY 'IRY "WORK OUT" PLAN
FOR COUNTY JAIL MISDEMBANOR PRISONERS

Based on a IDUISVILLE TIMES story

"A great idea," is the way Louisville
Traffic Court Judge J. Miles Pound put
it; "I wholeheartedly approve," said
another jurors Judge Gordon B. Winburn
of Quarterly Courto

What the two traffic judges -~ and
judges from other city and county courts
as well -- are so pleased about is a

plan to allow selected misdemeanor
prisoners in the Jefferson County Jail
at Louisville to leave the jail by day

to report to the jobs they held before'

being imprisoned we leaving nights and

weekends ”free" for confinement.

The proposed plans reported in the
lOUflSVILLE TIMES by Dick Berger, is
favored by many Jefferson County law-
enforcement officialsg chief among them
County Judge Marlow'wo Cooks for a nume
ber of reasons:

Prisoners selected
own

It would save moneyo
for the program would pay for their
maintenance expenseso

It would help overcome the cycle of difu
ficultiess including increased welfare
costs» that arise when 90 per cent of
jail prisoners lose their jobs when they
go to jail» as is now the case.

Finallyg it would aid in the rehabilitae

tion. of prisoners and allow them to
retain some self reSpect while they sup~
port their families and save for release.

The plans which will almost certainly
require statutory changes by the next
General Assembly if it is to be put into
effects came in for consideration here
when a LOUISVILLE TIMES reporter made a
study of a similar pioneer programs

scecalled Huber Plan in Minneapoliso

the'

 EDITORIAL

 

POVERTY IN THE ERISON

 

Idleness within the prisons has been repeatedly condemned within recent months as
one of the most debilitating factors in the scheme of things penologieal in
Kentucky -- and it probably iso But another great problems yet one that may seem
trivial to many of our outside readersg surely runs a close second and isg in a
sense” directly related to the largewscale idleness that prevails in both the Rea
formatory at LaGrenge and the Penitentiary hereo

That problem lies in the feet that literally hundreds of inmates who are not asa
signed to paying jobs within the institutions are forced by necessity to begg steel
or ”hustle" an that isp to plot and scheme to dream up means of separating more
fortunate fellow inmates from their nioklcs we in order to provide themselves with
many of the necessities and smell luxuries that most people take for grantedo

Even the working inmate is subject to the problem if the pitifully-small token wage
he receives is not supplemented by money from hence it presents the majority of
Job! available to inmates in both institutions pay just 8% a days which adds up to
$2.50 for most monthso $2.00 for the other months == since canteen tickets” the
”cash" of prisons, are not issued in denominations smeller then 50¢. Only a few
Jdbs pay mores

With his 8% a days the inmate must bow'whntever toiletries he cang as cell as
Postage stamps and tobacco, if he smokes am for none of these items is furnished by
the states In most ceceeg the be} however carefully usedo simply will not stretcho
Imagineg then, the difficulty faced by the idle inmates who has no income at elll

Theeresult is predictableo The prisons become jungles in which each dog is strivb
ing to out the other, in which favors are purchnsed in terms of pennieco in which
scheming» fighting, and cunning are the rule9 in which celi0 respect and human digu
nity have no place» in which the inmate with c little money in his pocket is king.

How very much the elimination of idleness end on cdequnte wage for working inmates
“r or at least the issuance of such basic needs as renor bledeco dentrifioesa tea
becce and other such items me would contribute tonnrd allowing mnny innates'to hold
up their heads sgeinl

 L\

    
   
     
 
      
 

   

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sgx“
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“ \ SitiktS

It"s not always what you do but how you

do it that countso

The Chaplaing a veteran of the old gasoa
line alley days in the toughest sections
of Louisville; used to tell of a sneak-
ing admiration he had for the oldwtime
panhandler9 an individual quite distinct
from the shameafaced beggar of modern
times. The panhandler of days gone by?
he saids was what he was not from new
cessitya but because he couldn‘t imagine
himself doing anything 61360

Contrary as it may seems this type of
character took real pride in his work.
He was a genuine‘ rugged individualist
who took nothing off any man. Nothing
except moneys that iso Oftens he was
even particular about whom he bummed»
even about which sections of town he
workedo In a civilization that often
seems enslaved by its own living stands
ands.9 he was uniquely freeo

Such an individual is Old Tome

Old Tom is only a cat» and only a prison
cat at thato But the human beings who
tower over him in size could take
lessons in independence from himo
Throughout his years behind the walls”

he has remained as free as thought and
as proud as prideo
If cats were philosopherss Old Tom

would be a Schopenhauer. Like the great
German pessimist, he shuns both human
and feline companionship as absolutely
as necessity and his high regard for

8

_fe___.!' Story'by Lawrence Snow

Drawings by James McKinney

THE.

PHILOSOPHER

CAT

personal comfort allows and probably for
similar reasonso For Tom has been in
prison longer than many convictss and he
distrusts the Species°

a oncewbroken
mouth, Tom

In spite of advanced ages
back and near-toothless
fiercely defends his "territory” ~-
which includes those choicest of all
panhandling sitess the canteen and cook»
shack we and other cats have learned
over the years to stay clear of ito
Hereg when he feels the need of food, he
panhandles shamelesslys if not proudly,
the most delectable of tidbits from con=
victs emerging from the canteen line and
the freshest milk from the cookshack
chefso ,

 

But Tom is no domestic cato He permits
the convicts who feed him few intimae
cieso Let a prisoner stoop to pet him
when he“s not in a petting mood and he
moves haughtily awayg the very picture
of outraged dignityo Should the inmate

persists Old Tom soon resorts to snarls
and swipes of tie forepawg tiger fashe
iOIlo

Tom visits our
cookshacks

Twice during the years
editorial office beneath the
During the coldest part of winters

when

 the promise of warmth from the office
radiator is sweeter than the cold inde-
pendence he could enjoy outside; and

during the hottest weeks of summer, when
he naps on the cool cement floor.

flingo 0n the coldest nights of winter,

rather than be locked in like a common
house cat, he prefers to curl up near an
outdoor steam pipe or brave the coldness
of the yardo

 

Old Tbm and the editorial staff -- all
two of us -- have a tacit understanding
that works out pretty well -- for Tome
In return for allowing us to work as
usual, we leave him to his cat dreams.
Unless, of course, he :desires some-
thing. When this happens, he lets us
know by waking from his nap, stretching
royally, walking directly up to us, and
addressing us in his peculiarly aloof
manner.

 

What he wants is usually water. In win»
ter, the puddles and dripping faucets
from which he drinks are frozen solid.

In summer, he prefers the cold water
from our icedwater kego And, naturally,
he’s especially particular that his

drinking vessel be spotlessly cleano

Sometimes, though, Old Tom just wants
his broken back massaged a little; which
is therapy, of course, and not pettingo
Even so, he never purrso For purring to
Tom is a symbol of detected domesticity.

At night, Tom usually leaves of his own
accord to prowl for food or, rarely, for
female -oompanionship; for even a
Schopenhauer must have his occasional

One afternoon, however, Tom crept into a
dark corner and curled up on a cool mop
to slumbero Out of sight, he was out of
mind. When night came, we turned out
the lights and locked the door, blisSm
fully ignorant of the catastrophe we had
let ourselves in fora

'When we opened the office the next morna
ing, Tom was sound asleep in the middle
of the floor, exhausted by his labors
during the nights The office, of
course, was Indignant at

a shambles.

    

\‘ i
\ ?‘ z.
. , /'
, n ;1_
.
{C I

being locked away like a common convict,
Tom had frantically explored every avem
nue of escape; even, from all indica=
tions, the roof. Waste baskets lay on
their sides, their contents strewn over
the flooro Espers on the desk and a
painting left in the office overnight
bore the marks of his paws, and the
typewriter w= well, it had to be sent
out for cleaninga And Tom? Awakened
from his sleep, he glared at us with
baleful eyes, cursed us roundly in cat-
language, then stalked out the door,
nose and tail in the air, sublimely unn
concerned about the opinion of man or
beaSt, a being lordly and free and sub»
ject to no man“s domination or rule.
as;

9

 

 

 ' I
E

JIMMIE ANDTHE BULL

 

 

There I was, sweating like a pig in that
rolling hotebox they called a transfer
bus -- me, the ‘wise guy who swore held
never fall in any state that still had a
chain gangl And if you think that chain
gangs are a thing of the past, younre
wrong. There are a few states in this
great democratic nation that time and
progress have forgotteno

AnyWay9 there I was with a brand new
fivewspot and on my way to a chainmgang
camps weld completed our six weeks
quarantine in the walls and they9d
loaded 18 of uss all cuffed together, in
a vanmbodied transfer wagon at 5:00 this
mornings -Litt1e Jinmy and I were cuffed
togethero I called him Little Jimmy'bem
cause he was a real runtg 5“ 6" and
about 110 poundso I hadnlt thought
theyld send him to a road camps him'be=
ing so little and ally but here he was.»
Both of us being quiet types9 we“d
fallen in together in the first week of
quarantine and found‘ we had a few other
things in commono rhis wasnlt my first
fall, and Jimmy had been in before too.
I’d done my other beefs in Northern
states andJimmy had been in joints out
Waste

He told me he was originally from Cali-a
10

fornia. For some reason")? didn'tbeu-

lieve him. It could have been a trace
of accent he had‘9 or something else that
didn’t fit.9 I don"t know. Anyway, it
wasn"t any of my business and if he said
he was from Californiag he was.

Any guy who has hustled around the
country on his wits has had his up mom
ments and his downs9 and in our talks we
discovered we had- run parallel courses
over the yearso He was 50 and so was Io
We had both been footloose and. moral
freetall our adult lives and