Saturday, March 1, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Thirty Days in Prison gle. are in ions!
You will the terror the Law.
trees and power: courage to system of vomit.
draft dodger, thief.
Letters written chille Doing Time in the Essex County Jail, Newark, The First Day By Louis Fraina but oppressive. Everything is vague and indefiniteis a clear, sharp day. The streets seem more except the iron bars, which are here and there, there inviting than usual, the sun warmer and more cuffed to each other my right wrist to his left wrist; and here. As we ascend the iron stairs to the tier cheery, the people more interesting and companion but in spite of this, am happy to be out on the able. linger as walk, Aushed with a feeling am assigned to, faces stare at me curiously. have of streets again (a few persons look curiously at us, but snatch no impression of men just faces; no impression of sensuous pleasure linger, to few more preall are bent upon their own affairs) and feel the free localityjust iron bars. An iron gate swings cious moments to get the thrill of these familiar touch of the air. After we are on board the tunnel open, slowly and ponderously, with a racking noise, things; for when you are to be deprived of the streets train to Jersey, the marshal takes off the bracelets. at and its people, of the sun and the wind, of the old worked by a triple mechanism. Through the bars familiar world, often terrible but always fascinating considerably the marshall and myself, about this and which Ralph father, who accompanies us, brightens see a number of persons, some seated around a table.
There is a random conversation be even if only for thirty days they assume a more tween Ralph, My cell is of iron iron floors, iron walls and an intimate character, their personality foods your be that; the marshall seems interested in the labor unrest iron In one corner is the wash basin; right next ing. And, through it all, glimpse the great strug. he was formerly a railway worker and an active to it is the urinal; at one side, a cot. must live in member of the union. big strikes are coming; this for thirty days and thirty night, who yearn for But time and the law are implacable; the streets they are necessary, considering the high cost of liv large spaces the spaces of the soul and of the earth; and the people, the wind and the sun, liberty and ing: the trusts must be broken.
I, who love movement and beauty.
all the joy of life, are of scant importance in the in Newark. ask the marshall whether he Disgust overwhelms me disgust and hatred. Then rigor of their onward sweep. And if the law consi will allow us to have lunch in a restaurant befone smile they think that this can alter a man opinders these simple but fundamental things of life in turning us over to the Jail officials. he hesitates a moits cold calculations, it is only in the sense that, by ment, then graciously consents. eat heartily, with a walk out into the tier there are twelve cells on depriving you of them, your spirit will break and feeling of intense pleasure for thirty days can the tier. Five of the inmates are playing poker. They prostrate yourself in humble reverence to choose my own food: a small matter, ordinarily, of stare at me, curiously and covertly; they seem to have But hasten, regretfully; a feeling that am not one of them.
and, ten minutes late, enter the squat, wely building approach the jail a rather small. How long, brother? asks one of them.
on two sides, very rural in Thirty days.
In this building are the Federal Courts, and many ugly iron bars on the windows, the wait arance. The it Sa Hell, that only sleeping time, cry out two of crimes. The place is musty and drab; and drab and prison. but think of the horrible mills in our squalid them.
musty is the Law, a blotchy, senile man, consumed with hatred of life and beauty and all that is free.
Jersey and Massachusetts mill towns dirty, barred, with an aspect of being determined to crush all the The game proceeds and watch them. They play Senile and malignant, but possessing a brutal in is much more inviting than the earnestly, although the stakes are small two cents the It is a furtive place, too. It seems not to have limit. They often quarrel with each other, not sermills. The mill, and not the jail, is the final indict iously. Their conversation is heavy with frequent sea revolt against its crmes and the criminal it represents; but in its furtive aspect there The sun shines and the wind blows: it feels good to lurks a sense of shame ashamed of itself. It harbors live. But in there is not life, only a perversion of life.
vile expressions and images which our hypocritical many a dark secret, many an injustice. Persons As we wait at the big iron gate, waiting for it to operi society tolerates and encourages in life, but exAit lurkingly in the corridors friends anxious for and admit us, wonder what reception will be ours; purgates in literature.
the fate of someone, compacently important lawyers and think of the Tombs. The day after my arrest make a suggestion that play. They hesitatea trading in freedom (and haggling about the price. bail not having arrived in time) was committed for stranger, what sort of fellow is he insist, and they acquiesce. There is a damper on the conversaconspiring either against the Law or against the the night to the Tombs. The guard who took me liberty of persons: the lawyer is under no reverential illusions about the majesty of this Thing, the Law. putes that might purchase few sandwiches, having cosque obscenity. As we play, Learn who they are sinister murmur ladens the air, it is cold, stuffy, had nothing to eat since breakfast, and it being too Conscientious Objector and Socialist; the fourth a spiritually unclean. have a feeling late for eats at the Tombs. The man at the desk and the fifth Then there is a go through some dull, routine was a fine old gentleman, with pinkish cheeks and commonplaces. a dead clerk roads some papers, and informs us. a soldier and sailor, and a fellow who beat up his sweetthat instead of being committed to the veld so white hair the sort of a man little children snuggle to and call gran daddy. When he Mercer County Penitentiary, am to make Essex heard that was arrested for being against the war heart when he found her walking with another man: County Jail my abode. there is a frightful, lei and conscription, his mouth spewed forth a stream of he claims he was drunk, and doesn look vicious.
surely quality in all this routtine that is to deprive filth: am now one of them. There are no class divi You God damned son of a bitch! d like to blow sions. The rebel plays poker with the thief; the trafme to the detention room it is 10. 30, and my imwoman body associates with the jealous prisonment has your arse off all you dirty bastards. sweetheart. We are all alike all criminals. This is The gate opens; we enter. There is a surprising democracy.
The detention room, with a ponderous iron gate sense of cleanliness about the place; no bawling and and a high window barred with iron, fronts upon the no profanity. The proceedings are perfunctory; some Up from the tiers below wells a strident noise, expark. There is the pretentious but commonplace City papers are looked over; a guard goes through my pressing the vitality of scores of men caged in small Hall, as commonplace and pretentious as His Honor pockets.
spaces. It is interesting, and not provoking: but will the Mayor and the idea it represents. there are the a knife?
it remain interesting. The feel of the place is opprestrees, more human than the thing that has scores in sve. stultifying. There is a big, stout animal fellow, In the room are a number of prisoners am given a slip of paper with the number 43 on who sold liquor to the soldier and sailor. He is restawaiting trial mostly boys: one is very nervous, it that my cell; another guard takes charge of me; less, walking up and down the tier, up and down, like another cloaks apprehension in an irritating swagger; and proceed into the heart of the jail.
a caged animal. The bars and the small spaces fret still another is stolid.
The place is dim; and there is a murmur of voices and limit him. He quivers, with the quiver of an aniThe place is familiar was here the day after a sort of murmer of ants in the gloom. It is clean, mal who wants to roam and run in the wide, open spaces. He has a fixed smile on his red face, and ob my arrest, waiting for bail Ralph Clieyney and my scenity oozes out of his mouth when he speaks of self. guard had informed us: Once in here, it Red Week for the Age!
jail.
all up with you. But what about being innocent until you re proven guilty? asked. You don The Red Week is a Socialists week, a means My mind is only very slightly on the poker game: really get the benefit of the doubt.
Our company of developing our intelectual and material forces am acquiring impressions. My mates speak to me about the food served by the jail. They feel very a thief, three sellers of for the overthrow of Capitalism.
cocaine, a soldier arrested strongly about it.
more FOR THE BENEFIT OF recalls an interesting incident. In the morning they give you a cup of piss that sa friend. My memory of Ralph was arguing earnestly, just be The Revolutionary Age they call coffee no sugar and no milk; and a hunk of bread.
yond with the Assistant District Attorney This fellow our only red Socialist Communist paper. It They might give us some oatmeal.
po telescouting our case. was syphilitic, will start March 2, at the Dudley Club of Lettish In the afternoon they give you a pot of beans, or markedly Branch No. 1, 23 Kenilworth Street, Roxbury, peas, or soun, and another hunk of bread Once a that, as political offenders, we were not Mass. which has been rebuilt and beautifully week they give you a small piece of meat.
really criminals: it was unjust to arrest us. With his decorated. wouldn feed the meat to my do.
crooked smile, the beckoned us to the gate; All of Boston will participate. Every night What do you get for super? ask.
will have something to offer. This week will be and through the iron bars, earnestly, even solemnly, he They laugh, mockingly. Nothing for supper a victory week.
told us: eats only twice a day and they re rotten. sympathize with these unfortunates indicating must have looked rather anprehensive for one of with his finger the pimp, the sellers of cocaine, and the boys tells me that can buy food three times a the others. They are ignorant, they do not know; day: also cigarettes and newsnapers.
and would do all can to help them. But you are It damn fine jail if you ve got money, says different, worse. You are educated, and understand: at LANCASTER THEATRE the big fat fellow, savagely: he has no money and seems to have no friends.
you are out to wreck law and order: you are danger Cor. Causeway and Lancaster Streets ous. cannot sympathize with you.
near North Station All in!
And Ralph answered, ironically: Sunday, March 2, 1919, at p.
It is eight o clock and the shrut signals us to retitre. Thank you. don think we are particularly deWe all scamper to our cells. There are shouts all over GREGORY WEINSTEIN sirous of your sympathy. In fact, we are grateful the place as the inmates rush to their cells, and the not to receive it.
Editur of Nozy Mir iron mechanism locks us in.
There is a stir beyond the gate; it opens ponderand other speakers Noise flares up in the tiers below: beyond me are ously, and Ralph and greet each other: greet his ADMISSION FREE the iron bars of my cell, then the iron bars of my tier, About 12. 30 a depAuspices, Russian Branch No. 2, and then the iron bars of the windows beyond. Soon uty marshall comes for us. Ralph and are handthe first day will end in the first night. What then?
me of in started. Got No.
its grip.
then was varied pined for being drunk, and ca.
the gate, evasive eyes smile and limp, a crooked Mass Meeting father. Time passes.