9
DECEMBER l,.,1905f'
division surgeon, who was considerably more of
a dress parade man than a man of science,
cruelly jabbed his thumb into the wound. Al
though this division surgeon was his superior
officer the surgeon of the Seventh Illinois
seized him and witlr an angry exclamation threw
him half-way across the hospital floor, at tho
same time uttering what Major Hoagland says
was the only epithet he ever heard from the
lips of the righteously indignant doctor. Then
the regimental surgeon, completely ignoring tho
presence of his superior and the members of his
party, turned his attention to the alleviation of
the pain of the injured soldier who had screamed
with agony at the division surgeon's touch. "It
was the bravest act I ever saw," says Major
Hoagland, "and we expected at any moment that
a guard would be Bent, under instruction's to place
our surgeon under arrest on the charge of as
saulting a superior officer. Every man in the
regiment loved the Seventh Illinois surgeon,
and while we admired his courage we could not
help but regret his bad judgment. But for some
reason or other, no action was ever taken. Per
haps the superior officer thought it would be just
as well to let well enough alone."
When the national prison congress assembled
in Lincoln, the members of that great body visit
ing the Nebraska state penitentiary agreed that
it was without a superior, in the way of sani
tary methods, discipline and general excellence,
among all the smaller prisons of the country.
The warden of this prison is A. D. Beemer. For
several years he was sheriff of his county,
and has served for many years as warden of the
penitentiary, having held the office under a
former administration. Warden Beemer is a man
powerfully built, and of fine physique. His kind
ness and his good nature are reflected in his
eyes, which are those "laughing eyes" which
one occasionally sees and which are always
marked characteristics. Years ago, after Mr.
Beemer had served two terms as warden, and
when he had no official capacity, he took a con
spicuous part in the passage through the Ne
braska legislature of a law providing for the
The Commoner.
parole of prisoners, and while moit of his life
has been spent as sheriff and warden, ho has
ever been foremost in humantarian work.
Where tho Nebraska penitentiary yard was
once an unsightly affair, it Is now in tho sum
mertime a veritable garden, while a nicely
sodded terrace, abounding with flowers and
foliage adorns the outer walls, all made possible
by tho warden's efforts to improve the sur
roundings of the prisoners entrusted to his care.
Under Warden Beemcr's administration tho
lock-step, that abominable pretense at discipline
which is humiliating to every one required to
witness it, as it must bo to every one required
to engage in it, has been abolished. Under his
administration a system has been adopted
whereby men may avoid the hated stripes. When
a man enters the prison he is required to wear
the striped garb for a period of six months. If
his conduct has been good during that time
he may then discard the stripes, donning a neat
uniform of gray, and this uniform he is permit
ted to keep during good behavior. If he offends,
then as a punishment the stripes are again placed
upon him, and he must wear them for another
six months, when, if he has behaved well, they
are removed.
. The prisoners are so averse to tho stripes
that Warden Beemer has found that this is about
the only method of punishment necessary. In
deed, except in perhaps two cases where des
perate men have made assaults upon guards, It
has not been necessary, for some time, to
resort to the solitary confinement plan or other
forms of cruel punishment.
One of the essential methods of advancing
prison reform is to place prisoners under the
control of men of kindly impulse, men who rec
ognize the fact that oven though these unfor
tunate creatures aro deprived of their liberty
they are yet human beings, and it is the duty of
society, and society's agents, to make their lot
as happy as possible under the circumstances.
Warden Beemer is one of these men, and he has
made such progress in his reforms, and such
improvements in the methods of conducting a
state penitentiary that when the stranger goes
thoro hd find his vlfllt rabbod of muoh of tho
distressing Bight that usunlly pros upon tlia
attention of tho visitor to n prison.
Recently Warden Boomor was showing a
party through tho prison. Among thorn wnsi a
charming woman who, after tho party hnd spent
sometime In ()q wardon'8 company rdmnrkod to
a companion that the wnrdoiuromlnded her very
much of her father, who had dlod a few yoarfl
ago. When the tour had been concludod and
tho party reached tho wardon's office, this
woman turning to tho warden asked:
"Well, do these prisoners mind you?"
The warden rather hesitatingly replied: "Oh,
yes, of course tboy mind mo."
Then sho asked: "But aro thoy afraid of
you?"
Tho warden laughingly answorod: "Oh, I
don't know that they are particularly afraid of
me."
Promptly and with great onrnostnoss her
fine cyos filled with toarH, drawn doubt loss by
tho resemblance between this big bodied and
big hearted warden and her own good father
this charming woman said: "Well, I wouldn't
mind you. I wouldn't bo afraid of you, one bit!"
Coming as it did, It was one of tho prettiest
compliments ever given.
In one respect this fair visitor was right;
In another she was wrong. Convicts arc not
"afraid" of such men as Warden Beemer, but
thoy "mind" them. Like other men who are
great in real courage and genuine strength, War
den Beemer is great in kindness and in love.
"Courage, the highest gift, that scorns to bend
To mean devices for a sordid end.
Courage an independent spark from Heaven's
bright throne,
By which the soul stands raised, triumphant,
high, alone.
Great in itself, not praises of tho crowd,
Above all vice, It stoops not to bo proud.
Courage, tho mighty attribute of powers above,
By which those great In war, aro groat In love.
Tho spring of all brave acts Is seated here,
As falsehoods draw their sordid birth from fear."
RICHARD L. METCALFE.
INDIANAANDTHE PRIMARY PLEDGE
Indiana stands eighth in the number of pri
mary pledges returned to The Commoner office.
While the democrats of Indiana have done good
work in pushing this plan of organization, the
field in that state has by no means been covered,
and every Indiana democrat should determine to
do his part in order that his party, by becoming
thoroughly representative of its rank and file,
may prove itself to ben worthy of public con
fidence. In 1896 there were cast in Indiana 305,573
democratic votes. In 1904 the number of demo
cratic votes registered at Indiana polls amounted
to 274,345. Here is an apparent loss in eight
years of 31,228 votes. In 1900 the democratic
votes cast in Indiana were 309,584, but in 1904,
Indiana democrats registered 35,239 votes less
than the number registered in 1900.
No one at all familiar with the situation
imagines that this is fairly representative of In
diana's political sentiment. On the contrary it
is safe to say that there are. at this time more
genuine democrats in the Hoosier state than at
any other period in history. These men will vote
the democratic ticket whenever the democratic
party proves true to itself by demonstrating that
it is faithful to public interests.
Thanking the good democrats of Indiana for
the work they have done, The Commoner urges
them to renew activity along the lines of the
primary pledge plan. And those who have not
so far helped-in this work are urged to lend a
hand. Great good will be accomplished if every
democratic reader of The Commoner in Indiana
will ask every democrat of his acquaintance to
sign the primary pledge; and to call upon his
own neighbor to do likewise. In every county a
number of democrats might organize for the pur
pose of circulating the primary, pledge form in
every precinct obtaining the signature of every
democrat who is willing to discharge his duty
to his party. The primary pledge plan will be
found to be advantageous as a basis for an or
ganization of democratic clubs. These clubs
should be organized in every county of the state
and in every precinct of the county, and through
them effective work could be done for the per
petuation of democratic principles.
m
As this copy of The Commoner may be read
by some one not familiar with the details of tho
primary pledge plan, it is necessary to say that
according to the terms of this plan every demo
crat is asked to pledge himself to attend all of
the primaries of his party to be held between
now and the next democratic national convention,
unless unavoidably prevented, and to secure a
clear, honest and straightforward declaration of
the parly's position on every question upon which
the voters of the party desire to speak. Those
desiring to be enrolled can either write to The
Commoner approving the object of the organiza
tion and asking to have their names entered on
the roll, or they can fill out and mail the blank
pledge, which is printed on page 5.
Extracts from letters received at The Com
moner office follow:
L. V. S. Kellison, Willmathsville, Afb It is
but little I can do, but I am willing to do all
I can. I cast my first vote for Stephen A. Douglas,
the next was for Lincoln. That was the only
republican ticket I ever voted, but I thank the
Lord I never voted for Cleveland. While I am
anxious to do all I can, I must confess I have
but little hopes of success. Enclosed you will
find my pledge, and I will do all I can for The
Commoner and for reform. I hope and pray that
God will bless W. J. Bryan and the members
of his family, giving them a safe and enjoyable
trip around the world. I highly appreciate the
fine sentiments Mr. Metcalfe puts in his writings.
Best wishes to all concerned.
Samuel Wilson, Cosby, Tenn. Enclosed find
my primary pledge and four others. We will do
all we can for the party. We are heartily in
favor of Mr. Bryan's plan, and will stand by
him and the principles of our party as enunciated
by him. Wo hope to live to see the day when
we will have a real democrat in the White House.
L. J. Matthews, Newark, N. J. Mr. Hearst
was beaten if he is beaten the same as Henry
George was beaten, with Theodore Roosevelt and
Abram S. Hewitt. When Theodore's chance
looked slim he advocated the election of Hewitt.
For the second time the republicans supported
Tammany With their record of defrauding
James G. Blaine, Samuel J. Tilden, Bryan twice,
and with their last attempt on Hearst, if con
victed and sent to prison it will make the greatest
showing on earth for the state. I send you a
few signers to the primary pledge. J suppose
on Mr. Bryan's return he will be able to witness
inuncipal reform in most of the states. It looks
very much like the last run of shad with the
grafters.
J. M. Crutchley, Catlin, 111. Enclosed find
list of ninety-four primary pledge signers. Al
though seventy-one years old, am not able to
get around as much as I would like to. yet I
have not quit working for the cause there is too
much here to be done. Yours for true democ
racy. T. A. Dodge, Editor the Milan Standard, Mi
lan, Mo. I send a number of primary pledges
duly signed.
P. J. Coffman, Owensboro, Ky. T send 35
signatures to the primary pledge.
Wm. C. Schade, Albany, N. Y. Enclosed find
primary pledge properly signed. I heartily en
dorse the plan proposed. I do not believe In a
government of the few to the exclusion of tho
many. Let every democrat aid in the work out
lined by Mr. Bryan and democracy will surely
triumph in 1908.
Wm. Henton, Miami; Mo. Enclosed find pri
mary pledge with twelve names. This Is the
second list I have sent in. I think The Com
moner is doing a great and good work In this
line, and aside from this work it gives the names
and addresses of many in one's own state by
which we can meet one another through corres
pondence in regard to state issues.
Wm. Stewart, Monrovia, Calif. You will find
enclosed list of pledges of all good democrats,
which I could get up to present time, but may be
able to do better in a short time. I wish Tho
Commoner success.
Lexie Parsons, Parchment Valley, Wost Va.
Enclosed please find 11 primary signatures to
the primary pledge. I heartily endorse Mr.
Bryan's plan.
W. A. Tolder, Ullin, 111. Enclosed you will
find primary pledge signed by twenty-seven demo
crats. I found one democrat who refused to sign.
Those who did sign seemed to be not only will
ing but anxious. George C. Vick, A. Echols and
J. W. Sickling assisted me. Please send sample
copies of The Commoner to the enclosed names.
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