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Page 19
Now, Harold, of course we both realize you have done wrong--very
wrong in fact--and you are paying the penalty to society for that
wrong doing. But do it like a good sport--like a good loser--and
not be a whiner or welcher. . . Do not imagine that I am a
maudlin and mouldy old lawyer, or that I am magnifying the error
you made, because such is not the case. I come in contact with
this sort of condition all the time. I realize that what you did
will be done again and again in the future by others. What I
insist is that it shall never again happen to you. I know there
are those associated with you now who are fools enough to
maintain an air of bravado about them, and pretend they have been
wronged by society . . . and they go about here and there telling
what they are going to do when they get out, and how they're
never going to get caught again. That type is hopeless and
utterly worthless, but their greatest trouble is that they lack
brains. They prate about this and that rich man breaking the law
and getting by with it; or this and that bootlegger or what not,
has a pull, or has the authorities bought and paid for, or is too
smooth to get caught. All of which is 90% bosh. Confirmed crooks
are never smart. They invariably . . . get caught. Why? Because
there are smarter and shrewder men after them than they are, and
so, the smarter man wins.
And all the time, the crook is a restless and furtive fugitive,
never feeling safe and secure . . . and never knowing what the
next hour will bring; never having any peace of mind; and never
having any respect for himself.
I am not talking about the boy who, due to youth and
inexperience, or stress of circumstances, or in a spirit of half
excitement, picks a pocket, or sells some hooch, or steals a
watch. . . You come of the right stock. The big thing for you, or
anyone else who has made a mistake, is to get the right mental
attitude toward that mistake. When a fellow finds he is wrong,
reverse then and there. Don't wait and don't try to "bull it
through". . . and make friends, not enemies, of the reformatory
authorities. You will be surprised, yes, amazed, to learn how
badly they want to be friendly with you. . . Show by your actions
and attitude that you realize your mistake, study hard to fit
yourself for life after you get out, don't whine or complain,
don't sulk or slight your work. Brighten and cheer up. And for
God's sake, prove you're a man and not a coward, because all
confirmed criminals are cowards, without exception. . .
For your information, and to play square with you, I think within
the year I shall write your warden or someone, asking how you are
getting along and what sort of young fellow you are, because he
will know, and I hope and trust my good opinion of you will be
verified.
And so, why is it, Harold, that I am taking my time away from my
business, and writing you this long and rather rambling letter?
Surely, I can have no motive of personal profit in it. No, it is
to let you know that not only me but thousands of people all over
this big, free country are interested in you and anxious for you
and those others of you who have made a slip, all of us hoping
and trusting and many praying for your welfare. So don't think
you are friendless or forgotten, or ostracized. And each day and
every hour and conscious moment, never lose sight of the fact
that your coming away from there with the right attitude, the
correct vision, and firm determination of rectitude of future
conduct, depends solely on you.
Write me sometime.
Sincerely,
A LONG WAY FROM HOME
July 17, 1930
Hon. Harry N. Quigley, General Counsel
C.C.C. & St. L. Railway Co.
230 E. 9th St.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Dear Sir:
I was in Houston, Texas, about two months ago on some business
with the Humble Oil Co. An old Chicago lawyer named Hait or Haut
or something like that had business with the same company. . . It
was the time Houston was celebrating the fact they had come to be
the second city in size in the South--a gain of over 100% in ten
years. Parades. Newspaper head lines. Everybody talking "Houston,
Houston." We outsiders got a bit tired and bored with all the
talk. One of the vice presidents of the company took us riding
and to see his country home, all the way out talking up Houston,
and occasionally giving the old man a little peck about Chicago
lawlessness, racketeers and gunmen.
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