Show T uiAH CONVICT = UrUOR George M Walsen Who is Serving a Term for Forgery Has Written a Novel Which Has Been Published in I Mew York II I I I In the person of George M Walscn alias 31 D Rogers alias F BPet tinsel alias Harry i Mnrksuith Utah has a most unique criminal At present pres-ent Walsen is serving a term of four years for forgery He was committed to the penitentiary In November 1898 from the Fourth District court at Provo Pro-vo With the exception of very brief periods he has passed the last twelve years behind prison bars Each offense of-fense against the law has been that of forgery I and he has already served three terms In the State penitentiary of Colorado Watson Is 29 years of i age so that calculating roughly he I has been a jailbird from youth It Is seldom that literature and crime go hand in hand but In Walsens case I such Is u fact F Tennyson Necly the wellknown Now York publisher has just brought out a novel entitled Why Two and Two do Not Make Five The book is by George M Watson and Its alternate alter-nate title Is A Convlcts Romance Watson and Wulsen are one and he I Name person In the recent press notices no-tices of the book the tJtlc is given as Why Two and Two Make Five but t this Is an error OUTLINE OF THE STORY In speaking of the book the New York Journal says JSie work Is a novel which Is the vehicle of much I philosophy and pessimistic thought The author makes his hero escape from the penitentiary at Salt Lake City and go to Park City where a I mine explosion takes place and throws the man of stripes Into spare with such I force that he lands on M ll11 rs The Martians Mar-tians have been stab hing with telescopes I tel-escopes and l there are hundreds of distinguished dis-tinguished citizens assembled to meet him when he nmvis in Ills projectile alrshlp lie b voiTKS the guest of Dul ihos tin PirtiKloui of he Central Republic Re-public or Mars lie la treated with distinction dis-tinction although under the spell of a new honesty he admits that he Is an outcast of earths sofkly lie learns soma remarkable things about Mars They speak not vocally but with their eyes that is I by thought transference They have neither horses nor carriages but a car operated by Intelligence a kind of Martian automobile auto-mobile They have eliminated crime by the elimination of fear and the establishment establish-ment of a universal brotherhood of love a Martian adaptation of Mrs Katherlnc Tingleys new wing of the Theosophical society The convict falls In love with the daughter of the President Presi-dent of the Central Republic and I things are In a fair way for a wedding when the novel closes WRITTEN IN Til 13 PRISON I This book was written In 1SOS at the w penitentiary of Utah Walsen commenced com-menced it February 23rd and it took I him six weeks to complete it It contains con-tains about one hundred thousand I words It Is having a good sale in New York and when he I prison gates I are thrown open to this strange prisoner prison-er he will find that this work of his brain has amassed for him a comforta J J hie sum with which to start a new I I life The officials at the penitentiary have little faith however in Walsens 1 ultimate reformation The fact that he Is serving his fourth term argues I against him they say and the prediction predic-tion ls made that when he is released H will be but a short while before he Is again In the clutches of the law He Is i a confirmed criminal and n bungling one too Three times he had an opportunity op-portunity to reform and In each case + I he has fallen away from the straight and narrow path I WARDEN DOW AIDED HIM I That this strange novel was given to I the literary world Is due to the kindness I kind-ness of heart shown Walsen by War den Dow of the penitentiary When I he was lost committed the warden was I surprised by the strange request that I one of his prisoners wanted to be supplied sup-plied with a groat quantity of writing material and that ln desired to be allowed al-lowed time In which to write a novel The warden grunted the I request and I for six weeks his prisoner worked from ten to twelve hours a day on his book When It was completed he HPIII It to I tin publishers In New Yfirk and it was returned 1 with the statement that they i could nut publish it unless Walsen r would guarantee at least three hundred hun-dred subscribers Then the man oC l stripes Interested Dr 1 Fallen B Ferguson Fergu-son oaf this city in his hook Mrs Ferguson Fer-guson is a Theosophist and frequently lectured to the prisoners at the penitentiary peni-tentiary Snmo time ago she went to New York and took Val cns manuscript manu-script with her empowered lo act In the matter The first l news of her success was the announcement that I the book had been brought out THE CONVICTAUTHOR Through the courtesy of Warden Dow a reporter was permitted to see Walsen at the penitentiary a few days ago It was stated at the prison that he was a model 1 prisoner lie has charge of tin prison laundry and at night he conducts the school for the convicts He is popular with his prison Ion I-on associates and they are all immensely I immense-ly Interested in his novel They seem to regard him as a convict genius of whom they have a just right to be proud and when the copies of his book arrive It will have a good sale at the penitentiary The man of literary inclination has no name at the penitentiary Within the walls of the prison he responds to number 1075 These were the tlgures emblazoned upon his jacket as he came into the wardens private ollice Val I sen is a native of Pennsylvania He is about six feet tall has blue eyes and brown hair lie wears a small mustache I mus-tache Ills features are those of a man I who knows what It Is to have been I hunted by his fellowmen They are heavy and coarse but there is a certain I cer-tain brightness and intelligence in his eyes He talks rapidly l and Intelligently Intelligent-ly and It was evident that he was greatly pleased when informed that his book had been published and was meeting with success At times his language Is stilted and while he makes use of many long and ponderous words the Idea which he wishes to convey Is always concisely and clearly presented I to the mind How did I come to write the book 7 Walsen smiled a smlie of huge proper I lions then settling himself In his Amos h and crossing his legs he prepared pre-pared to answer my Ilrst question toll was an Inspiration If there waw ever I such a thing As soon ns I was sent here 1 dclprmlncd to make a good ac I count of my lime I hate been a newspaper news-paper man and have published a number num-ber of short stories In the papers < hut twenty minutes before I began my Ilrsl serious work I had no Idea what I was going to write about I Just began be-gan It and then it was that the plot came to me I nm under many obligations obliga-tions and Warden Dow for while I I was engaged upon the work he permitted per-mitted mo to have all of my time I worked continuously for six weeks muting In from ten to twelve hours o i I I I 1 f c w tit ti-t + n George M Walsen the Convict Author each day T was greatly Interested In my book and gave It my host thought THE MOTIVE OF THE NOVEL What is the particular pessimistic philosophy embodied in your woik I 1 asked1 There is none he replied That is a mistake which Is doubtless due to the error made In the title of the book for If It has been published under the title of Why Two and Two Make Five 1 can readily understand the critks en or But such was not my intention in-tention that Is to say I advocate no pessimism nor did I intenljIaUy bring out the teaching of theosophy If the book is in any way 1 In accord with theo the-o trines of this society It was entirely entire-ly I unintentional upon my part for It was not until after the novel had been completed that I began to give any thought to theosophy If the work advocates any particular particu-lar faith It Is that of the optimist The fundamentnl I idea is I that every person I in this world seeks for happiness Now what is happiness to me might be misery mis-ery to another person t What I have maintained Is that every person should have an opporlunily to find this happiness happi-ness From this surely you will see that It Is optimism which I have made the basis of the work In this respect I I would not have the world think that my ideas or life for that matter have been limited to the narrow confines that you would naturally associate with a man who passes his days within with-in prison walls I am glad that the hook has met with success and I hope that I will realize a few dollars from iL i 1 IIDOESNT DOESNT WAlsT HIS MOTHER TO KNOW I presume that the book Is published pub-lished > under an assumed name Wai I 1 I fen looked at me very closely for a few 1 moments while a shadow darkened his I 1 i face Then ho replied Yes my Iden I I illy ls not disclosed I would rather sacrifice a million dollars than have j I my old mother know where Tama I dont care so much for myself now be I cause 1 I have gone too far but my respect re-spect fOl my mother Is all that l have I left It Is the one memory that > I have I kept untarnished from the world It IP I the one thing that is holy = in rny life I She has not heard from me for twelve years and even now If she still lives she probably believes mo dead There lt > no possibility of her recognizing in the author of this work her won There was lime when all was very different when youth was bright with hope and promise but It has passed like a I dream and each year sees It grow more and more Indistinct but still I cherish i I this fading memory as a man will sometimes cherish the better and happier 1 hap-pier times of his life Out of respect for that which can j never fall to strike a responsive cord In a persons heart the subject was not I pursued further and Walsen was led I 1 I back to his cell As the heavy iron gates swung to after him the thought came will ever mother and son he given giv-en again to each other in this world Will this book mean a new life and a reformation for the t man of stripes or his It to be that mother and son shall I neverstand acknowledged each to the others face until the day of Judg judgment I I HIS PRISON RECORD j The prison record shows that Wal sen Is a bookkeeper Ills first term was j for four years lie was committed I from El Paso county Colo and served his term In the penitentiary at Canyon I City In that State His second term I vas for three years for the same offense of-fense and he was committed from I Pueblo county Colo His third term was alto for forgery and vas for I eighteen months Again he was committed com-mitted from the same place while as has been told above his last torm was for four years In all tour terms Val sen has won the reputation of being a model prisoner He will be released I from the penitentiary here next November No-vember Clerk John Stowe at the prison pris-on who has taken a great interest In Walsens book and wl LoJias read It declares de-clares that the work Is a most peculiar one He says that it Is crudely expressed ex-pressed thai is from a pnlnt of Ideas but that it is OIhlnaland Interesting Walsen is now working upon another book entitled The Mormon Queen which will deal with polygamy |