Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 September 1949 — Page 17
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Section Three
Editorials ....c.c000v... 18 Politics «i. livesnsann sl Features .....seeess..21
Eight Pages
‘The Indianapolis Times _
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1949
Sheriff Cunningham Fights Losing Battle
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This is your jail . . . Bath tub is plugged up. Leaky id spills filth to basement.
James Whitcomb Riley, shown “here late three-day centennial program
"we
Greenfield Plans Riley : Centennial
‘3-Day Program to Open Oct. 7,
Commemorating Poet's Birth
By VICTOR PETERSON " AT CHURCHTIME exactly 100 years ago come Oct. 7, James Whitcomb Riley was born in a log cabin set back
from the National Roa
in Greenfield.
Only some 300 other people lived in the hamlet and
no doubt felt it dull.
But not the future poet of Indiana.
In every corner of his home he found the seed for poems
which have been repeated by nearly all people living today.
And there was the od swimmin’ hole on Brandywine Creek which came to life in one of the Hoosier poet's most quoted works, The Riley that the people of Greenfield knew is not dead. “He's as alive to us today as he was 50 years ago,” said Ar-
thur C. Downing, president of ..
the James Whitcomb Riley Old Home Society. The society, Mr. Downing and and all of Greenfield now are engrossed in extensive preparations for a three-day celebration marking that day 100 years ago when there was written dn the flyleat of the family Bible ~—'“James Whitcomb "Riley, son of Reuben A. and Elizabeth ‘Marine Riley.” — - -
Photos by Bob Wallace, Times Staff Photographer,
Daily, the 150-bed-capacity County Jail houses 350 prisoners or more. Sherif Cunningham (right) and + Depely Bob Murray are bitter about jail conditions in general.
in his life surrounded by children, will be honored with a marking his birth in Greenfield, Oct. 7, 1849.
THE MAN of verse would not recognize the Greenfield of today compared with that of his childhood. And he wouldn't recognize jt this October. He would, however, realize quickly there was much familiar to him. Every store window will feature the lore of Riley, a picture of the man will hang in every home; cornstalks and ‘pumpkins will dot the Courthouse square. The square will be the hub of activities beginning on the sixth and ending the eighth, It will be a mecca far the schoolchildren of Hancock County, Indiana, and the nation. The colors of fall flowers and foliage will run riot in a blanket backing the poet's statue fronting the Courthouse. . - .
EVEN MORE imposing will ‘be a T7-foot Tower of Flowers.
From a 20-foot base it will nar-
Seepa damagé Pr into basement full-time plumber.
y EDWIN CO. HEINKE
lk! Bo bi | ; i x (ORDINARILY a sheriffs praise their county jails
and try to cover up the defects. But Sheriff Jim Cunningham is a realistic man. Beads of sweat stood out on Sheriff Cunningham’s
forehead as he toured the jail last week on one of those
cool days. “I've never seen things worse,” said the sheriff. “In a state where there are plenty of bad jails, I think Marion County has one of the worst. “We're fighting a losing battle. Wé try to keep ‘the
place clean but the old building is deteriorating so fast
we're helpless.” oN . 8 =
SHERIFF CUNNINGHAM on his inspection trip -
saw a complete breakdown of the plumbing ‘systém that has resulted in stopped-up urinals spilling their filth three floors to the basement below. . He saw bathtubs half filled with stagnant water in which more than one man has bathed. He admitted that despite 24-hour efforts on the part of his deputies, rats, red ants, bedbugs, roaches, vermin in general swarm through the jail, even in his living quarters that he shares with his brother Robett.and his wife.
“If the vermin fills other parts of the jail what do you expect in the residential quarters?” asked the sheriff. em & ; we SHERIFF CUNNINGHAM’S requests for monéy to employ a fulltime maintenance man at the aged jail have fallen on deaf ears in County Council, So have his requests for decent mattresses to replace the bug-ridden-straw ticks that have been. in the cells for years,
Amusements ......22, 23
ge from Hopped ubirinels three floors above caises
Mrs. Mildred Davis, Greenfield artist, brings to life with her brush familiar characters from the Hoosier Bard's perms.
puty Murray finds. Jail can't get
S80 have his complaints that other branches of the city and government have contributed to a situation where the jail with a capacity for 150 prisoners has a dally average of 350, many times as high as 400 and 450. “Now I've finally taken matters into my own hands” Sherif Cunningham declared. “These prisoners are human beings and I'm going to try te treat them as such.”
y 8 8 ” ff " » THE SHERIFF disclosed that he personally ordered 250 leather-covered mattresses from Pendleton Reformatory for $2300 +Withagit authorization of county commissioners or council. K se of the crowded conditions in which eight men sleep in a cell that accomodates four prisoners, the men have to sleep on concrete floors. “Even if they are prisoners I'm going to see‘ that they sleep on decent mattresses and have blankets to cover them." Sheriff Cunningham said he had received a call last week from County Auditor Ralph Moore asking by what authorization he had purchased the mattresses. Auditor Moore was Bngering a $2300 bill rom, ne Sate of Indiana.
“I ORDERED “them without authorization and “turthermore I'm going to keep them and the county is going to pay for them,” Sheriff Cunningham snapped. - Auditor Moore, in complete quandary, explained that he was only trying to operate in a business ‘way and that he wanted to “protect Jim and myself.” Meanwhile the mattresses have been distributed to prisoners and it appears the state is going to find itself with an unpaid $2300 bill on its hands. “Let them sue, I'll go to jail.” declared Sheriff Cunningham. “And furthermore, I'm going to order some blankets the same way. I'm not going to. see-the men treated like dogs or even worse.’
- . ” ¥ » » » MEANWHILE the sheriff plans to renew his attempts to get a fulltime maintenance man to repair the plumbing system. “Contractors have told me it is useless to it and that complete new plumbing should be. installed and replaced with showers. “I'll get to that later somehow,” vowed the sheriff,
Blind Man
Goes fo Races * And Ball Games
GLENN PITTMAN of 1402 | N. Gale St. doesn’t try to sell anyone a bill of goods about blindness being without its disadvantages. He'd like to see some of the baseball games and auto races he attends. He'd like ‘to see those record changers he turns out with such amazing speed and accuracy on his job at RCA. It wouldn't be bad, either, to see some of the girls who . swish by—or to look upon his many, friends. “But I don’t let my. blindness worry me,” Glenn says. He is 4 convincing, so great is his zest for living, so broad his smile, -80 quick his humor. " Glenn seldom misses auto races, particularly the women's events, at Midget Speedway. “Those I got to see,” he says every time the women race, He often attends the 500-Mile Race.
. . ~ THOUGH he’s been blind since childhood, Glenn has a fine time living. The lines of least resistance, self-pity and
likes to meet new people and goes out, of his way to do fit. Instead of confining hiself to eating on the plant grounds, he roams all over the neighborhood, trying new places. Glenn is only 23, but already he is a trained assembler and radio man. Ever anxious to get ahead, he took a machine shop course at Tech High School last spring. He went to RCA last December after working at Ray Kief-
8t., and Smity’'s Radio Shop, 154 W, 16th St. His former associates recall disbelieving that Glenn could repair radios. But they were generous in their applause when he proved it. On radio repair jobs he hears test. equipment Instead of seeing it, as the radio men with sight do. ‘. ” » SECRETARIES in radio shops were he has worked remember his cheerfulness, his courage and his good manners. One says “He was marvelous
old bathtubs
seclusion, are not for him. JAP%E,-
er's Radio Shop, 129 W. 34th
key Postical;
This is the famous old swimmin' hole on Brandywine Creek, which the poet immortalized in verse. In
the scene, Mr. Riley (loft) rests on the bank with two of his friends.
row to six feet at the - top. Around it will be Wrapped 4800 square feet of wire mesh. Here will be attached bouquets from all the grades of all the schools in Hooslerland. It is expected thefe also Will be a great outpouring’ of floral gifts from over the nation. And the poet's works will live for visitors. Tableaux of. his characters ‘will
surround the courthouse. The work of Mrs. Mildred Davis, artist and doll creator, they will be shown in shadow boxes. Meanwhile, the American Legion is preparing 4 mock tree in which a little boy will crouch while a bear waits patiently be neath: A final touch will feature a log cabin with Aust Mary standing in the doorway.
Approaching will be the familfar figures of two small-town boys, one with fishing pole on shoulder, the other carrying a pail. 80, early in October, Greenfield will be transported back to those days when the popula tion was small but the inspiration was great for James Whit comb Riley, ;
to work with.”
Another recalls, “He never
once missed the curbs between,
our radio shop and the trolley lihe—and he didn’t use a cane, either,” ’ Glenn began his education in the Indiana State School for the Blind. He graduated from high school there. Ever enthusiastic over activities, he
played the drums in the school -
orchestra. He also found time to “shoot baskets” in the gymnasium, and did a lot of skating.
1
n ‘Worst’ Jail
Prisoners are forced to sleep on floors outside cells because of jammed-up conditions. New leather ’ mattress Cunningham bought without authorization is in front,
"Seven men sleep In quarters for four, causing one man fe spend night sleeping on urinel,’
Appreciates Life
Glenn Pittman .
He took -an assortment of subjects among which were piano tuning, woodworking and broom making. Through the Division of Vecational Rehabilitation of the Indiana Department of Public Instruction, he enrolled in the Radio Engineering Institute in
Home Building Up 25%
HOME BUILDING {is up 25 per cent in the Marion County area this year. Home production for the year is expected to reach 5000 new dwelling units, the Marion County Residential Builders, Inc., reported yesterday. The Parade of Homes, sponsored. by the Marion County Builders in conjunction with The Indianapolis Home Builders Assn. will display more than 200 of these dwellings in Parade of Homes Week which begins next Sunday. . » .
WHILE production figures
are not completed for BSeptember it is expected that the total so far this year will ex.ceed 3500, up 700 from last year. The production of rental units, contrary to public Spitileny
. . Zest best test of living fully.
LEC
. Omaha, Neb, Following educa= «tion there, he returned to Ine dianapolis and has always had ‘work. Glenn and his mother, Mrs, Opal Pittman, live togethes, He has a brother, Cecil, living in Zionsville, .4nd "a sister, Gen- . eva Berry, in Cicero. ~~
roughly one-fifth, will rent for $50 a month or less. The builders reported that more - than 2000 rental units have been constructed since the war, builders reported. has been strong but unpredicte able. Last year the bulge was in August. But the year before the production line almost rem off the chart in October. While houses are moving in all price ranges, builders struck an unexpected bonanza in the lower priced field. Many had felt that trade in higher priced houses had simmered down and turned toward the economy or thrift home to keep going. Here they found a vigorous and virtually untapped Doubled up Tania
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