Williwaw in Walla Walla

In Walla Walla, Wash. (pop. 26,000), there is a familiar phrase that means bad news: "There's trouble on the hill." The hill is the state penitentiary, and trouble has a long history there. In 1926 some 900 convicts broke out of their cells, and threatened the main gate before they were subdued; in 1934 nine convicts and a guard died in the "Lincoln Day break"; two years ago rioters set a $500,000 fire. Last week trouble came to the hill again.

Cleavers, Axes & Therapy. At 9:45 one morning, four prisoners--two murderers, a robber and a pervert--seized a guard.

Although they were confined to "the hole," a dungeon for "maximum custody" prisoners, the four had managed to make keys to their cells. In a matter of minutes they had nine hostages, including Associate Warden Theodore Bezzerides, and had established themselves in the prison's control room. From there one of them telephoned Business Manager William Connell in the administration building and said: "This is Bezzerides; I'd like to have you come in." Connell did not recognize the voice, asked: "What's your wife's first name?" "Go to hell," snarled the man on the phone. Connell said it was like a williwaw, a gust of cold wind, blowing through the prison. For 26 hours after that, the prisoners were in control of Washington State Penitentiary.

They collected kitchen knives, cleavers, axes, shovels, scissors, hacksaw blades and night sticks. They let all the prisoners they could out of their cells, and directed the preparation of food for prisoners and hostages alike. Associate Warden Bezzerides suggested that he outline their demands. In a shaky hand, he wrote: "Confinement without hope is pointless. Accordingly, we would like to discuss our difficulties from the standpoint of some kind of therapeutic treatments for the men doing time for rules infractions."

"Guaranteed Annual Pardon." Collective-bargaining sessions were arranged. Top negotiator for the state was Dr. Thomas A. Harris, former professor of psychiatry at the University of Arkansas, who became Washington's director of institutions less than a month ago. Within 20 hours after the conferences began, the prisoners had won all of their key demands : 1) a promise that prison authorities will try to circumvent a state law providing special punishment for rioting or holding hostages, 2) transfer from "the hole," 3) establishment of an inmate council, 4) a survey of parole practices and an annual review of sentences. 5) a study of mail-delivery practices. Then the prisoners swaggered back to their cells.

But the trouble on the hill was not over. When guards were ordered to take back control of the prison, they talked of staging their own revolt. Said one: "Those cons have collected weapons we'll be months in finding." Grumbled another: "We should go in there and shake the place down on the pay ($328 monthly maximum) we get?" But finally the guards went back in, and the prison went back to the control of the state. Said one guard: "They gave 'em everything but a guaranteed annual pardon."

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