Columbus, Ohio
Wed, Sept. 6, 1916
My Dear Parents: -
You have probably heard about our company walking out Mon. because of the rotten food. We got caught before night and are in the city prison. I don't know whether or not we will get out before Sat. The eats here are better than those we got at camp. I am O.K. & don't want you to worry. We are not in single cells, but are all together, 32 of us are here in the lockup. We sing & raise the dickens in general. They treat us grand here and are all in sympathy with us. I am sure that the penalty will not be mush as the whole company are practically are refusing to do anything until we are properly fed. Don't worry if you don't hear from me for several days.
Howard
The above is a photo from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, showing the Columbus City Prison where Howard dined on fine food with his compadres in 1916. The prison burned in 1920.
The city prison also served as the police headquarters at the time. I can imagine that the "jailers" probably did their best to make the boys as comfortable as possible. It sounds as if they may have even been more comfortable than at Camp Willis!
In his next letter (sent in the same envelope with this letter), Howard alludes to the newspaper coverage of this story, so I'll try to dig that up for next time.
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