I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!

Foreword

F O R E W O R D I am a fugitive from the law—but NOTFROM JUSTICE . Discharged from the army, after the World War, a broken man, I committed a petty crime in Georgia, was caught, convicted, sentenced to ten years on the Georgia Chain Gang. On June 21, 1922, after serving a few months, I made a miraculous escape. I went to Chicago. After seven years of honest and industrious toil I beat my way up from being an unknown escaped convict to holding an honored place in society. I was in love with a beautiful woman, who loved me also. Another woman, knowing my secret for years and using it to her advantage, betrayed me. In the midst of a winning fight to defeat extradition, I voluntarily returned to the jurisdiction of Georgia, expecting to receive human understanding and common justice . I got neither. A country-wide effort was made to secure my release. But it failed. The law demanded its pound of flesh. On September 4, 1930,1 made another successful escape from the chain gang. I havejust suffered from a catastrophe that would destroy the average man. I have escaped the bottomless depths of Hell. 5 I AM a fugitive! ^ Foreword But Georgia cannot win! Risking detection and a return to the chain gang, I have decided to write the true story, WHILE IN HIDING, of my entire case. ROBERT E. BURNS ...