The New York herald., 1874-10-04
A STRANGE PROCEEDING.
spectors-How Notorious Convscts are
X Retransferred to Sing sing-What
4 Nen


Il Retransferred to Sing sing-What
Does II Meant
A new feature or State Prison msmanagement
and one the meaning OF which 1t would be perhaps
difncut to explain on any hypothesis credltable to
the inspectors, is the frequent retrans!erring OF
notorious convicts 70 Sing sing from Auburn ana
clinton Prisons 1t is only recently that on the oc-
casion OF a draft of fifty men from the former
place. which, In compliance with the law, can only
oe ordered when the cells are oyercrowded.
the keepers who iook them 10 the interior OF the
state, brought hacE with taem thiry-hye other
lallbrds who had previously been transferred on
various occasions rom the more desirable quart
ers to which iuey we're there and then returned.
ong these latter are many who stand high ON
the calendar of crime, ana whose terms OF SEN
teEce vary trom five 10 fifteen years. within
the past lew days another batcl of eight
Jailords succeeded in having themselves
rcconsisnea TO sing sing Prison. after
spending months or years, as the case NAV be, in
the almost homeless atmospbere ~ thosn are AIDED
penal Institutions nj Auburn anu Clinton our Of
the number last mentioned hve were twenty wears
men, two serving terms ot fifteen years each and
the 0tnef undergoing sentence OF mprisOnmenL
for life. Taken together, tney are said 10 he the
worss. and most desperate gang taat could oc.
the twenty years men Is "Steyen Roy!e bet.
ter known tie .'butcher cart thef"
and who. II may be reeoccted, shot ana kea
deputy sheriff Who attempted 10 arrest tim NJ
Kalamazoo. Mich. tie ned to New iork ana there
pefpe rated Il burglary, iOr Wnlcn ne was con-
vieied and senteaeed 10 sing sing for the period
named, while the sword OF justice IS SIM sus.
pended over his head in relation 70 the Mchi-
gan murder Another 0f the gang thus sent back
to pleasant quarters from whence taer getting
away Is only question oi tlme, Is the
notorious Patrick Finnegan, who SHORTLY after his
arrival during The past week, made n determined
EFFORT 10 escape Ia Il small Loaf and ONLY surren-
dered wnen the proximity OF two rifle balls To his
head had adm0nlsded MIN that third shot might
produce u dead cnnVict. AT hat time he, WIN
another, mad rowed two-inlrds OF tue distance
across the HUDSON River Ia the direction ol Rock
land county.
1t Is apparent that the reason for transferring
men VINO nave been sentenced u lengthy terms OF
imprisonment rom sing sing to Aubu II ANA Cin-
ton prisons, when i aratt becomes cessafe. Is,
ttat the chance Tor escaping rom the tYo latter
places are ptoverbaly poor the criminal
ciasses oi the community KNOW Intimately. Chap
ter 45l, section H. of the Laws OF 1874, reads that
the removal OF convicts rom one Irlson TO an
other shall be ordel ed ''wnen IN the Judgment OF
the Board the intevess oi the state or
the health or Improvement OF tae con-
Wet convicrs demand II, when
IL Is otherwise material or IN iurtEerance of jus
tice.' Since this law was enacted last January it
IL said tfat more tnan 100 hardened conycts have
been Ietrdnslerred from tile prlsOn mentioned to
tnat ~ sing sing, and II Is generally believed that
the requirements OF the stature quoted 40 not
justify the changes IN scarcely single instance.
In the neghborGo0d OF sing sing the action OF the
inspectors Is beng severely critciseI, II being
! considered indeensibe Oh any ground compatible
with official integrity