Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-11
JAIL KEEPERS FIRED.
The Prison Board Decides Against
Price and Larimer.
THEIR SUCCESSORS NOT NAMED.
Report Of the Investigation Is Made Public
and Tallies
WITH THE FACTS PREVIOUSLY PRINTED

make public the report OF the jail Inves-
tigating Committee on the Fitzsimmons es-
cape. Every point Of Importance was con-
tanned in synopsis of the report, pub
lished in THE DISPATCH shortly after it
was drawn up. But the official document
was not made public until yesterday. 1t
Is as follows;
To the President and the Members OF theBoard OF
Prison Inspectors, Allegheny County:
GENTLENEN-As your Quarterly Committee
we have endeavored to discharge the duty
assigned Us by your instruction of the 10th
instant and beg to report briefly our conclu-
sions founded, as We believe upon the evil
dence with reference 20 the escape of Fitz-
simmons on the night of September IA.
In the course Of the examination we ex-
Rmined l2 officers OF the jail, nine prisoners
and seven persons interested in the institu-
tion. In presenting our views regarding the
escape OF Fitzsimmons we desire to state
hrsu
That we believe we are entirely justified
in the statement that he passed out OF the
jsn 70 the window over the roof of the
wArden's residence. 1t seems quite evident
that after leaving his cell that he passed to
ths south corner of the south wing and
climbed from the second to the fifth range,
which Is about on a level with the window
referred to above, and distance of about
eight feet from said window.
HOW THE ESCAPE WAS MADE.
From the testimony Of one of the prisoners
on the fifth range we are led to believe Fitz-
simmons passed to the north end of the
wing in order, no doubt, to ascertain the
location of the night.watch and what he was
now doing. He then returned to the south
end OF the range and, with stick four feet
LONG and O wire hook the end, reached
the rope attached 20 the top OF the window,
11ad fp in After
reaching the window we believe it only re-
Ouired from 80 to 4G minutes to saw the inch
iron bar through which he escaped None
OF the officers of the jail knew anything
about the escape until after6 O'Clock Tues
day morning.
on the night Of the escape James Larimer
was the officer on duty. From the seat
occupied by Mr.. Larimer it is impossible to |
see the cell OF Fitzsmmons or the window |
from which he escaped. Nh. Larimer did |
not make another round after the one he |
testified he began at O'Clock. tits reasona- /
bic TO conclude that he was not even IN !
position to see Fitzsimmons' cell or the |
window from LOO to A. NJ He said he left |
his chair several times TO chase rats. passed |
around the circle as far as the library, and |
from that point looked down the range con- |
tanning Fitzsimmons' cell.
This officer admitted that he slept while 1
on duty. He testified he did not think ne |
had slept the night Of FitZsimmons' escape, /
because he was not sleepy, The officers OF |
the jail from the Warden down to the watch
man seem to concur in the general state
templated escape of FItzsfnmons.
WERE WARNED IN TIME.
It's true, however that according TO The
testimony OF P. J. Murphy and Harry Beltz-
hoover shat they saw Mr.. Berlin and Mr..
sOfTel and expressed to them a fear that
there was some movement to effect the
escape of Fitzsimnons.
1t does not however. appear that there
was from that date any extra precautiou to
guard the prison. Evidence of certain
prisoners goes to show that he was schem-
ing and planning from the day he entered |
the prison. He tried to induce the prisoner
Holmes Anderson to unite with him in the |
effort. He tried to bribe Rangeman James |
s. Ward, also prisoner, to aid him In the |
attempt
We obtained information that in the
month of May, while in the hospital attend
ing q sick prisoner, Mrs. Emma Clark had
several small saws in her possession We
Immediately sent for Mrs Clark, whose
testimony regarding the saws is as follows:
81 refuse to answer TO whom 1 gave the
saws which had. 1 refuse to tell until
see nv attorney Tney were gwen me oy
an officer of the jail, but decline to give his
In answer to a question she said it was not
she Warden.
''was it Nike Price?"
81 will not say. He might not have known
what they were. They were in a sealed en-
several small ones. 1 do not know just how
long had the saws. 1t was before my trial
that got them.
1T was not Mr. Mcintyre nor Mr. Lari-
mer, nor Mr.. Irwin who gave them to me.
gave them back to the officer who gave them
70 me. decline to answer whether 1t was
Mike Price. I never asked for the saws. /
handed them back in the same envelope in
which they came TO the officer who gave
them to me. l think that more than one
officer knew of this. In the envelope with
the saws was q note from Fitzsimmons say
iDg:
FTTzsIMMoSs WAS CONFIDENT.
IF you want to use these saws use them
and 60 I have got good help here. 1 gave
sl0.0. The man who stood on my range
close to my cell is the man who is my friend,
and you may know will not get Left
The morning that the saws were brought
simmons. He did not say to whom he gave
the money. This occurred before my trial.
While crossing the bridge one day during
my trial, Fitzsimmons said to me:
" 1t is only matter of time until CO.
THE saws were given to me in the day
time in the hospital, in rather long enVel-
lope. It was Nj e Price who gave them to
me. Berlin was in the jail talking to Fitz-
simmons at the time Price gave me the
SAVE Fitzsimmons one time in church
opened his coat and pointed to his vest or
coat and showed his wife revolver. could
see it,"
Annie Bell, now discharged was in prison
In April or May. She was in the hospital L
for about three weeks assisting Mrs. Clark I
TO nurse and wait on Miss Shelter, who was
Mrs. Clark,H says Annie Bell, "nsd no
saws while 1 was with her in the hos
pital. She received them after left. She
cid not tell me how or from whom she
received them. She showed them to me
IN the washroom after she came out Of
the hospital; she kept them in her
stockings. There were three saws. 1 saw
Mrs. Clark talk to Mike Price every day in L
the hospital He brought her letters and
would stand and talk to her through the
wire door. Their talks would last for a
brief period of time. Mrs. Clark always
seemed anxious to see Price. She would
never let me see the letters Price brought
her, nor would she tell me from whom they
came. Price would pass the letters under
the door and Mrs. Clark would also pass
letters out to him. This went on during the
two or three weeks spent by me in the hos
pitaL
KEEPER PRICES MANY VISITS.
MRS. Clark remained in the hospital for
a period OF two weeks after 1 left. After
returned to my cell 1 frequently saw Mr..
Price going to the hospital while Mrs Clark
remained in it. knew OF no other officer
talking to Mrs. Clark. never saw the War
den at the hospital during that time. 1 am
positive Mr Price visited the hospital every 4
day, and brought letters to Mrs. Clark. L L
n gveT saw any keeper but Price talking to
Mrs. Clark at the hospital door"
Mrs. Clark recalled, said: "Mr. Price and
! had several talks at the hospital. re-
oeived letters through Mr.. Price and gave
him letters Some weeks got two or three
letters and other weeks none. When on the
range I received letters from the hands Of
woman. ! received one letter from Fitz- 4
simmons and it contained the saws. 1 told
Officer Price that would not use the saws;
that I would stand my trial. After reading