Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-05-11
SOME FURTHER EtC7S
ABOUT TIE sEw JAIL AND THE ATT&PES II
ESCAPE FROM IT.
J,nr Gsrgs wsisgrbr Talks About the Silua-
sa, and Cridcisss the "In!slEgencr'
Article Of Yesterday.


tnere WAS odu SooS u "H"N -
,cally known as sour grapes in the
Intelligence, yesterday morning, the
melting cause being the fact that that
paper didn't get the facts about the at
tempted jail delivery, at the time the
matter was news and worth having.
Not being in the frame Of mind to give
the authorities credit for having
not only frustrated the plans OF
the prisoners, under very adverse
circumstances, but for ascertainlng ali
the guilty parties TO the scheme ana &C
enmulating evidence 10 be used against
Them in melting out the punishment
prescribed oy law, the Htelligeacer pro-
seeded 10 do q lot OF people a grave In
lustice. mistated the facts, and made
,ome criticisms born rather OF long
nursed preiudice than OF desire 70 sub
Ierve public ends.
Jailer George Weiszerber was asked
about the Intelligenccr'S statement yes
terday, aud said
,STbere is scarcely fact in the entire
statement. The story that more prop
erty has been destroyed since January
1st than during the previous four years
IS false. The attempt 20 escape, dis
covered in January, was not made IN
der the administration OF Sheriff Franz
helm. but was while Jailer Dimmy was
still here. The hole made in the wall at
that time vas for the use Of Elsie Gray.
who was under sentence for the penl-
Tertiary, and who left January 9th, out
who was being held as a witness. When
] took charge We kept the prisoners
locked up for four or five days,
and found out about 1t. The matter
was brought TO the attention OF the
Commissioners, and the Committee then
had the peep holes placed ia the wall;
before that the wall had no opening
whatever. The holes cant Do used
now without the prisoners susDl-
cions being aroused, for they can
see every one who goes up
stairs. The Commissioners visited
the Jail and looked at the hole In the
wall made by the prisoners, except
Mr.. Volinger. l suggested then
that boiler plates De set up and
bolted TO the wall, but Mr.. VOllinGer
objected and said it was safe. He said:
when the Jail was built, and there are
iron bars in the wall. They're
Just getting through to the
hard part told him there
were no bars there but that they stop
ped at the Top OF the cells, but be in
sisted he was right, for l was on the
Committee l asked him TO go up snd
look, bat he refused, and then l referred
him to Contractor hurry, who was
there, and Mr.. hurry said l was right,
that there were no bars there, and that
the Commissioners had stopped put
ting them in any higher up, thinking
they would be Of no Use.
''Mr. Cooke, OF BenwOOd, never
informed US Of anything. We got on 10
the attempt to escape ourselves, through
nv seeing mortar on the pipe where
prisoners had climbed up. Then we set
about finding out who was in the plot.
Looking through the peep holes man
ncould be seen working, but he could not
he recognized readily, aud when We
identified one or two, finally, we still
wanted 10 learn OF the others. We
Finally found out every man,are In pO-
sitiOn W give sworn testimony, and the
guilty parties are in their cells.
"As for tools being brought In, the
only things which came from the out
yside was knife and pair OF scissors.
The rest were taken from the hunks or
found abOu1 the cell building. The iron
bars OF the hunks ais only brazed on,
not riveted, AID any man can break
them off. We have been careful to
search prisoners f4tSs most thorough
manner, and exc Nall the precau-
tions possible, but Neral arrange
ments are bad, and one ia the
day time 10 watch lie Jail, cook
meals, act as janlto seHger, guard,
aud do the buying he prison.
often have 20 leave own meals as
high as half a dozen to answerthe
door. At the city W ouse they have
five men, and two he lookup TO
watch vags aud dru with as many
more as may be want Lat the upstairs
Office, but here, wit desperate and
shrewd men charge with felonieS,
there is but one nan in the
day time and another at
night. Every moved nc | make is
watched by the prise rs, and l can't
leave the Office or so or down stairs
without the prisoners owing it. One
key will unlock ever door, from the
cells to the street, a several plots to
do me up and mako an escape have
been discovered and frustrated. Men
now In Jail, with ex wllent chances Of
going over the road, penly brag that
they will never 20, hid we can only
trust 20 luck. One attempt was made
to saw of bars in II q basement, next
the Court House, audi another plot was
fixed TO have the baI rs in the laundry
cut az night by lfricnds OF priS-
oners going through the Jail yard
and dropping over THE stone wall, the
men TO escape when igOing TO the laun-
dry 20 wash, three at la time. That was
prevented by tearing out two OF the
laundry tubs and putting them in the
cell building. Theke is an inch wood
door leading from thk foot OF the laun-
dry stairs around Vunder the Court
House, which any prisoner might have
used in the past, and with
one man here, II is a constant
risk aud a constant worry. The
idea of having soil buckets I'm a modern
Jail has been rldiculed by half-a-dOzen
officials from other pl4ces, vet IL was
the act OF the commissioners, and iron
buckets were supplied. There are many
other facts and conditions which will
afford room Tor legitimate criticisms,
bat there Is no ground either for ridicule
lOr abuse or the oihclals, who are work
Vng under very unsatisfactory circum-
ktances."
a brieklayer repaired the brick wall
Pver the cell building, yesterday, by
order OF the Committeeion Court House
Ind Iail