The Anaconda standard., 1895-12-23

when they are doubled up in their
cells. and we are poweriess to pre-
vent IL. Then again. in the workshops
they find chances to communicate
more or less. although we watch them
closely and attempt to prevent 1T"
What are the methods of communi-
cation with each other that you have
discovered?" asked the reporter. G.
why. they have all sorts of
schemes" answered Mr.. Connaughton.
Many of these men are skilled me-
chanics. and not a few of them are
men of active and trained minds. They
find their life here monotonous, and
they turn their attention to devising
different methods of communication
that the keepers can not detect. Five
or six years ago we had a case that
was rather unusual. Two convicts
who were at work in the yard got into
a hot fight without any warning. They
pounded and smashed each other at a
great rate until the guard separated
them. and as punishment sent them
to the dark cell. One might have
thought from the way they fought
that they had started in to kill each
other. AS a matter of fact IL devel-
oped later that ii was simply a sham
fight. and that the men wanted to be
sent to the dark cells because they
thought that there they would have a
better opportunity to plan an escape.
1 learned of their scheme. and they
punched each other for nothing. One
OF the Oldest games among convicts
Is to report sick. When a man so re-
ports he stays in his cell until he is
marched to the hospital to see the
doctor. Sometimes this gives him an
opportunity to communicate with an
other convict"
Mr.. Connaughton does not believe
that there is a generally recognized
secret system of communication be-
tween the convicts by some code. He
says that he has often heard such a
system hinted at, but he has never in
his personal experience seen any evil
dence of it, 1T is impossible" said
Mr.. Connaughton. unless the solitary
system of confinement is enforced, to
prevent communication among con-
victs. Sometimes the prisoners COM
municate by letters with each other,
and 1 have frequently captured such
letters that were intended for the hall
man. The convict may leave his letter
in his cell with a request for the hall
man to deliver ii to some other pris-
oner. and IL the hall man chooses to
oblige him he may conceal the letter
and slip II to the convict for whom II
is intended"
Prison keepers say that some of the
convicts become so expert in disguis-
ing the motions of their lips in talking
that they can communicate with each
other in the mess hall without arous.
ing the suspicious of the keeper. Their
lips seem to be moving simply for the
purpose of eating. The convicts in
Sing Sing are allowed to see their
friends every two months, and in this
way they get some opportunity to
send some message to their friends
outside. Mr.. Connaughton has many
hnx q
general code of communication i'm use.
the rapidity with which news circu-
lates among the convicts can be ac-
counted for.
II don't account for it." he invari-
ably says. 'and 1 don't understand IL.
l don't believe there was a convict in
Sing Sing prison on the morning after
the last election who didn't know what
the result was. some of them un-
doubtedly heard the keepers talking
about IL, but IL puzzles me to explain
how all of them got the news. When
there is an execution in the prison the
news of 1t travels just as swiftly, al
though every precaution is taken to.
keep ii a secret from the prisoners.
Criminal lawyers, who perhaps know
as much about convicts as, IL not more
than the prison officials themselves,
say that they do have a number of
well recognized codes of communica-
ton. One of the best known methods !
of this kind consists of a series of raps
corresponding to the Morse telegraphic
code. If a prisoner understands teleg-
raphy he may transmit messages to
another prisoner who is also a teleg- d
rapher by rapping out the Morse code
in his cell. or in the workshop or NESS J
room. without very much fear of de-
lection. OF course the success of this
plan depends upon both men knowing
the Morse code, but a knowledge OF
telegraphy is so common NOWADAYS
and so very useful to the experienced
crook that many of them do know 1t.
In some of the carelessly constructed
prisons IL has been discovered that the
convicts have used the water pipes to
construct a series of speaking tubes.
and in several cases they have success
fully planned escapes in this way.
There are probably no prisons In the
world where discipline is maintained
more strictly than in the French pris-
ons. and yet not long ago a French
authority who was writing on the SUBJ
tect commented on the surprising fact
that news of importance was known TO
the convicts within these prisons al
most as quickly as IL they had been
supplied with the daily newspapers.
He stated that despite the efforts OF
the keepers the men in these French
prisons are fully abreast of the times
in politics and the news of the day.
and he did not attempt to explain how
they succeeded in getting their infor-
nation"
Men who are familiar with Sing
Sing prison and the difficulties in the
way of enforcing strict discipline have
long contended that the prison build
ings are entirely inadequate. The
process has for years been
necessarily carried on against the pro-
tests of officials and with the ears of
legislators persistently closed to their 4
appeals. When IL is understood that a
single cell is three and a half feet 4
wide. six and one-half high and seven 1
feet long. and that the cell door is so
narrow that a man of bulky form ]
would be obliged to squeeze himself
through. one may reflect upon what
the doubling-up process means. One
convict fills a cell and two are crowded
into II. Sing Sing has had its share OF
escapes in the last half dozen years,
and many of them can be directly
traced to the inadequate buildings
DIR. Meyers case is an illustration of
the ease with which a desperate GRIM
inal can plot crimes and direct their