Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-01-23
SING
SECRETS
Mystery of Communications
Between Convicts.
SILENT SYSTEM PoWEMLEss
News Circulated Throughout
the Prison.


the Prison.
In tho great gray stone structure called
Sing Sing there are always from 1900 tO2,-
OoO cOLvicts, men who have committed
every known crime. They are the pick Of
the criminal population of New York state.
One halt OF them are the product OF New
York city. There are novlces among
them, but the atmosphere there is 80 heavily
charged with the knowledge of experienced
crime. that before they ,eave, the novices
know nearly all the tricks Of the craft.
Silence is supposed to reign supreme In
Sing Sing. A convict is forbidden to con
verse with one another. Ii his lips move
he Is at once bounced upon 10y the watchful
guard and placed in solitary confinement.
1t may jepOrdize his good conduct" record
and force him to selve many months h t
perhaps years, OF confinement, which he
might escape. For this simple reason few
convicts are detected in the act of talking
or conveying information IN any way.
Yet they do talk, and talk often too.
| But how they do it is a mystery which the
officials OF every large prison the world
over would like to solve. In Paris and in
London, where the discipline is perhaps
even stricter than in Sing Sing. the con-
| vlct have a system OF exchanging infOr-
nation. Keepers who have been among
c%onvic;s many years have endeavored to
discover the trick, but without result.
Principal Keeper Connaughton has been
employed in Sing Sing for thirty years.
liz want knnr0 a V,n1vsntp sv1 ~ mud go. Ill.,,
HAIR IS now white. He has intelligence,
and sesides takes more than official inter-
est IN the ~convicts. He Ia continually
studying them and knows more about them
than the average man would ever dream
existed. He has vol the friendship such
as it Is, of innumerable cOnvicts, but great
aS his experience and knowledge are, he
has never been able to fath0m their system
OF communication.
Not only do the cOnvicts manage to ex.
change news. but they do other things.
For instance, q man who had been cOu-
lined for twenty years left the prison on
MS release Whistling one of the latest comic
opera airs. How he managed to pick up
the tune and retain the notes in his mem
ory would puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer.
HOW NEWS TRAVELS.
II there were a presidential election to-
day every convict in Sing Sing ..would
know who was elected the first thing to-
morrow morning, and just how the differ
ent states stood. Every important ne vs.
event which hApp'n MS the world over they
know about, yet to read a newspaper or to
be caught with n Is q serious Offonse.
When . noted prisoner arrives, like q muir
derer doomed to the death chair, every
convict knows all about It before tine clerk
has finished taking his pedigree. Yet the
cOnvicts are separated In . dozen large
buildings. News travels incredibly fast
there and so silently that the vigilance of
the keepers count for naught. It seems
to soak through the stone wells aud make
It's presence felt, only to the u~nfortunates.
Each convict knows the criminal history
OF the others. He knows all the s.bad mem
the mon who would not hesitate Q second
to commit murder, II provoked, even with
10 the stone walls OF the prison. Yet there
II no talking. And there is no talking
with the fingers. When he Is idle In the
work shop for . minute OF two he keeps
bis arms folded on his breast.
d TIE SILENT SYSTEM.
It Is not due to lack OF vigilance that the
men aro able to communicate with each
other. The silent system Is enforced As
carefully - 1t IL possible to enforce it in
an institution where the prisoners are not
kept In solitary confinement When the
men are In the workshops or In the yards
they are almost constantly under the eyes
OF the guarde. They march to and from
their work In the lock step, each squad
looking like . dirty gray caterpillar ~ 1t
swings across the yard and each man In
that squad facing the same way. There IL
not an Instant when the men are unwatch-
ed, and 1t is difficult to explain how they
communicate. OF course, some OF the
tricks have been discovered but these are
only resorted to when particular convIcts
wish To c0nverS.
A COMMON RUsE.
The fake fight Is /. common trick. Two
~convicts without q word OF warning will
spring at each other like enraged tigers
aud clutching D another around the neck
will roll over the ground In . perfect frenzy
Of rage. Blows aud kicks will be dealt
with terrific force but all the time valuable
words will be exchanged. Genuine fights of
this kind are of common occurrence, and 40
faithfully are the fake fights carried cut
i VaA0U ~ ~ W1A1CtAe W 0lOttUAutou tl0 I8ISG
from the real. Criminals who were bitter
enemies In the outside world often meet
for the first tune within the confines OF
Sing Sing. and when they come together
. fierce, IL short, fight Is bound to come oil.
That accounts for the number of genuine
fights.
TELEGRAPHIC CODE.
Criminal lawyers who perhaps know Is
much about convicts ~, II mot more than.
the prison officials themselves, say that
they do have Z number OF we'll recognized
codes OF communication. One OF the best
known methons Of this kind consists Of I
series Of raps corresponding tothe Morse
telegraph. coda. II I prisoner understands
telography, DO may transmit messages h
another prisoner who ID also : telegrapher
By ripping eut tho Korse code lii his cen.
| ar In thu 00a kgh0n or nnaaa fOnm8 witho,,t