The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-20

CLOSET WIND w THROUGH WHICH STRAIGHT
ESCAPED.
The Jersey City prison is at the corner Of
Gregory street and Cooper place. 1t Is In the
north end of tho building used as the Head.
quarters Of the police and the Gregory street
police station. The prison proper is separated
from the rear of the building by a corridor
leading from the police station north. At the
prison end Of this corridor is a short flight Of
iron steps leading down to the main door Of tho
prison. Through this door entrance is gained to
the cell room.
This room is rectangular in shape, about forty
feet long and twenty feet wide. In the centre
of this room are the cells, two tiers high. There
are twelve cells on the lower tier and an equal
number on the upper tier. In the west wall of
the room are high. steel-barred windows. The
door of each cell opens toward the west. To the
east of the main door of the cell room is another
door leading to the prison kitchen. At the
northwest end Of the cell room is a stairway
leading to the second. or upper. tier Of cells.
In ascending this stairway one faces the west.
goes up FIVE steps to a landing. turns sharply
around to the east, and goes UP five more steps
before reaching the floor of the second tier.
The space under this stairway has been psrti-
toned Off and is, used as q closet. The
e clos t Is Lighted faes WIDE az q ana d'e ssv Sarleq feet W'h hiSh.
The outlook from this window Is toward the
s sendn a and uP PSa @ a narr siSe strip Of pt Gt Y baiid Inc, s Se.
tween a wing in which is the l~onnging room Of
the policemen Of the Gregory street station and
the little wing OF the prison in which tho stairs
connecting tho cell tiers have been placed. A
window in the north side of tho lounEiing room
steel.barred window which lights the closet
under the stairs; nth
separates the prison yard from the yard in tho
rear Of Jacob cob, kramer's saloon (which is is si on the
Vi witch lights the Closet are be:
iEw s Inc inches sfaass apart rn and o extend ID from sals the top Of
the window to the bottom. The bottom Of tho
window 10 about five feet from the floor: A
outside of the bars. The distance from the bot.
tom of the window to the yard is about eight
Ever since straight's arrest he had occupied
cell No. IL. at the extreme southern end Of the
cell with a man named Kelly. Kelly was in tho
confidence Of the prison keepers and he was in.
as the alleged sSwindler had made an attempt to
Ss ,Gspss Though hf5Ss b, t GSIo sat III Police FSGm "MSl Sr = ine
mR mediate Sn after ri bis Sn arrest e. f0'ic' murphy '"'
By the rules Of the prison the day keeper.
Alexander Watson, an old Hcotchman irH Hnd his
er at 7:3o o'clock each morning. Farrell
m rssehsa ' Mst.dRn prison %as on ten time minutes Sss'ef fsts.
As soon as tho day keeper and his as.
sistant arrive food for, all tho prisoners
o long table at the north end of the cell room.
Then MI the cells are UNLOCKED and the prison
f f1s e0% are out at e liberty st, 'h 9o take %eFn ths mood ieod
to their cells or to eat at The long table IL:
i s'ps'F table was so. 9eS ~ these %.ts %h0 n ntH f F. ssf
took their breakfast In The kitchen. Shortly be-
aprs,s 2 slclSHa , ins P For%ed thS w ma i Ss1S TO Re
handed over to officers waiting in the corridor
outside the prison. Watson and Farrell then
lnRLal fha dnnF nj fhR sir STRAIGHT
was one Of The few who didn't go 70 court.
Farrell says that about $3.50 o'clock; ns soon
stairs. lie said at hrstt, that after he had been
near the steam pipes, a white alpine hat: This
statement was made 70 e a Sun v TTepoTtsr; in
reminded Farrell that the closet Is only about
six feet deep and three feet wide and then asked
F Farrell Ih1 amended @e sd' his no'" siatemen and and said "a tpD he
couldn't have been in tho closet more than n
minute or two ut the outside. before he saw the
lie said he didn't know at the time to whom
the hat belonged, but he picked II up ana
cleaner. who was just outside the main doorin
the corridor, call out that somebody outside was
the first warning that any one connected with
tho prison Ind that anything was wrong. 1t did
Kitchen. long to find out that Straight was
missing. a glance at the closet window told
One Of the vertical steel lbars had been sawed
| off close TO the iron sill at the bottom OF the win
| dow. This bar had then been bent upward,
leaving n triangular opening, through which IL
Is supposed the prisoner had squeezed after
outside TO enable him 10 crawl out; Keeper
Watson reported his discovery to Chief Murphy.
While Watson was making his Investigations
Jacob BUTLER, q barkeeper for Kramer, whose
saloon nd Joins the prison building on the west,
had rushed into Chief Murphy's office with the
hat, and answering straight's description had,
only q few moments before, yaulted over tho
fence separating the Jail yard from the yard In
the rear of the saloon md, running across
tho saloon yard to tho next yard on
tho west. had disap, cared, All the pre-
Chief told them OF the escape and they commp'
nicated with their several station houses by tel
ephone. In a short time the entire police force
OF the city knew of the escape and had received
q description OF the fugitive. In the moan time
Chief Murphy had sent detectives from, Head
quarters to watch all the ferries and al the rail
road stations. Az tho same time Police Head
vicinity wore notified OF the escape and descrip-
lions OF Straight were furnished them.
An examination of the yard in the rear OF
Wager's stables, Just west of Kramer's saloon,
showed that the double doors opening on Gre,
feet west OF the entrance to the stable yard Is
the home of Mrs. Malone. From her the
police learned that a man answering Straight's
description had run west along Gregory street
to Henderson and turned south. From other
persons II WAS learned that the man, on reach
Ing Henderson street. ran south to Mercer
along Barrow 20 Grand street. where no took q
trolley car to Bishop street which 10 half . mile
from Barrow street
After leaving, the car at Bishop street.