The age-herald., 1902-01-22
Protection of JaiIs.
Editor of The Age-lIerald

To the Editor or The Age-H erald;
 Referring to your remarks anent the in- troduction of saws and other articles into the jail beg leave to say that the only. way that saws and other articles used by prisoners to aid them in their efforts to secure their liberty can be kept out of the prison is to place cordon of men both inside and outside the walls thereof. and that the shoes of every prisoner be cut to pieces to prevent the introduction of saws, files and acids. Those employed as deputies during my administration re- member instances where men have been committed for minor offenses whose shoes contained files and saws concealed between the soles, fine and delicate that an inspection such as above referred to was the only one that would have de- tected them. A case in point: man named Lewis an electrician, was com mitted for burglarizing the Arms Com pany store in 1896. He carried into the jail lot of saws which were used by a gang, headed by the Gadsden murderer, Coie Daughdrel. These saws were got ten into the jail between the soles of Lewis shoes. A short time after his in carceration the gang began operations and worked patiently for two months be- fore they made the final attempt, which was frustrated just as they had com pleted arrangements through information given by dummy whom I had placed on the inside to watch the cutting and learn their plans It was this same dummy who gave information as to how the saws were introduced
 I had information from the same source that those men had acids of vari- ous kinds which they had been applying to the iron and steel bars for at least one month prior to the day the most of the cutting was done. By the frequent application of those acids the iron or steel bars were rendered almost absolute ly rotten and were as easily cut as a lump of tallow. The casual observer loses sight of the fact that the murderer un- der sentence of death or the condemned burglar has his life or liberty, as the case may be, at stake, and his entire time is given to matching up plans to secure his liberty. Those of us who were in prison during the Tate unpleasantness' between the states remember distinctly how eagerly we scanned and analysed every suggestion or plan submitted by the wary unfortunates which had for it's purpose our liberation from captivity. As a matter of fact, the brain of the pris- oner was made more active in his effort to hatch up some scheme by which he could escape.
 With the experience I have had of the DlBtlulty VI CTlHUlildIS, IL f6 my uTIl De- lief that Dye is one of the gang to which Duncan belongs, and that his confession to the commission of the crime he was charged with was a scheme to get on the inside of the jail: that he went fully pre- pared with acids, files and saws con- cealed in such a way ss to almost defy detection. Go to the sheriffs office and examine the wonderful ingenuity of the prisoners confined in the county jail, as ments and devices made out of almost nothing, used to aid them in their efforts to escape from prison. Their skill in this line is really remarkable. The prisoner has all the advantage, strange as the as- sertion may seem. His life and liberty are at stake, he has nothing else to think about but plot and lay plans to carry out any scheme his fertile brain may hatch up. The position of sheriff and deputy sheriff of Jefferson County is not an en- viable one at best. They carry their lives in their hands daily. and 1t gives me great pleasure to bear testimony to the fact that there is not county In the state of Alabama whose interests are guarded by a better, braver or truer set of officers than are the interests of Jefferson Coun- ty. l speak from experience, because I have tested them many times during my association with them, and know where of I speak. It Is to be regretted that Duncan and his confederates have gotten happened to anyone else, it matters not