The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-02
THINKS JAIL
 IS NOT SAFE Sheriff Belser Is Not Satisfied With It. 100 EASY TO ESCAPE FROM
 - Will Urge Board of Revenue to
 Remedy Defects.
Attempt of Two Negroes to Escape Last week, Which Nearly suc- ceded Despite Poor Tools, Has Presipitated the
 Inquiry.

Sheriff Belser says that he will today tell the Board of Revenue that that part of the new Montgomery. county Jail which has been com, .,leted is not entirely safe for the custody of pris- oners
 It Is likely that the sheriff may de- mand of the board that steps be taken, not only that the completed part be rendered escape proof, but that plans for the part now under construction be altered, if necessary, so that there can be no chance of it being unsafe. The attempt of the two negro pris- oners to saw their way out Of the new jail Wednesday night and the apparent ease with which they sawed part of bar with the crudest kind of an instru- ment has stamped the belief in the sheriff's mind that the prison Is not safe.
 With a piece of steel which the ne- groes secured from the sole of a shoe, they succeeded in saving half through a bar and it is presumed that they would have escaped had 1t not been for the vigilance of the Jailer who un- earthed the attempt in time to pre- vent a delivery.
 The sheriff not only believes that the bars are of insufficient strength. but he declares that the construction of the first and second floors of the pris- on is faulty, as far as safety Is con- cerned. The third floor. on which the series of strong steel cages is located, the sheriff does not regard as being dangerous, but these cages hold only a small part of the prisoners confined in the Jail.
 The chief complaint lodged against the plan of construction on the first and second floors Is that the cells are damned up to the exterior windows, thus making 1t necessary for a pris- oner to cut through only one set of bars in order to make his escape.
 It is claimed by the sheriff that the cells should have been so arranged that a prisoner should have no access to the exterior windows, thus making 1t necessary for him to saw through success. Jn of bars before he could ultl- mateIy reach the open.
 Along this line the sheriff has been seriously contemplating, he says, ask ing as some degree of relief. that ex- ira steel bars be riveted in the respec- tive cells of the completed part of the jail. so as to prevent prisoners from getting next to the windows
 The bars in the windows, thS Sher- If looks upon only as rods and alto gether insufficient for protection. He feels that, if negroes such as those who tried to escape Wednesday night could saw half of bar with such crude, improvised saw, they could, with real saw for the purpose, saw out two bars in an hour, which would be enough TOT escape, and, in an entire night, could cut out all the bars of window.
 For some time previous to the at- tempt at escape. the Sheriff was not en- tireIy pleased with the planning and construction of the new jail and he has several times heretofore called atten- ton to certain mistakes that appeared, but not until the attempt of the prison CTS to escape Wednesday night, had the Sheriff determined that he would re- quest the Board to take steps for the safe keeping of the county's prisoners
 Especially in view of the fact that ihe county Is expending about $1oo,00o Cor the new jail, 1t is pointed out that the prison should be modern, more SD from standpoint of safety than any other.