The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-15
ANOTHER PRISONER
 MAKES HIS EXIT. Bessemer Jail Was Too Easy
 Fer Sam SMOKES DYNAMITE CAP Doe Ratcliff Lights Up His Big Pipe as Usual, But Gets Explosive Mixed With Tobacco-Gen-
 eraf News of City.
SMOKES DYNAMITE CAP

Bessemer, May 14.-(Speeial.) )-Sam Jackson. a negro prisoner escaped from the place called a jail this evening about s o'clock Sam was arrested a few days ago for stealing and by his own adn1is- sion when his case was tried in the mayors court yesterday morning he had stolen everything he could get his hands on for the past couple of weeks. When the night warden went in to lock the cells this evening he locked the door be- hind him and went on along the hall Sam had concealed himself, and as soon as the warden's back was turned he walked up to the door and prized the lock off. He walked outside and then locked the door, locking the warden up along with the prisoners.
 He walked downstairs and out into the streets and he is walking yet, notwith- standing the fact he was shackled when he left the jail. The Bessemer Medical society was holding a meeting in the council chamber, and pr. T. l. Conwell happened to go into the wardens office to use the phone. When he got there he heard cries, and the warden was calling for some one to come and let him out. The alarm was sounded and he was soon liberated.
 The escape of Sam added to the list of ''also rans'' makes just 23 prisoners to leave the jail in the course of few months. The name of the jail has been changed several times. First it was called the joke house, and then it was referred to as the house of memories, but from now on 1t will be known as "the house of easy exit
 The limit was reached when Sammy left the free rent house and there ap- pears to be no reason why he should have walked out. Of all the negroes that : have robbed people and stolen from houses in Bessemer he is apparently the king pin.
 He admitted himself yeserday morning lhat he was hungry and he stated to the recorder at the time: T so hungry 1 would steal anything from anybody" His line was put down at the moderate figure of S17.50 and costs.
 It is very evident that the jail did not look good to him nd it is believed he was lust little sore on the bill of fare. As is well known a report was submitted from the warden to the council some few weeks lgo and the report showed that it cost lust ten and one-half cents per day to Iced prisoner Evidently Sam had been keeping up with it. and he must have felt that the fare would be mighty weak.
 Sam did not make any special effort to shoose his victims when he went out on d raid, and he stole anything that came to 1and. He stole harness from Dr. c. L. stansbury, stole few plates and dishes rom MT. Shelfer of the State bank, and le prized up a bite to eat, as Walter Gill pert would say, from several houses in the ,eart of the city.
 The last thing he did before he was ar 'ested was to steal an overcoat, and this heft proved to be his undoing. He was taught with the goods, and he remarked when he arrested he thought times night be hard next winter and he wanted o be on Easy street as far as dressing vas concerned. He kept his word, and < ie is on Easy street just at this time. ' Tie union dogs were sent for, and they ! tarted off, but from the way they started { nut, it appeared they were going one way Alnd Sam had already gone another. Sam has a record with the officers at he jail He is not a vicious negro, but J ie is bad pilferer, and if he had served l. ut the last term for which he was fined + would have made just five hundred and wenty-three days work for the city.