Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-11-04


from the earth; but
kN&SN 81 there probably never
~ 6 was mere daring and
romantic escape than
that of William Green from Sing Sing
short time ago.
When the delivery Is described as
that of William Green, 1T is not for
gotten that four Other convicts es-
capped with him But 1t was Green's
delivery and not theirs. His was the
conception, his the execution; the
other men simply accepted his invita-
ton to go along with him when he had
made the WY, beaten down the keep
ers. and. IN the presence Of 1875 con-
victs, spent % minuBes in leisurely
carrying out his plan.
But for The crowded condition Of
Sing Sing prison he could not have
done it-at least, not IN just this way.
A man Of his determination and in
genuity would probably have found
some other Fur, as a well-knoWn
prison ofBcfal' said 10 New York
Times reporter:
We'll, the Brooklyn bridge was
opened In 1883, wasn't it? And after
that the transit conditions In New
York had to get to the point Of unen-
durability before another bridge was
opened. didn't they? iAnd your Sub
way was opened only when the ele-
waited railroads were absolutely un-
able to carry the passengers, wasn't
It? And your subsequent subway and
other tranzit improvements, have come
only when the patience of the public
was taxed to Gre hast notch. haven't
they?
That's the answer. You can't get
a reform in New York state until con-
ditions have become positively un-
bearable. It's no use TO poikt out the
advisability Of q reform; you've got
to prove that not a wheel can be turn
ed until the reform lis enacted Other,
wise you won't get it."
New Prison Projected.
In 1907 a commission was appoint
ed TO relieve the congestion N Sing
Sing prison. It recommended Bear
Mountain as q site dor a new prison,
and work was commenced 1t went
On for two years. and then j. Pier
pont Morgan, Mrs. Edward H. 'Herri-
man, the Rockefeiiers. and sther rich
people got together. aought up the
surrounding land, and presented 1t to
the state as a park. with the provisO
that no part Of the ground aheuld be
used for prison purposes.
The state accepted the GIT. with the
conditions, and that put to nauEht all
that had been done in the meantime
in the way of relieving the Sing Sing
and made 1t necessary to
begin all over again.
This escape of Green's was more Or
less of a novelty. The usual course
has been to make . rush. But Green.
Ia the most leisureiy manenr in the
world, attacked the two keepers In
charge of the dormitory, laid them out.
then took out a saw which he had So
cured somewhere. sawed at a window
for 20 minutes. invited his fellow-con-
victs to Join him. was reinforced by
four Of them. dropped out OF the win
dow, and disappeared.
Few Get Away.
Warden Frost said to a Times re-
porter that in his incumbency there
had been six deliveries at Sing Sing,
and in five cases out of the six the
convicts were caught before they were
out of the prison precincts-that was
a case in which four men made q rush.
In another case, in which two men
rushed the guards while they were at
work in the kitchen. the men were
caught before they had been gone
three hours.
The historic instance Of an escape
from Sing Sing was In 1898, when
Roehl and Pallister escaped. 1t was
an unfortunate escape for them, for
a few days later one of them shot the
other in a quarrel and then commit
ted suicide. But in the meanwhile
they had bafied all the efforts OF the
state to recapture them.
Pallister and Roehl lay In wait for
Hulse's partner, John w. Murphy. let
him into the death house, and shut on
him the heavy, ironbound oak door
that shuts the corridor from sound
and sight. Then they pinioned and
disarmed him and thrust him into
Roehrs cell and locked him In.
Refused Their Freedom.
After that Roehl and Pallister open
ed the cell of Carlyle w. Harris. the
medical student who murdered his
wife. and offered him freedom. Harris
declined It. They made the same Of
Ter to two other murderers. both of
whom refused. In each case Roehl
and Pallister. having received the re-
iusal, locked the cell doors on the
doomed men.
Roehl and Pallister broke through
skylight, boisted themselves to the
oof, dropped easily to the ground.
called a twelve-foot fence. got down to
he riverside. and showed OF in small
boat. The scene of the escape was