Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-28
RECORD BLOCKS Him
Negro Stimulates Insanity
With Hope of Freedom.
WAS SERVING PRISON TERM
Brought Here for Treatment In st.
+ Elizabeth-Believed to Be.
Playing Shrewd Game.

Officials of the Government Hospital
| for the Insane are considerably exercised
over the case of Irving FOLEY, one OF
their negro prisoners. a giant desperate,
who has been an inmate of the lnstftu-
| ton since last August, when he came 10
the hospital from the Atlanta peniten-
tiary. The only information they had
| about him at the time he was received
was that he had attacked guard at
the penitentiary and was thought to be
| demented. He had a twenty-year SEN
| tence to serve, but the prison ofnclals
| thought best to have his sanity carefully
| investigated.
Recent developments have indicated
that Tolley was planning an escape, and
that every move since his incarceration
at Atlanta has been part of this care
! fully conceived scheme. 4 casual visit
| to st. Elizabeth by two secret service
officers undoubtedly has removed any
| possibility of Tolley'S return to, freedom
| His presence in the Washington institu-
ton was unsupported by these officers,
and upon discovering that he had sue
ceeded i'm at least getting outside of the
| strong walls of Atlanta the officers be-
| leved that TolIey was we'll his way
to freedom The information given to the
asylum authorities by the Treasury
| agents led to the establishment of an
extra guard over Tollcy and curtails
ment of all privileges.
Tolley's Record.
| Suspected of murder at Cave City. Ky,
three times convicted of violations of the
federal counterfeiting statutes, the hero
| of sensational escapes from the Nashville
penitentiary, the county Jail at Memphis.
and from the Baltimore city Jail, Irving
10 nf tod .l,o
among federal prisoners. Five years ago,
after passing raised notes in many
| places i'll Kentucky, he and two desperate
companions escaped arrest by boarding
a freight train and terroriZing its crew.
| At Cave City, where the local authorities
made an attempt to arrest them, citi-
zen was shot and instantly killed by one
of the three men. Both of Tolley' COM
| panions charge him with having fired the
| fatal shot.
| Captured subsequently by secret service
officers, FOLEY overpowered his guards
| in the Memphis jail and fled to Chicago
| where Capt. Porter of the secret service
| found and arrested him. Sent to the peni-
| Tertiary at Nashville, he made daring
| escape from that institution and resumed
| his old practice Of making and passing
| raised notes. Later on, caught by secret
| service officers at Baltimore. he was con-
| fined in the city jail, whose officials were
warned of the desperate cunning of the
| prisoner, but as there never had been
d1l escape from INSTITUTION no ap-
| prehension was felt about Toley's safe
keeping. One night he went over the
| twenty-foot wall after having placed a
dummy in his bed for the inspection of
the guards, and was at liberty for sew
eral months. When again located and
arrested by secret service agents and
| taken back to Baltimore he was placed
| under a double guard, which was main
| tanned until after his trial, conviction and
| sentence.
Effort to Obtain Privileges.
When he came to st. Elizabeth from
| Atlanta the asylum officials received no
| ntimation of his previous jailbreaking
| experiences, but, fortunately, they con-
| cluded that If he had assaulted a guard
| at Atlanta it might be well to keep him
| rather closely confined while under OBJ
| servaton. He made many requests to be
| taken to the city to a dentist and tried
| in other ways to induce the officers to
| allow him greater liberty. Fortunately.
none of these schemes was successful,
| and now that he has been recognized and
his desperate character is understood by
the asylum authorities the chances are
that he will be returned to Atlanta under
| proper guard, nothing having developed
| during the five months that he has been
| at st. Elizabeth to indicate that he is
mentally unsound.
I