The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-31
PRISON
UNSAFE PLACE
Plan to Break Jail Leads to
the Discovery of This
Fact.
MANUFACTURE OF KEY
LETS IN GREAT LIGHT
Warden Admits Plot i'm Prog
ress for Months Without
His knowledge.

A discovery made nj the Utah state
prison Tuesday morning proves that the
prison is an unsafe place within which
10 conflne desperate criminals The dis
covcry was accidepta1. but was the means
OF frustrating ono OF the deepest plots
ever hatched within prison walls.
The prison authorities Tuesday morn
ing found a perfectly made key. which
would doubtless unlock the box where the
controlling levers of the cell-Iocking de-
vice are located. a hook with which "a
pull these levers, another hook mani
fcstly Intended 10 be used In scaling the
prison walls. a mold In which the key
had been cast various avis drills
knives and other implements. The key
according to Warden Pratt has not beer
fitted into the lock but II appears TO bt
an exact duplicate OF the prison kei
and there Is every reason TO suppose thai
the key would give access TO the con
trolling devices.
The existence OF the plot. OF course
was not suspected, and no inkIing of thu
operations Of the conyicts came To- tht
prison authorities until the accidental
discovery Of Tuesday morning. Although
months must have been consumed II
fash!ontng the key and the other imple
ments, and all Of this work was conduct
ed evidently when guards must have beer
near. the officials knew nothing OF H. un
I'll n time when the conspirators awaited
only the opportunity 10 put their plan:
into execution. The prison officials give
no explanation OF how the long ano
tedious process OF manufacture coulC
have been going on without their knowl
edge. but they admit that It is so.
Majors Is Blamed.
Warden Pratt believes that Abe Majors
q notoriously cunning convict. serving
life for murder, was AT the bottom OF th'
scheme. Many things point TO Majors a
the leader In the plot. Tuesday morning
one Of the guards overheard a prisoner
l.. j. Markham, serving seven years fo
robbery. shout TO Abe Majors words Il
the effect that a certain key was all righ
and that II was hidden in the tailor shop
In which Majors is the chief tailor. War
den Pratt was Immediately notified ant
a search Of the tailor shop revealed
skeleton key which was found to 1T sov
eral locks. among them the lock OF
closet.
A search OF this closet revealed a col
lection Of jall-breaking implements. show
ing rare skill In their fashioning Til.
chief article In this collection was a key
evidently made OF lead. The mold il
which the key had been cast was a per
fectly devised casting box, and is be
lieved by the prison authorities to hav.
been made OF cement and asbestos Their
was hook made OF copper wire with
wooden handle about q foot In lengt tn
another hook made of twisted heavy wire
with some cordagc attached, q tile tina
had been worn smooth through long use
an instrument that rcsembled a cruh.
drill. piece OF cloth, and the portion
OF another key casting which had appar
entity been broken off and discarded a.
useless.
An investigation was made and it wa.
found that the key. held In the hand o
person with fairly long arms, coulC
be inserted In the lever box from th'
prisoners corridor, and that the door o
the box could thus be opened, But tes
showed that, even with the box open the
levers could not be pulled by A man witt
ever so great reach OF arm. II wa!
therefore concluded that the hook witt
used In pulling the lever Once tho lcye,
pulled. the door Of the prisoners corrl
dor would be opened and free access haC
to the lever box when, of course. all o
prisoners released More than twenty
five could thus be given freedom from
their cells.
Belief Of officials
The prison officials believe that &
might have been the intention Of the con
spirators to release the prisoners In one
tier of cells, overpower, or perhaps kill
the guard and then proceed 10 the lowcl
floors, where the lever boxes mould be
opened with the keys taken from tbs
guard and all OF the convicts in the eel
house liberated, II desired.
The belief is that the hook with the
cordage attachment was to have beer
thrown over the prison wall with tn,
Idea OF catching an Iron rod which runs
along the top Of the wall a rope fast
ened to the cordage on tho hook would
have enabled to prisoner TO scale the
wall, He would, OF course. have 10 rur
the risk OF being shot by the guard who
watches the tops OF two walls OF a
triangle from tower at the corner. one
OF these walls is more than 500 feet long
and a guard must needs bc Indeed AT
expert marksrnan to shoot an escaping
prisoner in the darkness. However. the
t..ly. l1sa lat.z
still they take the risk in spite OF this
knowledge.
Warden Pratt says that the origina
impression OF tho lever box key coulc
have been obtained In n variety OF ways
1t might have been taken on q piece oi
soap or on a piece of wax from the tailor
shop. when the guard was temporarily
absent possibly escorting visitor
through the prison. Al any rate. tho i'm.
preston was a good one. and the ashes
tos-cement mold was tho last word In
perfection OF detail. and the filing Of the
tumblcr rachets was performed with
amazing precision.
Materials Available.
The cement and asbestos were avail
able because these materials were being
used in some construction work about the
prison There is a great deal of ma :
chinery and tools In the tailor shop and
doubtless lead could be procured from
this source. AS there Is always n red
hot fire In the shop used for heating
irons for pressing. the lead could have
been melted there.
About eight years ago Majors was one
OF the principal figures in n prison dc
livery when several convicts escaped. At
that time Majors had two six shooters
concealed In n shelf in his cell. one OF
which was used 10 shoot u guard on the
wall. In that break Harry Waddell. serv-
ing total OF twenty-five years for four
different Onenscs. wax also prime NOV
er and nc and Majors were fast friends.
Later they fell out and were and are sim
bitter enemies. Some years ago Majors
attempted 10 kill Waddcll with 2 knife
which ne had concealed In n handker-
chief. and almost succeeded Whddclrs =
windpipe was severed. lie could utter
no cry FOR help and he lay helpless until
found by other prisoners. The bad
blood continued between Majors ana
Wsddell and resulted IN another outbreak
on the afternoon OF August -.
On that afternoon Markham went 20
the cell Of Waddcl and attacked HIM
with a pair OF scissors Waddell was
badly wounded but made no outcry. His
wounds were scwed up by another pris-
oner and those stitches remained until
an examination was made and doctor
supplsntcd the work OF the convict sur
gcon with stitches of his own. Naddcli