The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-01-27
sing sing CONYICTS ESCAPE
FLtTE VAS tSED As WEAPON
~ THE GETAWAY.
One Of the Escaped Men Was In for Life
and One Was the SIX Hat BURGLAR
From New Rochelle Got Away on
the Ice Under Cover or Darkness

From New Rochelle Away n,
the Ice Under Cover Of Darkness
Oss1N1NG, Jan. 28.--Three Sing Sine
prisoners. one Of them up for life term
overpowered two guards after a re.
hearsal Of the prison orchestra to-nieh,
and escaped across the ice Two OF
them came from New York and the third
from New Rochelle The guards were
not seriously hurt
The rehearsal was in the keepers mess
room. which adjoins the convicts' mess
| hall on one side and the head keepers
Office on the other. A passage leads
TO courtyard, which in turn il flank ed
by the northern wall of the prison
There vere sixteen men at the re-
hearsal. Among them were Ralph Taylor,
one of the pair known az the silk hat
burglars of New Rochelle. who were active
in that part Of Westchester three years
ago; Charles McGinn. serving a short
term for burglary in the third degree,
and William Bush, who killed a woman on
/ Tenth avenue in 1902 when she told. him
that she didn't want to cook his dinner.
4 few minutes before the time when
they would have been led off to the cells
these three convicts slipped of to the
passageway leading 10 the courtyard
The first guard they met was WiIfred
Webster. One of them era clted him over
the head with a flute and the three ran of
down the corridor Alexander Mckinley
the captain of the watch. came running
at the sound Of trouble. but he too was
knocked down
In st.,ts al.
courtyard they made for the iron fence
which guards the northern side of the
prison grounds George Woodley. n
guard came out of the boiler room of the
prison just in time to SEQ them streal,ing
across the open SPACE for III. iron palings.
He unslung his rife and opened fire. but
so far rs he knows he didn't hit any one of
The three runners
The palings are set NJ some distance
from one another and the guards figure
tonight that the three men slueazed
through the openings. In the summer
the river, which sweeps in in u dee, bay
offers Il good deal Of a barrier to convcts
trying To escape, hut now the river has
a heavy surfacing of ice
The shots from WOodev's rifle brou rht
the other guards running. The night was
- dark that they couldn't make out the
hgureS OF the men on the ice and they
wer" AT a loss To tell what direction they
took. Warden Frost az soon rs he was
tod o' the ESCAPE gave orders for the
blowing of the great whistle of the prison
telling the guards who were of duty
that prisoners had escaped and all the
PRISON = men that they We're wanted back
al WORK. Warden Frost divided them up
into searching parties and set them to
looking for the three Convicts
Warden Frost speaking of the escape
afterward said: Those three fellows
saw their chance and they took it, That
rs about al there is TO it. They Just hap
pened 10 be there when the way was
opened and they made the best of il"
Ralph Taylor. the silk hat burglar,
got sentence of twenty-on years and
two months at White Plains in April,
1905. The job on which he was engaged
when ne was caught was the burglary
in the house of Mrs. l.. {. Atwood Of Wood
land avenue, New Rochelle.
One night when she was alone in the
house she was awakened by the sounds
that two men were making in her bed
room. She pretended to he asleep "a long
IA they stayed. but as soon as she heard
them leave the house she peered out of
the window. saw them get on a trolley car
gong toward the railroad station and
then telephoned to the police.
Taylor and his partner were found on
The platform AT the station. gentlemanlv
figures in silk hats and carrying suitcases
They We're arrested and when the police
looked inside their luggage they found
Mrs. Atwood's s property Later they CON
fessed 10 having done similar Jobs in
Pelham Manor. Larchmont and Mount
Vernon. Taylor's partner. j Harland.
was sentenced to term of twenty en-
years.
William Bush was driver living near
Tenth avenue. On August 40, 1902, he
met the janitress of a tenement house
where he was living and asked her whv
she didn't have his supper ready She
said she hadn't cooked because she didn',
want to. whereupon Bush shot her. II
was alleged in his defence that he appeared
to be intoxicated.
Charles McGinn's term began in April.
1909. He was sent up for burglary in the
third degree and his term was about half
done
In the descriptions sent out tonight
II is said that all three men have light
ccompleNions, light hair aud blue eyes.
Mriinn Is ?l years old. feet inches
tall and weighs 1874 pounds Bush il 81
years old: feet inches tall and weighs
l75 pounds Vavlor is 25 wears old, feet
4 lnrhnS "a 10 4