Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1912-09-26

get their jobs by favor of their dis
trict leader. A job In the Tombs Is
not measured by the salary 1t brings,
but by the opportunities for graft at
tached to It, II Is a good deal like a
police captaincy or police inspector
ship. There is graft In pretty nearly
everything connected with the Tombs.
No prison in America has such an un-
savory reputation in that respect
This graft and corruption has been ex-
posed time and again. 1t fills many
pages in a book written by one Of
the former chaplains of the Tombs. 1t
is 80 well known among the denizens
OF the underworld that liquor, NOR
phine, cocaine and other drugs may
eb obtained freely by prisoners there,
that 1t is hardly worth mentioning.
1t is related by former Tombs Chap
lain ]. J. Munro that when a certain
politician was boss of the City prison.
as the Tombs Is called. murderers, as
soon as they gave their pedigree at
the desk. were marched to the war
denis office, where they we're pri-
vately catechized to know whether
any steerer of the prison had been
giving them any information about
lawyers, and then informed 1t was not
necessary for them to go to court In
order to get counsel; that he would.
out of the goodness of his heart.
look after their interests and assign
a lawyer to them. Two or three shy
ster firms had the murder cases dur
ing this warden's regime. They got
of money allowed by the state for
the defense of every murderer, less
one-half, which went to the grating
warden. Out Of this grew rule that
Is more or less observed now, that no
prisoner in the Tombs can change his
attorney without the consent Of the
court
Searching" Merely u Farce.
The way in which Forsbrey. the
murderer who fed. got the acid and
the saws-and perhaps the dynamite
that we're found on him two days
before his escape indicates the laxity
with which the system Of searching
visitors to the Tombs Is conducted.
It is asserted that II a prisoner is at
all influential or has fair bit of
money at his disposal the searching
is very perfunctory. Unless the OBJ
ject is a fairly good-sized one or is
carelessly concealed there is good
chance of it's getting past This
brings one back again to the per
Tombs. The personal equation is OF
just as much importance In the run.
ming OF prison as 1t Is in caring for
the safety OF a railroad train.
The man who has Job in the
Tombs, or on Blackwell's island. or
Wards island, or in any Of the other
penal institution, Is under certain
strong obligations to his political
boss. There are gentlemen employed
in the Tombs from the First assem-
bly, district II they had not gone on
the excursion Of the Huron club to
WitZefs grove the day prior to Fors-
brey's escape 1t would have been on
account of illness. That is the only
excuse they could have offered to ac-
count for their absence from that
function. But lot Of them went
practically all that owed allegiance
to the downtown Tammany crowd.
They were busy all day long on the
outing entertaining their friends. II
is declared these people we're tired
and languorous at night after they
got back and resumed their duties at
the Tombs. Among them was a night
keeper, who should have been punch
ing the time clock every hour. but he
slumbered Night Warden Jones, who
had charge OF the Jail In the hours
Of darkness, is said to have awak-
ened him again and again. A gong
rings In the warden's Office when the