The Calumet news., 1912-09-30

| With the land on which II
stands 1t is carried on the
| books OF the city o. New
York at present at between s5,000,.
900 and $6000,O0 For its size
the Tombs lis the most expen-
sive prison in the world The pres.
ent structure and the Egyptian tenn.
pie that preceded It and that bore
the same name have housed some OF
the most famous criminals in the
world. For the amount of money that
has been spent on 1t and the amount
OF money that is being spent on II
each year TO maintain it and make 1t
secure, II should be the strongest Jail
In America. AS a matter OF fact IL is
little more than a joke Within the
last sixty days two murderers have es.
capped from 1t. Nothing In the history
OF Newgate surpasses In daring one
OF these escapes.
A short time ago Raymond Fors.
orey, murderous young burglar, got
out of his isolated cell and over the
Tombs wall, and has not been heard
of since. His escape Is all the more
remarkable because every one in the
Tombs, from the warden down TO the
TRUSTEES, knew he was one OF the most
desperate of men. They had knowl.
edge of his ingenuity and audacity.
They knew that few days before a
woman had smuggled saws and acid
some say dynamite also--into his cell.
and that he had been detected In cut.
ting his way out. not through any as.
tuteness of his guards, but simply be-
cause OF his own carelessness. They
knew he had boasted he would escape.
and that he had openly declared he
held the Tombs and everything and
everybody in IL In the utmost con.
tempt. And then, after they had put
him In what was supposed to be the
most secure cell of all in the great
prison, he turned the trick in a way
that iastounded his jailors and made
New Workers gasp.
Wilson's Escape a Mystery.
Then there was the case of Wilson.
another murderous criminal, last July
He simply got out OF his cell, cracked
a man on the head and left. He did
not leave any clew to the manner of his
going. Whether he went over tho
wall or out of the front door or dug
through to China. or embarked in an |
aeroplane is not known definitely and
does not matter. for he is gone.
II Is an open secret that various
prisoners supposed TO be locked in |
cells have spent fair amount Of |
time outside. Nan Patterson. when n |
Tombs guest" for the murder of |
Caesar Young, is reported to havel
done good deal OF trotting around
town at night, II well-informed people
are not greatly mistaken. It is true
that when she took her jaunts abroad
she usually was accompanied by an
attache of the Tombs; but she had
plenty OF recreation during the time
she was supposed to have been incar.
cerated there.
Then there was BILLY" Mclaughlin
the police~inspector who was in the
Tombs for a long time as a result Of
the Mazet Investigation. He Is said To
have spent only as much time I'm the
Tombs as he saw At. Night a.ter
night he was said to have been seen
about the city. rsN ~
Whole system Wrong.
The whole system OF management
In the Tombs is wrong. The EN-.
ployes there are not selected for their
efficiency. their moral character, their
education or their knowledge of pris.
on affairs. Many persons believe there
is little choice. morally speaking, be
tween the men who are locked UP In
the cells and some of those who guard
them. A lot OF the prison employees
are simply political hangers-on. They