The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1921-10-04
ROAD GANG PLAN
WORKS WONDERS
OFFICERS STATE
convle,s Worked 60 Days In Grady;
Not HLJsek job or Burglary
Since Policy Started. Say
Authorities.
AFTER EVERY VAC is
WARNING OF SHERIFF
"Reerslts" Wanted al All Times fo'
Road Work: Hoboes Cut Down
So Percent Say Detectives;
Roads Improved.

ON August the policy Of puitinl
the prisoners ~ Grady county 4
work on tho county roads was pu
into effect and since that date Their
has not been Job Of hljackIng q
n burglary staged In tho county. nc
cordIng to Grady county officers.
The now board OF county commits
sIoncn. composed OF Dave IIybar
ger. Sell Purslcy and Tom McEiro,
announced before they were sworn
In that as long as they were com
mlssloncrs. tie conyicls OF Grady
county would be- used on the roads
In this. they have had the co'opera
tion OF the Sheriff Matt sankey and
his force. Chief OF Police Ben Phil
lips with his crew OF city cops and
private detectives OF the railroads
leading into this city.
Big Gang Is Worked.
TIE records In the office OF
Sheriff sankey show that since
August S. a total OF G5 prisoners
have been worked on the roads here.
the size OF the crew varying from
time to time. Out OF this number
only 10 were residents OF Grady
county, the remainder being corrall-
ed on various charges as they
were passing through the county.
Officers here have been on the
watch day and night and have kept
the county road gang of corvicts
well recruited" The officers have
been making" all the trains. espe
cially the freights andy ave been
known Il bag as bSh as hall
dozen men from one train for the
road crew. Until the news began to
spread through hoboand, hardly q
train arrived In Chickasha that did
not yield one or more men, plucked
from rods" or bumpers by the
waiting officers. The picking now
however, is a little slim, the Off
GERS say, owing to the fact that
apparently, the news has spread and
Grady county is being given wide
berth by those ho travel by trai.
without tickets.
Reduce Number Hoboes.
mot every man who beats hi
way on a train Is a hi-jacker nor
a burglar said Mr.. Hybarger in
explaining the theory on which this
work Is being carried on. 1--WE be-
lieve, however, that every hi,jacker
Mt times beats his way on the
trains. A certain class of burglar,
robber or hi-jackers prefers to ride
the rods, the blinds or the bumpers,
rather than the cushions and the |
officers have instructions to pick
up every man who lands here while |
beating his way"
The officers point out that some |
of the men caught were possessed |
of considerable rolls" One man
plucked from q freight train in the
Chickasha yards had several hun
dred dollars on his person. In some
cases the officers have been unable
to fix any charge against the men
caught, but in the vast majority.
"vag" charges have resulted in con
victions and sentences in Jail,
equivalent to a stretch on the county
road gang.
While the men are worked on the
road during the time of their SEN
tence, the Grady officers are able
to cooperate with other officers to
determine, if possible, if their man
is "wanted" in another county, or
state. Rock Island detectives state
that the number Of hoboes arriving
in or passing through Chickasha,
has been decreased 95 percent in the
past 60 days and they attribute the
fact to the policy of working the
men nthe Grady roads.
81 want the hoboes to all learn
that Grady county is very unhealthy
for their kind" said Sheriff Sankey.
Il want EN- to know the policy of
the commissioners and that every Of
ficer in Grady county is after 'em
the minute they land here. 1t didn't
used to be much trouble to pick 'em
up but they are getting mighty skit-
tish now Trouble is, the hunting is
getting mighty slim. | want it to get
simmer"
Much Is Accomplished.
Much has been accomplished since