Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-07-18
TEN BUILD
DESTROYED! WHEN
PRISONERS RIOT
Six Persons Are Injured in
Western Penit nitentiary,
Pittsburgh, Today.

Pittsburgh, July 49, pcr-
sons were injured and ten fac
tory buildings destroyed IN riot S
and fire ut the Western penitcn- II
uary here this afternoon Police II
and deputy sheri1s from all pafts
of the city aseisted the prison
guards in holding the prisoners
white firemen put out the flames. Il
Warden Francies asked Governor A
Sproul for two troops OF state po-
liccmen to guard the prison to-
night. A great crowd gathered
outside the walls during the dis
turbonce. As n {
Police and fire lines were drawn
tightly around the institution and de-
tailed reports of the outbreak were
unavailable. 1t was known, how
ever, that penitentiary guards re-
inforced by city policemen and deputy
sheriffs armed with rifles and riot
bay. while heavy fire fighting force
was endeavoring to extinguish the
flames. sg& tgs, II
Many prisoners were removed from
the south wing, where the fire start
ed. Soon afterward the great crowd,
which by this time had surrounded
three sides of the prison. believed
they heard series of shots and tf1e
shrieks which had come from the
panic-stricken prisoners for = time
subsided. @
Physicians Respond TO Call. / !,
At 1:45 o'clock it was announced
at the office of John ]. McKeivey,
Pittsburgh, director Of charities, that.
he had just sent five city physicians
to the penitentiary in response TO
call for medical aid. A number Of
ambulances reached the prison about
1880 p. nj.
At that time the guards had l,een
strengthened at the gates Of the peni-
tentiary and all except policemen ind
deputy sherints were being rigidly ex-
cluded. so, that no statement OF what
be obtained. It appeared. howeRer,
that the fire was under control.
Warden Francies announced at
2:15 ythat,-hesr.a1yass.NskSd Governor
SproHl to send detachments OF stats
police from the barracks at Butler
and Greensburg to help guard the.
penirentiary tonight. III
a Gordon Of !. police was quickly
| thrown around every entrance leading
to the prison while wire lines were
established some distance away.
1TSdt gNOluHSSS Ol, SIUOke 81 T1SluS
from the enclosure indicated that the
broom factory was rapidly being do
stroyed.
The Western penitentiary contains
a populations of between 1.2o0 and
1,500 prisoners. some of them sent
there by federal courts, and the re-
mainder from the western counties Of
Pennsylvania There is a branch,
the farm prison." at Bellefonte,
Pa, to which the men of high stand
| ing in the prison are sent, leaving the
most desperate characters in the in
stitution here.
| Prisoners Face Revolvers.
A peep through one Of the prison
gates showed a party of Pittsburgh
detectives with drawn revolEers fac
| ing great crowd of prisoners In the
yard. The men appeared to be in
great terror from the flames which
ragged back Of them. So far as could
be seen none of them was armed.
! Meantime the flames had crept
along the Ohio river side and nany
prisoners confined in cells shattered
the glass in the windows and shriek-
! ed for help.
! Persons in the street could dis
tinctly hear the shrieks and groans
! Of the imprisoned men and it was re-
ported that a number had been hurt
and taken to the firt aid hospital in
section Of the prison remote from
! where the FIRE ragged.