The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-24
 MEMPHIS PRISON; ONE RECAPTIJRED Picks, Fashioned From Cot, Used In Making
 Tunnel H. DIGGS NOLEN
 THOUGHT LEADER Noted Character Has Made Many Jumps
 For Freedom


 MEMPHIS, Tenn, June 23.- (By Associated Press. Thirty nine prisoners, including 13 white men and 26 negroes, tunnelled their way to freedom from the Shelby county jail here early tonight and at late hour all except one were still at liberty.
 One of the prisoners, S. H. Moore. held in connection with the recent robbery of cafe, was cap tured a few hours after the break, and was returned to his cell. ...-i Used Bed Parts
 Using improvised picks, believed to have been fashioned from parts of an iron cot, in one of the cells, the pris- oners picked an opening through the three-foot brick wall around the small stockade. Whe nthe jailer went to lock up his. prisoners, for the night, he found the stockade empty. Only the gaping manhole in the brick wall told the story of the escape.
 Two hours after the jail delivery was discovered, every available police man and deputy sheriff was pa trolling the streets, railroad yards and highways leading into the city from every direction. With the sole excep- tion. of Moore, however, none of the escaped prisoners had been appre- hended late tonight.
 { Sheriff Will Knight and his staff as well as government officials, att tribute the escape of the prisoners to the ingenuity of Fl. Diggs Eolen, n0- triOus police character, who ia under teatene6 of i years fn the Tennessee penltentiasg for forgery Word was brought to the sEeriff that Nplen. with Win Annadal6,s under conviction for robbery, left the jail yard together. They conmandeefed light truck park ed near the jail and drove away, while their fellows scrambled along the river front in their flight.
 at Not First Time 4 s
 It was not the first time Nolen has escaped from local officers, and only last week he attempted to break out of the penitentiary at Nashville. NoIen was brought here several days ago to testify as witness in a federal court case. While waiting his turn to tes- tify, he was confined in the county jail. z, st.. i. s.e- ,, i.% Nolen, a druggist by profession, re- gently was granted a suspension of a five-year sentence in the federal peni- tentiary at Atlanta whence he was sent early last year following his conviction for trafficking in narcotics. The sus- pension was granted at the request of state and county authorities in order that Nolen might begin serving his term in the state penitentiary for forgery. With the suspended sentence a part of his penitentiary record was ineligible to parole.
 Nolen. was brought to Memphis last fall to testify in federal court case before going on to Nashville to begin his long term. While here he was placed in the custody of a deputy United States marshal and when ac- eompanied by his guard was permitted to go where he chose. One evening he attended vaudeville theatre in com pany of his wife and the deputy marshal. During an intermission Nolen excused himself and walked from the theatre. He was captured in New Orleans sev- eral days later and returned to Memphis going from here to Nashville almost im- mediately. e.s
 A number of federal prisoners were included in the wholesale. delivery, All of these, however, were either awaiting trial for minor offnses or were serving iail terms.