The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-08-27

Police here received a circu-
lar on Kelly's escape this
morning and, shortly after
this happened, first public an
nouncement of the escape was
made.
The escape of these twenty-three
men, among whom were ten men,
bers of the Dillinger gang, and Of
more than score of equally hard
ened criminals from Hoosier county
jailS since last September, present
a vivid picture of Indiana's penal
system as it works today.
To add the finishing touches to
that picture, Wayne Coy, director Of
the Governors commission on I'M
employment relief, and until re-
Gently secretary in charge of state
penal institutions, told The Times
today that seventy out of ninety
of the county jails in Indiana are
antiquated and unsafe.
1t long has been a matter Of
common scandal in county court
rooms throughout the state that
criminals awaiting trials on serious
charges such as murder and robbery
have succeeded in procuring a
change of venue to counties where
it was known that the jail was easy
to break out Of.
That was the situation when Err
nest (Red Giberson, alleged leader
of the holdup gang which murdered
Police Sergeant Lester Jones in the
robbery of the Peoples Motor Coach
Company, succeeded in breaking out
Of the Hamilton county Jail at
Noblesville last February.
And Away He Went
With Willie Mason, another mem
Der of the gang, Giberson obtained
a change of venue from Marion
county to Hamilton county, where
the Jail is VIGOROUSLY unsafe and
undermined. He languished in the
ancient red-brick jail for some
weeks and then one fine day donned
his hat and topcoat, which con-
veniently had been left in his cell.
and walked out
L guess I'll be gettin' out of here"
GiberSon remarked to an aston
ished CWA worker who was busy
outside the cell-block with some
plumbing work. And away went the
desperate. Later, he was recaptured
in Kentucky.
Hours after the escape, sawed cell
bars upon which Giberson had
worked for weeks, were discovered.
From the same jail last week Will
lie Mason and four others sawed
their way to freedom.
We'll, I'll Be Darned"
1t will be recalled that Mason
appeared dumb" when told by the
Hamilton county sheriff that Giber-
son has sawed his way out.
We'll, III be darned," ii inocu-
ous-looking Willie CONNIE. ted at
the time. Now, what d.. ) think
of that. Here I was in the cell next
to him and 1 never knew it,"
Mason still is at large.
The story of the escape of the Dill
linger gangsters, led by Harry Pier
pont, Charles Makley and Russell
Clark from the state prison on Sept.
26, 1888, is an oft-told tale. So is
the bloody reign Of terror created by
the ten escaped convicts in a series
of forays which shocked the nation.
Dilinger's toy gun" escape from
the Crown Point Jail is Hoosier
history.
From the county jail at Franklin
last Friday four more criminals es-
capped. All since have been recap
tured.
Crouch Caught With Saw
Hilton Crouch, Dillinger gang
ster, was caught with a saw in his
cell and all preparations made to
escape from the Marion county jail
a few months ago. Edward Foggy)
Dean of the GiberSon gang is al
legged to have been implicated in an
elaborate delivery plot at the same
jail.
The Marion county jail has been
unsafe" by its chief
jailer.
Mr. Coy puts his finger directly
on the trouble with county jails
when he states that they are an
tiquated.
The sheriffs are not entirely to
blame" said Mr.. Coy. They are
forced TO work with ancient equip