Evening star., 1953-02-09
Residents Hit
Use Of Hospital
|Foi.CriminaIs
Protest Follows Riot
Of SO Brownsville
Inmates Saturday
BY the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press
BROWNSVILLE, Md, Feb. o.
Saturday nights riot of insane
criminals was under investiga-
ton today as officials ran into
q new uprising Of angry neigh
boring residents.
Mrs. Robert c. Adams, out.
spoken critic Of conditions at
the Negro mental institution.
challenged the legality of using
1t to conf1ne murderers and
bandits.
Wayne Lonergan. Anne Arun-
del County manager, suggested
that protests be toned down."
but said maybe the State should
set up an island prison for in
sane criminals.
"A sort of Alcatraz Of Mary.
land" he said
Some Not Mental Cases.
State Senator Louis N. Phipps
charged that some CrownsI lille
inmates belong in no mental
institution.
"They aren't criminally in
sane," he declared. They're just
criminals. They ought to be in
the house of correction or the
penitentiary."
DR.. Clifton T. Perkins, mental
hygiene commissioner who has
been wrestling with the security
problem at Brownsville for sew
eral months, said his report Of
Saturday nights melee would go
to Gov. McKeldin by tomorrow.
20 Sent to Baltimore.
Twenty of the 68 rioters were
shipped off to Baltimore City Jail
shortly after the two-hour re-
volt was subdued by guards, fire.
men and police from as far away
as Baltimore, 10 miles north.
They used tear gas and fire
hoses to quell the inmates and
to free three guards who had
been held hostage. One Of the
guards suffered a long slash in
the back but the wound was
described as not serious.
He and two others were res
cued after barricading them
selves in a small room at the
start of the riot. Howling con-
victs threatened and taunted the
hostages, set fire to mattresses
and newspapers. tore iron grill
work from windows and smashed
furniture in their third-floor
ward.
Three Caught After Escape. y
Three escaped by climbing
down a 30-foot rope Of bed
sheets and dropping 80 more
feet to the ground. One was re-
captured within an hour. anoth-
er at dawn and the third. late
yesterday.
DR.. Arnold Eichert, who be.
came superintendent at Crowns
vile only last Monday. said
none of these was considered
dangerous. All had been con-
victed of minor crimes before
being judged insane and sent to
the hospital.
After a series of escapes with
in a short time last summer.
$4,000 was authorized by the
State in a move to prevent more.
That proved its worth a
thousand times over last night"
said DR.. Perkins. adding the sit.
uation would have been worse
without the extra security meas
ures. They included additional
grills and bars on doors and win
dows. he said.
Break Last July.
After eight men broke out Of
the building for insane criminals
last July, Gov. McKeldin threat
ened a shakeup in personnel at
Brownsville.
In his budget to the Legis-
lature last month he recon.
mended a 81 million appropria-
ton for the study. planning and
initial construction of a building
to house metally unSound con-
victs.
Mr.. Lonergan's suggestion that
critics of Brownsville 60 easy
mentioned this:
IF this State is about to do
something definite and adequate
to remove this hazard from our
community, there is less cause
for a general outcry." he said.
Plan Before Legislature.
The Legislature also is study
ing an earlier proposal by Mr..
Phipps that Brownsville be en-
larged. Officials have complained
the hospital is overcrowded and
the staff is under manned.
Its patients include mentally
retarded children and adults
without criminal records.
Less than three weeks ago $50
Of the children were scheduled
for transfer to Rosewood Train-
ing School. but parents Of chill
dren there complained the school
also was overcrowded.
They took court action to pre-
vent the transfer. The Legis-
lature then took up the problem
and the court case was shelved
pending possible action by the
lawmakers.
NRel0 49,