PRISON HOLOCAUST

Evening Star, Issue 20510, 14 June 1930, Page 13

PRISON HOLOCAUST

TRAPPED MEN GO WAD mm* AfftMS COASTS 7 ■TERRIBLE STORY M OHIO. iP ~ T ,JJ " nn, " r^ A wild cry of “Fire!” rang dowi* the corridors of the Ohio State Prison at Columbus in the night of April 31. tjnd within an hour 317 convicts had 4)een burned to death. Another 137, -men were taken to hospital, many .so badly injured that their lives were despaired of. _ . . One man escaped. Donning civilian clothes, he walked quietly out of the raging tumult. The prison was built to hold 1,500 men, .but when, , the, fire, .started 4,300 .were locked in the cells. Men serving life sentences are believed to have been responsible for the fire, which broke out near a wooden staircase and spread rapidly to a-block of cells holding 800 jnen. Tlie," wooden roofs were fuel for the furnace in which so many were ■entrapped. ■ • The keys which would have liberated the men from the burning cells had been .lost, for, as the .prison warden, Mr Thomas, - said: “ I sent a guard with the keys to .open /a dormitory in the path of thfe fire. I do not know why he did not. -That- dereliction cost scores of lives. The men never had a chance to live.” ' TROOPS STOP ESCAPES., The . chances-of complete escape by a larger number of convicts were effectually foiled by troops, who were rushed to the prison when the first fire Call rang out. With machine guns mounted on the walls and at the gates the possibilities of escape were nil. 7 Meanwhile the most terrible scenes were being witnessed- where the fire raged. Some convicts, seeing the;flames speeding towards them, prayed to.-be shot, and some, .went mad, but, on the other hand, hundreds, according ,to eye-witnesses; behaved like soldiers. With scarves wrapped round' their, faces, they fought their way through, flame and smoke along steel corridors that were almost red. hot, and -at the same time they tried to effect rescues. One of the most terrible discoveries was the death of 136 men on the sixth, tier of . the doomed building. They were crashed and burned by the falling roofs, DEATH OF GALLANT - “DESPERADO.” It was at* this spot that Wild Bill Cronin ger, a well-known desperado, gave his life for others. Twelve time* he made his way into the furnace, each time returning with the limp body of a prisoner. On the thirteenth effort he collapsed and died. Big Jim Morton, a Cleveland bankrobber, broke open his own cell with his hands, but instead of seeking to escape re-entered the blazing cells'to rescue his companions. William Wade, a huge negro, broke down a door with a sledge-hammer, and released twentyfive men. The neat finally drove him away. Like many others, he complained bitterly of the, prison management, saying: “They could have saved these men, but they let human beings burn to death.” „ Certainly it is the height of irony that while more than 300 men died the damage to the prison is estimated at only £2,000. . .* ■ One fionvu®, Roy Tyler, lost hisjjif* on the eve of obtaining his freedom which had-Just been granted by .-the -Bfipfeme CourtAnother hero was Howard Jones, who was serving twelve years for theft. Single-handed ho broke open cell locks and released 100 men. A GIRL. IN CHARGE. also-played'their 1 part in the rescues. Unable to stand_ by and see the condemned men die without » chance, they plunged into the fire and dragged many to safety. Doctors were summoned by the prison broadcasting station. Hr. Betty Morris*, the. ffrgfe woman physician on the scene, was a calm and courageous figure. She was treated with the greatest respect by convicts both white and black, and they, brought her medical supplies;. , - Miss Amanda Thomas, the warden’s daughter, took charge of the outer office, issuing machine guns and ammunition, ordering the guards to thenposts, summoning troops, and sending for medical supplies. ' At least one former prisoner could have written a ■ masterpiece on . the night’s events,; for “O. Henry,” the novelist, served-three years there for embezzlement,, and drew .from the inmates the .material for some off his finest stories. An. investigation into the disaster was opened, and a,storm of criticism developed; The demand was. made that .the warden be suspended until : responsibility for the outbreak is'fixed. It is _ sarcastically said that the State prison is up to date in one thing only—its radio. While the fire was bul-nihg Convict 46,812 stood in front of the microphone in the prisoners' radio room and calmly told the story of the outbreak. ‘