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Show 0106 RENDS TRY T0 ESCAPE Risking the bullets of the police rather than be doprived any longer of the drugs that have become necessary to them, a half-score of drug fionds made a determined effort to escape from the Salt Lake city prison yesterday. yes-terday. Two succeeded In eluding the officers, but the others were recaptured. re-captured. Tho drug fionds were being be-ing transferred to the basement of tho police station while their ward In the city jail, .which is badly overcrowded,, known as "Dante's Inferno," was being be-ing cleaned.. Assistant City Physician Spraguc has urged that drug fiends arrested on various charges bo given sentences of at least six mouths, claiming that short sentences are of little effect In breaking up the habit. Many attempts at-tempts of drug fiends to smuggle drugs into the prison have been discovered dis-covered and frustrated Pitiable Scene In Jail. . A pitiable scene was witnessed at the Salt Lake police headquarters yesterday yes-terday morning, when Patrolman Crowther took to tho station Miko Campbell, a confirmed drug fiend, who was begging on the streets for enough money with which to buy cocaine and morphine Campbell presented a horrible appearance ap-pearance and his appealing cries for drugs were enough to touch the heart of tho most hardene4 policeman.. Tho man was covered with filth and he was so woak from the ravages of disease and poison that he could scarcely stand With stnrlng ces, trembling lips and shaking limbs he groveled on the floor and begged for just one dose of moiphlne or cocaine "I can't stand it.? he cr.ed "Plca?o don't put me In that jail without giving giv-ing me just one Utile shot of 'hop.' I would rather die 'Kill me!' ' he shrieked, "club mo' to death or shcot me If you won't give me some dopo " To see if he really meant what ho said, one of tho policemen said, "Stand over there and I'll kill you." The policeman po-liceman drew his revolver nnd Campbell, Camp-bell, without a second's hesitation, placed his back against the wall, bared his breast, and looking tho policeman straight in the eyes, said "Go ahead. Please shoot me It will be all righL Go ahead, kill me' Please do1" Officials Visit Jail. Monday night Mavor Park and Commissioners Com-missioners Morris. Keysor and Korns visited the city jail and wcro taken Into the drug fiends' ward bv Chief Grant. The scenes they witnessed there were almost Indescribable. They found more than n score of these unfortunate lying about on tho concrete con-crete floor and tho stench that came from the place was frightful The moment the officials entered tho drug fiends leaped to their foot and began begging for morphine and cocaine co-caine "Let me out for five minutes nnd I'll got some dope and como right back. It's Inhuman to keep us hero and not give us anv dons," cried one Another rushed 'to the bars and shrieked: "If vou won't give mo some dope kill me. Cut my throat and kill me now " The commissioners found tho jail overcrowded and In tho basemont of the jail they found several homeless, men lying on the stone floor with newspapers for coverings. There wore 97 prisoners in jail and the jail accommodates ac-commodates only S5. no . |