The Diggers

Ten convicts who tunneled out of Washington's Walla Walla State Penitentiary last week wanted more than mere freedom; by painstaking organization they had prepared to enter society as flawlessly documented citizens.

By this week nine of them were caught, each carrying a tidy briefcase containing credentials produced in the prison print shop. There were papers identifying the men as full-fledged officials of the Washington state prison system and well-written letters of reference, one ostensibly signed by State Institutions Director Dr. Thomas Harris. There were draft cards, business cards, drivers' licenses, birth certificates, and credit cards from stores throughout Washington. Four had neatly printed state paychecks totaling $10,000.

Last week's example of devilish ingenuity was nothing new at Walla Walla, sections of which boast no plumbing, densely crowded conditions, sullen inmates, and cowed, underpaid guards who seldom stay long. Excerpts from Walla Walla's record:

P:1926: 900 convicts broke out to the main gate before being beaten back. P:1934: nine convicts and a guard died in "The Lincoln Day Break." P:1952: a loo-ft. tunnel was discovered shortly after prisoners were given a dinner by the warden for digging no tunnels during the previous year. P:1953: a convict-made bomb killed Prison Manager Albert Gruber. A two-day riot and $500,000 fire killed one prisoner, destroyed five buildings. One-quarter of the prisoners (400 men) held a "sleep strike" after using barbiturates to go on a mass bender.

P:1955: four tough prisoners seized eight guards and officials as hostages, took control of the whole prison for 26 hours, were promised the "reforms" they asked before giving up (TIME, July 18).

An ominous quiet prevailed at Walla Walla this autumn as officials longed for the day when new facilities would be built to contain men like the July rioters. When state legislators finally approved funds for desperately needed construction, it seemed the situation might finally be brought under control. But last week Warden Lawrence Delmore received crushing news from the State Supreme Court: the legislature's' prison appropriation was unconstitutional.

Commenting on the latest break, Delmore said: "Hell, it's a matter of record we've got 1,400 men in here, with 600 of them--mostly the young ones beginning their terms--idle every day. Every so often a group starts digging for the walls for lack of anything better to do."

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