Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-18
PRISONERS WHO GO HUNGRY.
They are Not Sure of Their Dinner
When They Get Arrested.
LACK OF UNIFORMITY IN PRACTICE ~ DIFFERENT
POLICE PRECISCTs-wHES THEY ARE FED THEY
ARE FED wELL-wHAr JUDGE MILLER SAYS
ABOUT 1T.

POLICE PRECISCTS-wHES THEY ARE FED THEY
ARE FED wELL-wHAr JUDGE MILLER SAYS
ABOUT 1T.
The STAR some days ago called attention to
the fact that prisoners in the dungeons at the
Police Court frequently complained that they
had been without food for twenty hours. hav-
ing received nothing to ca: after falling into
the hands of the police. A STAR reporter who
looked into the matter found that it is fire.
quently the case that pennile5s prisoner does go
hungry for twenty-four hours. as stated Tnis
may be due in part to the difference in judg-
ment among men as to how long a man can go
without food and not suffer. Meals are served
In all the police stations to prisoners, but
not by any means TO all the prisoners.
The prisoner who spends long time in q
police station is the one who fares the best, for
those WAC remain but short time are seldom
fed unless they have money to send out for
what they want Some, however. are fortunate
enough to have friends vino bring them in
packages OF what the average prisoner terms
grub. If there is more grub" in the bundle
than the lucky one wants he may divide 1t
among the others who occupy the adjacent
cells. In that way many OF the prisoners are
fed who otherwise would go hungry.
No UNIFORMITY
There is, no uniform rule concerning the
furnishing of meals to the prisoners, so that in
one police precinct prisoner might be ad-
judged hungry" and given meal, while in
another precinct an opposite opinion might
prevail. The meals furnished by the police
are much better than the average prison meal
They are not prepared in the station house. but
are procured from caterers who keep estab-
Ilshments in the neighborhood of the va
rlous stations The meals furnished are
tSI N Srs4.,E
and potatoes, bread, butter and coffee for
breakfast Sometimes eggs or chops are served.
For dinner boiled meat and vegetables are
served. SOM times, OF course, even the bill of
fare for dinner Is changed. The prisoners who
have money In their possession are never served
with anything to eat at the Districts expense
II they have money enough they can send for
anything they want. Ii Is. perhaps. a singular
thing that most OF the prisoners who send for
meals want steak, potatoes and coffee or oysters.
The meals served the prisoners are handed
into their cells to them and seldom are they
given knives and forks, for the officers guard
against giving them anything which they can
use to pick lock with.
WHAT is SAID AT HEADQUARTERS.
The officials at police headquarters say
that the prisoners, while in the custody of
the police, are furnished better meals than the
average citizen gets. The officials say that the
prisoners are properly fed while detained at
the stations, and ii there is any fault to be
found 1t Is while they are in custody of the
Police Court.
Ine prisoners, so the officials say, are fur
nlshed two meals when kept in station house
all day aud are furnished with breakfast in
the morning before going to court. Breakfast
so they say. Is furnished every morning except
Monday, and then 1t Is impossible to serve
breakfast because the Maria calls for them
too early in the morning. Dinner, it was stated.
hon nfals. Il
all prisoners arrested after that hour have to 60
unfed until morning.
THE COST OF THE MEALS.
The meals furnished cost more than those
furnished by almost any other city In Wash
ington they cost % cents and in Georgetown 30
cents. 1t is said that persons place themselves
IN the hands of the law in order to get a square
meal. There are hundreds Of persons arrested
during the course OF a year who. the officials
say, fare better in the hands of the law than
they do under other circumstances. and some
of them are frank enough to confess it.
There is special provision in the appropria-
ton act for the purpose of supplying meals to
prisoners IN police stations and the average
cost of the meals is about Sl20 per month or
Sl,5OJ per year.
IL THE POLICE COURT.
There should be some provision, the police
officials think, for feeding the prisoners in the
Police Court. so the police officials say. and
then there would be no ground for complaint.
But the only reInedy, SAID one o. the Off
Gals. us the magistrate system. Then the
prisoners would not suffer what looks to some
people to be inhuman treatment"
DIFFERENT STORY.
When STAR reporter made inquiries at some
OF the stations concerning the meals furnished
the prisoners he learned that the feeding was
done very differently from what was thought
by the officials at headquarters. In the first
place none of tine precincts visited made any
effort to serve the prisoners breakfast in
the morning before going to court Neither
did they pretend to furnish dinner
to those arrested late in the afternoon.
SO that prisoner taken to such d
station late in the afternoon would not he
furnished anything to eat by the District until
after his appearance at the Police Court, and
then not until his arrival at the Jail or work
house In case of conviction.
At one station an officer informed the re-
porter that meals are seldom furnished except
TO such prisoners as are required to remain over
Sunday or are kept in the station an extra day
before going to court.
TWO CASES AT RANDOM
One day this week there were two colored
females in the Police Court. One of them
named Rose Green told STAR reporter that
she was arrested before 10 o'clock the morning
before she was brought to court She said
mat she was given nothing to eat
Whlie IN the station except at night
when she was given some supper
The other woman was Jennie Stevenson who
was arrested in Georgetown. 1t was about
O'Clock the day before when she was locked
up. The officers, she said, did not give her
anything to eat, but during the night one of
her friends sent her something. There are hun
dreds Of just such cases. Colored people. such
as appear IN police circles, usually eat an early
breakfast, and when arrested in the afternoon
they seldom get anything to eat until they ar
rive at the work house the following dav
Sometimes the Police Court does not adjourn
until i've or six o clock. and the prisoners get
nothing to eat while detained at the court.
An old officer, speaking to STAR reporter.
said he thought some arrangement could be
made to provide the prisoners at the Police
Court with sandwiches when there was a long
day session of the court
There Is a colored boy who visits the conrt
daily and supplies the prisoners who can paw
Tor them with cakes, pies and other pastry, and
another peddler, an old man. furnishes them
SANDWICHES and other eatables at low fioures
Only those, however, who have money can
enjoy that luxury.
WHAT JUDGE MILLER SAYS
In speaking Of the matter to a STAR reporter
Judge Miller said that no provision had ever
been made for feeding the prisoners at court
such as had been made for the police stations.
ana III the absence of an appropriation he did
MOI see nov they were gong to be fed. The
Judge thought that if the prisoners were given
something to eat in the police stations each
morning before being brought to court the evil
would be remedied. The prisoners he said
are usually sent away from court in time to get