Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-15
District Officers Interested in
Conditions of Prisoners.
SEPARATION is ADVOCATED
Effort to Secure Transfer of Con-
sumptive Patient.
WARDEN McKEE'S STATEMENT
Commissioner West Not Empowered
Hospital Despite Willingness.


Hospital Despite Willingness.
The situation at tho District lail. where
the health OF over ,ss, male prisoners -
endangered hv the presence there az 4
prisoner suffering from tuberculosis *
about TO bc solved by movement started
today in the United States district attor-
ncy's office TO ask President Roosevelt -
issue y nardon and have the unfortunate
man removed from the place to a hospital
Assistant District Attorney Ralph Givrn
is in charge OF the preliminary arrange
ments. and il is hoped that something " i'll
be done To clear up the situation within
a few days
The prisoner. il was learned today. 10
in a weakened condition. and the dis
ease has just reached the stage when
the sputum is particularly infectious.
1t was for this special reason that War
den Mckee is particularly anxious TO have
the prisoner removed at once, so that
the lives of the other prisoners will not
be further endangered.
The overcrowded conditions prevailing
at the jail have been relieved to some
extent since July 10. AT that time Warden
Mckee had ti2s prisoners I'm his custody.
and the condit ions prevailing then were
far from what should bc desired in "A
model institution.
Overcrowded Conditions Relieved.
AS as Warden Mckee made the
statement that the jail was overcrowded
the District judges Immediately began
sending prisoners to the work house i'm
cases where such sentences would servo
the same ends OF justice. This action on
the part OF the Judges or the different
courts, together with number OF re-
movals to the penitentisries at Mounds
vile and Atlanta. has reduced the num-
Der of prisoners To JiS.
When a Star reporter visited the Jail
today il was observed that a great deal
of repair work is under way. Although
there is A very small appropriation Tor
Warden Mckee TO eNpend. still he is
utilizing much OF the idle labor at the
Jail and in this way is saving the general
government much money.
Across the central part of the top floor
of the building a new department for the
women is being parttioned off with
Office for the matron who remains on
duty at all hours.
The apartment is being arranged so that
when prisoner or messenger appears at
the door he gazes into a hallway and can
not See into the apartments occupied by
the female prisoners.
Heretofore there has been no screens at
the jail and only recently some about six
feet long were placed in the lower parts
OF the twenty foot windows. In this way
only the lower floors were given good
ventilation. The remaining three floors
were thus deprived of good a ventia-
Kee is having screens made now which
are about twenty feet long and which
will allow all four floors of the Jail to be
properly screened.
Jail No Place for Patient.
I'm justice to the patient himself and
the other prisoners at the Jail with whom
he necessarily comes I'm contact. the for
mer should be removed to some institution
where proper treatment could be given
n Hao <<Io
asked about the possible effects of the
spread OF tuberculosis at the Jail as a
result OF the long confinement OF an
inmate suffering with that disease.
DR.. Woodward Is very positive in his
belief that the man should. not have been
kept at the jail, not simply because the
disease IL contagious. therefore endaneer-
Ing the health of large number OF men
confined within the walls OF the prison.
but because there is an act OF Congress
providing for the prevention of the spread
of contagious diseases which distinctly
specifies that the court shall authorize the
temporary removal of a prisoner 10 :.
hospital for treatment il the disease is
contagious and IL there is any likelihood
of its spreading among the other inmates.
The court is also named to designate the
place to transfer the patient.
This provision for caring for persons
in jails in the event they have contagious
diseases is very broad, In the opinion OF
the health officer, and he can see no rea-
''Of course, l may be wrong" he eX-
planned. There may be some reason that
l am not familiar with which prohibits
the courts from acting. but To me the law
appears very clear. Ii can't be on ac-
count of the Jail being under federal juris-
diction that the authorities say they cam
not act. because all acts of Congress APP
ply to the federal government well as
the local government.
Danger of Disease Spreading.
when I say that tuberculosis is a con-
tagious disease and that there is danger
of il spreading in this case at the jail I
do not intend to make things sensational.
There is no cause for alarm. Ii is not like
contagious diseases such as smallpox,
measles and scarlet fever. but II II con.
tagious nevertheless. and ii is hard on the
patient and the others in the Jail that he
is not removed where proper and scien-
tific treatment can be given him. Ii may
be that the authorities are aware of the
law that / mention. which is in the stat
utes and was approved March s. lSg1. but
that they do not consider tuberculosis
contagious disease and therefore find it
unable to act because the law specifies
contagious diseases.
The medical profession considers tu-
berculosis a contagious disease. he says.
'The United States JAIL its official
name implies. is a federal institution. and
the Commissioners or other local authori-
ties have absolutely no Jurisdiction over
IL. IL comes directly under the Depart
ment of Justice.
when the presence of prisoner suf-
fering from tuberculosis was made known
to Commissioner West yesterday morn
ing he instantly directed DIR. Smith, IN
charge of the tuberculosis hospital, to
have the patient transferred to the Latter
institution. if the jail officials so desired,
and would assume responsibility for the
mans safekeeping.
Commissioner West Interested.
Commissioner West today expressed
deep interest in the reported conditions
at the Jail, but added that the institution
was in no degree within the jurisdiction
of the District Commissioners. We do
not appoint the warden" said Commits
sioner West We do not appoint any OF
the guards We have no control over
the purchase of supplies. nor do even
include the estimates for the jail in our
budget to Congress. all estimates for that
institution being made by the Department
of Justice. If. as seems to be the case, the
conditions at the Jail are due TO an UNI
usually large number of prisoners now
there ii is evident that the
building, which was erected over a quar-
ter of a century ago has not at the pres
ent time sufficient capacity to accommo-
date persons who are arrested and are