The Washington times., 1908-08-20
PRESIDENT PLANS
TO URGE NEW JAIL
Roosevelt Will Ask Congress
to Act on Report Of Com
mission Now Busy.

President Roosevelt intends 10 trans
nit TO Congress during the uexI session
a special message urging upon that body
the absolute necessity Of making an
appropriation lrftrsr FOR t5a renovation
and remOdellg o1 the OLD Jail or the
construction Of a new one.
This was made known today by "a
friend OF the President. who has talked
With him on this subject, and who says
that the question OF better Jail accom-
modaticns for Washington mas been
given considerable thought by Mr..
Roosevelt
Whether It viii be an entirely new Jail
OF penltentiary or an entirely new sys-
TEN, or whether IL Is 10 be but a re-
modelling Of the old building depends
on the report and recommendations to
be made TO the President by the COM
mission appointed by him for that pur-
pose. consisting Of JusJc Stafford. OF
the Supreme Court Of the District; r
V La Dow. sIperintend eut OF Federal
prisons and prisoners OF the Department
Of Justice. and John Joy Edison. OF
Washington.
Just Back from Tour.
This commission has just returned
from a weeks inspection of the jails
and reformatories in New England and
viii, it is expected. start on another
tour Of inspection about the first OF
the month.
Superintendent la Dow said to
Times representative today at the De-
partment Of Justice, that the commits
sion was impressed with what they
had seen in Boston and BridgewateT.
the latter place being the location OF
the state farm. an innovation in re-
formaUory methods.
The commission is perfectly aware
of the wretched condition of affairs at
the Washington jail, - he declared, and
we deplore them very much. 1t is badly
overcrowded. the sanitary arrangements
are wretched, and these conditions
should not be allowed 10 exist
"Of course the commission cannot, at
this time, say what will be recommend
ed in the way of alleviaJlng the con-
ditiOns. but something viii be recon-
nended.
Visit House of Correction.
In our visit TO Boston. we paid par
ticular attention to the house of cor
rection. a fine institution on Deer
Island, in Boston harbor, which ac-
commodities 1900 prisoners. Persons
convicted Of violation OF ordinances
and smaller offenses are sent there.
Thera are workshops attached to IL
Vpppta hles used at the institution are
grown. such an institution would tit
Conditions in Washington.
I'VE also visited the State prison at
CharlestOWn. the reform school for
boys at Concord and the State farm at
Bridgewater. The latter institution is
also an admirable one.
"Why has not something been done
before to remedy the conditions IN
Washington" Mr.. La Dow was asked.
The question was one which might well
make him hesitate, but he didn't
81 will have TO answer that by a
Department of Justice is scattered all
over Washington, with offices in a
dwelling house and the law library. It's
very tools, a quarter of a mile away in
the old CorcOran Art Gallery?"
Attorney Generals Acts.
For the last seven or eight wears
the Attorney General has urged unor
Congress the necessity Of doing some
thing TO remedy the existing conditions
here, and nothing has ever been doDa
IL is an impossible thing to read the
minds OF the members of Congress or
discover the reasons for some thtn0s
done By that body.
These conditions have existed for
some years. he continued land eyerv-
body in washington has known Of
tEem. Within short time the IN
sunsciency of the accommodations IT
the jail became a serious question
That same question Is being confront
ed by many other institutions also. In
Boston Il has become so serious that
there is a movement on foot Il .Hs-
cover, If possible. the causes of the
increase in cTimes7