Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-18

bread Cor week At the expiration 90
that time III asked to see the superlt-
tendent. and d ,clarel his absolute will
inEuoss To do whatever h. was told. HIS
reformation was complete. and from th@t
time forward he was a model prisoner.
During tn last month OF his Incarceration
he was made a trusty.
But tie aim OF the workhnGsa is not
merely IN insure good behavior during
the months sp"at there as prisoner
Mr.. Zinkhan talks personally Ia eaca man
during his incarCe' "a !Sn. and @Specia4lF
on the day of his release. urging INN 10
try 10 become good citiz-E Many
times his efforts are useless. but occasion
ally a man reforms and is seen no more
IN the wcrkhouse.
One Who Stopped Drinking.
A striking instance of such case was
an old offender who for many years spent
more than half his time as a prisoner.
He had an apparently Unsuitable craving
for drink. and although VIXEN sober lie
was the mildest ~ m n, when drunk he
was Il demon. For tn years his name
was entered on the office books for vari-
Gus offenses. and in every cell in which ne
was placed he scratched his name. the
date and beneath the words. This time
| have actually sworn off. il never
did. however. until ore da~ he was given
a pamphlet by Mr. Zinkhan on which was
the following coup.et
There Is saloon which al NAV close:
That is the saloon which is under your nose.
This doggerel seemed TO have a pro-
nounced effect upon him. and he declared
that he would never drink another drop.
No one believed him. but this time he
meant it, He stopped drinking. obtained
employmert and became respected by all
who knew him.
One term III the workhouse is usually
enough to reform most Of the woman
prisoners. They rarely give any trouble.
cit her and when released are seldom seen
again. Since Mr.. Zinkhan has been super
intendent there has baen but one disturb
ance of any size in the female but ding
This occurred a few nights after he was
placed in charge of the local Institution:
when a few women began screaming ana
rafting the doors Of their cells. The
ether prisoners joined in. and for half an
hour pandemonium reigned. They were
finally guttel b. the removal or the ring
leaders who were placed in dark cells.
The experience has never been repeated.
Since the majority Of those sent to the
workhouse have received only short SEN
fences but few attempts ara made TO es-
cane Occasionally. however. prisoner
will MAKE such an effort. Strange as il
may seem. TOO. those who try 10 escape
are almost invariably men who have but
a few remaining days Of their sentences
to serve. Such a case occurred last year,
when a prisoner trusty. whose term
was 10 expire in three days-was sent 10
the spring after a bucket of water When
fifteen minutes passed and he had not re-
turned an alarm was sent out and
search begun. Supt. Zinkhan, who had
bsen informed by telephone. hurried To
tie brick kilns. which are nearby. and
there. as he expected. he found his man
hiding III one OF the unused ovens. Pre-
tending that he was armed. NJ. link. an
ordered The prisoner 20 com" out. ara
then marched hi!l ahead back 10 tie
wcrkhouse. where his legs were chained
together ard pc WAS placed in dark cell.
there to remain until the expiration or
his sentence.
He was unable To explain his action.
declaring simply that he had been seed
with so strong a desire II escape that ne
could not resist it. The thOuSl 81 three
more DAYS. he said. was simply unbeara-
BILE.