Evening star., 1909-06-20

conduct are given greater liberties. and
the guards. There is also within this
walled-n town tuberculosis camp.
where sufferers receive the fresh-dir
treatment and the additional nouriShment
so beneficial to their condition. There are
fifteen cases in the camp at the present
time. and all are doing well. The NOR
tality record of the camp is remarkably
low. The chapel is large room with
seating capacity of over eight hundred.
In the front of the room is we'll equip
ped stage. where entertainments for the
seven hundred prisoners who dwell within
the prison walls. Under sentences ranging
from six months to life are held. The
scenery for the stage is painted by prison
artists. The religious services are under
the auspices of the Episcopal and Roman
Catholic churches and the Christian I'm
deavor League. Sunday school service is
also maintained. Forming a broad arch
over the door on the inside of the chapel
in large letters Of evergreen are the IN
spring words: Look up and hope.
About eight trips are made each year
from Washington to Atlanta and LeaNen-
worth with prisoners for tho penitentia-
ries there. Since January Of this year
fifty prisoners convicted here have been
delivered to each OF these institutions.
While no we'll defined attempt to escape
has been made on any of these trips
within tile knowledge OF the warden or
any of the attendants now at the Jail, on
almost every trip there are men con-
stantly alert for the slightest opportunity
to make an attempt. The men often
feign illness in order to have their hand
cuffs removed, or claim the handouts are
too tight. in the hope they may be loos-
ened far enough to enable them to slip
their hands free. Warden Mckee cstab-
lshed the custom Of carrying physician
on all these trips. and the subterfuge or
sickness is now harder, to employ. Often
when handouts are put on too tightly
the impeded circulation will cause the
arm to rapidly swell, and 1t is then some
times impossible to unlock the handcun,
and a steel file must be employed TO re-
move them On one OF the first trips
made by Warden Mckee white taking
car of prisoners to Fort Smith. Ark. IL
was necessary to stop the train and have
the engineer remove with cold chlsei
handcuff from the rapidly swelling arm
of a prisoner, and since that time he al
ways carries along with medicine
chest, steel file for such emergencies
There are today in the Washington jail
about 500 prisoners 400 OF whom are
serving time under sentence and the re-
mainder are awaiting trial or transporta-
ton to the penitentiary. Most or those
who are serving time are under sentences
Of sixty or ninety days. The longest sen
tence they can do here under one charge
Is eleven month and tWenty-nine days.
though some who are sentenced under
two or three charges will remain here for
several years. Most of the prisoners are
negroes, and to satisfy their desire for
razor some will resort to the manufac-
ture of very ingeniously made substi-
tutes One weeks haul will aggregate
six or seven of these raZors. made from
a corset steel or from the steel fnstep
spring taken from it's possessors shoe.
Handles are made Of two sticks and the
steel blade is sharpened down to dan
gerously fine edge There are sixteen
guards. divided into three watches. for
the five hundred prisoners, and 1t keeps
them busy watching the inmates of the
cells when taken out in the corridors
for their daily exercise or for their week
ly bath. The building itself is quite COM
modious for the purposes of receiving
place for criminals, as 1t is contemplated
that most of the prisoners who are serv-
ing time under sentence will be sent to
the proposed new reformatory.