Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-02
Responsibility for Conditions
in Police Stations.
HEALTH OFFICERS OPINION
Remedial Measures Now Depend
Upon the Commissioners.
NOS. ONE AND SIX WORST
A Shame to Confine Prisoners There
Say the Respective Precinct
Captains.

DIR. William G. Woodward. District
health officer put the responsibility for
the insanitary condition of the District
police stations directly up to the Com
missioners this morning.
Il have gone as far as my power will
years I have recommended that imme-
diate improvements be made in a num-
Der of the police stations and that the
dep1orable insanitary conditions which
exist there be corrected. Maj. Sylves-
ter has re-echoed these recommended
tions and has given them his hearty
support.
Nothing has been done. + have no
power to go further. 1 have absolutely
no power to compel the Commissioners
to do anything. The conditions which
prevail are open and notorious, but the
health office is not to blame. 1t has
gone the limit The whole matter is
up to the Commissioners"
None of the District Commissioners
was in the city today.
Best Cells Little Used.
Two most insanitary station houses,
Nos. l and 6, are the two which nightly
house the largest number Of prisoners.
The most modern and up-tO-date of all
the station houses is 'in the woods as
the police say. This is No. IL, in Ana
costa, where the percentage of arrests is
extremely low. No. station house, in
the southeastern section OF the city. is
also modern and sanitary. but this, too.
is very seldom filled and the average
number of arrests made in that precinct
is far below that in Nos. l and 6.
The cells in No. are probably the
house was built in 1888, when steel cages
were not in general use in prisons. The
cells are all closed in with the exception
of the fronts, which have barred gates.
The walls are OF cement and there Is no
ventilation except through an opening
each cell.
Air Fouled by Toilets.
These toilets are of ancient construction
and are in an almost unbelievable condi-
ton. They are flushed from the front
of the station house. The metal work
is so corroded that it Is almost falling
to pieces.
In each cell is a long wooden bench
which is the only resting place provided
for the occupants. Saturday nights, when
the station is crowded, and two prisoners
are in each cell, the insanitary conditions
are doubled. Even with one prisoner
in cell the air is foul and close be-
cause of the lack of ventilation and the
open toilets. With two prisoners con-
fined in the narrow space the air becomes
almost ,lnbreathable.
The only method Of cleansing the cells
is by flushing. They are washed out twice
each day with a hose. Because of the
lack of proper ventilation the water does
not dry off quickly and the cells are
almost constantly unhealthy damp.
Capt. ByrneS of No. 6 admitted that
it was a hard job trying to keep the
cells clean.
"They belong to another era," said he,
land they should be ripped out and done
away with. That's the only way to
clean them out. 1t wouldn't cost more
than $4,000 to put in new steel cages.
I feel sorry for any human being
obliged to spend a night in one Of them.
We do the best we can with the ma
terial at hand, but it's pretty bad ma
terial."
Conditions at No. /.
No. ] station house, which was
opened in 1882. has exactly the same
style of cells those in No. o. They
are just as insanitary and just as close,
stuffy and foul as the others The
toilets are not open here They are