Evening star., 1912-11-20
CHANGE IN PENAL LAWS,
PAROLE SYSTEM URGED
Address by w. H. Whitaker on
How to Make Men of
Criminals.

| Urging the abolition Of the present sys-
! tenn OF fines and bonds and advocating
| system of parole and indeterminate sen
| tences for criminals, w. H Whitaker,
| superintendent of the District workhouse
| at Occoquan, in an address at a smoker
1 given by the Southeast Washington Citi-
| zens' Association at Donohoe's Hall last
evening told what he believed should be
the ideal penal institution Of q city and
| what he desired the present workhouse
| to be. Fines and bonds, said Mr.. Whit
| taker, are no more than a license for
| evildoers and lawbreakers. When a
| man or woman is arrested. the speaker
| said, another man or woman pays the
| fine, very often for the purpose Of al
| lowing the lawbreaker to continue his
or her evil practices.
Advantages of Parole System.
Under the parole system. said the SUI
perintendent, a person would not be sent
to the workhouse the first time a minor
offense was committed. Although Mr.
Whitaker plans to make the penal in
stituton a farm" he said that being
sent as a criminal to an institution of
this kind was bound to prove a stain on
any one which would be hard to remove.
the need at present, according to the be-
lief of the speaker. He pointed out that
under the old system which had been used
here for hundred years criminals were
supposed to be punished and were largely
kept in cells where they idled away their
| time and came out worse than they went
in. Prisoners at Occoquan work on the
farm and at other occupations, he said.
and usually took as much interest in the
work as If they were being paid for it.
'fHT ynop ocyn thn trio of nj
bia was going nowhere so far as its
| criminal population was concerned" he
said. Two years and five months ago
the Commissioners offered me the posi-
| which, by the way. should be called a
farm rather than workhouse
Il went down to look the place over.
Is 1t possible to take this wilderness and
| uneducated downs and outs of the Dis
trict and bring it up to the standard the
people Of the District want 1t to be, l
asked myself 1t was said 1t would prove
a failure. 1 want to tell you 1t is not a
failure.
Making Men of Prisoners.
1--WE try to make men of the criminals
who come to us-try to make them self
sup porting" continued the speaker. ITO
do this successfully we must have in
dustrial opportunity; agriculture Is not
enough for an institution Of this kind,
though. Of course, 1t is great thing.
Mine Thousand Of the Districts popu-
lation has been handled in two years and
five months. This means not quite two
people In a hundred. Surely these people
deserve some consideration from the tax
payers of the District
Besides the bricks and stone being used
by the city government Mr.. Whitaker
said he expected soon to provide milk
and eggs for the tuberculosis hospital
and vegetables for the other hospitals.
In urging new laws for the District Mr..
Whitaker said he should like to see the
institution at Occoquan have officers con-
nected with it who could look up the his
tory and families Of prisoners. The parole
law should be more generally recognized,
he said, and in this manner at least 1000
persons year would be saved from going
to Occoquan.
Prospective Institution.
IF a man is a confirmed criminal he
should never be released asserted the
speaker. Some day we will have insti-
tutions In this country where habitual
criminals and degenerates will be kept
for all time
Supt. Whitaker was introduced by Allan
Davis. Mr.. Davis praised Mr.. Whitaker
Washington" and making it a self-sup-
porting and creditable institution
ID. A. Edwards. president of the Fed
GRAFTON Of Citizens Association and pres
ident of the Lincoln Park Citizens Asso-
citation, made an address on the life of
Napoleon Bonaparte. A. G. Hermann,
president of the Southeast Citizens Asso-
citation, presided. John Gates played a
plano solo. Refreshments were served at
| the close of the evening.