Evening star., 1912-07-07

Nearly 10000 loaned, for railroad fares,
meals and numerous other things, of
which amount practi-
Record OF cally 81 per cent has
re been returned! Such is
"nesS' the record Of the Pris-
oners' Aid Society. which for twelve
years has been assisting unfortunates,
men. women. boys and girls. along the
road to future right living. Money has
been either loaned them or tickets bought,
fines paid, or food and lodging provided.
And then after the case has been closed.
as far as the actual work Of the society
is concerned. will come q letter, perhaps
many months later. containing an In
closure and few poorly scrawled lines
Of appreciation. not alone OF the money
but of the new start" 1t helped to secure.
The beginning Of the Prisoners Aid So
ciety dates back to the days toward the
close Of the Spanish-American war.
Charles Alfred Massie, now probation ON
Ger of the District of Columbia; the wlIe
of the late Representative Baocock OF
Wisconsin, Mrs. Mary F. Case, Mrs. Cor
porar' Tanner, Mrs. Rachael Levy, and
the then Commissioners Of the District,
Ross and Wight. established rest
room for soldiers at the corner OF lIth
street and Pennsylvania avenue. From
general need Of similar work was soon
discovered, and SO the first organization
was Incorporated. For about two years
the new society did well. but funds began
to get low. AS they decreased the nelo
of work narrowed, until finally the organ
ization died. That is. all but Mr.. Massie,
for he kept quietly on. doing what he
could himself and interesting others IN
the project. Later. with the aid OF the
Judges Of the District Supreme Court and
D-Pl ~ nnnnhorC Inc
clergy were interested, chief among them
being the late Bishop Henry 7. Satterlee
and the late Bishop Mackay-Smith, then
pastor Of st. Johns Church.
X y
Through this new interest the society
was reorganized in the fall Of 1903. since
which time it has work
Clerpvmen ed steadily ahead and be-
r..4.s come a recognized lnsti-
AnLeTcSteu. tuition in the National
Capital. The present officers are the NJ.
Rev. DR.. Alfred Harding. Bishop OF
WASHINGTON, president; r. p. Williams
vice president; w. ]. D. Thomas. chap
lain; Ida ]. Heiberger, physician; MISS
Rachael c. Levy, secretary: II. l. Bryan,
assistant secretary; Mrs. Mary F. Case
treasurer; Mrs 8. w. Fox. assistant
treasurer, and Charles Alfred Massie
agent The officers and the following
Compose the executive committee: Rev
I. H. Bradford, Rev. r. w. Lowrie, Will
liam C. Rives, John Sherman and ]. H
Chew.
The greater part Of the society's work
is done through Mr.. Massfe. His regu-
lar work as probation officer brings MIN
in touch with those unfortunates VINO
IF
sentences. and in this way he is able to
do his work in connection with the Pris-
oners' Aid Society. In fact, the story OF
the society must necessarily be the story
tor in its beginning. Mr.. Massie has
been engaged in work OF this kind for
many years, entering 1t shortly after be-
ing honorably discharged from the army
in 1864, when he WAS sixteen years old
He first started by visiting state jails and
warehouses on Saturdays. Soon reatiz-
ing the need Of IN organization which
would work along the lines now pur-
sued by the Prison ,rs' Aid Society. he
went to Baltimore. There he made good
use of private funds In connection with
work being done By Probation OFFICER
John Griffith. millionaire phfIanthropist
and prison worker Of that city. And
then, toward the close Of the Spanish
American war. MT. Massie came to Wash
ington and took up the work here.
Az probation ohicer 1t is Mr.. Mas
sizes daily task to sit just to the right
and a little In the rear
Probation OF the Judge. where he
nn may be close to the
VuceI. cage" Here, uncounsel-
ed except by his intuition. judgment
and knowledge Of human nature, he
Sot, ahon fhA aid
they ask for Then. too. to Mr.. Mas
sic is given the work of hurrying each
morning to the cells at Police Court,
where are confined those whom the
police have arrested during the night.
the dregs of humanity cast up In the
dark. And when one Is chosen as
being worthy of aid, Mr.. Massie very
often appeals to the Judge or district
attorney for c1emency. and they. real
izing, his deep insight into human ma
ture usually heed his plea.
But such as these are not alone the
sole kind to seek and receive the help
Of this society. Not all those helped
are touched by the finger OF crime
and vice and sordidness. OF the thou
sands Of tourists who journey to the
capital there are many who are
the clutches OF the law. Cases Of
young girls who have stopped in
Washington for few hours to change
trains and have been lured to forbid
den places are not unusual. Stories
Of men, women and boys who in a wild
moment Of thoughtlessness throw off
the yoke OF conventiona1ity only to
land in q cell where remorse digs deep
are not strange. It is this class in
particular with which the Prisoners
Aid Society deals.
The motto Of the society is 'preven-
ton" BY it is taken up the task
of preventing those once dropped
aside from the path OF right, from
keeping on with such a life; Of prevent
ing those who have fallen from keep
ing on through being kept in touch
with improper companions The society
strives to avoid workhouse and Jail SEN
tences, to avoid Expressing wrong
doers with the knowledge that they
have "served time," and to keep them
away from people whose bad influence
might be lasting. And then, too, there
is another side. a side of cold. hard.
calculating figures. The Prisoners
Aid Society has been of service to the
District government. that part Of It
which wants to spend no more money
than Is necessary. By averting Jail or
workhouse sentences the local gov
ernment has been spared the expense
Of maintenance. while the money
spent by the society In fines has prac-
tical1y always been in cases where
the culprit would otherwise be forced
to serve a sentence through his in
ability to pay.