The Washington times., 1914-01-11
No Stripes, No Cells, No Bars,
and No Locks at Penal In
stitutioR for Districts Petty
Offenders.
BY EDITH LoBERT.

4 w0rkhOUSe without DarS, locks, OF
sruffy ceIls-a prison whose inmates
are sentenced to pure air, sunshine,
and honest work. an institution that
seeks reformation rather than vim
dictive punishment. recognizes the
God of Another Chance-that's Oc-
coquan.
\ visitor at the Districts institution
twenty-four miles down the Potomac
se-hardened to the sights and.
smells of the average penal institution.
comes away from Occoquan with en-
tirely different impressions.
Every man has a good spot in his
makeup and appreciates a square
deal"
That is the fundamental principal
Of Occoquan: according to its super
| inuendent, W. II. Whitaker. a life
long student of penology, and one of
the founders of the present system.
And a square deal is precisely what
the District prisoner at Occoquan gets,
whether he deserves it or not.
A drive from the station at Lorton,
Va. took us over a well-built road,
constructed by prison labor. to the
District farm, the main buildings of
which stand on a hilltop, ideally To-
Gated amid a beautiful grove of trees.
Viewed from distance the aspect was
most attractive.
Gate Wide Open.
AS we approached, the only thing
that seemed suggestive of a prison at
all was the wire stockade which en-
closed some of the central buildings
Even its big gate swung wide open.
"And that's coming down in the
spring. said Superintendent Whit
taker. There is no necessity for it
at all. It's only an invitation for a
man to outwit US if be can. We pre-
| fer to put him on his honor"
I heard thai word honor" quite
frequently in the course of my visit
| But I Cidn't hear it nearly so fire.
quently as ] saw the evidences of 1t
all over the big farm of 1,l50 acres.
The line was forming in response
to the dinner call as we arrived at
the gate. Two by two. the prisoners
were marching locksteppipg-
into the big long dining hall.
Why. I thought all prisoners wore
Whitaker. The procession which filed
In front of Us might have been any
gathering Of farm hands.
Not here. they don't he smiled in
reply. When YOU put stripes on
man you have taken the very first step
in lowering his self-respect. We want
TO help these men to regain that--not
lose what they have
Eat In Silence,
When the last of the orderly line had
gone in and the 800 or more men had
seated themselves at the narrow tables,
there was absolute silence, except for
the clink Of the dishes and the passing
TO and fro of the walters, prisoners
themselves.
There was plenty of good wholesome
food, pork and baked beans and bread
and as much of it as = man wanted.
We don't go on ne Oliver Twist
principle here continued Superintend-
ent Whitaker. 'if a man wants more
soup he gets it."
apparently it was a hearty meal.
Even the alcOhol-lined stomach cries
Tor proper nOuTishment after a days
hard work in the open. Not once did
see 2 face that wore a look of sullen
despaiT-that devil-mdy-care attitude OF
so many unfortunates caught in the
tolls of the law.
When one has been digging stumps all
morning, driving a team or doing some
constructive work in tie open, and
being treated like a decent human being
I'm the meantime, the spark Of goodness
which Occoduan believes inherent in the
meanest of humanity. is bound to re-
SpOnd.
Here is a sample u.enu the bill-of-
fare they ate the day of nv visit:
Breakfast, boiled hominy, meat gravy,
steWed apples. bread and coffee dinner.
baked beans. pork. bread and water:
supper, baked Goldfish hash. coffee, and
bread. with man-sized helprGs of it all,
and the privilege of coming back"
Lunch At Work.
The go or moTe-I was about to say
employes-prisoners who work at the
brick plant and the stone crCsher on
the river front eat their lunches there
\ new building is in the course of erec-
ton, to be used eventually as a dining
hall for these workers.
But Occoduan is not, in popular par
lance, soft snap" It tres to reach
the golden mean that lies between Sc
we're treatment and coddling. And the
number of runaways, less than per
cent of the 1900 cases handed, attests
how well ii has succeeded.
Lock at that squad of men out there.
said Mr.. Whitaker, as we drove over
the winding road on the way to the