The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-06-12

4 A great deal has been written. ABOUT
prisoners by penologists and reform
ters. bur the prisoners themselves
have seldom expressed and opinion
In the few cases where prisoners nave
told what they though Of prison con-
! dirions. their views have usually been
anything but complimentary- Not 50.
the inmates of OccoQuan. model Work
house of the District Of Columbia
A number of them were inter
viewed when no officer OF the place
was present, and they said what they
thought with evident frankness and
sincerity Many of them condemned
the Law for having put them In prison
and society in general for not appre,
eating their merits They showed la, an
the vanity and sensitiveness that
tcharacterizes the criminal and va
grant. but they admitted that at Oe-
coouan they had gotten square
deal. Those who had been in other.
prisons were especfalN appreciaSi.e
of the healthy and pleasant conditions
at Occoquan-
This amt no jail, was the opin-
ion of an old soldier with one arm
gone. who was in. for year, having
been arrested on three charges when
grew out OF a hilarious drunk and
subsequent row. When interviewed
ne "dSsE1SIy SS0C4 oAAo P4AAANSOAANH--SS
the extreme He asserted that IN,
rom parison with solitary confinement
on bread and water in the guard room
which he had experienced in the army
a term at OccoQuan was a regular va
cation. Indeed, he had little to com
plain of. for he was too old TO do hard
work and had been appointed prison
librarian
Equally favorable. however, was
the comment of negro, sent up 1or
assault with deadly Weapons, VINO
was doing solitary confinement for an
attempt to run away. He was con
fined in one Of the cells about eisnt
feet square. with an iron-barred door,
a cement floor and no furniture but a
pallet His diet was bread, water and
soup. He faced three months of such
existence Yet he was smiling, ap-
parently happy and very ready TO
talk. He said that he had been wen
treated until he tried TO run away
and was sorry that he had made the
attempt He described with some gus
to the fight that resulted in his inn
prisonr1ent, and like most OF the 9th
'ers. though that he had not received
Justice st The hands of the law, but
was entirely satisfied with his tr-sat-
n.ent at the prison The supericten
dent he regarded as PERSONAL friend
and was glad Of an. opportunity To-
chat with him.
Five OF the officers at occuquan are
men who were sent up for terms OF a
year or more. Four Of them were
chronic DRINKS, who came to the "a
stitution as physical and moral
wrecks The fifth was thief, sent
up on charge Of petty larceny. Two
of these men had been carpenters
two clerks and one an engineer All
of them had failed miserasbly by rea-
son of drink, drugs and crime. These
five men are now among the most
trusted employees at Occuquan- All
five Of them have years of splend1d
service to their credit. There could
be no more conclusive proof OF what
Occuquan does for the prisoner.
The prisoners in this model Jail do
their work in gangs of from fifteen
there is one prisoner who does not
work regularly, but acts as guard
and messenger. He has no authority
over the other prisoners He IS not
a gang boss. His sole duties are %
watch for attempted runaways and to
obey the instructor In charge OF the
gang. The way in which Super1nten-
dent Whitaker chooses these men,
-hom he calls -sentinels,- Is typicat
CT the man and his methods.
There are frequently sent to Deco
GUAM men with long criminal records.
often murderers who have served
terms in various penitentiaries- When
such a man arrives, if he looks ply
stcally capable. Mr.. Whitaker takes
him 70 his Office and informs him that
he is to be made a sentinel The APP.
peal is solely to the mans pride It
almost invariably succeeds. Men OF
the most depraved and desperate char
acter become absolutely reliable
guards. afr. Whitaker believes that
MANY of these same men. when re-
leased. might turn around and rob the
institution II they could but that
pride and the desire for the good
opinion of their fellows prompt them
to live up to their responsibilities
while they are in prison.
These sentinels have repeatedly