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

A SQUARE Deal Fer the Down and Out
By Frederic 3 Haskn-

e Prisoners. POINT OF view

8nnneneneas1nesreusu $50
great deal has been written. about
prisoners bypenoIogists and reform-
err. but the prisoners themselves
have seldom expressed and opinion.
In the few cases where prisoners nave
told what they though OF Prison con
ditfons. their views have usually oeen
anything but complimentary NOT SO.
the inmates Of occoQuan. model worA-
house of the District OF Columbia
a number Of them were inter
viewed when no oncer Of the place
was present, and they said what they
thought with evident frankness ana
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 All
the vanity and sensftiyeness that
characterizes the criminal and va
grant, but they admitted that &C DC
coquan they had gotten a square
deal Those who had been In otner
prisons were especiaIN apprecia ire
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 a year. having
grew out of hilarious drunk and a
subsequent row When interviewed
he was very sober and philosophIc In
the extreme He asserted tcaS IN
romparison with solitary confinement
on bread and water in The guard room
which he had experienced in the army
a term at OccoQuan was regular W.
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 a negro, sent up Tor
assault with deadly weapons, who
was doing solitary confinement Tor an
attempt to run away He was con
fined in one Of the cells about elSh
feet square, with an iron-barred door,
a cement dooIand no furniture but
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 well
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
prtson,icnt, and like most Of the 9TH
ers. though that he had not received
Justice st The hands OF the Law, out
was entirely satisfied with his trtsat-
rsent at the prison The suDeroten
dent he regarded as a personal friend
chat with him
Five of the officers at occuquan are
men who were sent up for terms OF
year or more Four OF them were
chronic DRINKS, who came to the IA
ND
wrecks. The fifth was a 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 miserably by rea-
son of drink, drugs and crime THESE
five men are now among the most
trusted employs at Occuquan- All
five OF them have years OF spleno1o
service to their credit There cou1d
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 hfteen
to thirty In each OF these gangs
there is one prisoner who does not
work regularly, but acts as a 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 Supe-tnten-
dent Whitaker chooses these men,
~hom he calls ~sentinels. is typlcat
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 penitentiarles- Wnen
such a man arrives, If he looks ply
NJ.
him 10 his Office and informs him that
he is to be made sentinel The ap-
peal is solely to the mans pride II
almost invariably succeeds Men OF
the most deprayed and desperate char
acter become absolutely reliable
guards. Mr Whitaker believes that
many of these same men. when re-
leased. might turn around and rob the
institution IL they could. but that
pride and the desire for the good
opinion OF their fellows prompt them
while they are in prison
These sentinels have repeatedly
captured men who have attempted to
escape. One large, powerful negro.
who has criminal record and served
several terms at occoquan, was an es
peciaIly efficient sentinel He seemed
to be inspired with a genuine sense
of loyalty. One day a white man. who
had Just been sent to Occoquan and
who had served several terms in var
ious penitenttartes seized.a butcher
knife in the prison kitchen and made
a break for the woods. He Was a pow
erful man, thoroughly desperate and
the butcher knife was a formidable
weapon 40. one followed him into
the thick timber except the negro SEN
4fneI The Write man took refuge
from his pursuer BEHIND q tree;