The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-06-11
aneh asl they can 1t some Of the

las much as they can 1t some OF sttss
easier tasks
Meals are served IN big, wen wen
llighled dining room. the men sitting
1 in long rows behind wooden benches
hike children at an o1d-fashtoned
school The food is simple but GOOD
tCoIored and white prisoners are sep
sarated and no talking IS allowed
In the evening me prisoners &c
+ to a rest room, where they are pro-
land checker games sd, are alloweo
Ito talk In low tone About eight
O'Clock they go TO bed They sleep
lin long dormitories. each of which
i confains about two hundred beds
and which are models OF cleanliness
There is one officer in the dormitory
4 with two hundred men The windows
/ are open and there are no bars on
the doors Two OF the prisoners.
who have been chosen as sentinels,
keep watch outside.
From this description It viii be
seen that a prisoner OF the District
iof Columbia at occoGuan may have
/ a pleasant. IL not an easy time. The
taaaS vk-
theory tht the prisoners should be
helped rather than punished is here
put effectively into practice Men
fwho come to the institution wasted
lSby drink and drugs often go away
! in splendid physical condition Many.
! of them are permanently cured One
! of the fundamental principles of the
| institution is to give man every
himself and make an honest living
and health is regarded as prere-
quisito.
There Is. however, no coddling OF
the prisoners at occoquan- The dis
cipline, although Invisible most OF
the time, is most severe No man
who does not work as much as he
is able gets anything to eat AT al
most eevry meal one or two prisoners
will be seen sitting with their arms
folded, and with no food before them
They have proved sulky or unwilling
an dthey will be starved until they
decide to work
About five hundred men are sent
| to Occoquan every month, and about
two of the five hundred, on an aver
age, endeavor to run away Yet
there men are not placed upon tAelr
honor The superintendent OF Deco
guam does not believe in an honor
system among criminals and va
rants. The reasons these prisoners
do not run away when they nave
every opportunity to do so are, IN
the first place that most OF them
have not enough Initiative; and IN
the second place, escape is not as
easy as it looks. and the penalties OF
an attempt to run away are nea'y-
In one OF the buildings there are
six cells with iron doors and small
barred windows-one cell TO every
hundred prisoners Usually three OF O.
four of these cells are occupied by
men who will remain in solitary con-
fnement on a diet of bread. soup
and water until their terms have
expired. They are men who have
tried to run away
There are forty instructors at Oc-s
coquan, most of whom do not even
carry arms, and there are tnSV
.ssentinels," chosen from among the
prisoners All Of these men are alert
to check any attempting escape
There is also pack of three half:
bred blood hounds that have had
several years of experience in run
ming down criminals and seldom let;
man escape them if they once
get on his trail Thus the hand OF
the law rests lightly upon the pri-
soners at Occoquan as long as he
behaves himesH, but it crushes re-
beIlion with iron force
William H. Whitaker, super1n.
tendent Of the District of Columbia
farm. is the personality OF this uni
que institution He is tall, spare
man of fifty. with kindly eye and
a square jaw He literally made his
prison out of raw materials About
four years ago. the land at Occoquan
was purchased by the District OF: Col.
umbia upon the recommendation OF
a commission which had been ap-
POINTED by President Roosevelt to4
work out plan for a District PR pr
son Having purchased the land tne
District government next employedl
Mr.. Whitaker. who had a splendid
record as a prison superintendent In
Indiana. and told him to go ahead
and found a model prison
He took his instructions literally
and went about his task directly,
There were 200 prisoners in the Dis
trict of Columbia Jail in Washington.
He made a little speech to them,
told them that he was going to take
them down the river to found a new
prison, and that he was not even
going to handcuc them.
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