Evening star., 1915-06-14
A SQUARE DEAL FOR
TIE WN-AND-0UT.
Il.-From the Prisoners
Point of View.
D. E.ador;o uoekIn
By Frederic J. Haskin.

A great deal has been written about
prisoners by penologists and reformers'
but the prisoners themselves have sell
dom expressed an opinion. In the lie"
cases where prisoners have told what they
thought of prison conditions, their views
have usually been anything but compit-
mentary. Not so, the inmates of Deco
ouan. model workhouse of the District OF
Columbia.
number of them were interviewed
when no officer of the place was present
and they said what they thought with efi-
dent frankness and sincerity. Many OF
them condemned the law for having put
them in prison, and society in general for
not apprecatng their merits iheN
showed all the vanity and sensitiVenesS
that characterize the criminal and va
grant, hut they admitted that al Occodnan
they had gotten a square deal Those VINO
had been in other prisons were especially
appreciative of the healthy and pleasant
conditions at Occoquan.
This amt no JAIL was the opinion of
an old soldier with one arm gone. who
was in for year having been arrested
on three charges which grew out of hi
larious drunk and subsequent row.
When interviewed he was very sober and
philosophic in the extreme. He asserted
that in comparison with solitary conf1ne-
ment on bread and water in the guard
room. which he had experienced in the
army. term at Occoquan was regular
vacation Indeed. he had little to COM
plain of, for he was too old to do hard
work and had been appointed prison Ii
brarian.
<
comment of negro. sent up for as
saul W t h
Negro Sorry He deadly wea-
Tried to Run Away. p,as = otne
run away. He was confined in one of
the cells about eight 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. apparently 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
gusto the fight that resulted in his i'm
prisonment, and like most of the others
thought that he had not received JUS
tice at the hands of the law. but was
entirely satisfied with his treatment
at the prison. The superintendent he
regarded as a personal friend, and was
glad of an opportunity to chat with
him.
Five of the officers at Occoquan are
men who We're sent up for terms of
year or more Four of them, it is said,
were chronic drunks. who came to the
institution as physical and moral
wrecks. The fifth was sent up on a
charge of petty larceny. Two of these
men had been carpenters, two clerks
and one an engineer, All OF them had
failed, it is declared. by reason of
drink, drugs and crime. These five men
are now among the most trusted en-
have years of splendid service TO their
credit. There could he no more con-
elusive proof of what Occoquan does
for the prisoner
The prisoners In this model Jail do
their work in gangs of from fifteen to
thirty. In each of these gangs there is
one prisoner who does not work regu-
lariy. but acts as a guard and mes
senger. He has no authority over the
other prisoners. He is not a gang boss
His sole duties are to watch for at
tempted runaWays and to obey the in
structor In charge Of the gang. The
way in which Supt. Whitaker chooses
these men, whom he calls ''sentineIs,"
is typical of the man and his methods
mere are frequently sent to OccO-
guam men with long criminal records,
often murder
Hardened Men ers who have
Are Made Sentinels. served 'efihs
penitentiaries. When such a man ar
rives, IL he looks physically capable.
Mr. Whitaker takes him to his Office
and informs him that he is to he made a
sentinel The appeal is solely to the
mans pride. 1t almost invariably sue
ceeds. Men of the most depraved and
desperate character become absolutely
reliable guards. Mr. Whitaker believes
that many of these same men. when
released, might turn around and rob
the Institution If they could. but that
pride and the desire for the good opin-
rl,c, foll L