The Washington herald., 1917-06-09
SAYS PRISON WARDEN
TALKS THROUGH HAT
Library League Official Again De-
nies Incitina PenitentiarY Riots.

hASs AaN4lu6 ChAlSuhoAy AAO1Ss
A sweeping denial that members Of
o. e Library League had written
mushy love notes, carried on fiirt-
tons, shipped fruit and delicacies
and expended money on prisoners in
the Joliet H.. penitentiary, and were
thus instrumental in melting them to
riot was issued yesterday by H. N.
Stokes, OF 12o7 Q street northwest,
librarian Of the league.
Warden A. L. Bowen characterized
the league as a band OF letter-wrfting
women. and Librarian Stokes. in de-
Tending its membership figuratively
accused the prison official OF talking
through his hat"
Some Of the offenses cited by the
warden 70 sustain his charge are
that:
Some of the Letters
"One old woman, she Is s., wrote
to a boy Of p a letter no federal in
spector would allow to go through
the mails. sHe came all the way from
Connecticut to see her dearest boy, to
bring him c; ady, fruit. tobacco and
Another woman from Miami, Fla,
wrote to a boy she had never seen"
says the warden. ''She sent him tel
egrams and letters and finally came
herself sending kilograms en- route.
After she had seen him she moved
to Chicago. Her husband divorced
her and she Is waiting for the con-
Wet TO get out and Join her.
still another woman, evidently Of
good family, writes several times a
week to q notorious confidence man.
She uses crested letter heads and
speaks OF her motors and country es-
tates."
still another letter is from a girl,
she hardly can be over IS, written to
a man sent up for an unprtntable
crime. Her communications are Of
the intense love letter type. Her moth
er ought to look after her.
The average number Of library
league letters coming into the institu-
ton Is fifty a mail, three mails a day.
The effect on the men is obvious"
Stokes Reply.
Replying for the league. Librarian
Stokes says that its purpose are ex-
planned on it. letterheads which read,
AN international association for pro-
noting the circulation Of useful litera-
ture by mail cooperation in moral, So
cial and philanthropic movements and
mutual help"
ITO blame our league for the au-
thorship Of these letters Is most un-
just" Mr.. stokes said to the Herald
representative. The letters which
have given the greatest offense come
from Corning, n. Y, and from Waus-
ing, N. Y, and we have no members
OF our league in either place"
Further than that our membership
comprises men and women Of the
highest type and to reflect upon them
in a manner that is so apparently un-
fair Is outrageous. The league has
a serious purpose in its work Of prison
reform and there is no room for mem
bers who affiliate from silly sent-
mental reasons"
We have a membership OF 900
men and women throughout the coun-
try and I suppose about a dozen of
these members reside in the District.
We also have 1900 prisoners interested
in the work. or course Il Is possible
that we may unintentionaIIy enroll
some frivolous person who might Of
fend in the manner described"
L might say incidentally, that we
have nothing to do with the occult
and that our name. the o. z. Library
League. has been handed down to US
from an old English society"