Evening star., 1919-10-06

Army, probably, reduced the number
to ninety eight. In 1916 the number
was 130 and in 1915 126 made the
total. Today. on a workhouse basis
the matrimonial sea is decidedly less
turbulent"
Prohibition Question.
In regard to prohibition, the super
intendentt shows that IN 1918 only
to the workhouse on the charge of in
toxication. as compared with 3.043
men and 403 women in 1917. Discuss
ing the prohibition question he stated
The effects of the prohibition law,
in spite of all adverse conditions,
show definitely and unmistakably
good results. In the beginning of its
Washington to a large degree, except
In. the riots. which had slight con-
neetion with liquor.
! inability to secure intoxicants
serves to keep people of the streets
after midnight. There is a direct rela-
ton between the elimination OF liquor
and the decrease in arrests for causes
other than drunkenness"
+; During the fiscal year ended last
June, the average daily population OF
the. wofkhouse was 433, including
males and females. The gross cost
per inmate was $z71.11.
Mr.. Foster reminds the District
that the high cost Of operating
q workhouse kept pace with the cost
Of living in the outside world. The
increase in the cost of food for the in
mates and forage for the animals av-
eraged 60 per cent for the last fiscal
year.
:...ss.. Improved Discipline. s.A.
! The superintendent reports that the
no-lock, .no-baF open-air, treatment OF
wMfen Is the basis Of the
Occoquan system, continues, to prov6
epcpslxA&fngs On this subject the su-
reported: 4:
proAched what 1t Is at present. There
are more longtime men here than
ever before. That so few inmates give
20 little. trouble is due to more free
dom In the rest room, general con-
versation at all times, moving pic
lures and, a better understanding be-
tween prisoner and oficial. The in
play treatment. During the year sew
enty-three men broke faith and twen-
ty-seyen of them came back"
Mr. Foster. recommends to the
Commissioners to enactment Of a law
to authorize. the indictment of those
WR0r .G8C6pS 6uQ lcAtS lie ISoCItd>
tion. Suchsa law would have a sa1u-
tary effect on the other prisoners. he
believes.
He further recommends the erection
at the workhouse Of tuberculosis
sana atorium. where that and other in
He estimates the cost OF such build
ing At $4,000.
Recommendation also is made for
the erection of a chapel and enter
tainment hall at the institution at a
cost of $4,000.
Recommendations Made.
Other recommendations call for the
purchase Of an automobile to be used
in the pursuit of escaped prisoners
and otherwise speeding official busi-
General Warren and Louise and the
purchase Of a new boat to ply be-
tween the District and the work
house; construction of six brick
each with five rooms and
bath. for employees, and building of a
workhouee wharf.
Mr.. Foster also observes that good
results have come from the establish
ment Of an eight-hour day for prison
ers as well as employees at the penal
institution nannd during the the last fiscal year
have a slave-like tendency even upon
the free; SO in the workhouse, above
all places. 1T was deemed wise to SO
arrange the hours that even those
satisfying the law should do SO on the
principle Of fairness. In this way the
inmate is shown, not alone by sug-
gestion, but in reality that he is not
getting the worst of it,
Old and young prisoners alike, the
Superintendent reports, have shown q
keen interest in the school which was
established recently at the institution
The workhouse pupils, he observes,
show an eagerness to learn.
Mental training" Mr.. Foster goes
on. "minimizes crime. 1t solves the
perp1exing problems besettinE those
blind to the disadvantages of break
ing the law. The school is the out
ward symbol Of an inward grace of
any penal institution"
Benefits From Library.
The workhouse library received
abou: 1000 volumes during the year,
most all from the Public Library and
the Christian Science Church Of Wash.
ington.
What a prisoner reads" says the
superintendent. varies little from
that class of literature read by the
public 1t is not surprising to see
types of varying degrees readins
classics with interest, and profit, "a
negro reading 1.-THE Wandering Jew
and another Shakespearean play pre-
sented a picture"
A surprising absence of the drug
habit among prisoners at the District
workhouse. despite the coming OF
prohibition, is noted by the superin-
tendent.
He says: 'it is a noteworthy vet
mysterious fact that at the District
workhouse there is rarely trace OF
evidence that this curse exists among
the men committed to the institution
Not often does an inmate indicate thai
he is user of drugs and seldom is an
effort made to smuggle opiates into
the place. This condition applies
alike to males and females
The immediate necessity for re.
building on permanent scale a mum
Der Of the workhouse structures Il
urged upon the Commissioners in tho
report The dilapfdated condition OF
come of them Is such, the report
states. that the Recommendation il re.
peated' with special emphasis. Fur.
thsr attempts To repair them are use.
1A~~a