The Washington times., 1920-05-30
DC. Jail School GiUes
Short Term Prisoners
New Ambition, In Life

! Y rAlrty school desks. a httle larger
'than ordinary and set In two precise,
hsedr,5w-; a teaehers platform with
table "a d sulhssitst 40 ehaki a blTrk
hoard ~ ell wsth ,s.sns and synibo'~
rhteht Ir N themselves mes ely The
para irherna' la of any DistiIcl school
.hipssii ~ n x s.sS k,
Ser. 4 owever. IN nigh whi.-wash'
"a efrridoI thar is e,iilinseo In azlre
blue and lighted by the lofty. barred
Byzantine windows Of the District OF
Columbia Jail. they present one OF the
new aspects or American penology
and constitute another link In the
chain OF pedagogical experiments Tor
criminal offenders. -
The school. which has Just opened
with a registration. OF twenty seven
volunteer students from among the
$50 prisoners In the jail. Is the fourth
OF its KIND, established hy CHARLES G.
Foster. -suneriptendent. of penal insti-
tutions OF the District OF Columbia
+. The first was opened in the JAIL at
Louisville. KY. while MIR. Foster was
jailor of Jefferson county. and was
the pioneer school in the United
States for short term prisoners. Since
MIS- VI wv oN~~N~--
workhouse and Lorton Reformatory,
both District OF Columbia penal In
ssitufiens,4 - he has repeated his ex-
periments. with such success that the
Jail school in Washington has been
inaugurated.
Only Federal JAIL.
The District Jail. located on the out
skirts OF the city of Washington, is
the only Jail under direct Federai
juri isdiction and shelters its prisoners
for a shorter time than any other
similar institution. Nearly all de-
PENDANTS convicted of crime in the
DistrictLexcept murderers condemn
ed to death--are sent to the Deco
ouan workhouse, the Lorton eforma-
tory, or one OF the Federal peniten-
tiaries, The institution would, there
fore. seem to offer unpromising ma
terial. for school establishment, put
with the conf fidence of success won IN
even stonjer fields. the superintend-
emf decided upon the establishment
of AN opportunity. for men to redeem
themselves from the ignorance that
he believes is one OF the common
causes OF crime.
On the night the school opened. the
twenty-seven men. twenty OF them
colored, volunteered their desire 10
attend, and enrolled themselves as
pupils. Every: evening at O'Clock
they file into the corridor, passing
'Murderers' Row" and the old cell
where Cuiteau was held after he as
sassinated President Garneld' aho
take fheir places at the desks. some
Of them can write. Others can read.
They could do neither before Superin-
tendent Foster inaugurated' the
school. Their struggles with rudl-
mentary,expression are Infinitely more
pathetic than those of the adult stu
dent of night schools in the great
cities. for their realization OF their
double handicap of Ignorance and I'm.
prisonn1ent seems an actual ball anu
chain upon their intellects.
"What for should ] learn TO read
and write?l demanded q young coiored
woman OF the teacher on the first
night Of the sessions. She did learn
to write and now. is employed by
sixteenth street,family as cook. she
recently saw Superintendent Foster
and told him that she had a-s%good
lob" that sbe is able to check up the
list Of Eroceties. brought to the house
and can write to her sweetheart.
study Bcgets Hopefulness.
1t is that hopefulness that STUDY
begets. that idea of opened doors oil
which AIR Foster believes
Ia the essential element of usefulness
IN the jail schools and which the In
structor in the new school is almost
emphasizing,
1--WE Just try to give them some
thing to look forward to-" said super
intendent Foster.
The Jail school instructor has the
horn teachers gift of seizing upon
the problems of his students and see
ing them from the varied angles. he
has divided the class into sections