Evening star., 1925-08-02


potentially will constitute the new
District of Columbia Reformatory or
Penitentiary-the finest penal estab-
1ishment to be found anywhere over
the worlds spacious map.
Here Is merely a tale of the vener-
able golden rule, revised and modified
to SUIT prison practices. 1t is tale
of house Of Incarceration where the
conduct and merit of each occupant
are weighed in the balance. where the
scales of justice are modified by the
daily doings of the culprit during his
sentence.
Fifty per cent of the criminals in
the United States today, according
TO the experts. are such because OF
the abusive treatment they received
during their first conf1nements under
armed guards. Had they been prop
erly treated 1t Is declared. at least 8
out of 10 OF these wrongdoerS could
have been reformed
Neither the District of Columbia
nor the United States Government
countenances the mollycoddling of
prisoners. Couches OF comfort, eight
course dinners. Eentlsmanly conven-
fences. midday maps and soft jobs
are not their prison prescriptions
Making the national gaols a sort of
refuge and homtnE haunts for dere-
Gcts is not their plan. But they have
decided TO give human initiative an
opportunity. They believe that no
man is . total loss to society until
he has proved himself such.
They contend that there are two
distinct types of prisoners. One class
still possesses the germ of real man
Illness. The other is the case hard
encd criminal. who viii offend against
law and order as long as the world
endures. The new and novel plan Is
TO separate the fit from the unfit. The
merit system does exactly this. The
good reform, and get another chance
The evil win maximum abode nd eight
hours of honest work daily in prisons.
If they Will not obey the prison rules,
the old-tlm recipe of strong walled
cell. steel bars and solitary confine-
ment is meted out to them.
The District Reformatory is
prison without walls, place of de-
tention where the prisoners do not
wear stripes. and where the inmates
are kindly treated. we'll fed, pleasantly
quartered, provided with amusements
and made 10 work eight hours a
day at manual and professional labors.
1t is a prison where an entirely
new quality of morale has been de-
yeloped among the occupants. There
are none of the hang dog" expires
sions, the grumpiness and grouchiness
which are characteristic of the mill
run Of penitentiaries. The lock step"
is in absentia. The customary scalp
shave is not tolerated. Insignia of
degradation are banned. Yet every
inmate is made to appreciate that,
IN the labor Of his hands, the ache
Of his back, the sweat Of his brow
and his loss OF personal liberty, he
is paying for offenses against the
rules of law, right and justice.
X
A T the very outset let's get straight
q about the Districts penal institu-
tions. First Of all, there comes the
Jail in Washington, under the direc-
tion of Maj. W. L.. Peake.
Then there Is the reformatory 80
miles south of the White House. 1t
Is near the village of Lorton. on the
main highway between. Washington
and Richmond. Its area is LOO acres.
from 200 to 25o. It is under the su-
pervision Of A. c. Tawse, a prison
expert of many years experience.
The District Workhouse Is down the
road about a mile or so and includes
LOO acres within its borders. Usually
It cares for about 450 men and. so
women. c. c. MacClaughry is the
superintendent.
NJ. NJ. Barnard is the general >su-
perintendent of all three of these
penal establishments. He has been
engaged in prison work for more than
81 years and has been in charge of
leading State penitentiaries in Indiana
and Michigan. He came to Washing
ton nine years ago. and was superin-
tendent of the District Reformatory
until about 13 months ago, when he
was made general superintendent of
the three institutions.
The inmates at the District Reform
story range upward from IS years,
and are under confinement for all
kinds of crime from petty stealing to
murder. The shortest term inmate
is e-year-and- day man. Others
are in for life. Only Federal prison
ers sentenced in a Federal court are
sent TO the Lorton Penitentiary. The
ultimate plan is to provide accommo-
dations for 900 inmates. Then all
Federal prisoners from the District
many of whom are now sent to Fort
Ieavenworth and Atlanta-wtn be
sentenced to the Virginia wall-lesS
prison which is run on the honor
system.
When new prisoner arrives he is
registered, he changes his clothes,
donning the regulation flannel shirt,
denim trousers and work shoes, and
then he has a half-hour interview
With Supt. TaWse.
Mr.. TaWse tells the man all about
the rules and regulations Of the in
stitution and ultimately gets his pledge
that he will live up to the letter of !
the merit system. The man is then
shaved, photographed, his finger print
records are made, he is examined by
o. doctor, and then is assigned to some
line of productive work which he is
qualified to perform.
Each inmate works eight hours
daily. He arises at $50. Taps come
at 9 o'clock in the evening. The food
Us good and the meals are regular.
Each man receives ration of three
quarters of q pound of meat, two or
three eggs daily, and as much of the
vegetables, fruit, bread and other
foods as he wishes. Ten men are
seated at a table-family style. Col
ored men dressed in white serve as
walters.
Supper is served at 4:3O in the after.
noon. Thereafter, until bedtime, the
inmates can read, play games, talk or
otherwise amuse themselves. There
is a field for base ball, foot ball and
other athletic contests. A recreation
room is the center for dominoes,
checkers and card games. Gambling
tn all forms is prohibited.
Once a week there Is a motion-pic-
ture show. just such an exhibition as
you might see at one of Washingtons
leading dheaters. The leading movie"
firms of the District provide the films
free of charge. One of the inmates is
the operator.
Religious services by various pas
tors from Washington are held every
Sunday. The prisoners maintain an
excellent choir and fine orchestra
Certain of the inmates lead. and direct
baC musical nrDa pfxaffonS