Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-03-07
District Jail Is No Paradise, Reporter Finds 80
Says Police Court Lookup
Would Give ''InfernO"
Another Chapter.
Three-Bunk CellOccupied
By Seven Men-Four
Sleep on Pallets.

dered. / did. in surly manner ana
scowled all the harder.
How do you plead to the first
charge. intoxication?" asked the
clerk.
Guilty" 1 said loud and belliger-
emily.
1.-THE second, disorderly conduct?'
Guilty" even louder and tougher.
Breaking glass;"
Guilty" trying very hard to make
1t sound like What are you going to
do about it?"
Then the policeman took the stand
and said I threw the bottle at his
head. / started to demur at this. but
hesitated, thinking that this might be
the deciding factor in getting me to
jail. The policeman stepped down
and the judge was looking at me.
80 you're from New York, ell
I guess you left there fast They
don't keep buns like you around New
York long. Ten days across the
board"
What Price Crime?
Ten days across the board. Ten
DAYS for each offense, Thirty days.
This was more than ! had bargained
for. I had overdOne the thing badly,
possibly made a mess of it completely
for 80 days might not mean jail at all,
but Occoquan. the District workhouse
down the river.
So had something to worry about
when l was hustled back to the court
house cell among the crush. II / had
had to spend 80 days locked up, Deco
guam would be preferable-better
food, better bed and better air-but l
had no desire to spend 80 days behind
.lrtl In
tence was made so that / would
serve the three terms concurrently,
and when, after an hours wait that
seemed to me to be weeks, a clerk
began to read off names and among
the first was Pete Martin-$30 or 10
days" I heaved a sigh Of relief.
The first group. in which / was
numbered. was corralled outside and
into waiting van. In this van there
is room for eight, four on each side
facing each other with their knes
tight together. There were already
eight inside when l arrived and five
more of us were crammed in. l
found myself lying across the laps or
three colored prisoners and two
others were lying on top Of me. And
so we rode away TO Jail. and over
what seemed like the toughest roads
Ill w dSIllIlS WI VII lAAC "dS w ~'A''~
teenth and 3 streets southeast.
In the jug at Last.
The van swung around. backed up.
A door flew open, we were counted as
we clambored out, great iron gates
swung open to close behind us again
and we were in the can"
We were taken to a long narrow
room. The ceiling is full five floors
or more up. Galleries run about it
and all the cells in that wing of the
building have barred windows. All
the cells in the whole jail are inside
these long rooms. Should q prisoner
escape from his cell. he would still be
within the Jail. The long rooms are
used for dining halls and other pur-
poses.
In this room each one Of us faced
a Jail official and gave him an alleged
history of our lives. Next we were
turned over to uniformed guard
who made a thorough search Of our
persons, going all over our clothes,
examining the lining thereof and
even looking into our shoes for contra
band My only possession that caused
him any interest was an unopened
packet of cigarettes. From this he be-
gan tearing off bits Of paper and kept
1t up until finally there was nothing
left but the loose cigarettes. which, after
close inspection, he gave back to me.
He was not only looking for coke"
l found out afterward, but was de-
stroying the tin-foll around the pack
age Tin.foil is absolutely forbidden
inside the jail Once upon a time
some prisoner saved it up, bit by bit.
until he had enough to press into a
Ill GnIt tt IL,
related, he knocked a guard senseless
and escaped. Since then they take no
chances. The guard also looked
through my match box for "snow." or
dope, but while he was searching
these tricky places ] could have
sneaked into Jail several ounces in
the cuffs Of my trousers. had
plenty Of money wadded up and hid
den there for an emergency, and the
guard never discovered 1t.
After this came a compulsory bath.
We were compelled to disrobe, every
body together, and climb under show
ers. Some of us needed 1t badly
Afterward we dried as best we could
without the aid of towels and dressed
in wet clothes in front Of an open
window.
Assigned to Our Quarters.
Immediately afterward we were all
given cell numbers and sent to wait
outside until a guard came to escort
US to the cells. The jail Is in three
wings with big rotunda in the mid
die. One is for transients, another
for women and the third for serious
offenders, grand jury cases and those
awaiting shipment to penitentiaries.
The cells are on four floors in long
double tiers divided off by brick walls.
One thing learned Immediately. The
more serious the crime man COM
mits, the better off he Is treated in
jail. Wan, the Chinese, who is await
ing his third trial for murder, virtual
ly has the run of the Jail. Others
who are in on more serious offenses
have comfortable cells, many conven-
fences and a certain amount Of liberty.
Several men who are sentenced to
long terms have clerical Jobs and live
quite comfortably. Colored prisoners
who are in for several months are
given the jobs of TRUSTEES and other
minor assisting duties and seem to
take great deal of enjoyment in
bossing their white friends around.
The men who have committed minor
crimes and who are serving from 5 to