Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-03-11

Relief of Daily Congestion in
Court Necessary-Drastic
Means Urged.

While r,eans for remedying condi
tons at the District Jail were being
considered ny a subcommittee of the
! House District committee and the Dis
| trict Commissioners, measures to
prevent the budding OF prisoners like
cattle in Police Court cells while they
are awaiting trial will be considered
saturday afternoon at conference
between Presiding Judge Gus A.
Schuldt ana Judge John j. Mcmahon
OF Police Court and Commissioners
Frederick "A. FenninS and Maj. Edwin
B. Hesse.
Clarence j. Mcleod. Republican. of
Michigan. today asked Cha iwnan Zihl-
| man of the House District committee
% call special meeting for consider
alton of his bill. which would au-
thorize the erection of a new wing at
the District Jail, containing two sto-
RES, with 100 beds TO story. at a
cost not to exceed $125,o0o.
Early Action Assured.
Chairman Zihlman assured Mr.. Nc
Leod thdt early consideration would
be given 70 this bill, with a view to
getting ii favorably reported to the
House before the District appropria-
ton bill, which carries the Jail budget
and other building items for the mu-
nicipai government, is taken up for
consideration in the House. probably
next Tuesday.
Mr. McLeods bill was introduced
to carry out the recommends tons
made by the District jailer to the
District Commissioners in order to
relieve inadequate housing facilities
at the jail as exposed by Pete Mar
tin" in last Sundays Star. Every
member OF the District committee
seems i'll sympathy with the plan TO
provide adequate facilities at the Jail.
Mr.. Mcleod today invited John
JOY Edison, who has had more than
80 years experience in developing the
penal system in the District of Co
lumbia under special act of Con
gress and by appointment of Presi.
dent Roosevelt, to discuss with the
committee what should be done TO
improve conditions at the jail
Harmony Expected.
Police officials and Police Court
Judges expressed their desire today
for greater cooperation and their
eagerness to facilitate any project
which will make for closer harmony
between Police Court and Police De
partment branches of the District
Government
Three outstanding suggestions will
be taken up at the conference
One will be the proposal to stagger
hours of sending prisoners into Police
Court. Under the present conditions
all prisoners arrested the previous
icr1,f In, rnc T.; ;,,tx
cellrooms at Police Court at or about
9 O'Clock on the following morning.
When the collection of prisoners rep
resents two days of police work
Saturday evening and Sunday--the
pressure at Police Court Monday
morning is terrific. This plan con-
templates sending the prisoners to
Police Court In groups-one group at
9 o'clock and the second at II o'clock.
This would PROBABLY cut the number
Of prisoners in the cellroom at Police
Court by one-half, it is pointed out.
and would open the way for further
staggering that might prove beneficial
in facilitating cases.
Would Cut Bail.
The second proposition is to re-
duce the collateral which police ask
for prisoners on charges of drunk
eness from $25. which is rigidly adj
hered to by the police, to $40, which
is the general maximum amount of
the fine assessed in such cases.
These two propositions find more
favor, it is understood. with the Police
Court judges than with the Police De
partment. Maj. Hesse takes the
stand that collateral is to insure APP
pearance In court and that the
amount of the fine is not something
for police to consider in assessing the
collateral. He is backed up by Col.
Fenning.
The staggered hour proposition
also has its difficulties from the police
but they are of minor ma
ture, such as the feeding of the
prisoners at police stations rather
than at Police Court. when the hour
is delayed until IL o'clock; the theo-
retic violation of the system of get
ting prisoners to court as soon as
possible, which Is felt by police to
outweigh the practical angle Of elimi-
mating the crowded and insanitary
OF tanning the prisoners
in one huddled group into Police
Court at one time, and the need for
q revision Of the system of collect
ing and transporting the prisoners to
the Police Court.
Would Expedite Trials.
On the third proposition, which is
more drastic and sweeping than either
of the others, some agreement Is
found both at Police Court and at the
Police Department. This is Il pro
posal for the appointment and assign
ment of police magistrates to hear
petty cases that take up so much Of
the time of the court and which do
not necessitate jury trials.
If police magistrates could be ap-
pointed, as was recommended % years
ago by Maj. Richard Sylvester when
he was chief of police, reiterated by
Maj. Sullivan only recently and ap-
proved by Maj Z. b. Hesse at the
present time, the cases which now
jam up the Polio Court with picayune
matters could be heard and disposed
of at certain precinct station houses.
Judge Schuldt points out that the
police court in this jurisdiction func-
tons in greatly similar lines to courts
Of common pleas in other jurisdic-
tons. handling cases concurrently in
many instances with the United
States Supreme Court. BY relieving
Police Court OF the burden of petty
cases of drunkenness, disorderly con-
duct and the lilie-which are in great
profusion at PRESENT. is felt that