Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-07
PRISON At LORTON
RUN LIKE SCHOOL;
ESCAPES ARE FEW
Large Unguarded Space and
Small Number of Guards
Make Flight Easy.
HAS ONLY | CELL HOUSE,
AND 1T is RARELY USED
Nevertheless Seven Slayers and
Many Other Hardened" Crimi-
mails Among It's Inmates.

Although seven men convicted of hrst-
degree murder and many other GRIM
inals of the type usually described as
hardened" are among the 784 inmates
of the District Reformatory at Lorton,
Va, the institution is really more ike
boarding school than prison.
The men confined to Lorton. unlike
the inmates Of most penal institutions,
are not locked in cells, and the nearest
thing to wall Is at the entrance to the
reformatory grounds, where stere are
two brick pillars. No gate swings be-
tween those pillars. however, and they
stand alone, like two sentinels
But they are Sentinels which. any one,
no matter how unintelligent, could cas-
lily avoid. To the right of them is a
Woods-an unguarded woods-through
which one would have but little diffi-
Guilty in making ones way to freedom.
And TO the left the grounds Of the in
stitution stretch until they fade into
another woods in the distance.
Escape Is Simple Matter.
A few armed guards are stationed IN
towers here and there about the
grounds, but there are many acres which
gree of certainty that call is we'll" ON
moonlesS night, escaping from Lorton
would be almost as simple natter as
taking walk around the block
Yet during the IA years that NJ NJ
Barnard, as general superintendent OF
District penal institutions. has been In
charge Of Lorton only few prisoners
have left the reformatory oAf2re the
expiration of their sentences, and vir-
tually all of them have been recap
tured. Indeed. the story is told of one
man who fled the prison, came TO Wash
ington, and after q few weeks unSuc-
cessful quest for work returned and
asked to be re-admitted. IT guess I'm
better of right here" he told A. C.
ton. and want to stay just AS long as
you'll let me-
And to one who has inspected Lorton
that tale is not the least bit unbeliev-
able. Alphabetically the reformatory
IS not thing of beauty, out, az Mr..
Barnard explained, 1t was designed and
built to meet the needs which expert
ence had indicated would arise.
Cell House Rarely Used.
The thing that makes Lorson seem
more ike school than prison Is the
fact that the prisoners are housed IA
dormitories. These dormitories. each of
which contains between so and so cots.
are clean and comfortable aid only
the heavy screens on the window indi-
cate that the buildings are parts Of a
penal institution.
There Is but one cell house at Ior-
ton and 1t Is rarely used. Right now
us ~ cells are unoccupied I'VE sell
dom have to lock anybody up." Mr..
Barnard explained. THE mere fact
That the cell house is here has a
psychological effect on the prisoners.
1t indicates to them that they are well
OF, as compared with most prisoners.
and that they can remain so If they
do the right thing. Occasionally, how
ever, we run across bad egg whom
we have to lock up. Usually a day
or two in q cell is enough It gives
them an opportunity to think things
over and most of them are sensible
enough to realize that the liberty we
give them in exchange for good be-
hayior is well worth the effort
Arriving at Lorton to begin serving
term is much like registering at a
boarding school. The newcomer is
taken to Mr.. Tawes' Office, where he is
questioned about his capabilities In so
far as work is concerned.
Preferences Considered.
Usually" Mr. Tawes said, "we try
to give them the kind of work for
which they are best fitted either BY
experience or preference. I've found
that most men do best that which
they like best, and always take q
mans preference into consideration.
Our activities here are so many and
varied, however, that we can nearly
always find the right spot for a man.
If chap tells me he has done clerical
work, try to find place for him
IN the Office. On the other hand. we
operate an iron foundry, laundry, q
broom factory, a license-plate and
carpenter shop, plumbing shop, an
electrical shop, a restaurant, a bakery
In short. nearly every enterprise you
can think of. Consequently, finding q
suitable place for man IS compare
lively simple, no matter what his past
experience has been.
'If he has spent all his life on a
farm we can use him to good adj
vantage. Our farm was increased BY
more than 100 acres last year, you
know, and we raise nearly everything
that goes on our table. We raise all
our own pork and much of the beef we
use: we make our own lard, sausage
and other pork and beef products and
our bakery turns out 1900 leaves of
bread day.
Make Auto License Tags.
"In addition, We make all the license
tags used on District automobiles and
most of the signs you see on WASH
ington's street corners. Our laundry
does the work of all the various de-
partmentS of both the Federal and the
District Governments, our foundry
turns out the iron castings used on
Capital sewers, and we make all the
brooms used by the District govern
ment and many of those used by the
Federal Government"
The reformatory also boasts a hos
pital and a library, and a theater is
now nearing completion.
Lifers Seem Contented.
AS a matter of fact, the long-term
prisoners are less troublesome than
those serving short sentences, according
to Mr.. Barnard. Its nearly always the
fellow who's up q short stretch-say,
three or four years, or so-who tries to
make getaway" he said. THE lifers,
for the most part, seem contented."
Talking motion pictures are shown
twice week in the theater, which is
now nearing completion. Seats from
Polls .Theater, long a landmark on
Pennsylvania avenue, have been in
stalled; a variety Of stage settings have
been painted by one of the prisoners,
who specialized in that kind of work
before being sent to Lorton, and only
a few finishing touches remain to be
applied to the structure.
The reformatory has its own base
ball and foot ball teams, both OF which
have played outside aggregations. A
team representing the Washington no.
lice force was defeated by the Lorton-
ties last season. The teams have an
excellent field on which to practice. and
It Is planned to add to their athletic
ar fne r~~