Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-29
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE

Condemnation Of the American prison
sytem by the Wickersham Commission
recalls to this observer his experience
in conducting John Galsworthy through
Old Moabit, famous long-term convict
penitentiary in Berlin. It was o year
or two before the war. when the writer
was on duty in Germany as correspond
ent Of the London Daily Mail. Gals
worthy had written strife" and Jus
tice," both plays dealing with prison
life in Great Britain. and was snxiouS
Continent. Lord Ncrthcli1e asked his
Berlin correspondent to arrange for
himself and Galsworthy to visit Moabit,
which was built in Victorian times
en- the same architectural lines as Pen
tonville prism in England as the result
of Prussian Kings visit to Windsor.
The correspondent in addition to Sc
curing necessary permits from the Ger
man foreign Office, was directed TO hold
prefer when Nofthcliffe and Qalsworthy
toured the big house" In Berlin.
X X X
Inhuman as the British novelist adj
mitted that English prison customs
were-he wrote books and plays in the
hope Of improving them-Galswcrthy
was Mortified by some OF the practices
in vogue in Moabiter Zuchthaus. Every
inmate lived in solitary confinement.
The silence system was enforced. Com
pulSory and perpetual labor was the
lot Of every prisoner. Whenever a man
left his cell, for exercise, for Sunday
worship or for any other purpose, he
was required to wear a mask over his
eyes. Prisoners. in the presence of
guards or other officials, were not al
lowed to speak unless spoken to or
to raise their eyes from the floor with
cut special permission. on the wall OF
each mans work cell hung a slate, bear
ing his name, his number, the nature of
his crime and the duration of his SEN
tence. Food was handed in to him
through partially opened door. as he
held out dish, plate or cup when the
Sundays, when the prisoners went to
chapel, they not only wore their masks.
but occupied seats In individual upright
cabinets like collins stood en- end.
The Galsworthy- Northcliffe party was
accompanied through the prison by the
herr direktor, who donned full eve
ming dress in honor of the distin-
guished Highlander. He gave us per-
mission to enter as many cells as We
pleased and to converse freely with
prisoners. Some of them had not had
such opportunities for conversation in
years and utilized them with pathetic
eagerneSs. The director explained that
the mask system was adopted in order
to protect prisoners from blackmail by
one-tine fellow prisoners in after life
when q man might be making an hon.
est effort to live down his past In good
job only to run across Moabit pal"
who threatened to expose him except
for hush money.
What struck Galsworthy and North
cliffe as the most terrible feature at
Moabit Prison was the rule of incar-
cerating differs" until their sentences
the visitors said, life sentence, II the
condemned man were still alive, usually
ended after he'd served 20 years, and
he was given his freedom. Moabit was
full of rnurderers who had been there
more than Is or 80 years, and one or
two longer than that. The herr d.
rektor took the two Englishmen into
the cell Of an old man named Heinrich
Gabel, q "lifer," who had done "a con-
secutive years Of time. Gabel was an
armed robber who had killed q farmer
and his wife at the dead Of night while
rifiing their house. Emperor William /
was on the throne when the crime was
committed. Years afterward o pardon
for Gabel was sought from him and re-
fused. Emperor William II, the last
kaiser, also declined to free Gabel.
n + X
"Herr direktor," said Northcliffe, after
the visit in Gabels cell, would you
mind II I used my influence in London
to get that old man out Of here?"
Gabel went in as man Of 80 and was
now approaching IS. ION the con-
trary," replied the prison chief, ~ have
repeatedly recommended him for o par