Evening star., 1934-11-17
HELP Of CONGRESS
|NGAMbL|NGDR|
.F0RESEEN BY KING
Death of plumbers" Racket
Pledged by Senator on
District Committee.
PAROLE OF DONOVAN
CAUSES SPECULATION
Weakness of System Here Dis
cussed by Justice Who
Passed Sentence.

Aggressive support for legislation
Tightening the Districts gambling
laws in general and outlawing the
numbers" racket in particular, was
pledged yesterday by Chairman King
Of the Senate District Committee, upon
his return to Washington, following
his reelection.
Senator King said he believed this
bill, as presented by United States At
torney Leslie c. Garnett, and approved
by the Senate before the bill died in
the closing days of the last session, is
one Of the most important local meas
ures scheduled for the consideration
of the new Congress.
Parole Weakness Discussed.
While legislators and civic leaders
considered reform legislation, weak
nesses in the parole system were dis
cussed by Justice F. Dickinson Let's,
who 80 months ago sentenced James
F. Donovan, IS, to 10 years in prison
when Donovan pleaded guilty on
three robbery charges involving
armed hold-ups in Washington.
Donovan, already under parole after
serving four years of a 10-year SEN
tence for grand larceny in the Dis
trict, was paroled again Thursday by
order of the local Parole Board.
Justice Let's made it clear that he
implied no criticism against the board
or against Capt M. M. Barnard
superintendent of District penal insti-
tutions, who recommended that Dom
ovan be released in charge of old
friends of Barnard's to work on their
Indiana farm.
Check-up Facilities Lacking.
'The Parole Board" Justice Let's
said, has no money to hire an inves-
tigating staff and the members of the
board itself serve voluntarily and
without compensation. Thus the board
lacks facilities to make searching in
quiries into the records of prisoners,
their environments and early life at
home and in school.
THE first object of parole is to cor
rect. Those who pass upon parole ap-
plications should be equipped to know
whether the prisoner is amenable to
correction. Donovan appears to have
been q model prisoner, but mans
prison record is not enough justif1ca-
tion for releasing him in all cases.
"A prisoners demeanor at an insti-
tuition may be studied and calculated
to win parole, and, once released, he
may have a change of heart.
Branded Gun-Toter.
while do not have the record be-
fore me, I recall sentencing Donovan.
He seems to have had a bad police
record. In the first place, have no
sympathy for gun-toters. And again,
I believe that when man has been
arrested and sent to prison time after
time he should serve sentence with
out parole for several reasons.
This protects society from a pos
sible repetition of the prisoners law
violation; it serves as a warning to
potential criminals that the law will
be enforced, and lastly, it is a punish
ment to the prisoner himself"
In view of the fact that Donovan
had pleaded guilty., Justice Let's said
the prisoner could not have failed to
get fair" treatment in court, as i'm
pllCo Wy Sdpb odkldlo All d lCtUCI W
the board asking Donovan's parole.
Says Release Recommended"
Sanford Bates, Federal director of
prisons, said today he expected to look
up the record in the case, as he un-
derstood that the chief clerk of Leav-
enworth Penitentiary, where Donovan
served four years on a previous 10
year sentence, had recommended Dom
ovan's release. The Federal execu-
tive's only interest in the case, he
said today, was to determine If the
chief clerks action in recommending
Donovan's parole was entirely
proper" Donovan was said to have
acted as the chief clerks chauffeur
while at Leavenworth.
The prisoner was released in Gus
tody of the clerks mother and father,
on a farm in Indiana Capt. Barnard
explained that for two years Donovan
had been in charge Of the chicken
ranch at the reformatory, located
more than a mile from the main
buildings, and he had proved himself
trustworthy in every way and man
who would go straight" If he had
the opportunity.
Donovan was sentenced May 13,
1882, to 10 years on each plea of rob-
berry, the sentences to run concur
rently.
To Confer with Garnett.
On Capitol Hill yesterday Senator
King said that in order to inform him.
self on crime conditions in Washing
ton prior to the next session of Con-
gress he would confer in the near fu-
ture with District Attorney Garnett.
He said some minor changes in the
gambling bill might be suggested be-
fore the measure is introduced.
Informed that number of citizens
were advocating the legalization OF
gambling in Washington, Senator
King expressed his unalterable oppo-
sition to such a policy. He expressed
the view that the laws should be
strengthened instead Of weakened and
that he believed the mere raising of
such a possibility had weakened the
present laws.