Evening star., 1934-10-25
SEEKS ALL
PAROLE MEETINGS
Prison Officials Revive Old
Controversy on Place
of Conferences.

Prison officials today renewed their
campaign to have hearings on parole
cases held by the Parole Board at the
District Reformatory at Lorton, Va
reviving controversy that was car
ried several months ago to the Board
of Commissioners.
They also seek to have the head
quarters of the Parole Board moved
to the reformatory.
The Board of Public Welfare has
forwarded to the city heads a recon-
mendation by Capt. M. M. Barnard,
general superintendent of penal insti-
tutions, that all meetings be held at
Lorton. This practice was followed
until recently, when new members
of the Parole Board won permission to
hold half their meetings in the city.
The subject is to be taken up again
for action by the Commissioners at
their meeting tomorrow.
Relations Of Officials Affected.
Back of the dispute over the place
of hearings is the more important
question of the relations of prison and
Parole Board officials, it is stated
The veteran penal head believes prison
officials, having the duty OF closely
observing prisoners day by day, should
be consulted about parole petitions and
more weight given to their opinions.
Members Of the Parole Board, on
the other hand, have taken the posi-
ton they are an independent agency
and should consider parole cases in a
judicial manner, according to word
at the District Building.
The controversy was compromised
last time it was brought before the
Commissioners, it being arranged that
alternate meetings be held in the Dis
trict. Several have been held at the
No. police station.
Most Sessions Held at Lorton.
Two weeks ago a meeting was held
at the District Court House. In the
past two months, however, the Parole
Board has held most of its sessions at
Lorton, though it has not receded
from its position, officials say.
Capt. Barnard, supported by the
Board Of Public Welfare, now claims
in maintaining the office of the Parole
Board in the District Building, while
an auxiliary Office must be maintained
at the Lorton institution.
This means that duplicate records
OF prisoners must be kept, and that
much time is wasted in telephone calls
between the two Offices, prison officials
declare. The Commissioners are told
that more efficiency and economy in
the work would be achieved by moving
the Office from the District Building
to Lorton, and having all hearings
held there.
Time in Travelling Cited.
william w. Bride, former corpora
ton counsel, now chairman of the
Parole Board, has protested in the
past that to go to Lorton causes too
much waste of the time of board
members, who serve without pay.
The feelings of another member of
the board, Wilbur LaRoe, jr., were
revealed on the general subject re-
Gently when Parole Board members
were called before the Commissioners
on their 1896 budget estimates. Stand
ing in the hall waiting for that ses-
sion to begin, he declared: I'VE haven't
even a place to hang our hats"
The Parole Board has waged cam
paign for appropriations for additional
parole officers. The board now has
but two employees outside of its Sec
retary. One is a field officer and the
other, a clerk of the reformatory who
acts as a parole officer at Lorton. All
three are carried on the Lorton pay
roll
The Parole Board last year made an
insistent request for a staff on its
pay roll, and that the whole plan be
divorced from the prison institution.
The Commissioners today declined
to indicate what stand they would
take on either Of the problems.