The Washington times., 1935-05-11
LORTON is CROWDED NOW WITH HARDENED CRINlINl
But Escape
Is Rarely
Made

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brokers who violated their
trusts, and petty thieves whose
hGbitu&l offenses keep them
continuously in prison, are all
incarcerated at the District Re-
3ormAtory, Lorton, Va, Wash
ington's "model prison with
out q wall"
The concrete el-barred
cell blocks of the Federal and
State prisons are unknown
here. Unknown also are the
high smooth walls patrolled
day and night by armed
guards; the powerful prison
cars equipped with sirens and
sesrchlights; the prison pal
lOr; the striped suits and the
lockstep.
The men sleep in dormitorfes
similar to those Of an army bar
racks. Instead of canvas cots
they sleep on iron cots equipped
with springs and mattresses made
ct the reformatory.
The large windows built high
above each bed are barred, but
there are no bars at the windows
in the big dining hall nor in the
work shops. The doors leading
into them are not even locked.
One OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
the work in each shop.
Sun and Air
The prisoner who gazed long
and wiStfully at the patch Of blue
sky showing through the bars Of
his narrow window is Q myth
here. All day long sunshine and
fresh air pour through the rooms.
During the warm weather the
men are permitted to play base
bal on Saturday afternoons and
Sundays. Those who like farm"
ing and have proved themselves
trustworthy, work the 200 acres
used for raising vegetables, fruits,
chickens and hogs.
Lorton does not have entrance
RatAS. A wire cable stretches
across the road leading into the
rAformatory grounds. A guard
hats incoming cars, asks their
business and then phones Colonel
Peaks office. AS the visitors
drive in he warns them to "be
sure and lock your cars"
Factory in Country
The cable, the gentle old man,
and the lack of walls are deceiv.
ing, The visitors first incnna-
ton is to laugh-the place looks
like q factory in the country. He
asks:
How do you keep prisoners
from escaping?"
But a tour of the $1,000 acres
soon dispels any thought of easy
escape. Watch towers, manned
by guards with Tommy" guns,
are placed at strategic points. =,
Nineteen years ago Lorton was
o wilderness. Today so much
land has been cleared that hardly
a tree-with the exception Of the
orchards be seen for miles.
The 40 brick and wooden build"
ings are bare of shrubbery. A
man would have to run for miles
before he could find shelter in
the woods.
Even if he managed to escape
the binoculars Of the watch tower
guards, the blood hounds would
soon pick up his scent and track
him down.
when caught he loses his time
Oft for good behavior and all
privileges.
Crowded Prisons
Originally built as q reforma-
tory for less hardened criminals
and those serving sentences Of
more than Q year, Lorton has
been forced to accept those whose
crimes have earned them long,
or lifetime terms.
The Federal prisons have be-
come 50 crowded that. those
whose records would warrant
stronger incarceration are still
at LOrton. Among them are 2
men serving life terms for muir
der.
one. q father, choked his own
AAiiRlaEAP to death when she in.
sisted On going out with other
men. Another strangled his
sweetheart in Q drunken frenzy
ana spent the balance Of the
night praying at the dead girls
bedside.
Two members Of the Tri-State
gang "Slirn" Dunn and Sam Ber-
lin, were at Lorton for q brief
stay, following their conviction
Of robbing the Heurich brewery.
Both were later transferred to
Alcatraz, Americas Devils Island.
Among the "elite" are ex-stock
brokers, two former bankers, and
q former disbursing clerk Of the
Census Bureau who was sentenced
to 10 months for raising Govern
ment orders.
The men are assigned tasks
according to their ability and
training.
The Industrial office, where the
prison records are kept, the mail
room, and the hospital, are run by
conyictS who held similar positions
On the outside. Clad in blue
denim trousers, and the usual
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