Evening star., 1936-01-19

gangs tflAJ are operating tIuOuglOut
the country and which today consti-
tute the greatest individual cause Of
crime since repeal of prohibition.
THE Six 1alls. Suydam agrees, are
not going to help reduce the
population in Alcatraz. Atlanta and
the other prisons. but they are going
to relieve the Government of the me-
cessity of boarding prisoners IN local
jails-local jails which are neither
escapeproof nor adequate for the In
generation of Federal convicts.
Suydam explains it this way:
Uncle Sam finicky in prison things
as in everything else, demands GER
| tain social status" of those whom
he admits to his five major prisons.
They must be 'year-and-a-d -dayers"
at least. Small fry are not admitted.
The so-called lesser criminals will
be placed in the six new Jails, when
and if they are constructed. The
| year and a day or over convicts will
go to the major prisons. The only
weapon which the Department Of Jus
tice has at this time TO reduce the
population of the more important in
stitutions is deportation. Last Sum-
mer $50 aliens who had been con-
victed of crimes were rounded up in
the five prisons and shipped abroad.
Uncle Sam graciously paid their fare
home. but saved himself lot Of money
/ tt4ar
portation. The department is busy
now rounding up sirtilar group
which will be Just as graciously sent
away from here.
According to Suydam, the Federal
Government has only one Jail now
that amounts to anything II Is To-
Gated in Milan. Mich, near Detroit.
and is very modern. The six new Jails,
which tentatively. will be located in
| California. Minnesota. Florida. Texas,
Kentucky and Oklahoma. will cost
s425.000 each and have a capacity at
the highest of 600 prisoners. which Is
far greater than all but few of the
jails in the United States.
DUR1NG the era Of prohibition,
~ when Federal courts received
hundreds of pleas day from liquor
Law violators, sentences running from
80 to go days we're handed down fire.
quently. These prisoners were sent
to local city and county jails and the
Government paid their board. The
Department of Justice wants these
men in its own lails.
Under Government supervision the
prisoners would not lead the so-called
life of Reilly" which many of them
/ had in local jails during prohibition.
when it was not uncommon for them
/ to spend the day downtown and re-
| turn to the Jail only for the night.
There hasn't been any specific pro-
gram planned to reduce the population
of the major prisons as yet. except for
the deportation plan. The Depart
ment of Justice, through its Bureau
of Prisons, confesses that overcrovd-
ing is not conducive to good Condl-
tions-admits in fact. that it begets
unrest, and unrest is blamed for a
good proportion of prison riots and
attempted wholesale breaks.
Alcatraz where Federal prisoner
Nc. /. Al Capone. is just one of the
prisoners. is not overcrowded this year,
| proba bly, because the Government only
sends its most dangerous. or most
notorious prisoners there. The place
has a capacity for 381 prisoners and
has but 25l inmates. but even the
population there increased BY SO dur
ing 1885.
Leavenworth and its annex. the
latter housing narcotic prisoners.
showed decrease of 1874 in the past
year. But Atlanta. with a capacity
Of 2175. is actually housing 2.663
prisoners. an increase of SIS over
1884 Mcneil Island has 1858 prisoners.
against capacity of S76 an increase
of 1872 over 1884 Northwestern has
1852 prisoners. with capacity of
1924. an increase in 1885 of 1873 in
mates.
The department is going to ask for
more ja1ls and at the same time it !
is going to ask for authority which
will give 1t every reason to fill these
jails.
THE major portion of criminal ac-
tivities in the country today. the
Department of Justice believes. is en-
compassed by that far-reaching title,
"racketeering
I'VE have laws which give the de-
partment authority over the rackets."
Suydam said. but they do not 90 far
enough. The department can reach
out and get these gangs. but only
when they are in interstate trafic.
We want to get them at other times.
too"
The firearms act. which drew a lot
Of facetious comment when 1t was
enacted by the Seventy-third Con-
gress. is In much the same category.
Suydam believes.
1t is good as far as 1t goes, but 1t
does not go far enough, so Congress
will be asked by the Department of
Justice to amend 1t.
The department took a lot of r,Iv-
ing about that firearms act," Suydam
said
Because the department approached
the firearms issue through the taxing
power Of the Government. which.
briefly. required that all machine guns
and rifles of a certain bore must be
licensed. some vaes wondered II we
thought the criminals would register
their weapons.
"Of course. We had no such idea.
In fact. we expected the criminal ele-
ment would not obtain licenses for
its weapons. But that very fact gave
us a weapon of our own. If depart
ment investigators picked up a known
racketeer. but yet had nothing definite
on him. the very fact that he was
carrying an unlicensed gun was suf-
f1cient to convict him. Now the de-
partment wants that act amended
to include revolvers and pistols. be-