Evening star., 1940-02-10

The complete transcript OF
ing to Washington charitable in.
Subcommittee of the House Dist
Mrs. Roosevelt am very glad to
tell you about conditions as they
seemed to me. do not feel that I
could make definite recommended
tions because I simply visited these
institutions and it would require
much more careful investigation be-
fore I could make definite recon-
mendations.
Some years ago I visited the Ma
tional Training School for Girls, the
Jail in the District Of Columbia,
Gallinger Hospital and one or two
other institutions the names Of
which I have forgotten, but one of
them was where women are tempo
rarily detained. l do not know
whether you would call it the De-
tention Home for Women, but I
have visited a number of institu-
tions before my last visit to the
Blue Plains Home for the INDECENT
and the Aged. 1 also visited the Re-
ceiving Home for Children and the
Industrial Home for Children.
have never yet found an institu-
ton in the District which was a
model institution. They vary in de-
gree, but I think any one who has
had any experience with institu-
tions would agree with me that they
all need a good deal OF improve
ment.
Still Plenty of Room
For Improvement.
believe that since I first visited
the National Training School for
Girls there has been considerable
Improvement in the physical build
ings and in the actual buildings
themselves which have been i'm
proved upon. 1 have not been back
so I cannot say anything beyond
what I have heard.
I also believe that is true of the
Jail and perhaps of number OF
other institutions that 1 do not hap
pen to recall specifically know it is
so from what l hear of Gallinger
! Hospital. and I hear of Gallinger
again. There is still room, however,
for improvement. They are still not
the model institutions which we
would like to see in the Nations
Capital. where, I feel, good many
people come here with varied inter-
ests. I think that is borne out by
the fact that, after wrote my
column on Blue Plains received a
letter from some one interested in
New Jersey institutions. who said
she had come to Washington 18
years ago and had gone to the Blue
Plains and come away just as heavy
hearted as I was. So it would seem
as though we did have visitors who
were interested in getting inspira-
ton from many different kinds OF
interests when they visited the Dis
trict of Columbia. That is one rea-
son why 1 have always hoped we
would bring our District institutions
to the point where we could with
pride say that we had something
10 show, and we cannot do so now.
Blue Plains Totally Unified
To Care for Inmates.
My latest visit to Blue Plains, the
Receiving Home and the Industrial
Home leaves me with this impress
sion:
We will begin with Blue Plains
I think that physically it is totally
untitled to give proper care to the
inmates. They are not properly
segregated You have hospital there
with 100 people in bed and a doctor
who comes for half day and one
trained nurse with two assistants
Outside of that the only other care
is that given by the inmates. Much
of the work is done by the inmates
Now that is probably good thing
because people must be kept busy
but you have a feeling all the time
that it is not done on wise basis
of program to give proper exercise
and employment to people who feel
1t is done because they could not do
anything else. They had to have
them do certain things whether
they we're fitted to do it or not.
Now it is impossible to give
proper care to 100 bed patients with
the force at their command. There
is also a small group of cancer pa
tients there and they should not be
there. There is no adequate care
for them.
Impression Management
Could Be Improved.
Now in regard to the manage
ment of the institution, I do not
know that I can tell you much about
| it. In short visit such as mine
you can only say what your genera
impression was. My general i'm
preston was that possibly there
could be a little improvement ir
management, but it would be almost
impossible with the plant as it was
to do a good job.
There is a mixed population o1
colored and white.
There are many things that could
be mentioned. For instance, just
the smell in certain places is some
thing which you and I would find
very trying and which in the winter
months when it has to be heated
and comparatively little air comes
in, it must be little difficult for the
inmates, too. They may get so thai