Evening star., 1946-04-17
civil Service Chief
Called In 10 Advise
House Jail Inquiry

Plans to improve personnel at
District Jail were discussed to-
day at an executive session OF
the Hebert subcommittee of the
House with Civil Service Com
missioner Arthur Flemming.
Chairman Hebert said all ques-
tions affecting civil service brought
out at the hearings in the Jail in
vestigation were gone over with Mr.
Flemming.
1t was developed at the hearings
that the pay of captain of guards
at District Jail is approximately that
of private in the Metropolitan
Police Department. Commissioner
Guy Mason told the subcommittee
yesterday the Civil Service Commits
sion was not to blame for failure tc
rec-aSsify Jail salaries upward, be-
cause search of the records dis
closed that the Public Welfare Board
never submitted such a request to
the District Commissioners, and con-
sequently they never asked for q
pay revision.
Members Of the subcommittee
realize the difficulty the District
prison administration has had ir
obtaining competent employees at the
salaries allowed.
Representative Hebert had com
pleted today the tentative draft of g
report which the subcommittee
hopes to make to the House District
Committee by Friday. Copies of the
draft were sent subcommittee mem.
bers.
Observers expect the subcommit.
tee to recommend sweeping changes
in the methods of administering
District penal institutions, especially
the Jail.
While there was considerable dis
cussion ct the hearings of the pos
sibility that the Federal Bureau ci
Prisons might take over these in
stitutions. this would require legis.
lation.
May Ask Bennett Aid.
1t also has been suggested pri-
vately that pending possible legis.
lation the Welfare Board might be
induced to request" James v. Ben.
nett, director of the Federal Bureau
of Prisons, to take control OF the
jail temporarily with a view of re.
organizing it.
But such an expedient would be
dependent on the cooperation ol
the board. which is entrusted by
law with the administration of Dis
trict prisons.
The Hebert subcommittee, after
studying the tentative draft of its
report overnight, will meet in exec
utive session at 10 I'm. tomorrow tt
consider its findings. The group Is
expected to Ak responsibility for the
two recent escapes from the death
house and to recommend measu1 es
to improve the jail.
Bennett Makes tiOns.
Mr.. Bennett spent several hours
in executive session with the SUBJ
committee yesterday and afterwarc
said that, at the request of the
group, he made a number of recon-
mendations for improvements.
Mr.. Hebert planned meanwhile
to confer with Attorney Genera,
Clark. The FBI made its own in.
vestigation of the escape of Joseph
D. Medley and Earl Mcfarland and
its conclusions are to be made known
to the subcommittee. While it is
possible the, FBI findings may alter
the committee report and could
even call for additional testimony
Mr.. Hebert explained that he was
not delaying the report on this ac-
count because he felt it should be
made as soon as possible.
1t was understood that FBI agents
waited to talk to Mcfarland, who
was recaptured in Knoxville. Tenn.
only last Thursday and brought back
Monday, before completing their in
vestigation. 1t was assumed they
earlier interrogatsd Medley, who
was caught in the city a few hours
after the break from the death
house April 3.