Evening star., 1946-04-04
House Unit Orders Open Hearing
On administration Of District Jail:
Reward Spurs Mcfarland Search
5-Mun Committee
Named After Talk
With City Heads

AAC 44oooC D1otl Nv SOllilll1GUCC,
after a closed session today with
a group of District government
officials, instructed Chairman
Mcmillan to appoint a five-man
subcommittee to hold public
hearings on the administration
Of the District Jail, from which
two condemned killers escaped
early yesterday.
Mr.. Mcmillan announced as men,
bers of the subcommittee Repre-
sentatives Hebert, Democrat, OF
Louisiana, chairman; Harris, Demo
crat, of Arkansas; Combs, Demo
crat, of Texas; O'Hara, Republican
of Minnesota, and Simpson, Repub-
Gcan, of Illinois
While no date for the beginning
OF the hearings was set, Mr.. Nc
MILAN said they probably will start
next Monday or Tuesday.
General Situation Discussed.
The District Committee discussed
the general situation today with the
Commissioners, Maj. Harvey G. Cal
lahan, police superintendent, and
several other officials, but left the
controversial issues involved in the
jailbreak to be investigated by the
subcommittee
Representative Hebert, whose in
dignant protests against conditions
of Dic{, NJ Toi1 efo rto
trict Committees investigation, de-
clared definite progress" was made
with the appointment of the five
member subcommittee.
"Of course, we could get nothing
at all out of them today" he as
serted. I'VE only SKINNED the
surface of what is wrong But now
we will go into the whole thing"
Mr.. Hebert explained that much
of the time today was taken up with
discussion of the procedure of the
investigation. Welfare Board Off
cials blamed conditions at the Jail
on inadequate personnel, he said.
Always Talk of Personnel.
whenever any one is put on the
spot they talk about personnel" he
said bitterly.
Ray L.sHuff, welfare director, ex-
planned that he told the committee
personnel is inadequate because of
the wartime manpower shortage.
The structure of the District Jail
has never even been completed" he
told reporters. He said the Welfare
Board has attempted repeatedly to
get appropriations to perfect Gus
todial features of the Jail.
Chairman Mcmillan said Maj.
Callahan told them he thought
Joseph Medley, the escaped prisoner
who was recaptured, had come
clean" when he was questioned after
his return to custody yesterday
afternoon. The police superintend-
ent quoted the condemned slayer as
saying: What the hell, might as
we'll tell the truth. I didn't have
any gun. We simply got into card
game with those guards and I
tricked them
commissioners Present.
When Chairman Mcmillan opened
the meeting those present included
the three Commissioners, Maj. Cal
lahan, Col. Joseph D. Arthur, AS
sistant Engineer Commissioner;
Corporation Counsel Vernon E
West, Edgar Morris, chairman of
the Board of Public Welfare; A. j
Driscoll, chairman of the board S
Committee on Public Institutions;
Fred S. Kogod and DR.. Ethel l.
Nixon, members of the committee
and Mrs. Radford Moses and A
Harding Paul, board members.
Others attending were w. French
Fleming, acting superintendent OF
District penal institutions; Howard
B. Gill, suspended superintendent;
Public Welfare Director Huff
Charles o. Botkin, superintendent
of the District Jail, and Thomas r.
Sard, deputy superintendent and
chief clerk.
Mr.. Gill, the suspended superin-
tendent, was called to the commit
tee meeting from the Special Board
of Inquiry hearing charges filed
against him by the Welfare Board
following the escape of five prison
ers from the Jail November "a. The
Inquiry Board adjourned its hear
ing until 130 pm. after Mr.. Gill
had testified briefly this morning.
Blames Welfare Board.
Mr.. Gill said he would tell the
House committee that the Welfare
Board is responsible for the escape
of the two convicted murderers. He
said he would tell what is wrong
with the Board of Public Welfare
and its Institutions Committee and
why it cannot operate the District
Jail"
The committee was informed that
Mr.. Gill was present and available
to testify, but the committee did
not call him.
Commissioner John Russell Young,
1t was reported, urged the District
Committee to support passage Of a
bill to strip the Welfare Board of
its powers and to establish De-
partment of Welfare responsible to
the Commissioners.
Commissioner Young was said to
have praised members of the We'll
fare Board as fine citizens, giving
freely of their time, but to have
explained that volunteer board
cannot administer penal institu-
tions.
,, Mr.. Morris described the setup of
the Welfare Board and its Institu-
(See PROBE, Page A-3J