Evening Star Newspaper, March 27, 1937, Page 13

Books—Art—Music @he Foen FEATURES [ 4 WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ny Star News of Churches W/ SHINGTON, 10} SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1937. . PRISON HEAD SEES BIG TASK James V. Bennett, Newly Appointed Director, Accepts Duties to Individual Convicts as Chief Concern—Struggle With Despair Looms as By-Product of Crime. By Lucy Salamanca. | [19 HE four horsemen of penol- | ogy are disease, overcrowd- | ing, idleness, despair,” de- | clares the new director of the Bureau of Prisons of the Depart- | ment of Justice, James V. Bennett. ‘That, in a measure, sums up the administrative needs of the system, as the man who has recently come to directorship, after years of association { with prison problems, sees it. But a | more direct commentary upon the personality of the new director is to be found in his summation: “I don't know which of these is the most destructive. But I believe nothing can have so degenerating an influence | upon the human being as despair.” In that statement is expressed the recognition of the human value in the prison problem, the realization that morale must be maintained, that | the rehabilitation of the prisoner is of primary importance, that imprison- | ment alone constitutes punishment enough, and that brutality, or “breaking” of a man’s spirit, should | not be tolerated “In the thousands of cases that have come to my individual atten- tion,” says Mr. Bennett, “and in the | wide contact I have had over a period | of years with men who are serving | sentences for wrong-doing, I have yet to find one man who did not shudder at the thought of prison. | Society need have no concern about our prisons being made so attractive to the men- they will want to return; | they need not worry about privileges | of recreation or library or similar | concessions made in prison life— | nothing will ever compensate a man | for loss of liberty. Imprisonment, being shut out from life, is punish- | ment enough. Under the most ideal of prison conditions no man wants | to return, Our job is to return that | man to society better fitted to adjust himself to it and with an attitude of mind that will not stand in the way of that adjustment.” 'THE new director of the Bureau of Prisons, it may be judged frem this, is vitally interested in the pris- oner as an individual. He is. With- out sentimentalizing in the least about his responsibilities, he has the courage to risk that charge by saying: “It is | the co-operation of socially-minded | men and women we need in this effort | to make a useful member of society | of the released criminal. their willingness to aid us in absorb- ing into industry and the life of the community the man who has served his sentence and is trying to come | back, the problem is almost hopeless. | “Every year in this country ap- proximately 80,000 men are turned out from our colleges with profes- sional and baccalaureate degrees. They | form an army of job-hunters who have | everything in their favor. They are | voung, strong, well-equipped educa- tionally and socially adjusted. They have everything to recommend them. Yet even this favored group experi- | ences economic difficulties in securing | employment at the clcse of their col- | lege courses. “Consider, then, what is ahead of the man who is released from prison. ‘This army amounts yearly to about 75,000 men. According to what prison life has taught them, they return to the world eager for readjustment or embittered against society. And they | must be absorbed by that society. All they bring with them is the degree of | ‘ex-con’. In spite of an excellent | record in some cases while confined, | men equipped to aid in this rehabilita- crowded prison yard. When you take work away from imprisoned men you remove one of the most potent factors in their rehabilitation. The demoraliz- ing effect of idleness in prison cannot be over-emphasized.” HE BELIEVES it is futile to argue that the American system of im- prisonment can continue in its pres- ent form without providing some means of occupying the minds and hands of those sentenced to “hard labor.” To understand this, he claims, “one must gain some concept of the routine of the prisoner and his world. The prison corridor, the lock step. the wall, the bars, the criminal’s warped ideas of manhood, his undeviate- ing faithfulness to a remorseless code, his bitterness toward the social order, and his scorn for the thrifty and in- dustrious are attributes of life in a world altogether foreign to most people. “Never is there relief in a prison from the exacting regularity of every action and every move from morning until night Precisely on the moment, the cell doors are unlocked and the men march to their meals. They stand at the doors of their cells three, four or five times a day at exactly the same moment to be counted. In many prisons, for months in advance, the content of the diet can be pre- dicted.” “From 8 to 14 hours a day the prisoner must lie on his bunk in the cell, often with nothing to occupy even his mind. Worry, lack of work 1and exercise may make it impossible for him to sleep more than a few hours. For many of them, all that they can look forward to is the ad- venture of combing their hair or cleaning their teeth, cursing the guard or booing the warden as he marches by on his daily inspection tour. The prisoners ‘build time’ listlessly, un- smilingly, usually sullenly. The re- sult is that the whole prison atmos- phere is charged with bitterness, ran- cor, slothfulness and an all-pervading sense of defeat.” With regard to this, James E. John- ston, now werden of Alcatraz Peni- tentiary, said: “The great necessity in prison is work. If I had to man- age a prison upon condition that I | make my choice of one thing, and | only one, as an aid to discipline, as an agency for reform, for its thera- peutic value, I would unhesitatingly choose work—just plain, honest-to- goodness work. “Of course, I wouldn't like to con- centrate so on a choice, and it would be unwise to be so restricted. Physi- cal examinations, medical treatments, | bodily repairs, educational opportuni- | psychiatry, | | psychology are necessary and helpful. | ties, spiritual guidance, But the habit of work is what most men need.” Referring to correction of this con- | dition as one of the major problems at present, Bennett said: “Five years ago the machine shops and indus- trial centers of the prisons were mak- ing labor for the great majority of the prisoners. About all they are do- ing in the State prisons today is tak- ing in each other’s wash. chine shops are idle. The men have nothing with which to occupy their | time or use their energy. I have ac- tually been in prisons where outside labor was brought in to construct ad- ditional buildings or add te the struc- tures in some way and the prisoners themselves sat in the prison yards and jeered at the outside workmen.” are busy in the manufacture of arti- cles that are used by the Federal Gov- ernment itself. BOUT 500,000 men pass through our prisons each year. Of this number, on March 12, 1937, 21,809 were recorded as Federal prisoners. Last year at this time there were 21,- 361 Federal prisoners serving sen- tences in these same institutions. Commitments have increased to such an extent that another real problem the new director will have to face is that of overcrowding. The opening of the Alcatraz prison in September, | 1934, did not materially relieve this | overcrowded condition of our Federal penitentiaries, for the reason that this criminals, the recidivists—that is to | say, the “repeaters,” or those who | have shown themselves unmanage- able under the ordinary routines of other prisons. The hardened offend- ers, the perpetrators of the most vi= clous crimes, the men for whom littie | hope of rehabilitation is held out— | all these make up the popiilation of | Alcatraz, isolated in San §rancisco Harbor, set high on a naturzl fortress of rock atop an island that is care- fully patrolled and inclosed ?y a high | wall over which constant vijilance is kept. | There are accommud.alion% for 600 prison is reserved for the “hardboiled” | (1) James V. Bennett, director of Federal Prisons. (2) A cell block in one of the Federal penitentiaries. @3) Instruction classes for prisoners qualified to attend are part of the Government’s program in the rehabilitation of the criminal. This is a scene in a penitentiary school room. (4) Alcatraz Penitentiary, on an island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, where the most hardened criminals are housed. no prisoners are permitted, is utilized for housing officers, employes and for other administrative purposes. ‘While discipline in this penitentiary is strict, and fewer privileges are granted than at any other Federal The ma- | | prisoners at Alcatraz, but it is not re- | institution, administration is humane | garded, for the reasons stated, as an | and progressive. According to Di- institution to which transfers can be | rector Bennett, the establishment of made to relieve the overcrowding of | this institution has had a good effect other prisons. There are 336 maxi- | upon discipline in other penitenti- mum security cells in this penitentiary, | aries, where it is known that recal- | built of concrete, with cell fronts of | citrant cases will be transferred to the tool resistant steel, and equipped with | fortress off the California coast. The standard selective locking devices. | value of this institution in promoting mum security type. The building proper | also shown by the fact that it has so contains a cell block, a mess hall, kitchen, hospital, shower baths, cloth- ing-distribution rooms, shops, bakery and refrigeration plant. | building is protected with strong tool- | far been necessary to use the institu- | tion at only half its capacity. | Criminals who have been sentenced | to the Federal penitentiaries are not At every opening the exterior of the | assigned haphazardly to any one of | the institutions, but are classified ac- { Who possess one outstanding common | characteristic are transferred to cen- ters designed to care for such special | cases. For example, offenders against the narcotic laws and other offenders | addicted to the use of narcotics are | sent to Leavenworth annex. Care- | fully selected narcotic addicts, who | seem to be susceptible to treatment, | are sent to the United States Narcotic Farm. Insane and tuberculous pris- oners, or those suffering from chronic | degenerative diseases, are assigned to | | the United States Hospital for De- | fective Delinquents. ‘There are also 252 reserve cells of mini- | discipline in other Federal prisons is | INSTITUTIONAL classification s based upon a simple division of | those who offer favorable prospects | for rehabilitation and those who do | not. Through transfers, the Bureau of | Prisons is working out a method of The work problem is not quite s‘o{resistam grills. The island itself is| cording to their crimes or individual | placing the most hopeful offenders in BNAl T apite BOL TecommenaatcnE lor acute, however, in the Federal insti- | divided, one portion being a restricted | tendencies or records, and need for | those institutions which offer the best tutions. tion process, that ‘degree’ alone is sflnnable proportion of the prisoners ' confined, and the other portion, where | institution. Special groups of inmates frequently enough to make industri- alists turn thumbs-down immediately upon such an applicant for a job. “What are we going to do with these men? Remember there are 75,000 of them every year and we caunot close our eyes to that fact. We have got to help them over this transitional period. We have got to | give a helping hand to these fellows— | some of whom are worthy in every | respect of a second chance.” | BENNE’IT is a young man, filled with the vitality of a concentrated interest in his work. He is a man | with whom you can talk freely— | argue, discuss, question, as you will. | For he has that priceless quality of | not having lost himself in his office. | Appointed February first of this year | to fill the position of director of the Bureau of Prisons, to replace Sanford | Bates, who retired, Bennett took over his new duties with due familiarity | With its problems, its discouragements | and its opportunities | Transferred to the Department of Justice in 1929 from the Personnel Classification Board, where he had served as secretary, Bennett assisted in the reorganization of the Bureau | of Prisons, later becoming assistant | director. | It was in this capacity that he was | made primarily responsible for the in- | dustrial operations carried on in the | Pederal penal system, and he came | to be considered an expert in Federal administrative procedure and per- sonnel methods, as well as in prison problems. | While serving as assistant director | under Sanford Bates, Bennett was also commissioner of Federal prison industries. Originally entering the Federal service from Rhode Island in | 1919 under competitive civil service, he was appointed an assistant investi- | gator in the United States Bureau of Efficiency, and after a series of promotions became chief investigator, | detailed to study office procedure and | policies in Government departments | and co-operating in installing im- | roved methods. He is a career civil servant. Con- | temporaneously with his appointment the President extended the civil serv- ice requirements to all the wardens snd superintendents of the Federal prisons. ‘Thus, the Attorney General has again evidenced his determina- tion to divorce entirely the law en- forcement activities of the Depart. ment of Justice from any semblance | of political control. One of the major tasks of his present post, Bennett believes, is to find a sodution to the problem of prison idle- ness. “Most American State prisons,” he says, “are now merely vast idle houses filled with hordes of despair- ing, discouraged and disgruntled men, milling aimlessly about in an over- 2 I } SUBWAYS Platforms similar to these appear under Washington stree By Edward Reed. O HAVE or not to have a sub- way system for the District of Columbia is an issue that is at present occupying the at- tention of the District Commission- ers, certain representatives in the Senate and Lower House, the Board of Trade, Federal employe organi- zations and various and sundry citi- zens of the Capital community. For the present, nothing can be done until a bill asking for $25,000 with which to make an initial sur- vey comes before Congress and re- ceives its approval. Such a bill was introduced last session by Represent- | ative Mary T. Norton, chairman of MAY SO lin the New York subway. may s gation. ®* * * Any conclusion reached with respect to the desirability of sub- ways ust of necessity take into con- sideration existing surface trans- portation. It would therefore appear that this investigation is properly a function of the Joint Board.” The “comprehensive investigation” referred to was a survey of “exist- ing facilities, routes, stops, safety zones, loading platforms, schedules and standards of service of existing transportation companies in the Dis- trict; changes of routes, facilities, schedules and standards of service; extensions and/or abandonments of and facilities, and location of , safety zones and loading plat- | the Committee on the District of Co- | lumbia, and this year the Public Utilities Commission has asked cer- | tain changes be made in H. R. 8662 as first presented, said changes sub- stituting “Joint Board consisting of the Commissioners of the District EVIEWING in its report the need for something to be done | about the situation in Washington, | the commission stated: “In the past, street railway cars propelled by horse- | power afforded an easier, more rapid | LVE T | | | Commission of the District of Co- ’ transportation than any other horse- lumbia” for the expression “Commis- | Grawn vehicle using cobble-stone sioners of the District of Columbia.” | pavements or streets without hard i In its letter to Representative Nor- | surface, which rapidly deteriorated {ton the Public Utilities Commission | in rainy seasons or during Winter | stated, “The Joint Board has con- i weather. With the introduction of | ducted a comprehensive investigation ' the cable car, the competition be- of transportation in the District of | tween horse-drawn vehicles and street Columbia. The files of the Public | cars was decidedly favorable to the Utilities Commission already contain |latter. The development of elec~ much information that would be | trically-driven street cars gave such | helpful to the contemplated investi-'a decided advantage to public trans- ~ of Columbia and the Public Utilities | anq more comfortable method of | In these workshops a rea- |area, to which all prison activities are | individual treatment within any one 1 rehabilitative opportunities. In such | a way, assignments are made to PAGE B—1 4 Leavenworth Penitentiary, Atlanta, Northeastern, United States Industrial Reformatory, and the Federal Reform- atory Camp. The most hopeful cases, | with special emphasis placed on youth- | fulness, lack of previous major record, ability to take vocational training, and suitability for medium or mini- mum custody, go to Chillicothe, Ohio. Men capable of profiting by inten- sive rehabilitative treatment, but not suitable for Chillicothe because of their age, their previous record or custodial requirements, are sent to Northeastern Penitentiary at Lewis- burg, Pa. Men suitable for medium or minimum custody but lacking na- tive ability to profit by education or vocational training offered at Chilli- cothe, are sent to the Federal Reform- atory Camp. And men showing a his- tory of habitual criminality at a pro- fessional level and who do not appear | to belong in the group of the more hopeful rehabilitative prospects, are sent to Atlanta and Leavenworth. O MUCH for male offenders. Roughly speaking, the director in- forms us, there are about 10 male criminals in this country to one female criminal. Women are not given to crimes of violence and the need of protecting the community from their depredtations is not so im- portant an element in their penal treatment or reformation. | Only about 500 out of 16,000 pris- oners housed in Federal penitentiaries and reformatories are women. Out of 6,000 Federal offenders housed in State and county institutions, not over 300 at any one time are women. Up until 1925 the few women re- ceived were housed in some local jail under the care of the sheriff. Then, largely through the militant efforts of Mabel Walker “'LIIebrand{»--'fl’lenI assistant attorney general—the Fed-| eral Industrial Institution for Women was built in the hills of West Vir- ginia. It is built on the cottage plan, and is on land along the Greenbrier River. There are 17 cottages, each designed to accommodate 30 women. In addition, it has a receiving build- ing, hospital, administration building, industrial building, staff building and ! Action Depends Upon Survey for Which Congress Is | Asked to Provide Funds—Rearrangement of Routes an Alternative, as Cost of Undersurface Work Is Considered. portation, because of the disparity between the speed and comfort of available private conveyances and public vehicles, that the future of street car transportation seemed as- sured from 1880 to 1920. However, with the development of low-priced automobiles of small gasoline con- sumption per mile, and improvement of highways, the ownership of pri- vate automobiles in this country rose from less than on.-half million in 1910 to 8% millions in 1920 and about 25 millions in 1934. In the District of Columbia there was one automo- bile for each 3.3 persons in 1933-34. “In the judgment of the commis. sion, the continuance of street cars as public vehicles depends largely upon the ability of the industry and its allled manufacturers to produce new types of vehicles at more rea- sonable costs which will be able to meet modern competition, at the same time possessing qualities attractive to prospective car riders. “The transportation of a large vol- ume of persons can be accomplished most economically to them and to the District Government through the maintenance of adequate and speedy street car and bus service. However, this can be done only by allowing these public vehicles free and unob- structed movement. If public mass | right of way, the resulting speedier service will induce more people to leave their private cars at home.” THROUGHOUT the report Commission stresses this necessity for “speed,” and this is & requisite that subways would seem to provide, as well as the “free and unobstructed movement” and ‘“clear right of way” that it has been almost impossible to achieve in surface movement, ac- cording to the commission, because of the increasing number of private vehicles on the surface highways. However, & direct reference was made by the Commission in this pains- taking report to subways in the Dis- trict of Columbia as a possible solu- ington. “During the hearing,” it states, “dis- cussion took place with reference to the desirability and/or necessity of transportation vehicles are given clear | the | tion to the traffice problems of Wash- | subway operation. The Commission, prior to issuance of orders for major track changes, gave serious considera- tion to the matter of subways. deliberation resulted in the conclusion that the public need was instant, and better results could be effected by re= arrangement of the present surface facilities. “The Commission has not concluded that consideration of subway con- struction should be abandoned. One of the material elements considered was whether, in reasonable probabil- ity, the changed track lay-outs would continue in whole or in part, even if, at a later time, the construction and operation of subways should be found necessary. “The cost of subway construction in any city is large, and an important question is whether such cost would be prohibitive in the District of Co- lumbia. In order to determine this question, consideration must be given to physical characteristics of the city. “The erection of large Government Buildings in the Triangle area and the contemplated development of the Rec- tangle area have or will cut off many streets, rendering surface operation difficult. The simultaneous movement { of employes to and from said areas | each day intensifies traffic congestion to a point probably not equaled in any jurisdiction of comparable size during similar hours. Such congestion may become worse. Attempts to give re- lief by street widening and otherwise have been temporarily beneficial only. Increased population and automobile registrations generally within a short time absorbed any reserve capacity created by street widening. Large expenditures have been made for such widening and related purposes, such as traffic control by human and mechan- ical means. Because of the inability of traffic to flow smoothly, there is loss of time to every one using the streets. “QO)N the other hand, it must be borne in mind that the cost of subway construction that would serve any useful purpose would be tre- mendous. The commission has the very definite opinion that it would be unsound, both financially and from'known. A The | RAFFIC PUZZLE Washingtonians on their wi seek subway entrances like these. INGTON| ay to or from work may one day an operating point of view, to consider a subway system unless it be of sub- stantial length. The value of tunnels for short distances is highly conjec- tural, and it is seriously doubted if their cost would be justified by re- sults attained. Portals to such tun- nels would not enhance the beauty of the city, and would encroach upon roadway area required for general vehicular traffic. Acute traffic con- gestion exists for only two short periods daily. “Difficulty would be experienced in obtaining funds for the construction of subways. The ability of the Capi- tal Transit Co. to finance such an undertaking would be doubtful. It has been suggested to the commission that, because of the Federal construc- tion program, it would be equitable for the Federal Government to finance the project. Under such plan of finan- cing the taxpayers of the District of Columbia very probably would have | to bear much of the burden in one way or another. “The financial problem is not the only one difficult of solution. From an engineering point of view, great difficulty would be experienced in sub- way construction. Because of to- pography, maintenance and operation of a subway system would present problems. The city atreets are in- fested with mains and conduits, and, in many cases, the exact location of such underground construction is not To revert to the financial L phase, these conditions would unques- tionably increase cost. “The commission is firmly convinced that a number of measures should be exhausted before resorting to subway operation, with its tremendous cost. First, a reasonable trial should be made of street car operation as re- routed and supplemented by bus rout- ing. Second, it is possible that the future may dictate a complete replace- ment of railway operation by bus. Third, the staggering of hours has materially aided the traffic situation and there is still the possibility, if need be, for a greater speed, which should further assist. The effective regulation of traffic will be of material benefit to the rendering ef good mass transportation. Fourth, should the management fail or be unable so to operate either the street railway sup- plemented by bus, or a whole bus op- eration, in a manner to attract a suf- ficient number of persons to substan- tially relieve congestiom caused by private vehicles, then a scientific study should be made of the propriety of inaugurating subway operation. “JT 1S the view of the commission that the matter of subway should be held in abeyance. When it becomes apparent, however, that the various methods discussed proved to be im- practicable, then a committee, con- sisting of the Public Utilities Commise (Continued on Page B-5.) ~ various utilities and farm buildings. Its buildings and grounds have a value in excess of $2,000,000. It is adminis- tered entirely by women officers. The enabling act providing for this institution specified that each woman was to be given training that would fit her to be self-supporting on her return to society. Each woman on admission 1is placed in quarantine. Many of them arrive in a debilitated or diseased condition, ravaged in body and mind by drink, drugs or other vices. They immediately become the objects of a continuous and scientific program of physical and mental hy- giene. The United States Public Health Service furnishes medical, mental, surgical and peychiatric care for each individual woman. The su= perintendent and her staff provide the type of reformative treatment best suited to the need of the individual. An attempt is made to inculcate into the women the desire to live in con= formity with society’s standards. The experiment in penology has succeeded, and about one-third of the number of women released from the institution have gone out upon parole, Only two have had their paroles re- voked. Some, it is true, have not succeeded in adjusting themselves. Among these were confirmed drug addicts and other incorrigible delin- quents, but the great majority have returned to the world better equipped for life. Once the Federal prisoner has been classified as to the institution in which he shall serve his sentence, the officers of that institution concentrate upon the most fitting treatment for him. When an inmate has served one-third of his sentence the parole officer requests each department that has had contact with him to furnish reports, called ‘“progress notes,” and later parole considerations are based upon these to a great extent. UNISHMENT is administered when an inmate is guilty of misconduct, by reprimand, restriction of privileges, solitary confinement, restricted diet or loss in some of the regular reduce tion in sentence provided by law for continuous good conduct. With respect to the educational and vocational training made available to the prisoners in the reformatories and at Northeastern, where the more “hopeful” cases are confined, it i based on a definitely social objective . That is to say, learning is used as s means of better social adjustment rather than for its own sake. Edu. cation is thus divided into academie and vocational work. The academi¢ extends from teaching elementary school subjects for the benefit of the illiterate or nearly illiterate to cor- respondence courses and individual instruction in special subjects a$ college level. “It is astonishing,” he says, “how unsuitable some individuals can be fo1 & task in hand. Every effort must b¢ made to get the right instructors, an¢ this is often more important from s standpoint of the psychology of th« instructor and his understanding thas it is from the standpoint of his edu. cational qualifications. I remembet once visiting a prison class where the students were being taught to write On the blackboard, in a fluent, Spen« cerian hand, was the motto they ha been told to copy. Believe it or not some instructor had placed there thi sentence: ‘How swiftly the happ hours flow by’!” A board of directors of five person who represent, respectively, industry labor, agriculture, retailers and con: sumers, and the Attorney General determines to what extent industrie shall be carried on within the Federa institutions, with an eort made so ¢ diversify these activities that no singh private industry will bear an undw burden of competition.