Mr. BENNETT. I mean by that that we give them better medical attention; we give them a better balanced diet, and we do more to promote their return to society in a better condition than when they came into the institution than is possible in the State institutions for the most part.

Mr. RABAUT. That statement of yours would cover a wide area. I suppose in some places the Federal institution and the State institution would be on a par, and in some places it would be otherwise.

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir. We have some women, for example, who are boarded in the Detroit House of Correction. Now, the cost that we are paying for their board there is substantially the same as it would cost us in our institution down in Alderson.

Perhaps we are a little egotistical about it, but we think that we promote their return to society a little better than they are able to do up in that institution, although the Detroit House of Correction is a very splendid institution.

Mr. RABAUT. Of course, from the standpoint of saving, you have not the capital invested in the structure to keep them in if you board them out, if they are willing to keep them, and I do not suppose they

are.

Mr. BENNETT. Yes; in most places they are very reluctant to keep Federal prisoners for us.

Mr. RABAUT. There would be a natural saving inasmuch as you would not have to set up the institution in which to house them. Mr. BENNETT. That is right.

Mr. RABAUT. But most places they are reluctant to keep them? Mr. BENNETT. Oh, they often refuse absolutely to do so. We cannot find a single institution on the west coast to receive our women prisoners.

JAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION DURING FISCAL YEAR 1938

Mr. MCMILLAN. Mr. Bennett, I will ask you to give us a little more detailed information about the three jails that you contemplate building during this fiscal year, how many of those have been completed, and are now being used, and the number of prisoners that you have assigned to them?

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. Chairman, none of the three jails which were authorized last year have been completed and occupied.

The Los Angeles jail is substantially completed. Had the boilers not failed in the test, we would now be occupying that institution. They expect to install new burners and boilers, and the contractor expects to turn the institution over to us within a month.

Mr. MCMILLAN. That defect is one beyond your control?

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir.

Mr. MCMILLAN. And it is up to the contractor to make good on that?

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir; it is the contractor's duty to make good. Now, the institution at Tallahassee is in the process of construction. The first building is being built and will soon be completed. That institution will be constructed, with the exception of this first building, entirely by our own labor.

The new institution at Sandstone, Minn., is, I should say, 60 percent completed, and if we do not have any accident, or if the contractor does not delay, it should be opened some time in May or June.

Mr. CALDWELL. What is the first building under construction at Tallahassee?

Mr. BENNETT. It consists of the utility building and dining room, and a portion of it has been set aside as temporary housing facilities for the men who will be sent there to construct the institution.

Mr. CALDWELL. What period of time is contemplated for the construction of the remaining portion?

Mr. BENNETT. It will extend over a pretty long period, due to the fact that we will be building it with our own labor. I suppose it will be 3 years before it is finally completed.

Mr. CALDWELL. In a way, the Tallahassee institution will be a departure from the usual custom of contracting for the construction work, will it not?

Mr. BENNETT. No; Mr. Congressman, I should say our usual custom is to build these institutions with our own labor.

The institution at Chillicothe was built with our own labor, and the institution at El Reno, Okla., was built largely with our own labor. Of course, all of the older penitentiaries were built with prison labor. Some of these newer institutions in farther distant places, where we have had a greater need for them, have been constructed under contracts.

NUMBER OF PRISONERS TO BE ASSIGNED TO NEW PRISONS BEING CONSTRUCTED DURING FISCAL YEAR 1938

Mr. MCMILLAN. Mr. Bennett, what is the total number of prisoners that you contemplate assigning to these three institutions upon their completion?

Mr. BENNETT. A total of 1,800, eventually.

Mr. MCMILLAN. Six hundred to each institution?

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir.

Mr. MCMILLAN. Tell us to what extent the assignment of these prisoners will relieve your other prison conditions that now exist, insofar as room is concerned?

Mr. BENNETT. Well, Mr. Chairman, these institutions were constructed primarily as "trading posts", to enable us to negotiate with the local authorities for better rates and better conditions for our prisoners. Of course, in the aggregate, it will decrease our population in State institutions and Federal institutions, but most of these people we contemplate will be taken from State and local institutions.

I contemplate taking, Mr. Chairman, out of the local institutions, all men who have sentences of 6 months or more, and placing them in these new jails. Men who have less than a 6 months' term to do, we will probably allow to remain where they are at present.

Mr. CALDWELL. Men with a sentence of 12 months or more are sent to the regular Federal institutions?

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir; a year and a day, or more. If he receives a felony sentence, he goes to the penitentiary.

NEW JAILS CONTEMPLATED DURING FISCAL YEAR 1939

Mr. MCMILLAN. With regard to the new jails contemplated in the estimate for the next fiscal year, Mr. Bennett, I think there are three such jails to be constructed?

Mr. BENNETT. That is the basis of the estimate.

Mr. BACON. Where are they to be constructed, and what type will they be?

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. Bacon, no final decision has as yet been made as to where they will be built, and we have only a rather general plan as to the exact type. I had felt that it was wise, before making any commitments as to the section of the country in which they would be located, and the types of institutions they should be, to consult with this committee.

Mr. BACON. They are like the Milan, Mich., type?

Mr. BENNETT. They will be built to house around 600 each.

Mr. MCMILLAN. Now, Mr. Bennett, this type of jail that you contemplate building will be similar to the jails that are now being constructed?

Mr. BENNETT. Similar in cost, and similar in type of construction, although we may find it necessary to change some of the layout of these institutions to agree with the knowledge we have gained from the operation of those we now have.

. Mr. MCMILLAN. And similar too, I assume, in capacity?

Mr. BENNETT. Exactly. Substantially the same capacity.

Mr. CALDWELL. What materials are you using in the three new jails that you are building?

Mr. BENNETT. In the jail at Sandstone, Minn., reinforced concrete, reinforced construction throughout, and in the jail at Los Angeles, we are using reinforced concrete construction throughout. In the jail at Tallahassee, it is concrete framework with brick exterior. I will be glad to bring up a prospectus of that.

DUTIES AND ACTIVITIES OF PAROLE OFFICERS OF PENAL INSTITUTIONS

Mr. MCMILLAN. Mr. Bennett, reverting for a moment now to the question of your parole work, you recall that last year the committee allowed you, I think, an additional clerk for a number of institutions to do the parole clerical duty.

Tell us what has been the effect of that work on the part of the Bureau, whether or not it has improved the efficiency of your parole work.

Mr. BENNETT. I am sure, Mr. Chairman, it has improved very considerably the efficiency of our parole work.

We are very proud of the Federal parole system, and of the number of men who are released on parole. The failures only amount to about 6 percent. One of the reasons for such a good record is because we do the preliminary work so successfully. It is the duty of these parole officers in the institutions to get up what we call a parole plan. He interviews the inmate, and he finds out whether he has a prospective job, checks up on the job, and also investigates his community situation. Thus, the board has greater knowledge of the men they are going to parole, and is able to predict more accurately whether they are going to succeed.

Mr. MCMILLAN. Are the records of each of these institutions on the parole of cases transferred or sent to you in Washington?

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir.

Mr. MCMILLAN. You have, therefore, a copy of all of the proceedings that are carried on in each given case in any of the institutions? Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir; with an opinion by the parole board in each case.

Mr. MCMILLAN. I think you mentioned in your general statement about the probation cases, that there were 7 percent failures. Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir; failures or relapses.

Mr. MCMILLAN. How does that compare with the parole cases? Mr. BENNETT. Our parole cases, taken all told, are a little lower than that, about 6 percent.

A

Let me refresh your memory, Mr. Congressman, if I may, on the operations of what is known as the conditional release law. Some 2 or 3 years ago, Congress passed a law stating that whenever a man was released from an institution at the expiration of his minimum sentence, he should remain as if on parole to the end of the maximum term. I can illustrate it with the case of a year-and-a-day man. man goes into prison, and he is sentenced for 1 year and a day. He is allowed, for good behavior, good behavior credits amounting to 72 days. Now, he goes out at the end of 1 year and 1 day less 72 days off for good behavior. He is on conditional release supervision during those 72 days, and if he commits any crime, or if he keeps bad company, or anything else detrimental to his record, during that period of 72 days, he may be returned to the institution.

That has been a very considerable additional burden, Mr. Chairman, upon our probation officers, and the number of conditional releases is considerably higher than the number of parolees who fail. That is because they go out automatically at the end of their minimum sentence, and we do not insist upon their having a job, and do not insist upon their meeting the other conditions usually applying to a parolee before they go out.

Mr. RABAUT. You think it is a good law, though, do you not? Mr. BENNETT. Yes; I think it is a good law, Mr. Congressman. I do not think it is fair to turn a man out into the community without some help and supervision, if you are able to give it to him.

AVERAGE DAILY PER CAPITA COST AND AVERAGE DAILY PRISON

POPULATION

Mr. MCMILLAN. Mr. Bennett, heretofore you submitted for the record a table showing the daily per capita costs of your penal and correctional institutions.

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir.

Mr. MCMILLAN. I wish to ask you if you will insert a similar table for the years 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939. That table is very informative and helpful to the committee in its deliberations.

Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir; I shall be glad to do so.

(The statement requested is as follows:)