; j
qd also her legal husband in Oakalla at
1e same time.

Auto LICENCE PLATES MADE IN B.C.

Oakalla claims the lowest per capita cost
) the taxpayers of any similar institution
, Canada. The auto licence plate shop is

good source of revenue. Work on the

)40 plates had not started so I found only
yutine repair of gaol fittings being done.

When I enlisted in the 47th Battalion
E.F., I shared a tent for months with John
‘lash. Not knowing his post-war occupa-
on, it surprised me to find him in charge
f the plate shop. (I discovered other 47th
ven were guards.)

Mr. Clash certainly bore no likeness to
ye uniformed gorilla popularly supposed to
ypify a prison guard. In fact, if Oakalla
uards were grouped together out of uni-
yrm, about the only distinguishing charac-
sristics to set them apart from their fellows
yould be possession of a bit more self-disci-
line and determination.

Mr. J. C. Millman, chief gaoler, was out
yith the men in the fields, but my guide
emonstrated the ingenious mechanism by
vhich any one cell or number of cells in a
ection could be opened or closed from out-
ide the corridor. ;

In the laundry, supervised by W. Ruther-
ord, expressionless Chinese inmates worked
Imost silently on sheets and blankets from
‘ssondale Mental Hospital, in addition to
Jakalla’s supply.

Men sentenced to two years or over go
> the penitentiary. Any sentence up to
two years less one day” means Oakalla.
0 unless a man is a “repeater” he does not
tay long enough to master any trade at
Yakalla. The number of trades is limited
9 those already mentioned.

I saw many letters in the files expressing
atitude for medical treatment. Dr. W. H.
sutherland attends Oakalla patients.

As we passed through the hospital the
Jeputy-Warden paused to pull together
he open shirt front of a youth recovering
rom flu, and gave a word of caution about
aking care of himself.

Out of hearing, I learned the boy was a
‘gazooni.” This mystifying word has been
omed by the first offenders to describe

themselves. They are kept apart from “re-
peaters,” and are the only ones eligible for
transfer to New Haven, where the Borstal
system is in force.

First requirement is recommendation
from the officer under whom they work.
Then they are examined by the Child
Guidance Clinic before coming before a
selection committee composed of Warden
Owen, Deputy-Warden Eldridge, Chief
Gaoler Millman, Mrs. M. Nicholson, and
Rey. J. D. Hobden of the John Howard
Society.

A story told me about Deputy-Warden
Eldridge seemed to illustrate the attitude of
the staff toward the inmates. A newcomer
made an offensive exclamation as the officer
passed.

“You might as well confess,” Mr. Eld-
ridge told the man. “I’m not reporting you
for it this time, but I want to know why

Deputy-Warden
John Eldridge

you did it. You simply think because I am
in khaki that I must be a dirty so-and-so?”

The man finally admitted this.

“Well, suppose you wait till you find
out,” he was advised. The man gave no
more trouble. While there were plenty of
signs of discipline, it seemed the kind tem-
pered with common-sense.

VARIETY OF MEALS

A deputation asked for a revision of the
meals. No complaint was offered about
quantity or variety, but the regular rota-

tion resulted in men knowing exactly what
they would be served for any meal any day
of the week.

Instead of telling them “You'll eat what
you're given when you're given it, and like
it!” the cook was asked whether an irregu-
lar sequence could be substituted. He said
it could.

Tin-CANNERS AT OAKALLA

Once, 120 of Vancouver’s famous “tin-
canners” were lodged in Oakalla.

Curiously enough, it is recorded that the
rest of the prisoners ostracized them, and
likewise refused to join in a proposed strike.

Thanks to the shrewd detective work
which goes on inside prison walls but which,
for obvious reasons, remains secret, the
authorities discovered that the tin-canners
meant at a given signal to spatter the build-
ing and everybody within reach with por-
ridge and the rest of their breakfast.

Oakalla has no general dining-room. Men
line up, go to the kitchen for their food,
and return to cells to eat it. But this day
the tin-canners were left to the last, and
then only ten allowed out at a time.

The first ten threw their food around as
planned, and they were promptly disci-
plined. This involved the risk of the rest
of the tin-canners doing thousands of dol-
lars worth of damage if the punishment
was not cancelled as they demanded, but
the officers manoeuvred the leaders into a
position where they could not well refuse
to pledge good behaviour on the part of their
following nor refuse to give practical proof
of it before the ten were released.

The tin-canners had other plans for dis-
turbances, but the prison staff forestalled
them every time.

One suspects that some magistrates in the
province do not yet understand the work-
ing of the system under which first-offend-
ers may be sent to New Haven from
Oakalla. Where sentences are less than six
months it is thought too short a period by
the authorities to apply the Borstal system.

Take Us DowN TO THE BALL GAME

In the square overlooked by Mr. Owen’s
office a crowd of inmates watched a ball
game. For the time being, both players and
spectators forgot they were in gaol.

Compliments of

Industrial Timber Mills Ltd.

YOUBOU, B.C.

— TRADE— ty, — MARK —

Logging Operations, Cowichan Lake

SUMMER EDITION

Page Thirty-one