Chapter 339. Establishing two institutions for the confinement of United States prisoners
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CHAP. 339.— An Act Establishing two institutions for the confinement of United States prisoners. May 27, 1930.[[H. R. 6807](/us/bill/71/hr/6807).][[Public, No. 270](/us/pl/71/270).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, United States courts.Federal Penitentiaries.Attorney General directed to select two sites for erection of, for the confinement of malo prisoners. That the Attorney General is hereby authorized and directed to select forthwith and procure two sites, of not less than one thousand acres each, and cause to be erected thereon suitable buildings for two institutions for the confinement of male persons who have been, or shall be, convictedLocation of sites.*Post*, p. 881. of offenses against the United States.
One of such sites to be selected shall be situated north of thirty-eight degrees north latitude and east of eighty degrees longitude to serve the northeastern section of the United States, and one of such sites shall be situated west of the Mississippi River. Both sites shall be selected with due regard to the source of commitments, climatic conditions, and transportation facilities. 389 Sec. 2. The institution authorized hereunder, to be located westReformatory west of the Mississippi, for confining young offenders. of the Mississippi River, shall be of the reformatory type and shall be for the confinement of young offenders and others who, in the opinion of the Attorney General, are proper persons for detention in a reformatory.
The institution authorized hereunder, to be located in the northeasternPenitentiary type, in northeastern section, for incarceration of adult male persons. section of the United States, shall be of the penitentiary type and shall be for the incarceration of adult male persons sentenced to terms of imprisonment for more than one year with or without hard labor. Sec. 3. Upon the selection of appropriate sites the AttorneyEstimated costs of sites, equipping, etc., to be submitted to Congress.
General shall submit to Congress estimates of the cost of purchasing the same, and of remodeling, constructing, and equipping the necessary buildings thereon. The Attorney General, at the sameMaintenance expense, annually. time and annually thereafter, shall submit estimates covering the expense of maintaining and operating such institutions, including salaries of all necessary officers and employees. Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized, uponPlans, etc., to be prepared by Supervising Architect. request of the Attorney General, to cause plans, specifications, and estimates for the remodeling and constructing of the necessary buildings to be prepared in the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Department of the Treasury, and the work of remodeling and constructing the said buildings to be supervised by the field force of said office: *Provided*, That if, in his discretion, it would be*Provisos*.By outside contract, if impracticable in Department. impractical to cause such plans, specifications, and estimates to be prepared in the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Department of the Treasury, and such work to be supervised by the field force of said office, the Secretary of the Treasury may contract for all or any portion of such work to be performed by such suitable person or firm as he may select: *Provided further*, That the properOffice of Supervising Architect to be reimbursed for cost of work, etc. appropriation for the support and maintenance or the Office of the Supervising Architect be reimbursed for the cost of such work and supervision.
Sec. 5. The control and management of said institutions establishedControl, etc., of in stitutions vested in Attorney General. hereunder shall be vested in the Attorney General, who shall have power to appoint, subject to the civil service laws and regulations of the United States, superintendents, assistant superintendents,Superintendents, etc., for care, etc., of inmates. wardens, keepers, and all other officers and employees necessary for the safekeeping, care, and discipline of the inmates of said institutions; and the Attorney General shall have power to prescribe all necessary rules and regulations for the governance of the officers, employees, and inmates of said institutions.
In connection with theIndustries, etc., to be established. maintenance and operation of said institutions the Attorney General is authorized to establish and conduct industries, farms, and other activities, to classify the inmates, and to provide for their proper treatment, care, rehabilitation, and reformation: *Provided*, That*Provisos*.Products devoted for Government use. such industries of farming and other activities shall be devoted to the production and manufacture of articles, commodities, and supplies for the use of the United States Government: *Provided further*,Production of Government arsenals, etc., not curtailed.
That any industry established under authority of this Act be so operated as not to curtail the production within its present limits, of any existing arsenal, navy yard, or other Government workshop. Sec. 6. The inmates of said institutions shall be employed inEmployment of inmates. such manner and under such conditions as the Attorney General may direct. The Attorney General may, in his discretion, establish industries, plants, factories, or shops for the manufacture of articles,Articles, etc., manufactured, to be purchased by Federal departments, etc., at market prices. commodities, and supplies for the United States Government; and the several Federal departments and all other Government institutions of the United States shall purchase at not to exceed current market prices such products of the industries herein authorized 390to be carried on as meet their requirements and as may be available and are authorized by the appropriations from which such purchasesPurchase price disputes to be arbitrated by designated board. are made.
Any disputes as to the price, quality, suitability or character of the products manufactured in any prison industry and offered to any Government department shall be arbitrated by a board consisting of the Comptroller General of the United States, the Superintendent of Supplies of the General Supply Committee, and the Chief of the United States Bureau of Effciency, or theirDecision of board to be final.Working-capital fund available for machine replacements, raw materials, etc. representatives.
The decision of said board shall be final and binding upon all parties. There may be established a working-capital fund for said industries out of any funds appropriated for said institutions; and said working-capital fund shall be available for the purchase, repair, or replacement of industrial machinery or equipment, for the purchase of raw materials and supplies, for personal services of civilian employees engaged in any industrial enterprise, and for the payment to the inmates or their dependents of such pecuniary earnings as the Attorney General shall deem proper.
Sec. 7. Policy of Congress declared for developing system, to classify and segregate Federal prisoners. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress that the said institutions be so planned and limited in size as to facilitate the development of an integrated Federal penal and correctional system which will assure the proper classification and segregation of Federal prisoners according to their character, the nature of the crime they have committed, their mental condition, and such other factors as should be taken into consideration in providing an individualized system of discipline, care, and treatment of the persons committed to such institutions.
Sec. 8. Introducing narcotics, etc. into institutions, a felony. Any person not authorized by law or by the Attorney General or his representative who introduces or attempts to introduce into or upon the grounds of the institutions herein authorized any narcotic drug, weapon, or any other contraband article or thing, or any letter or message intended to be received by an inmate thereof,Punishment for. shall be guilty of a felony and punishable by imprisonment for a period of not more than ten years.
Sec. 9. Escaping, or attempting to escape, unlawful. It shall be unlawful for any person properly committed to the institutions described herein to escape or attempt to escape therefrom; and any such person upon apprehension and convictionPunishment for. in a United States court shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years, such sentence to begin upon the expiration of or upon legal release from the sentence for which said person was originally confined. Sec. 10.
Procuring etc., escape of inmates, unlawful. It shall be unlawful for any person to procure the escape of any inmate properly committed to the institutions referred to above, or to advise, connive at, aid, or assist in such escape, or conceal any such inmate after such escape, and any person convicted inPunishment for. a United States court of any such offense or offenses shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years. Sec. 11. Expenses payable from annual appropriation for “Support of United States prisoners.
” The expense, not to exceed the sum of $35,000, incurred in the travel necessary in the selection of sites, the making of surveys, the making of preliminary sketches, and the securing of options shall be payable out of the appropriation for the “Support of United States prisoners” for the fiscal year in which such expense is incurred. Sec. 12. Necessary sums authorized.*Post*, p. 881. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
Approved, May 27, 1930.