VOL XVII. NO 28
DECEMBER 10. 1949
Entered a* «ccond-
mallcr. June 1. 1933. at the Postofflce At Ral*l«h. North Carolina, under the Act of March 3 181
What’s Going On at Butner
Few people know .*iIhhiI t lie .splendid work
dial is brine done* in eonneelion with Ink¬
ing eare of firs! offenders, blind pt*ople and
those who arc menially ill.
О
YOU know where Camp
Butner is located?
Do you know whether the
State or the Federal Government
controls it?
Do you know what agencies are
operating there?
Have you any idea of the scope
of the work that is being done?
Most of our readers probably
can answer one or two of those
questions in the affirmative (prob¬
ably the first two» but we’re in¬
clined to believe that only a very
small number can answer them all.
I had known a little something
about the place for several years;
I had been out there when it was
an Army installation during and
immediately after the war; I also
knew that the State had taken it
over and was running it as a sort
of hospital, but that’s about all the
information I had on the subject.
Wednesday morning of last
week, however, this ignorance on
my part was remedied as the result
of an invitation extended by John
Umstead of Chapel Hill.
"You really ought to go over
there and sec what’s going on.”
said John.
"I’m going to— some day.” I
promised.
"How about going right now?"
he demanded.
Within fifteen minutes we were
on our way.
A Huge Military Camp
Camp Butner was a massive mil¬
itary camp and hospital during the
war. It is located a short dis¬
tance from Creedmoor, Granville
County. Part of it is in Granville;
Cart in Durham. There were many
undreds of frame and brick
buildings there, a number of which
have been tom down. There are
miles and miles of paved roads.
There still are many buildings on
the vast tract of 16,000 acres now
controlled by the State. There arc
churches, dairy barns, machine
shops, private residences, hospital
buildings, domitory buildings and
many other structures of various
sizes.
The first place we visited was
the camp for First Offenders,
which is under the supervision of
James Waite, who used to be con¬
nected with the domestic relations
court in Raleigh.
There are two frame buildings
in this project, two stories high.
On the first floor of each is a recrea¬
tion room. The second floor is a
huge dormitory. Everything is spic
and span. There’s also a dining
room and kitchen.
This proposition commenced op¬
erations last September and there
are now 31 prisoners being kept
Books A Maf/azines
If you have any books or
magazines in your possession
which you don’t need, here’s
a fine use you can make of
them.
In the accompanying article
you will rend about the work
that is being done in connec¬
tion with criminal first-of¬
fenders. They’ve got fine
quarters at Cump Butner and
are being given every encour¬
agement to become good citi¬
zens again.
They need reading matter.
If you have any books or mag¬
azines you can spare, send
them to Mr. James Waite.
Butner. North Carolina.
there. They arc first offenders The
main purpose in establishing this
camp was to keep these young men
from contact with seasoned and
hardened prisoners at Central
Prison in Raleigh. Before being al¬
lowed to go to Butner, however,
they must have demonstrated, dur¬
ing their stay at Central Prison,
that they are of honor grade, that
the officials have had no trouble
with them, and that they apparent¬
ly want to make good as law-abid¬
ing citizens again.
Honor System in Use
So they’re taken to Butner. The
honor system is strictly observed.
The men are not kept under guard.
For the most part they come and
go as they please. Their work is in
connection with the hospital at
Butner. about which we’ll tell you
later. They do carpentry work,
plumbing, farming and other
things of that nature. Only two
men have violated the honor
system and tried to get away. They
were caught and were sent back to
Central Prison, where they’ll have
to stay until their terms expire.
The huge gymnasium building,
which was used by soldiers during
the war, has been turned over to
the prisoners. They are obtaining
considerable athletic equipment
from Fort Bragg and from several
colleges in the state. A baseball
field is going to be graded for their
use.
We walked through one of the
dormitories. There were clean
sheets, a counterpane and blankets
on each bed. Each man has a
clothes closet of his own, where he
can keep his apparel and other per¬
sonal possessions. Everything was
neat and clean.
After the men stay there for a
THE STATE. OICCMBCB 10. 1949
3
