THROUGH the cooperation of Secretary Good and the Attorney General, I believe we have found temporary solution to the problem of overcrowding in the Federal prisons, especially those at Atlanta and Leavenworth.
The Army has three major prisons--one at Governors Island, one at Leavenworth, and one at Alcatraz.
The Army prison at Leavenworth is a model establishment with a capacity of about 1,600 prisoners. At present there are only 600 Army prisoners in the establishment. At the same time there are many vacancies in both Blackwell's Island and Alcatraz. Also there are vacancies for short time prisoners in some of the Army post prisons. Beyond this again there are a number of men recommended for parole from the Army prisons.
Subject to our being able to overcome any legal difficulties, it is proposed to make the Leavenworth military prison available to the Department of Justice as a temporary measure pending construction of further accommodations by the Department of Justice. This will afford relief to about 1,600 prisoners from the general prisons at Leavenworth and Atlanta.
Herbert Hoover, Statement on the Use of Army Prisons To Relieve Overcrowding in Federal Prisons. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/211421