Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-09-15


In fact, after sentence, the police-theiI
natural enemies-are in immediate super
vision. And such police The very off
securing of society. They are not required
TO present any reference whatever; and any
one is taken who will work day and night
for fifteen dollars month, and can pre-
sent person who will be responsible fol-
the value of the arms they carry. There
are several in the force at present who have
warrants out for them for highway rob-
berry, and yet they are employed as guar
dians of the public order. But they are
called upon to take part in the petty reyo-
lutions that take place from time to time,
and as they are not cowardly, and risk
their lives for the Government, they are
tolerated. To this class of men is intrust-
ed the management of the prisons and pris-
Oners. These men too are expected
TO SET AN EXAMPLE
of morality to the prisoners. And such an
example! Every other word an oath, min
gled with vulgarity, half crazy On mescal.
They gamble night and day in the presence
of the prisoners. There is no such thing
as morality or discipline among tkem.-
There are men in this prison who have been
there ten years, and have never seen q min
ister of the gospel during all that time.
With regard to discipline, what can be ex
pected from such men described above?
Their own wills and caprices enforced by
the cutlass. True, there is a reglamento
(regulation) dating back, nobody knows
how long, by which the State prisons are
supposed to be governed, but the very age
of the rules makes them repugnant to COM
mon ideas of right and wrong, and the
vuor/Jinrr of fho chnuo thorn IN hou
originated among savages, and not an en-
lightened people. One of these rules pro-
hibits the prisoners from holding any inter-
course whatever with the outside world, or
to have writing material, or lights in the
dungeons after dark; and the outside world
can only learn concerning these things by
paying for the knowledge, or from those
who have served term behind the bars.
In short, the principle predominates, ''when
you have got him down, keep him down."
There is
NO DISTINCTION OF CLASSES,
excepting the relatives of the judges who
occasionally fall in, and are kept in the Of
fee of the prison. No matter who a man
may be, or what he may have done, he is
confined among the old offenders. The re-
suits of this can be imagined when there
are at least one-third of the prisoners under
twenty years of age, and they get such
drilling in everything that is bad that if
there was spark of goodness in them when
they were placed there, it is utterly extn-
guished; and they go out perfectly initiated
into all sorts of crime.
A CERTAIN KIND OF ORDER
is kept in the patio (yard) by the presidente
(master of the yard), who is usually the
worst rufian of the whole pack. 1t is this
personage's duty to assign the men to GER
tain jobs, such as cleaning the inside of the
prison. He enforces his authority by means
Of thick lash, in the use of which he is
anything but economic, and as he is not re-
sponsible for the eyes he occasionally cuts
out, ard is excused from the public works
for his services as master, it is bis interest
to keep order, which he does by dint of
cowhidc. He is the immediate tyrant of
the chance jingo, who may fall in for seme
unknown offence, and before he is tried he
makes HIM do the most repugnant of the
cleaning, and as an American always re-
sists, insisting that he has not yet been tried,
the lash is unsparingly nsed. They make
him work before he is tried, but at break
fast time they will ''taunt'' him by telling
that as he has not been tried, they will not
give him any breakfast; and they don't do
it, either, aud SO punish him more by max
ing him work all morning without food.
The writer could give many more facts con-
cerning the treatment of Americans who
have committed no offence, but from pref
udics
ARE CONFINED IN DARK DUNGEONS,
and ill-treated and abused by these worse
than brutes. Of course prison-life is un-
pleasant any place. even in the United
States, but then that is where men can be
tried and prove themselves innocent, and,
if guilty, can have hearing, and where no
man is found guilty witt out hearing, but
i'll this cactus-country of garlic, mescal, and
cigarettes, ignorance. brute force, and tyr.
amy hold sway, liberty is unknown, and
avarice, and vice, corrupt and
control the minds of men. The old saying,
"Where ignorance is bliss, tits folly to be
wise," does not apply in this case, unless
the bliss would come in by staying away
from this country entirely, and not try to
find out anything about such an indolent,
ignorant, insolent people. The above facts,
however, are not simply the dark side Of the
picture, but are really: the bright side, and
if all the facts could be known, more the
pity" This country needs the progress and
push of our people among them, and our peo-
pie can never be induced to settle abundant
ly among them while this state of things
exists. There is no excuse for ignorance
among this people. Mexico was inhabited
long before the United States. 1t is in the
the blood. The writer has eaten
their tortellas (pancakes) and partaken of
their black coffee, but hereafter he'll be
found North of the Rio Grande taking his
meals. Respectfully,
O. T, q