New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-23

commits violence at his insigaton would be treated
more $ an ordinary convict.
In England there are no political prisoners con-
domned as such. Or jameson and his titled as
sociates In the Transvaal raid have been convicted
Of an ordinary msdcmeanor. while the Irish "dyna-
mitcrs" have been convicted Of ordinary felony.
their treatment in confinement being In no wise
different from that Of ordinary penal servitude
prisoners Thus they wear the hideous drab
attire. plontifully adorned with those broad arrows
which indicate tha, only the clothes, but also
the woarcr Is Government property, and they are
a big bei in the prison summons the prisoners
10 work ut s:2p o'clock Men hurry to the tread
guard to the trade Instructor" who sets them at
work Carpets are woven on looms in the cells.
shoemakers hustle at their work. oakum pickers
begin their task; M Portland. whore Daveney has
been Incorporated. stone-breaking and cement max
ing constitute tho principal forms of labor. Every
convict must work. whether he only threads wind
or aimlessly turns cranks or is busy at some more
Al Il o'clock the prisoners are marched in long
files. lockstep fashion 10 the exercising yards. In
e'ch yard Is long rope with knots about fifteen
ieet apart 50 that go prisoners can get on the
rope at one time. Each file Of 100 men grasps the
rope ana then at brisk PAGES for hfieen minutes
whirls around In a circle The idea OF keeping the
separate confinement Tho only possible time that
the prisoners can communicate is when they are In
other closely are thcy watched
The treadmill. OF trcadwhccl. is rot particular
It 'treading the wind" and that is about what II
IS, for it seems 20 serve no useful purpose except
chine has Is merely 10 keep certain number of men
employed when thcrc isn't anything else for them to
DO. Each rcadwhcel or mill Is so constructed that
If necessary. iweniy-fOur men be employed
upon II ut time The mill H. divided into twenty
four little cOmparf m"ntS or stalls. Each cOmpar
ment Is some hing less than twenty -four inches In
width. and Is separated from the adjoining one by
high wooden partitions. The mill Is connected with
"A fan. which Is arranged to give enough re-
sisinncc 70 thc mill 10 make the words hard lahOr'
mean what they say. There are twenty four steps
I'm the wheel. which are eight inches apart This
makes the circumference of the wheel sixteen feet
The wheel performs thirty revolutions In each quar-
ter Of an hour day, 50 the convict asCends some
thing Ike I,2 feet > 100 yards for days Dor
Crank" labor consists OF making 10000 revou-
lions Of "A crank. placed a narrow iron drum
put on legs with long handle side which
when turned causes series of caps SCOOP in
drum t. quantity of sand. which the cups scoop
up ana carry 10 the top Of The wheel where they
empty themselves \ dial plate registers the num-
Der Of revolutions made. a convict at ordinary
rate OF speed makes 1900 revolutions Of the crank
an hour TO turn l00a0 of them means about
eight hours and twenty minutes labor.
In Of physical inability 20 do trcadmill or
crank labor. The convict is placed at sccOnd-class
labor which means tho picking of oa<um. stone
breaking and kindred pursuits. All n prisoner has
to do Is 10 sit and pick from three to six pounds
picked into oaltum I'm Pentonville Prison Will ave-
rage about ten tons week. 1t IS sold. and brings
IN some return for the labor
A. In American prisons. male cOnvcts have their
faces shaved and their hair closely cropped This
IL the rule all over Europe except I'm Russia where
The conVicts have onc-half OF the head shorn and
the other left with hair As long as IT will grow.