Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1898-10-19
4 PRISON IN MEXICO.
CURIOUS CUSTOMS THAT pRevA,. IA
 BELEM JAIL
Musical rnssrsments In the c.u. =. Concert Almost EverT Evening by .hs Prisoners--Dinner Hour Marked bv :. ourleus Spectacle.

Prisoners--Dinner Hour Marked hv
 Curious Spectacle.
 Among the various uses to yyh;oh Mex1eo has put some of her old noonas. series and oonvents is that of oor1tr,, ior the incarceration of violators of ths law. The 0onyento de Belen at Mexioo City has become, in common parlance 6eleIn, the city jail and prison. accused and convicted persons, men. women and children alike being confined there in different compartments The buildin0 was put up by the Spanish governor in 1886, as an inscription at the head of the main stairway tells. A casual visit paid 1t by reporter of The Mexican Herald reveals e condition of prison management Ill Mexico worthy of pags. ing attention in the days of prison re. form associations and international nris. on congresses.
 The Herald said that Belem had been commonly spoken of as second Black Hole of Calcutta, but the reporter found that the prison was kept in state of comparative cleanliness; not so. how ever, the prisoners. Their condition he described as one of disgusting flthiness. Although there was hydrant in every cell and general bathing facilities in each compartment the reporter found only one inmate either at bath or with any indication of having bathed within year. It was explained to him by the prison authorities that formerly the -'sgu1ations required prisoners to bathe dsily, but that this was regarded as such hardship that the sufferers man. aged 10 have it declared form of cruel and aAusuai punishment and so to have the rule abrogated There are in the prison now 8. 451 prisoners, of whom Z, 1888 are men and 80 are minors.
 A curious feature found by the re- porter was the Spanish regard for the arts, even within prison walls. He found in the south wing the writers of libel, land the cells reserved for mu- sieians, artists and others of the fms arts. . Itwould seem to be charitable as we'll as an inclusive provision, that land others" (besides artists) of the fine arts. The musicians are permitted, apparently, to take their instruments to jail with them, much as mechanics take into the prison workshop their own tools of trade. 'sThe walls of the mu- sioians' cells gre decorated with differ ent musical instruments, and the re- porter was told that almost every even- ing there was concert in one of the patios.
 Men sometimes do in Mexico what in this colder cline they content them- selves with wishing done, for the re- porter came upon one Adams, under sentence of 20 yeaxa "for killing e wait CT at the Club do Ia Opera because he did not bring his dinner quick enough. ]" Adams has the freedom of his galley. There are in each galley three trus4ies who go about with clubs and preserve order, using the club ''only when moral suasion will not do as we'll.
 There were stoics among Sae 5T men condemned to death. Que of these, un- expressed his serene confidence as to bis future, but If worst comes to worst' -a shrug of the shoulders And palms up. This man and some others under death sentence had the run of the com mandant' offices, notwithstanding there were on ths walls, serving as decora- tions confscated weapons of pFisonerA Oddly enough, as 1t would seem in this country, though 1t wouldn't have been strange in the Italy of Machisvelli, there wasn's gun among thess. The nearest to it WAS bayonet, and tho rest were poinards, soimiterE, stilettos, butcher knives, table knives, penknives. and shoemakers' knives.
 The dinner hour was marked by a curious spectacle The street outside tue prison was filled with the "wives, children, dogs and other members of the psiOonsrs' households. These brought baskets of edibles to the prison srs some of whom were permitted to speak to their relatives through a grat- ing. To she oonviots not permitted to come to the grating, their relatives were allowed to send in notes accompanying the dinner baskets. This privilege had given rise to peculiar way of making a few pennies among persons abls to scribes who for cent or two wrote messages to the pris- oners." One woman bade the scribe to put her message in red ink. She woult have none of the 'pUsple stuff. "
 "Tsll him." said she, "that send him two little tamaIes and tell him that Is pexrita died yesterday"
 Says the reporter, And the scribe, leaning under tks shade of his umbre. Ia. sitting on rock, with Ais bottle of red ink on another rock beside him,