New-York tribune., 1899-06-09
PRISONS OF PORTO. RICO.
,,.Ny ABUSES TO BE REMEDIED BY
AMERICANS.

~ HEARING THEIR cAsEs-JALs IN BAD
CONDITION AND BADLY ADMINISTERED
Can Juan May % Especially During the late
,.,urrection in Cuba the people of the United
c,o,ss learned n few facts concerning the jails
:, that island which caused a feeling akin to
..rror The fllth the cruelty. the "incommuni-
.,ao" practice made ones flesh creep when
..nosed by newspaper corr sspondents and by
'.,,or,unates who had been incarcerated in the
,,r tty jails But the jails Of large cities like
lena. Matanzas and Santiago were far su-
.-,or in cleanliness to those of smaller towns,
y. they were more liable TO inspections by the
s..,sh. sometimes, though rarely, made by the
,,ber officials and they were also subject to
,.srsctions made still less often by foreigners,
-ho reported confidentally to their home gov
.,nments. by whom Spanish methods OF prison
.amnistration were held in just contempt
Porto Rico, being further away, was not fire.
.rsnted bv Americans and. although the same
rractices were pursued there. it did not suffer
,n nublic opinion to the same extent
o,A NJ the first subjects to engage the atten-
.o, NJ Mator-G neral Brooke vas the investiga-
elan NJ the state of the prisons of the island, and
,bo reports then submitted were sufficient to
aamand a thorough overhauling OF the existing
.,hods Hundreds OF men were found behind
,ock and key against whom no charges could
ha found. Many Of these people had been ar
,ostsd by the Spaniards through fear and sus-
r,c,on and had never had a hearing Of any
lind Others more numerous STILL had been
aenrved Of liberty for months on the fiimsiest Of
charges with no hearing granted and no state
mont taken from the prisoner. who had not had
.hA privilege Of knowing his offence or his ac-
cuqer Some had had hearing zen sumario," but
were not allowed TO call witnesses to hear evil
asnce to be confronted by accusers, TO be rep
,sssnted by counsel, nor TO have single one or
the numerous safeguards considered by Anglo
saxons essential to a fair trial. In these last
cases a hearing had been granted. but no SEN
,ence had been pronounced though months had
gone by In still other cases sentence had
6naIv come but OF such manifestly outrageous
Injustice and harshness as might easily make
the misdemeanant wish that he had really done
something worthy the punishment
HEAVY PUNISHMENT FOR TRIVIAL DEEDS.
Incredible as II would seem, the stealing Of an
empty gunnysack subjected the offender. after
months OF weary waiting for trial, to long inn
prisonment at hard labor. under the worst pos
sible conditions.
For throwing an orange at another boy and
striking Guardia Civil on the arm herewith
youth of nineteen was sentenced to eight years
at hard labor, and had already served several
years when pardoned by General Henry.
The stealing OF a chicken or Of a few centavos
meant years in JAIL with almost no hope or re-
lease IL the authorities deemed fit. for there
were methods in existence by means Of which
an offender could be made to serve term of
almost any length after the regular sentence
had expired even though good conduct had
been observed during confinement.
The rectihcation Of such wrongs takes time
and patience and the mere fact OF a million
people suffering them without resentment
toward their oppressors shows the sad infu-
ence OF tyrannical and cruel people. whose
outrages were permitted TO go on undisturbed
for centuries.
General Henry ably continued the efforts of
General Brooke and he directed the Judge Ad-
vocate OF the Department Major A. G. Sharpe.
Z. S. v, TO go with the investigation. and
act in conjunction with the Secretary Of Justice.
HerminIo Diaz one of the four counsellors Of
the Governor General
Major Sharpe was little more energetic than
the Secretary Of Justice. and soon brought to
light a state of affairs not creditable to that
Department. The Judge Advocate had secret
Inspections made and received secret reports
that are causing and will continue to cause a
publication in the methods OF the administra-
tion Of Justice and in the conduct Of jails and
prisons.
1t would be manifestly unfair to blame the
Secretary Of Justice, who has been in office
only few months. for the present state OF af-
fairs. as he has succeeded to the charge OF the
worst department known In the island. In fact,
IL L. .oI e.. hon
every desire to do his duty, not only as he un-
derstoOd It, but as General Henry understood 1t.
PETTY OFFENDERS HELD FOR TRIAL.
The chief evil in the island, so far as the ad
mnistration Of justice is concerned. is the great
number OF petty offenders held for trial by the
Criminal courts. The great majority Of these
offences thefts of small articles. such as a
pair OF socks, bits of clothing, a loaf of bread,
etc Others are offences such as street brawls.
In the United States these are simple police
cases, and would fall within the Jurisdiction Of
a justice OF the peace or a police court. In
Porto Rico, however. they are held mainly for
the Criminal Court, requiring three magis-
tates, prosecuting attorney. a secretary and
other functionaries and court officers to hear and
determine them.
Owing to the slow procedure Of these courts
many of the offenders must lie in Jail for months
without a hearing. These courts do not begin
work until about 10 o'clock a m. the public is
excluded and there is no efficient method for Sc
curing the appearance Of witnesses. After q
brief session Of two or three hours. the court
adJourns until the next day. Justice proceeds
at this snairs pace. and. considering there are
only twelve courts Of first instance and instruc-
ton throughout the island the docket rapidly
increases, and the prisoners rot in Jail
The remedy is simple, and has been recon-
mended. although II has not yet been carried
into effect. viz: The court should sit from 8
q. m. until p. m, with an bours interval for
luncheon, as long as cases remain on docket.
In all cases Of petty theft and in all disorders
where in the opinion Of the committing magis-