New-York tribune., 1899-06-09

and buildings. though as a matter Of fact, II is
seldom expended for that purpose.
The jail at San Juan Is In a fairly healthy
locality just outside the town proper on the
Santurce Road. 1t Is 4 large, airy two-s story
building, consisting of a main front with three
wings all more less occupied. There are 175
prisoners. made up of boys 15 women and
lo2 men. The women in cell by them
serves, as are also the boys. No attempt Is
made to separate prisoners awaiting trial from
those serving sentence. The hospital in this
jail is reproach to the name and II is a sad
sight to helpless anamic and tuberculous
patients lying on their dingy cots in secusion
In bare. dark, dirty rooms without a single
physical comfort or proper diet-for red beans,
stew and bread twice a day are hardly what
would be constantly prescribed for renewing
waste tissue or making red blood corpuscles.
In this jail exists the noxious custom Of issu-
Ing a gill Of vile gin every morning to men and
boys alike Think Of boys of eight and ten years
waking from sound sleep and pouring
into their empty stomachs at a. m. a pony Of
bad gin (gengibre)!
CONTRACT SUPPLIES AND THE RESULTS.
A contractor is paid 20 centavos a day for
supplying each man. woman and child in Jail
with food. and it be considered certain
that he makes considerable on his contract by
furnishing inferior articles Of food lacking in
variety. Meat Is rarity, and vegetables other
than potatoes and beans the great exception.
In some jails. principally at Aguadillo the
experiment has been made of allowing the pris-
oNerS 10 purchase their food at the market
through the jailer. who acts the purchaser
and who cannot exceed Is centavos a day for
each prisoner This method has given great
satisfaction to all parties-including the jailer.
Ihe 1ails furnish the prisoners with outer gar
ments, consisting of trousers and Jackets, made
or coarse material for which the contractors re-
celVe double value, at least and sometimes
quadruple. No underclothing Is furnished, and
outer garments but seldom. with the result
that the material has simply TO rot away before
being renewed. Soap is furnished prisoners in
limo mt at oil rAl. f0-hn rri
D e can always bring his own cot and bed
div, but one Of the sights to recall after visit
in- jail is the complete absence OF bedding OF
any kind in cells containing anywhere from
twenty to thirty prisoners.
The sanitary arrangements in the prisons are,
rs rule, fearful-people who violate the ordi-
nary rules in their homes cannot be eX-
pected to provide model prisons. Rotten drain
age pipes. seepage through walls. unemptied
cesspools and latrines, closets opening on hosp-
tal wards and cells without any attempt at dis
tnfection-such is the rule In nearly all the jails
on the island.
AS a rule, the interior service Of the tails is
performed exclusively by prisoners under keep
and convict overseers Selected on account
Of good physique and good conducD. These
overseers wear stripe on each sleeve are
called Jail corporas. carry stick as sign or
Street cleaning is frequently done by prison
gangs Of ten or twelve men. with prison over.
seer, oil under watch OF a prison guard ana
under the superior direction Of an outside over
seer, who is paid about 80 pesos month by tne
municipality. The municipality also pays each
convict corporal usually about 1O centaVos
day and each prisoner Of street-cleanng gangs
about centavos, which amount they can ex-
pend on their food.
Sometimes while out at work a prisoner
escapes and the warden will then follow the
ludicrous practice of shutting up all the prls-
oners for weeks at time without exercise OF
work for fear of more escaping, as was dohe
at Heunacao a short time ago. In the san JuaII l
Jail absolutely no work is done by the prisoners
except in the case of about twenty or theH' anu
there they sit and lie around all day long won.
derine when their hearing will come up or
dreaming OF their sentence, or, still more ais
tant prospect, their release. ,.,
Can II be wondered at from this SIlshV r, shcer
of the administration Of Justice and Of prisons
that the Americans have found many thhss W
improve and will continue to ind many llSio
things that need ameliOration or eXtlrPauoh'