The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-02-06
WOODS WAY N G||BA
First Task the Reformation
of Jurisprudence.
CUSTOM HOUSE ROBBERS
Plantation Rebuilding and the
Fake Promoter"

New YORK, Feb. Especial correspond
ence to the Herald says: When Presi
dent Mckinley decided that certai
things should be done in Cuba, he pick
ed out the man who had shown tn
greatest knack for doing things" Tia
is how Leonard Wood came to be Gov
ernor General. 1t Is an old story an,
does not need to be told again.
Sailing into HAVANA Harbor everybod!
on the deck of the ship admires tn,
square building at the foot Of the Prado
just across from SIorro Castle. Its out
lines are regular and its cream-tintet
walls give a delightful idea of cIeanli
ness, tempered by the artistic blending
of colors. This edifce is the Carcel, OF
Jail.
Like many Of the old Spanish institu-
| tions, the show was all on the outside
The jail was not very clean place with
in. 1t was filthy and overcrowded. The
criminals were i'll assorted and mixing
them up bred further crime. They had
a "calon de distinction" or cell Of dis
not permitted there.
and prisoner who could not boast Of
at least a tattered blanket did not gain
admittance. There were a good many
other things to mark a distinction be-
tween the prisoners, but this was the most
important
Visitors who strolled down the Prado
on a Sunday afternoon and stopped 10
listen to the prison band gained a very
pleasant impression of the life within.
Taken with the exterior of the Carcel,
it did not seem to them that jail exist
ence in HAVANA could be so very bad,
and if a few hundred people who were
there who ought not to have been in
side of prison walls or who were EMIT
led to be out because they had been de-
prived of their liberty for longer than
the periods which their offenses merited.
they might ct least be thankful that
their lines were cast in such pleasant
though restricted places.
But though the visitors who contented
themselves with hearing the prison band
and with admirng the architectural de
sign of the CarceI thought this way, the
people inside, mostly criminals as they
were, took a different view. When the
Governor General made his first visit
and asked him to see with his own eyes.
1t was not as bad as it had been under
the Spanish administration, but there
was a tendency to become slack and fall
back into ancient abuses.
While the Carcel was so filthy and
overcrowded there was not much chance t
of lettering the conditions of the in I
mates. SO General Wood turned several 1
hundred of them loose as the first step
toward improving the management. When /
more room was made it was possible to
do better The clearing out was the +
first lesson in good administration This
step was criticised for letting loose a
great many criminals on the community
the classes released were not
hardened offenders, and, in most cases,
heir release was a simple matter of jus
ice. They had been imprisoned without
rial for terms much longer than their
'ffenses would have merited had they
'een tried and convicted.
Some of the Americans who had been
eleased at once proceeded to fit them
elves for future arrests. Others were
wise enough to get back to the States
Is a general rule, the Americans who
,et in Jail in Cuba are OF the class that
ct in jail in the United States. Their l
rievances are largely imagintry and /
he community is better off for their be- I
lg shut up. The only pity Is that more
this class are not deprived Of their s
berty !
But while this is true. It does not al :
or the general fact Of the right Of every {
ody 10 trial, and a prompt trial at {
hat This IS the more important in Cuba 4
scause there is no habeas corpus and
0 means Of securing the liberty Of an =
idividual, no matter on what charges I
e may be arrested, until the regular pro e
sss Of accusation and trial are gone {
trough with in the courts !,
While the American Authorities might g
el that their own responsibilities wsre &
ssoned by keeping a certain class OF
in jail. they were not ready q
do this merely on general principles. Il
was. in reality. the military sfowness s.
the civil process to be rlghted and z
hich released hundreds II prisoners vho RI
II been IA 1aiI for months. and. in some { Q
ses. for years. without hearing. n
Governor General Wood looked on TIE a.
oJfCt N A pSdCIkcdE way ana nave n
ught 70 write of Il in a practical man e
=. After a time there win Be prison re- h
rms an- improved methods % man q
emeut, yet they are only Incidents in u
@ general plan which aims 20 purify r.
polluted fountain head This Is the Sa
ministrstion o. Justice. when indiv4d- IN
Is could - arrested CT petty charges 70
q be kept IN jssi indeanitsly vfthoat "a
az. the result o. sucb : system IA. ~
wore than the oveTc-ozding p
the prison IN purifying the fountain -
al X was necessary IN correct fret sr
2 abuses IN ras laws ard seo5nd the -
aversion % Justice By corrupt OF r. VI
officials "a
=
= % the laws themselves the plan was eit
opted % appointing a fogut commIs- Z
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