The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-11-01
PRISON IS INFERNO
81
Untold Horrors of BeIem, Mex.
Now irst Being Related.


MEXICO CITY, Oct. S1.-Americans
unfortunate enough to have been incar-
cerated in Belem prison describe that
institution as an. inferno. 1t can be
stated unquestionabIy that Is per cent
Of those confined in Belem for more
| than year do not live for six months
! after their release. When Americans
who have been imprisoned for more
! than a month are set. free they almost
| invariably become inmates of the
American hospital for weeks. Their
dreadful experiences have broken them
down.
Women are huddled in the Jail with
men. Starvation enfeebles the prison
ers, their indescribable surroundings
breed fevers especially typhoid.
Incredible as it may seem, torture
cells such as disgraced the Middle
Ages, exist In Belem. Yet this huge
| prison. constructed by President Diaz.
has been described as one of the finest
in the world. az
The truth about Belem has never
been told before. The authorities have
carefully and vigorously hidden the
| facts from the public. especially from
Americans in this country. Only one
newspaper, the Monitor, small daily,
bitterly antagonistic to the govern
| ment, has ventured to describe the hor
rors of the prison.
Those who enter the prison without
money run the gauntlet of death by
starvation, fever and exposure. Prison
ers are required to supply their own
bedding and they are supposed to buy
their food, although the authorities are
instructed to feed them. At best the
rations consist of bread and water in
the morning; for dinner. caldo soup,
which Americans, however voracious.
cannot eat because of its abominable
taste, and bread and water in the
evening. If a prisoner manages to
smuggle money into the prison he can
buy enough food to sustain life, but
usually he Is stripped of his money.
The legal trials of imprisoned Ameri-
cans are delayed in hopes of securing
bail moneys, which fall to the authori-
ties should the accused disappear after
their liberation on bail.
Necessarily, Americans suffer more
than Mexicans in EBelem because less
accustomed to the. privations they
must endure More than 60 per cent of
the lower classes of the city of Mexi-
co have never slept in a bed so most
Mexican prisoners can rest almost
comfortably on the, cold stone floors of
Belem. AS many Mexicans live on
corn and beans exclusively, Mexican
prisoners sustain life. on prison rations.
Uncleanly, the Mexicans can endure
the vermin, although often Mexicans
who have been in the prison for long
terms have been killed by this horri-
flying evil. Compelled to sleep on the
damp floors, Americans contract rheu-
matism In it's most acute forms. Eyes
to read of their sufferings would be abb
horrent.
It will be hard to convince people in
the United States that in the leading
prison Of Mexico exists a system of
tortures to compel testimony and to
punish selected prisoners This sys-
tenn is based on the principles of the
Inquisition Of Spain. Americans who
have read the highly descriptive arti-
cles declaring Belem to be the most
modern institution of its kind on the
continent will be incredulous when told
that there are cells in Belem built after
the same plans as those in Italy for
prisoners sentenced to terms of "a year
and day." The "octagonal cells Of
Belem are five feet high, three feet
long and two feet wide. The wretch
confined in one Of them cannot stand.
sit or lie without suffering. Prisoners
are locked in these chambers of tor
ture for periods of twenty-four hours
to two months.
An American who was sentenced to
twenty years Imprisonment for the
murder of a Mexican twelve years ago
has been in an octagonal cell for the
past six months. During this length
of time he has been visited by but one
friend, an American, who managed to
see him by resortfng to a ruse. This
friend describes the condemned man
as being insane and having CHASTITY
yellow complexion. 1t is probable that
there are many other prisoners in the
same condition. but visitors are not al
lowed into the section reserved for
those subjected to the extreme punish
ments. -