The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-08-10

A Manchu Policeman.
squeezing. They had the right to sell
food to the criminals, and the pris-
to starve. The law gave each man
certain fixed r~ations, but the jailer
could furnish less or more as he
pleased.
Mukden's New Prisons.
The prisons I nave visited here are
in costly buildings covering acres, and
I found the criminals treated like men,
esq Of LANG Yu Ho. the counselor IF
the VicerOy. that l was able to inspect
them. Mr.. LANG is a graduate Of Yale
College, n as such is glad to have
America know what his country is
doing along the lines of our Civiliza-
ton. He sem two English-spealing
Chinese officials with me. AMI n di-
rector of the penitentiary accOnpa-
MED us as we went through the wards.
We visited two prisons during the
morning, and in one found three
hundred and seventy convicts working
away at all kinds of labor.
This latter prison covers about four
acres. 1t is surrounded by a wall
Of gray brick fifteen feet high, and its
front gate is guarded by two six-foot
Manchu soldiers who presented arms
as we entered. The buildings are large
brick and heavy tiled roofs. They
are 81 built that they form a series
Of wings trimmings out from a central
point like the spokes of a wheel, 50
that the guards standing at the hub
can command four or five aislas at one
time. The cells face the aisles on
each side, and the architecture altoge-
ther is not unlike that Of our best
prisons at home.
These buildings are situated in
courts, n of which we entered as we
came through the gate. At the same
marched in to take their afternoon
meal. They a been working on the
roads outside the prison. / asked
the director to stop them in the sun
light, that / might make a snapshot
with my camera. He did so and
convicts are tall. burly fellows. weigh
ing. | venture, One-third more than
the average Chinese of America. They
all wear Cueus and their faces are
about the same as those of the Tartars
[ see on the streets. The prison dress
is of a Jacket or coat which falls to
the hips and a pair of thick trousers
which Ook as though they were made
of quilted comforts such as we use
on u beds. The material is wadded
cotton. The color is light gray, except
on the back where a cross of dead
black is painted. Each mar wears
shoes Of pigskin. and his legs are so
chained together that he can take but
one short step at a time.
AS l looked I asked the director to
point out some of the bad cases. He
replied:
You can tell them by their collars.
You see the most Of the collars are
Of the same gray color as the rest Of
the garment; but some are red, black
and blue. Those bl~ack-collared fell
lows are each in for thirty years. The
conv1cts wearing the blue collars are
IN for twenty years, those wearing
red for ten, while the gray have still
shorter sentences. The most Of our
Ren nave been convicted Of robbery
and assault with intent to kill. The
murderers we have in another prison.
which has just been constructor"
COnvictS at Dinner.
After making the picture I followed
the convlcts on into the wards and
saw them eating. AS l looked the di-
rector told me hat he gave them two
meals a day, consisting of a breakfast
at 9 and a dinner at 3. Sale he:
The men rise at $50 a. M. and
stop work at 5 in the evening. It
costs us about five or six cents of
your money a day to FEED each of
mem. and we are now spending fifty
Mexican dollars, or about twenty dol
lars in gold, per day for the food we
are serving to the $40 men we have
here. We make the prisoners paw for
their meals by their work We ALLOW
each about ten cents a day and Of this
SIX or seven cents is taken out for his
poaro and clothes. The rest he can