The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-03-27


work, and was told that each was ex-
pected to make and clean about fifty
pounds Of flour daily. The sweat stood
on their brown skins as they worked,
and they toiled hard at the grinding.
/ On my way through the yards saw
! the pumps working. Tho water OF the
| jail Is raised by great barrel-like
wheels so hung that Us they turn they
dip down into the water. To the rims
of the wheels buckets are attached.
These fill as the wheels enter the wat
er. rise to the top as IL goes onward.
and empty out into trough when 1t Is
turned over. The motive power for
each OF these wheels is q half dozen
convicts. who. holding on to a bar over
head. stepped ever upward, their weight
turning the wheel.
The Trcndmill Abolished.
/ This work was in the open, and 1t
| did not seem especially hard. It Is the /
only treadmill that Is now at work In
1.-THE Jail The great saw and planning
mill treading arrangement Is still In
existence, but 1t is idle, having been
displaced by q boiler and steam. It
was actively working when / visited
4 this Rangoon jail twenty years ago..
and in the eye of my mind can still
|
1 toiling. This treading arrangement
was running a large planning mill with
| all it's accompaniment, as well as 9th
err shops containing machinery.
| It operated buzz saw and scores OF
| machines run by pulleys and wheels
doing the work Of u modern steam en-.
| gines Imagine long, narrow room
about thirty feet wide, in which six
lgreat cogwheels twelve feet in 3dia-
meter are so fitted together that they
I, make a continuous wheel one hundred
4 feet long, running from one end of the
room to the other. Let the cogs Of this
wheel be boards half an inch thick,
SO made that they form set OF steps
.fupon which men standing can. byttheir
i weight, make the wheel move. There
lis a bar above to which the men can
A hold, and to which they can, II neccs-
4 sary. be chained to keep them at
work. When was here last I saw ! so
men clad only in waist cloths, holding
on to that bar. and walking up, up. up.
4 turning the wheel as they did so.N ana
4 SO by their weight running the ma
4 chine shops and the planning mills. me
a men so punished were mostly incorrl-
gibles. who had committed terrible
crimes. They all had chains on their
5Ilers. but the chains were tied to their
waist cloths to relieve their ankles.
Several of the convicts had their hands
Il Fastened to the bar overhea d, and all
were forced to keep treading Etosthe not
unmusical jingle Of their iron bound
legs.
1 The Cannon Ball Drill.
AS far as can learn. the prisoners
are now well treated. saw no flogg-
{ ling. and there Is no cruelty worth
4 mentioning. One Of the severest pun
( (ishments saw was gang OF four
a men exercising with cannon balls This
! lis imposed upon men who cannot be
a controlled In other ways. Each man
had a cannon ball Weighing thirty-two
pounds in his hands, and at the tap
Of the gong went through certain mo-
|tions. The four men worked in unison.
AS the guard pounded the gong they
!. llifted tho shot from the ground. Ans
other tap and they held It close to their
!, lwaists, another and they raised IT to
q their shoulders, and then invent as
Il high IN into the air as their two hands
could reach. Other signals caused them
I to lower 1t slowly. until 1t again
:. reac hed the ground. There was a mo-
ton for each tap OF the gong, and tbs
work went on for hours at q time.
4 nm told that the fatigue soon becomes
terrible, and that the men will vel
& come any other punishment to oscar pc
this.
A Well Managed Prison.
The Rangoon prison is eXcellently
planned and we'll managed. The build
Iings are great sheds or one ne anu wv =
4 stories, running out like the spokes OF
d wheel from circle. in which the
& guards stand, so that they can inspec
Il q half dozen or more shops at one time
n The sdormitories are arranged the SAM
way. Everything is clean and SAM
a;,stary. the prison death rate being Sonl!
z sixteen per thousand. Among the jal
institutions is a large garden, wher
#Ifanti- scorbutic Negetab les arc ralset
E for the prisoners, nearly a such o.
Il being produced inside tho jail.
Tho prisoners have enough to eat t
them In perfect conditions, ant
L their sleek, fat forms are in striking
contrast to tho lean coolies from India
liwho are Is be seen everywhere upol
L the streets, 5s 5ss5,33
the conyicts cot three meals day
s13etweene & and 6 IA. Nj. befo ore going Y
work. they have rice and We getables
ana a similar 1neal is given them be
tween o and 10, They have their las
meal about o'clock, when they. qul
FOR the day, Their meals are serve I, g
simply. They squat out OF DOORS y
Ion grows, each having g tlnssNV "a !.
basin before HIM. \ nto Sthls the su isHs
8lndlo tho food, and the men use thei
u fingers to convey the stuff TO- thei
|mouths. According TO the goVeer l y ne
(Sreports.ssthe average cost OF feedinl
each man s snhout 9 cents per day.
II5two- thirds or 4 cent per ms al. = no COS
I. arc IN Rang Don Is SIS per year 70 = eeac
convict, The total charges for aloth
ling are II likewise small, tho aYerag
III per head $bein is about q OF our money
n rhei pr oners saw wv re clad IN llt
Nh stle more than hre echs clot rs, al tloun
"a HI few wore cal leo clsats IA we
IA iss ,rAtt0ped C0nyi cts,
s N Inethia desorip ut on,S how aver, u hay
Iomltts sul ~ htols near ever