El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-26
BILIBID PRISON
MANILA HAS LARGEST PRISON IN WORLD

trial enterprise in the prison was the
making of soldiers cots in lots of TO-
600. After this bamboo furniture was
made for sale. Then a laundry was
| established, and it has grown until to-
! day it is a model American steam laun-
| dry plant with a capacity of 1900 prison
/ pieces a day with room for as much
more outside work 1t can success
| fully launder the soiled linen of a
battleship in two days. doing as high
as 1900 pieces for single ship in the
/ harbor.
In its industrial department care is
I taken that the products do not come in
competition with outside free labor
products OF the same nature. In the fIs-
| cal year 1908 the profits of this depart
| ment amounted TO more than $4,000
pesos Adding to this the $4,000 pesos
i paid TO the government for prison labor.
the result IS a welI-nigh self-support-
ing prison popula ton. According to the
! prevailing system of bookkeeping,
| department are not available for the
+; upkeep of the prison. but are turned
/ into the general treasury.
Prison Reform.
| The whole prison system of the
Philippine Islands is now being con-
! Quoted along reformatory lines. The
prisoners are taught to read and write
a
| their tastes and ability. 1t has been
| found that three years of training In
! Bilibid usually converts a criminal into
| a useful, decent, law-abiding citizen.
When a prisoner has served his sen
tence he is among the best trained Of
| the natives Of the islands, and the man
agement finds it comparatively easy to
| get him good job. 1t is very seldom
that the employer has occasion to re-
ar ha IN Caxyr of
| prison authorities recommend. Practi-
cally every trade followed on the
islands is taught at BiHbid.
There is a system Of merit in force
and the o,ies WI o distinguish themselves
for good conduct are sent to the Iva
hib Penal colony, where they may live
in the open and have their families
with them 1t so happens. however
that most of the men who are sent to
this colony are doomed to disappoint-
ment in the matter of reuniting with
their families, for Bilibid sentence for
husband is considered by the wife as
emitting her to divorce so she usu-
ally becomes the wife of some other ma
tive before her prison husband can es-
tabish a reputation for good behavior
sufficient to entitle him to go to Iva
hfg- However. many families have
been reunited there.
This colony IS governed so that the
only restraint is that of moral suasion.
OF course the superintendent has power
TO send any member back to Bilibid
and no firearms are allowed in the
colony There are no guards, but the
working force is well organized, with
the most trustworthy in charge. When
the men come 10 the colony they gain
in weight in spite of the hard farm and
forest work they are required 70 do.
Deliveries Frustrated.
There have been several attempts at
jail delivery at Bilibid since the Amer
lean occupation IN one of these a
satling gun was used to quiet the
mob II was shortly after the inaugur-
alton of the industrial system The
prisoners had been supplied with bolos
for use in making cots, and they felt
well enough armed to make an attempt
for liberty. After so rounds were fired
from the gatling gun there were 10 dead
and many wounded. After that all that
was needed was 4 surgeon and an un-
dertaker.
There are comparatively few white
men in Bilibid, and most of them are
serving short sentences for petty
thievlng, vagraney, embezzlement and
other crimes that usually follow hard
drinking and fast living. The Spaniards
! who are there have in most cases been
sent down for duell;ng. Less than
hundred women are to be found in the
prison
Few Prisoners on Island.
In proportion to population the Phil
ippines show comparatively small
percentage of criminals. The United
States has $4,000 prisoners in its prisons.
while the Philippines have less than
5000. all told. If the ratio that obtains
in this country were applied in our orient
al insular possessions. it would give a
total of nearly 5000 prisoners in the
Philippines There are approximately a !
half million cOnvicts in the prisons OF
Europe, where the proportion is even
higher than in the United States
The order, the health and the perfect |
discipline OF Bilibid are the result of II !
years Of American rule in a half-sav-
age. tropical country where even the |
little children can remember horrible |
atrocities of tyrannical government /
which have been forgotten in Europe |
for centuries and which were never |
known in the UEited States
Instea1 of a place OF punitive tor
ture, as it was, Bilibid is now a place |
where prisoners are helped as much as |
possible. where they are trained in some |
useful trade, where they are taught the
primary laws OF santa ton, and where
they are brought under the influence of |!
order and discipline men. not brutes |
Bilibid prison is still the largest prison
on earth. but it has changed from being
the worst TO the best.