The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-03-27
The Worlds Biggest Jail
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.

kitchens is ground between millstones
turned by men who sweat as they drag
them around. l saw gang at such
work and was told that each was ex-
pected to make and clean about so
pounds of flour daily. The sweat stood
on their brown skins as they worked
and they toiled hard at the grind
ing.
On my way through the yards / saw
the pumps working. The water Of
the Jail is raised by great barrel-1ilSe
wheels SO hung that as they turn they
dip down into the water. To the rims
OF the wheels buckets are attached.
These fill as the wheels enter the wa
ter, rise to the top as it goes on
ward, and empty out into trough when
il is turned over. The motive power
for each OF these wheels is a hale
dozen convicts, who, holding on to a
bar overhead, stepped ever upward,
their weight turning the wheel.
The TreadmiII Abolished
This work was in the open and it
ibid not seem especially hard. 1t is the
only treadmill that is now at work
In the Jail. The great saw and plan
ing mill treading arrangement is still
in existence, but 1t is idle, having been
displaced by boiler and steam. II
wills actively working when 1 visited
this Rangoon jail 20 years ago, and
in the eye of the mind L can still
see the picture OF the conviots then
toiling. This treading arrangement was
running large planning mill with all
Its accompaniment as well as other
shops containing machinery
II operated buzz saw and scores of
machines run by pulleys and wheels do
ing the work of a modern steam engine
Imagine long. narrow room about 30
leet wide, in which six great cog wheels
IL feet in diameter are SO fitted together
that they make a continuous wheel 100
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 upon
which men standing can, by their weight
make the wheel move. There is a bar
ABOVE to which the men can hold, and to
which they can, If necessary, be chained
to keep them at work. When | was here
last L saw $50 men clad only in waist
cloths, holding on to that bar and walk
Ids up, up, up, turning the wheel as thew
did SO by their weight running the ma
chine shops and the planning mills The
men 80 punished were mostly incorrigi-
hles, who had committed terrible crimes
They all had chains on their legs. Int
the chains were tied to their waist cloths
TO relieve their ankles. Several of the
convicts had their hands fastened to the
bar overhead. and all were forced to keen
treading to the not unmusical Jingle of
their iron-bound legs.
The Cannon Ball Drill
As far as I can learn, the prisoners are
now we'll treated. I saw no fiogging, and
| there is no cruelty worth mentioning.
One of the severest punishments 1 saw
was gang of four men exercising with
cannon balls. This is imposed upon men
who cannot be controlled in other ways.
Each man had a cannon ball Weighing
| " pounds in his hands and at the tap of
fthe gong went through certain motions.
The four men worked in unison. AS the
| guard pounded the gong they lifted the
shot from the ground. Another tap and
they held it close to their waists, another
and they raised 1t to their shoulders, and
then 1t went as high up into the air as
their two hands could reach. Other sig
nails caused them to lower it slowly. until
1t again reached the ground There was
a motion for each tap Of the gong, and
| The work went on for hours at time /
| am told that the fatigue soon becomes
terrible. and that the men will welcsme
| any other punishment to escape this.
Well Managed Prison
The Rangoon prison is excellent1y
planned and well managed. The build
ings are great sheds of one and two
stories, running out like the spokes of
wheel from circle in which the
guards stand, so that they can inspect
half dozen or more shops at one
time. The dormitories are arranged
the same way. Everything is clean and
sanitary the prison death rate being
only 16 per thousand. Among the Jail
institutions is a large garden, where
anti-scorbutic vegetables are raised
for the prisoners, nearly all such food
being produced inside the Jail.
The prisoners have enough to eat to
keep them in perfect condition, and
their sleek, fat forms are in striking
contrast to the lean coolies from India.
who are to be seen everywhere upon the
streets. The convicts eat three meals
day. Between and a. M. before
going to- work, they have rice and veg
etables, and a similar meal is given
them between and 10. They have
their last meal about o'clock, when
they quit for the day. Their meals are
served simply. They squat out of doors
in long rows. each having tin wash
basin before him. Into this the GUARDS
lad1e the food, and the men use their
fingers to convey the stuff to their
mouths. According to the government
reports, the average cost of feeding
each man is about 2 cents per day. or
two-thirds of cent per meal. The
-oSs f4SAo ~ ieniit5Ooli 10 $lo per year
for each convict The total charges for
clothing are likewise small, the aver
age per head being about 81 of our
money. The prisoners I saw were clad
In little more than breech cloths. AL
though few wore calico Jackets as
well.
TattOOed Convicts
In this description, however, I have
omitted a suit which nearly every
criminal has and which he wears all
his life. l refer to his suit of tattooine
This runs from his knees to his waist.
1t consists of a pair of breaches made
up OF the figures of tigers, monkeys
and other animals which have been
pricked into the skin with blue and
black ink Each animal is surrounded
by a tracery of letters from the Bur-
mese alphabet, and diamonds squares
and triangles of various size fill up
the vacant spaces. This has been the
custom with the Burmese men and bows
from time immemorial. 1t is not con-
fined to criminals, but is common to
men and boys of all classes In addi-
ton, tho arms, chest and back are often
tattooed with charms, isolated figures
done in red Ink. Love charms in red
are sometimes tattooed around the eyes.
and q quail tattooed on the jaw means
love.
The ink used for the breeches Is us
ally a solution of lamp black obtained
from the smoke of sessamen oil.
understand that the boys of the cities
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