El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-26

! the prisoners bed. His pillow is log
| of wood of about the size of cent
| loaf of bread.
Did 1 say the only furniture? [ am
| wrong. There is also a great crank
in the cell, attached to a bar which ex-
tends through the walls, and which, by
an arrangement of cog wheels turns a
mill in the hall outside. This mill con-
| tains raw peanuts, and the prisoner
within must grind them to oil The
crank is such that it exercises the
whole upper part of the body 1t is
turned with both hands, and the man
keeps it moving throughout the day.
The mill 1 first inspected was that
of Pc Sa, a Burmese, who had been
convicted of an assault with intent TO
kill He was bare to the waist, ex-
cepting a light iron collar about his
neck on which was a metal tag Civ
ing his number. From waist down.
ward he wore only a breech cloth, and
I could see his muscles rise and fall as
he strained at the crank. He acted so
/ thought he was shamming, and L
asked the guards to let me try it my
SELF Thereupon the door was un-
locked and / took his place. The crank
moved easily at first, but after a hun
,dred revolutions every cord in my arms
and chest was sore and at two hun
dred I was ready to drop. Neverthe
less, this man was condemned to hard
labor for three months, and that to
the screeching of the so other mills
connected with the cells in this ward.
Twenty SThoqsand Convicts.
With the other kinds of work carried
on in such cells in the making of coir.
In this the prisoners sit flat on
the floor and pound upon cocoanut fiber
to reduce IT to the consistency nseded
for rope. They keep up their pounding
hour after hour and day after day, and
if they stop are urged on by the
guards. Such punshments are for men
sentenced TO hard labor and solitary
confinement of whom there are per-
haps 1000 in all Burma each year. 1
have before me a report Of the jails- 1t
shows that there are now something
like 5000 convicts in the various
prisons. and that 10000 have been on
their rolls this year OF these $4,000
we're sentenced TO rigorous imprison-
ment and 37S were whipped in addition.
I asked my guide whether flogging was
common. He replied. mo. but it is done
now and then to keep the convicts in
order"
Convicts KneeI to Our Correspondent.
Leaving the solitary cells. I walked
on through inclDsure after Enclosure,
containing work shops of various kinds
The doors were opened by black skinned
jailers and the guards presented arms
as we passed. The prisoners we met
saluted us by dropping on their bare
knees or squatting on their heels and
folding their hands like the little
cherubs who look up aloft-" At first 1
thought they were praying to me. but
1 afterward learned that they are re-
quired TO >do this on the grounds OF
good order. No one can jump at you
with a knife or knock you over if he
keeps his hands folded. and while on
the ground you have him at a disad-
vantage. 1t looked odd. this squirting
down of hundreds of men as we passed.
In some cases they took tubs OF water
from their heads. and In others laid
down their tools that they might clasp
their hands before US
Prison Labor.
During my stay 1 spent much time in
the workshops. They include almost ev-
cry industry known to the Burman and
are living example of the skill of these
people. There is large printing office
with about 500 presses. and there are
fully that many convicts at work there
and in the type foundries and engraving
establishments nearby. Each printer mas
an iron collar on his neck and iron rings
on his ankles, and this is the case
throughout the whole jail.
Making Convict Goods.
Next to the printing establishment is
a large carpenter and cabinet making
shop. and farther on are rooms where
the criminals carve wood and weave
wicker furniture This work is very ar
tistic. We next went by groups OF tallors
and coir rope makers, who work out
in the open. All these dropped their
work and folded their hands as we
passed.
asked as to the earnings of the pris-
oners. They are considerable. Most OF
the criminals are sentenced to hard Ia
Dor. and the expenses of the Jalls are
largely paid by the sales of their work
They manufacture all sorts OF things 1or
the government departments, DO much
of the government printing and binding
and make the weapons and chains USED
in the jails / saw scores of prisoners
in the blacksmith shop forging swords
and dirks- 10 be used by the men who
guard them and also shaping iron col