Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1912-07-03

Bilibid has daily routine much Xix,
other prisons. The prisoners art
reused in the morning by the call OF
the bugle at 5 45. Breakfast follows g
certain amount of exercise, end after
that the prisoners go to the workshops
until the noon hour. Then comes 6
light lunch, siesta for an hour, more
work until $50 p. m, then dinner
and they are locked up for the night.
Twice week the inmates are com
PEELED to battle, and twice a weeb
they are given clean clothes, not al
ways secured by many of them while
en- the outside.
There are four classes of rations
issued to the prisoners, depending or
their nationality. The Americans re
ceive the ration OF the regular army
which costs about Is cents; the Euro
peans receive food at the ratio oil
about ID cents, and the Filipino eats
to the amount of cents. This is not
discrimination, nor is there partially
shown In the quality or the amount
All Of the food IS palatable, well
cooked and clearly served, but thai
which would suit the native element
would not suit the American contin.
gent, nor the reverse Clothing of the
regulation prison character Is supplied
to each convict at cost of about &C
cents man.
Death Rate Low.
The employment of the prisoners
consists Of laundering, manufacturing
bamboo furniture, weaving baskets,
curtains, screens and hammocks. ma,
king rope, engraving on wood, horn,
shell and silver, making fancy and use.
full articles from horn and shell, and
wrapping coach whips, and there ere
also carpenters, wood turner's, black
smiths, stone masons, bricklayers AND
tailors, and occasionally an artist or
two is found among the number and
given a canvas.
The articles thus manufactured are
placed on sale, and from the revenue
thus derived the prison often accumu
lates a surplus for the year. The av.
erage amount of receipts from this
means Is about $4,000 a year.
One of the greatest testimonials to
the conduct of Bilibid is the low death
rate since the beginning of the Amer.
lean administration. Under the Span.
ish rule it sometimes reached as high
as one In five, while under the Ameri.
can direction 1t has never gone above
one IL sixty.
Bilibid has seen many exciting days,
and, under the Spanish rule, has had
its walls so crammed at times that it
seemed as If no more could be forced
in. Yet they were. It's capacity was
originally designed to accommodate
1000, but the records Of its days when
revolutions existed against the Span.
ish government show that as many as
$500 prisoners were confined there
at one time.
The prison was, in fact, designed for
this purpose more than a hundred
years ago, and political prisoners have
outnumbered the criminals each year
since, according to the captured rec.
ords of the prison. When Gen. F. A.
Hughes took charge of the prison for
the United States government in Oc
tober 1898, he found over 1000 pris
oners confined there against whom
no formal charges had been recorded
He found the condition of these men
and women most revolving.
"a great many of them" he said,
were heavily ironed-most cruelty
ironed. For instance, there would be
a man chained to the wall of stone
cell in which there was no light except
through two loop holes high up and
about two inches wide and foot long.
We also found some with bars of iron
about three feet long to which were
attached two iron hoops that were
fastened around their ankles, and they
had to carry these bars every step
they made The flesh around their
ankles was worn altogether to the
bone in many cases"
In his report of that inspection Gen
eral Hughes also said that two hours
after the prison had been turned over
to the American authorities the irons
which had been knocked of the pris-
one,s were piled up. and the resulting
accu mutation measured more than
cord and half in size.