It is situated on Principe Hill, about two miles west of the national palace, and overlooks the entire city. It has five bastions and is surrounded by a moat fifty feet wide, twenty feet deep and loopholed for rifle fire upon both sides. There is an ancient drawbridge at the main entrance, but it has been out of use many years. The scarp walls are about forty feet above the moat and are crowned with medieval sentry boxes and lookout stations. There are many secret passages leading from Principe to various other fortifications, but these were hermetically sealed during the provisional administration of General Leonard Wood. The principal one extends to Morro and Cabanas castles across the bay, a distance of two and one-half miles. The governor of the prison is General Demetrio del Castillo, and Lieutenant Colonel Tomas Garzon is assistant.
Cuba is thoroughly modern in her treatment of prisoners. The terrible “third degree” is an unknown quantity. There is no whipping post nor “chamber of horrors” at Principe. Solitary confinement in a well ventilated cell, equipped with toilet and shower bath and a wall berth is the usual punishment. The prisoners are not only taught industrial trades, but are given the elementary branches of schooling. Even some study music, painting and sculpturing. The government employs twenty instructors, most of them being graduates, to teach the 400 “pupils.” There is a prison library, an orchestra and a brass band. The band is the pride of the prisoners and is composed of forty musicians and taught by a professional teacher. Several “lifers” are members, who took up the study of music after they were sentenced, and are now what might be considered tip-top musicians.
Of the 1,380 prisoners, 36 are politicians who took part in the Estonez negro uprising in 1912. There are twenty-six “lifers” sent up for assassination and highway robbery. The majority are robbers and thieves, with a scattering of murderers. The race percentages are: White 64, black 37 and mulatto 17 per cent.
The prison guard consists of eighty-two men and a small clerical force in charge of the office. The prisoners are not put in stripes, but instead wear a cool uniform of white duck, which is changed twice a week. When working they wear a brand of overalls made from palm thatches.
The big court yard, which covers more than an acre, has a flower garden, neatly trimmed and laid off in beautiful squares and walks and dotted with shrubbery and royal palms. The proceeds from the sale of flowers go to a prison fund. Prisoners who can not do manual labor make hammocks and other grass products. These they are allowed to sell and the proceeds go to their families. If single, a fund is kept by the warden against their release. Six hours is a day’s work.
During the evening the band gives a concert in the court yard, and all prisoners are allowed to attend, notwithstanding the facts that the music can be heard perfectly from the casemates.
Workmen in the shops are allowed 25 cents plata per day, while those outside receive 35 cents. This is also either sent to their families or kept in the release fund. They receive no pay for government work.
The men in the clothing and shoe shops are worked on contract goods which are sold to Havana mercantile establishments, and they also make clothing for the prisoners. Shoes run in price from $1.10 to $5 per pair. Were it not for the heavy import on leather these prices could be nearly cut in half. The higher grade of shoes sell in the retail market for $6 and $7. Clothing is made from 50c. to $15 a suit. Beautiful white duck and linen and other tropical garments are turned out that look about as well as suits made by many first-class tailoring establishments. There has been some trouble with the labor unions, who complain against competing with “convict labor,” but these complaints have never assumed serious proportions. Ordinarily the casemates are used for workrooms, but the shoe and clothing factories are ramparts “hollowed” out and remodeled. An effort has been made to work the Principe prisoners in road building, but for some reason or other Congress has never allowed it. General Castillo built a sample road near the prison and invited members of congress to test it, but they continue to refuse to allow the government to be saved thousands of dollars annually by employing the convicts upon the public roads. Another feature that meant an annual saving of thousands was a proposed printing establishment, where the government printing could be done. This scheme progressed finely for awhile, and floor space was made by changing several casemates into a large hall and machinery ordered, but at the last moment the newspapers and printing establishments began to hammer the proposition and the government abandoned it.
“But how would you get prisoners competent to do the work?” was asked Colonel Garzon.
“Well,” he replied, “we would be compelled to hire experts at first and keep an eye for printers in other prisons, and also inform the police to be extra vigilant. It wouldn’t be long before we would have a competent force.”