—they were too much involved in Mexican affairs—to leave any danger of their coming out and telling the truth of what they saw. My credentials were not satisfactory enough to permit me to see Belem.
But I know Belem fairly well, I think, for I have talked with persons who have seen Belem as prisoners and come out of its horrors alive. Editors, many of them were; and I have talked with others—officials, prison physicians, and I have read the newspapers of Mexico.
Suffice it, however, to put down some bare and naked facts. Belem is the general prison for the Federal District, which comprises the Mexican capital and some surrounding suburbs, approximating, in all, a population of 600,000 people. It is alike city jail, county jail and penitentiary, except that there is also in the district another penitentiary, which is distinguished from Belem by confining within its walls only criminals who have been sentenced to more than eight years confinement. The penitentiary—which is so designated—is a modern institution, decently built and sewered. The prisoners are few and they are fairly well fed. Visitors are always welcome at the penitentiary, for it is principally for show. When you hear a traveler extolling the prison system of Mexico put it down that he was conducted through the Federal District penitentiary only—that he does not know of Belem.
Belem is a musty old convent which was turned into a prison by the simple act of herding some thousands of person within its walls. It is not large enough decently to house five hundred inmates, but frequently it houses more than five thousand. These five thousand are given a daily ration of biscuit and beans insufficient in quantity to keep an ordinary person alive for
