The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-28

spent some spare time looking up the
mems friends and relatives. The found
that the woman's own son had shot a
the policeman and the cossack. After a
year, and much trouble he made the
central courtmartia of Warsaw look intd
the case. The woman's son was arrested.
and the woman confessed that she had
falsely sworn to shield him. The latter
was sentenced to 10 years hard labor
While Mamnslxi and Trzaski worked on
the Ural mines they had lost all hope of
ever seeing freedom again. Maminsll had
narrowly escaped death from smallpox
and Trzaski Is bent double with rheuma-
tism. AS dangerous criminals, doing time
for attacking the police and soldiery,
they have been treated with great sew
Gritty. Night and day. since going to
the mines. they have been chained to a
heavy wheelbarrow, fastened to them by
means of fetters passing round Their
waists, and secured TO wrists and ankles.
They worked 16 hours u day with this
weight attached to them. The right side
of their heads We're shaved to the skin.
mark of the worst criminal. Cossaclls
and jailers used the lash on them with
impunity, for were they not there for
trying to kill the police.
Their food was mouldy bread and cab
bage soup. At night. they lay on wooden
hunks built against the walls of
wooden hut When they had time they
used to try to destroy the vermin by
throwing boiling water over it. They
were not allowed to write to their fami-
lies. or get letters from them. Their
comrades in misery hated them because
they saw they were of different calibre
and denounced them over and over again
to the jailers.
One night after work they were told TO
go to the inspector. who, after satisfying
himself that they were Mamlnski and
TrzaslSi. told them they were free You
can imagine their joy. The government.
by way of recompense. paid their fares
home. They are expected in a few weeks
Trzasid wrote to his wife that he will
probably be unable to find work again,
as his rheumatism has made him an old.
decrepit man.
Not the least of Russia prison hor-
rors is the application of an extreme
form of the third degree The police
arrest a man or woman in connection
with some crime. The prisoners are
beaten till they answer yes to ques-
tions about their guilt or completely
Witnesses are brought in and tortured
into giving evidence such as the police
need to make up the case In a case
heard before a jury In Odessa not long
ago, 1t came out that one witness was
persuaded to accept the POLICIES version
by being kept in cell, without food.
light or warmth for "a hours. Another
man, afterwards proved innocent, was
beaten on the spine with rods a small
ivory box being fixed to the spine first.
so as to Increase the pain The other
day, in the Petersburg criminal court
brigand named Obiedinsld who was un-
der sentence for robbery with violence,
was brought before the court to hear
his final sentence. In the dock he CONF
planned that his jailers not only beat him.
but often kept him without food. The
presiding judge said; II don't want t,
hear it. Take the man away warden"
Obiedinski then took off his prison shoe,
and threw it with such good aim that It
hit the judge IN the eye, and broke out
into such a string of curses and bad
language that the whole court declared
they had not known the Russian lam
guage was so rich. The Judge, with n 4
blackened eye, began to pass judgIneis
on the prisoner. who, needless to Say,
had been struck down by the nearest
sentry's gun-butt. But the difficulty was
that there was no additional punishment
to give the man. He was already sem
tenced to lifelong hard labor and as
it was not court martial, death SEN
tence could not be passed; even Russian
law does not hang man for hitting
judge In the eye.