The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1919-07-12

equipped with lOrrleS, armOred cars,
tanks, machine guns, bombing planes,
light and heavy artillery; and in fact
all of the engines of war lately en-
ployed against the central powers. i
In addition to this, there are ap-
proXimately $4,000 members of the
Royal Irish constabulary. The con-
stabulary is branch of the military
forces. They are armed with rifles as
we'll as small side arms, engage in
regular drills and field maneuvers.
They are never residents of the dis
tricts which they occupy, and have.
quarters in regular government bar
racks.
After our arrival in Ireland we
conferred with President De Valera
as to the prisons which we should
visit, and Mountjoy Jail in the city of
Dublin, was selected, for the reason
that it contained large number of
political prisoners, many of them men
Of the highest character and standing.
Mountjoy, so far as physical equip
ment and brutality goes, is not as bad
as many of the other jails in Ireland.
We made our demand Tor permis-
sion 70 visit this Jail through the mu-
nicipal authorities of the city of Dub
lin. The governor of the prison, a
resident of England, who has been in
Office but a few. weeks, refused US ad-
mission. 1t was then explained to Sir
John Irwin, chairman of the visiting
justices of Mountjoy prison, that the
commission was travelling on diploma
tic passports and was investigating
conditions in Ireland, partly at the
solicitation of the prime minister.
With this explanation, Sir John Irwin,
who is in supreme authority of the Jail,
overruled the decision of the governor
and we were admitted to Mountjoy.
When we appeared at the gate we
were ushered into the Office cf the
governor, where we found Sir John
Irwin. The governor told us that we
were to be admitted to the prison, but
with the understanding that we
should not speak to any prisoner, nor
seek to fix the identity of any prisoner
exhibited.
Although Mountjoy is called Jail,
it is, as matter of fact, combina-
ton of Jail and penitentiary.. 1t is
surrounded by stone wall 20 feet in
height and is larger than any of the
mid.western American penitentiaries
such as Jefferson City or Joliet, and
almost as large as Sing Sing. It has
immense cell houses, built to accom-
modate 1000 prisoners. It is equipped
with workshops, where men convicted
of serious crimes are confined at hard
labor It is also used for the confine-
ment of persons awaiting trial, as we'll
as misdemeanants serving sentence J
for petty offenses
Exclusive of the political prisoners
there were but IL persons in confine-
ment, all of them undergoing SEN
fences for petty infractions of law.
One of the men who accompanied
us upon the visit was an official of the
city of Dublin, we'll acquainted with
Ill of the political prisoners; so that
we had no difficulty in identifying
hem. They were confined for the
most part in groups, the majority of
hem being locked up in steel cages,
built in the yards of the prison, entire
These cages are exact duplicates of
those used for wild animals in the
larger geological gardens, such as Lin
coin Park and the Bronx, in the
United States.
Statements had been made that
unspeakable outrages were being COM
mitted against the persons of these
men, and the most barbarous cruelties
inflicted upon them. That they had
been starved, beaten, confined in dark
and noisome underground cells, other.
wise maltreated and kept for days
with their hands handcuffed behind
their backs.
We attempted to secure statements
from the officers, either confirming or
denying the charges. We we're per-
mitted to talk to no one inside the
prison except the governor. He stat
ed that no such barbarities had been
committed since he had taken charge