Omaha daily bee., 1919-07-30
BRUTALITIES TO
4. {. YANKEES
!. ARE DISCLOSED
Witness Declares Higher-Ups
to Blame for Treatment
l.. Dealt to Soldiers in
Prison.

(C0atinued from Page Ons.)
I SON, in his report had recommended
d his courtmartial for neglect o
u duty.
q lis it possible" asked Mr.. Bland
d ''that high officers took the position
L that they would not convict mar
4 of the rank of colonell"
Il ooh, no."
4 "And that they had a good goat ir
n 'he person of Hard Boiled Smith?
Il Il have nothing to say about
d that"
4 do you know of any reason
j persisted Mr.. Bland. why Colone'
Il Grinstead should not have beer
Il brought to trial."
II II suppose the superior officers
Il had some good reason" replied the
n witness.
n 1T is a serious reflection on the
III A. E. F." commented Mr. Bland. I'll
Il q sentry goes to sleep on duty he is
N shot, but if an officer goes to sleep
n on duty and hundreds of boys are
Il beaten up, he is given an honorable
4 discharge.
Il Mr.. Bland then asked the witness
j il the fact that Colonel Grinstead
Il came from Phoenix, that Hard
II Boiled" Smith came from the same
a town and that the two were init
j mate did not suggest that Smith
II had been willing to take the blame
n for things he might have passed up
to his superior.
1T would look that way" replied
I Colonel Donaldson.
Admits Brutalities.
4 Lieut.. F. H. Hard Boiled" Smith,
IN who was in direct command of farm
n No. 2 admitted on the stand that
q terrible brutalities" were practiced
b in the French prison camps, but in
a sisted that his camp was a pleasure
Il resort" compared to the others. He
b said he had not long to live and
H wanted to tell the truth while he
II was alive.
81 Smith was sentenced to three
h years imprisonment on charges of
4 beating prisoners and stealing their
a property. His sentence was reduced
i to eighteen months and when Col
4 onel Donaldson was on the stand
4 he was asked to explain this reduc-
4 ton, but could give no reason for it.
h Smiths reference to his expected
n death was interpreted by the prison
4 doctor as an indication of his belief
4 that some of the prisoners would at
h tempt his life. The doctors said that
4 as far as he knew the man was in
h perfect health.
I Smith. on his testimony had as
serted he had been told by Colonel
\ Grinstead that General Strong had
ordered prisoners to be treated with
= the most RUTHLESS severity" He
had said it was his understanding
that these men were to be treated
in such way that they never would
come back to Paris or pass through
these farms again"
\ 1 Sergeant Contradiets.
! The description by Smith of farm
4 Mo- as "a pleasure resort" was
fatty contrad icted by Sergt Clar-
ence E. Ball, formerly the lieuten-
ants subordinate at the prison and
now serving six months on charges
of brutality. Sergeant Bali swore
that he and other sergeants had been
forced to beat scores of prisoners
on the direct orders of Smith and
frequently in his presence.
The sergeant was asked what in
/ structions were given by Smith
/ when he was made prison sergeant.
T was ordered to beat the men,
to treat them rough"
How many men did you beat
up?"
I could not say"
! you mean they were so many
/ you could not count thcm?'
"Yes."
Fifty or 1902"
/ Eyes"
Ball asserted that some of the
men beaten were just out of the
hospital, that on one occasion he
was expected to beat a man in
] the presence of Smith and five
other officers and that an officer
! was generally present when a man
| was thrashed. When men were
beaten so badly that they were
covered with blood, he said they
/ were taken out into the yard and
\ the hose played on them.
Had No Choice.
Sergeant Ball claimed that he had
4 no choice, because Smith threat
ened that if he did not obey orders,
4 he himself would be turned over to
A the prisoners and that he knew they
would kill him.
did the colonel know about
these things?" he was asked.
The colonel was in it as much
as anyone else. If he didn't see
things he must have had bad eye
sight"
The most sensational testimony
of the hearing was given by Joseph
c. Ryszelewski, a sophomore of the
University of Pennsylvania, who
| enlisted in the aviation corps.
Ryzelewski, who speaks English,
French, Polish and Russian, got into
some trouble over gambling and was
sentenced to three years imprison-
ment. He escaped and joined the
Polish army in France, was gassed,
wounded, decorated with the Croix
de Guerre for gallantry and given a
commission. Finally he was identi-
fled by the American army authori-
ties and claimed by them as a fugi-
tive. He was sent to the stockade
prison at Gierves where, he assert
ed, "veritable reign of terror" ex-
listed.
Il saw men tortured to make them
give evidence against their COM
rades." he said. "They were hand
cuffed and chained to the walls and
Aheu ha,teo e.re.1eee with III, IL,