The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-04


 now under investigation by a sub committee of the House of Represen- tatives of which Congressman Royal C. Johnson of South Dakota is Chair | man was an ugly reality for one Sioux Falls soldier, Clifford F. Smith, who himself was a prisoner at this camp for a pexiod of two months, and wit messed many of the shocking things that occurred there.
 Smith had in his possession the charge sheets giving the character of the offenses, dates, specifications, charges and names of witnesses, which he brought back from France with him. These charge sheets are extremely vivid in their description of the various acts of cruelty enum- erated. CIiffO | Smith for a period of nine weeks was at Tours as a wit ness during court martial proceed ings.
 1T was court martia1ed and sen fenced to three months at hard labor in Prison Farm No. 2, under Lieut.. Hard Boiled" Smith. I was fined two-thirds of my pay for three months and reduced from rank of corporal to buck private. had furlough to Nice, which was the first time had been away from my outfit for II months, but I was caught in forbidden Paris without a pass. That was my crime"
 The cruelty charges were filed di- rectly against the sergeants in charge, as shown by the reports in Smiths possession, but they natur- ally passed the buck" to Lieut.. Frank H. (Hardboiled) Smith, who in turn told the Congressional com- mittee that he was acting strictly under orders from Major Gen. F. S. Strong and Col. E. P. Grinstead. Clifford Smith tells the following thrilling story of his experiences in the prison camp, sections of which show conditions about as bad as ever existed in darkest Russia:
 q volunteered in the army on Dec. 2O 1917, being past the draft age, and went to France the last of February, 1918. We were promised a furlough every four months, but on account of the emergency I did not get a day off until after the armistice was signed. I had worked hard all this time, and was mighty glad to do it.
 "On Nov. fl several men of our company were given furloughs to Nice. We were at that time at Mont faucon, in the Argonne Woods sector. We all went to Paris to catch the Nice train. American soldiers were not allowed in Paris (for some un- known reason), yet that was the city that every American soldier wanted to see. All the American papers printed there gave details of the great things that were being done there for the amusement of the American sol- diers; so for that reason the men who | had been at the front for a long time were anxious to see Paris.
 50 we were told to take the next | train out and given a pass until that 1 time Another soldier, Frank T. | Flynn and started for the train, but | got confused and missed it. We were | told by other American soldiers and Q | couple of military police that since | the arIntstice had been declared no arrests had been made for being in Paris Neither Flynn nor myself had ever broken an army rule, but thought it would be all right to stay day in Paris before starting for | Nice.
 | "The next evening we were caught | in a raid on a Y. M. c. A. for A. w. Il O. l.. (absent without leave) and | were taken to the St. Ann's hotel and II put in the brig The brig there was a dirty, lousy, unsanitary place. From St. Ann's we were taken in trucks to the old French prison, the | Bastille. It was a cold winter night that we were taken across-about a
 45-minute ride in an open truck. We II had no hats, coats or overcoats on, but were taken in our shirt sleeves, even though we were warm when v.e | started from working all day long at double time.
 "At the Bastille we were put into stone cells, two men in a cell. There was no fire, and part of the window | lights were broken out. We were, as Il stated. in our shirt sleeves, and had to sleep, or try to sleep, on hard boards with no blankets At this Il same time 1t was, cold enough to freez icicles on the big drain just out Il side Sick men and well men were
 treated alike. I slept with a man that had had his legs shot to pieces with shrapnel, who had missed his
 train by an hour, going from hos U pitaI. He was a physical wreck and Il very weak yet had to stand that treatment.
 From the Basti1e we were taken to g. prison at Schelles, a little town about 25 miles out of Paris, and put in a prison known as tSchelles Prison We stayed there all night. In the morning we were lined up and looked over by the prison Sergeants, who took for themselves our russof shoes and good 1eggings.
 After spending the night and fore moon at Schelles we were marched to Prison Farm No. 2, which was about 15 kilometres away. GA big farm Iowned by a MT Mienin, where he for tmerly kept race horses.) Here we twere searched and all our valuables taken away. Those who had on good shoes or clothes had to take them off and give them to the prison Sergeants for their own personal use. Even be-
 fore the men were checked into the prison the Sergeants looked them over and divided their clothes and shoes. Mackinaws were very popular with the sergeants, and men that were sick and warm from the long hike were
 compelled to stand around in the cold without any overcoats, while the Ser lgeants put them and wore them |, If a prisoner protested and did not give up his mackinaw or shoes at once he was given a good beating until he Twas glad to get rid of them.
 After being searched, we were \ given . bath. Then we were al