The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-30

as arrived. Later with my hsnd'
handcuffed I was tied against wal
and beaten with sticks
Soldiers Beaten ana Tortured.
"other men all about me were being
beaten and tortured to get evidence from
| them against their comrades. The food
was SO little and 20 bad that / have
actually seen these American soldiers
begging scraps from the Chinese coolies
who worked on the roads.
There was one colored boy named
Lonnie French in the crowd who broke
into the kitchen one night and stayed
there because II was the only warm
and dry place In the prison. The guards
found him there in the morning, and
after beating him with blackjacks they
threw him into solitary confinement
cell near mine. They would bring him
his bread and water every day. but each
time they did they would put him
through the torture. They would chain
him by his handouts to the wall and
then beat him with sticks and black
Jacks. They wanted to find out the
name of an alleged accomplish in break
ing into the kitchen. They kept thin
up for seven days. They even went
to the extent Of burning his hair, beat.
ing him on the soles of the feet and
other horrors. could hear his screams
every day.
"A Capt. Dewey and Lieut.. Cooper
were in charge of the prison at this
time"
who were the men who beat this
colored boyr Chairman johnson asked
"Sergeants Slsson and Perrell Of Com
pany X. Eleventh Marines" the witness
replied after consulting the voluminous
~. ...At lxs HFEhfH
was in February Of this year"
He then told where French, the col
ored boy. could be found now.
The witness related a pathetic story
of Belgian, wounded in the FIRST
months of 1914. but who had enlisted In
the American army when 1t came over
The man spoke little or no English, and
had got Into the prison on trivial
charge. While there the bad conditions
opened his old wound and he was or
dered by the doctor to be allowed to
remain in his quarters. Sergeant Sisson
nevertheless ordered the man to work on
the coal pile. and struck him down and
beat him, despite his wound. when he
was slow.
Punishment for Making Complaint.
Later" the witness continued, "a Col.
J. C. Maui of the Field Artillery came
to Gievres. and It was announced that
he was there to affect a reform. he
made a speech, promising the men fair
treatment. We were all impressed by
his promise that II we made complaints
they would receive attention. Well l
wrote out an account Of the conditions
there under the heading A School for
Bolshevism,' and when Col Maui got II
got three months solitary confinement
~ H.. solitary i had
when I first came In"
Were none of these sergeants and
officers before MauIs time triedT' asked
Chairman johnson.
YES" replied the witness, they were
tried. But they were left on duty during
their trial, with full control. power OF
life and death over the prisoners that
would testify against them-and they
weren't convicted. or IL they were they
got of mighty light.
among the other officers were Lieut.
Pryor and Capt. Levy of the Eleventh
Marines. But Dewey was the woret
His room was papered with lewd pic
lures and In his contact with the men
he showed low morality"
Ryszelewski then gave to the commit
tee the names OF half dozen men now
in Fort Jay who can confirm the stories
he speaks OF and tell others OF their own
He also told of the situation at the Brest
stockade. where he was confined before
being shipped to the United States.
"A relative of one Of the prisoners
there" he said, heard by accident OF
the mans presence in the stockade. He
came TO the guard at the gate and
asked to see him. The guard refused
But his relative inside had heard his
voice, and coming to the gate. remon-
strated with the guard and asked for a
moments talk. without the slightest
provocation the guard knocked him
down senseiess. The guard was cor
poral OF the Eighth Infantry, whose
name you can get"
Ryszeiewski testified that at Gievres
men were handcuffed and trussed up on
the ground with stick holding their
knees and elbows together for days al
a time. Other men, he said. were taken
from their cells at midnight and scrub
bed with mud for the crime of smoking
out of hours.