New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
ichitas Way With Wave of l. W. W. Bolshevism

terry. When one of them falls i'll it is
usually three or four days before doc
tor appears, and he is often drunk when
he does come. Recently one prisoner
lay i'll with typhoid pneumonia for three
weeks before the prison quack would
consent TO his removal TO hospital.
This is certainly an impressive array
of charges Probably most people at
distance who read them were impressed
and felt that there must be some ground
FOR complaint. know that felt that
way. But after inspecting the Wichita
jail and investigating the facts from
local newspaper men who had seen the
prisoners practically every day, | am
convinced that the charges are utterly
false-shecr invention put out to gain
converts and sympathy. TO take up the
main points:
|. All the delay in The trial had been
at the request Of the defendants coun
sci. They were indicted promptly. The
district attorney has been ready for trial
at each term Of court held since the men
were arrested. They could have been
tried in March, 1917. Apparently, they
preferred to wait until the war was
over before going to trial
2. After the first four days the pris
oners were distributed among the sur
rounding county jails. Only eight or
ten have remained in the Wichita Jail
The latter is an old jail-about thirty
years old-just how "barbarous" will be
explained later. But the one prisoner
who did die of influenza, James Gossard
died in the Newton jail a new building
up to date in every respect, and con-
corning which no complaint has ever
been made. No other prisoner has died
from any cause. SO much for the Give
die No prisoner has lost his mind One
prisoner, S. Shurin, who is subject to
melancholia, tried to kill himself by
cutting his throat. He was rushed To
the Wichita Hospital and his life saved
by skilful surgery One other prisoner
at Wichita, Wencil Francik, came down
with influenza, was removed to the
Wichita Hospital and recovered. The
health of the men has been generally
good, and the prison doctor seems 70
have been faithful and attentive.
3. AS for the chambers of horrors
1t is called the rotary" in Wichita. and
was the wonder of the county when if
was built. (There are, as the folder
states, only two others in the countrv)
1T is no more a torture chamber than INV
other arrangement Of cells 1t is simply
very compact and secure cell block.
Being clumsy and hard to handle. it is
little used The cells (wcdge shaped,
as described) are amply large to contain
a bunk, and they are not dark, for
the rotary is surrounded by bars, not a
metal wall. They are unusually light
and we'll ventilated, in fact. For another
important detail, only a few Of the
]. w. W. leaders were ever confined in
the rotary. They were so confined, on
bread and water because the thirty
four prisoners started noise strike
when they were locked up-a "battle-
Ship as they called it. That is they
took turns in squads, yelling, singing,
shouting insults to .passersby. Some
Catholic nuns living across the street
moved out. The whole neighborhood
was in turmoil. The threat to turn the
fire hose on them brought a protest
from some Of the quieter prisoners, and