Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-09-03
PRISON COUNCIL
RAN SOLD|ER-jA|L,
SAYS i. S. PRObER
Investigation Shows Inmates
Rule Of Disciplinary Bar
racks Ended in Tyranny.
By the Associates, p....


KANSAS CITY, No. September s.
ne united States disciplinary bar
racks at Fort ,Leavenworth, Kan, was
ruled by council of prisoners from
January to July. 1919. and this method
u administration was adopted, on or
oeis from the War Department, it
was asserted in a report made yester.
oay by Oscar C. Schmitz, special agent
lor the Department of Justice.
11nt me report was made public by the
6nn states district attorneys Of
me-, nee IN Kansas City, Kan, where. il
was announced that it had heen mail
81 70 Iopeka, Kan, to be fled With
me clerk of the federal court. The
,sestlgation of affairs at the mill
Iudsa ison was made upon order of
John G. Pollock. federal dis
fr.e. Judge for the eastern district Of
n M;aHsas. after prisoners from the dis
Ip,pnnary barracks on trial in Judge
t; S.i9cks court in January. 1920, tes-
~ oieu as TO the existence of a council
..r,n, 'soners. which, it was alleged.
racks in 1919. val
me report, lengthy document.
contains statements and affdayits
IRON, rom former officials at the military
bison and from prisoners and FORMER
Done on Orders. He says.
statement from Col. Sedevick
iIce. commandant at the disciplinary
barracks at the time the "prison cnur,
ca Is alleged to have been establfsh-
co, forms part Of the report.
SoL. hce in his statement said he
conferred with the War Department ofii-
" t.als IN washington in January, 1913, a.
70 conditions in the prison after one of
series Of strikes among the nr;s.
oners. 'ne pits
Ihe demands of the prisoners, in
WriIing, were delivered by me in person
TO- 20 secretary Baker" Col. Rice said in
n WAS s de5iraegt His reply. in writing
me establishment Of the prisoners Con
ference committee followed. on orders
OF the adJutant general Of the Army"
Many OF the details Of the manage
ment and administration OF tie prison
oners, according to statements Of nris-
oners- and former prisoners contained in
the report. A judicial committee was
esta oiished and subcommittee for the
kitchen. dining room. yard and sleeping
quarters. A constitution was drawn M,
for the government Of the prison. The
judicial committee was given the right
to- try offenders against lesser laws.
OF the prison and infiict punishment.
Say Rule. Became Tyrannical.
Prisoners testified. according to the
report. that the subcommittee became
tyrannical and overbearing and that the
punishments frequently consisted of
beatings and black eyes.
The Kitchen committee" it is alleged,
smuggled out potato parings from the
kitchen and manufactured LIQUOR from
them.
The theory was not bad" was the
assertion of George Auday. a prisoner,
in his testimony. TT would not work
out. however. and now see why =
While there was several hundred men in
the prison who desired to do what was
right and had been sent there for trir-
ial offenses. there were also several hun
dred hardened criminals who preferred
prison life to the danger Of the trenches
and sought to escape service bNcommit-
ting an offense that insured them a term
long enough to pass the war period.
They cared not at all for oaths or laws
the only :Sle they knew was force :"
70 azc SyIssnA Discontinued.
Testimons- Get forth in the report in
dictated that the prison council sys-
tenn was discontinued in July, 1919.
after it faiB<d to restore. satisfactory
conditions to the prison. Col Rice was
relieved as commandant OF the prison
shortly Afterward.
JudgeCPollock, who ordered the in
vestigation. is now absent on q vaca-
ton and officials were unable to say
whether further action would follow the
report. They declared that was q mat
ter for the Judges decision