Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-16
SOVIET JAIL HORRORS
BA7 7lD BY BRII|SHER
Declares NJ en- and Women Are
Executed Without the Least
Chance of Trial.

The London Times prints the narrative
Of a young Englishnnan, Gerard Shelley,
Cho returned recently from Russia after
having been detained for a time in
polshsvi prison. Shelley, we are told,
was in Petrograd at the outbreak of the
first revolution and went to the Crlmea
TO wait for a ship, returning to Moscow
In October He had not been long in the
capital when the Bolshevists declared
the dictatorship of the proletariat, and
detained him as "a hostage. Sheelley
writes:
During the three weeks which |
spent in the dungeon ] could not fail to
remark that none Of the prisoners ex-
pected mercy at the hands of the Boil
dsheviki. There was a general feeling
among the prisoners that if commits
sary said Shoot they would be shot: if
he said Set freep they W uld be set
free.
"None of the prisoners was given
an opportunity of defending his life.
His fate was settled upstairs by the
Extraordinary Commission for Com
batting Counter-Revolution, Sabotage
and Speculation" To shoot or not to
shoot seemed to be the only question.
When that was settled the prisoner was
called up from the dugneon either to
be shot In the backyard or to be liberated
with great dread OF returning 10 the
dungeon.
sometimes a commissarv would come
10 tell US, with look of fanatical tri-
lrnlph In his eyes, that bloody revolu-
tion had begun in England, where the
royal family and MI. Lloyd George had
been executed, and the Soviets were SEN
fencing to death 'hoFdes Of counter-revo-
lutionary rabble SUCH as the House of
~ oF
''The prisoners listened without com
rnent to all that was said AS soon as
the commissary had gone, however, they
expressed their opinions In very vigorous
language.
"a youth of some eighteen years
vas brought IN. His fancee was de-
voted to him and made inquiries among
the Red Guards concerning the situation
Of the dungeon. For a small sum she was
told where to find the grating. At night
sle would come with cold potatoes, boil
cd in the skins, and would drop them into
/ ne grating so that they rolled down into
tle dungeon.
Fin tins manner we were able for
snort time to receive a valuable supple
Ipent to our wretehed fare.
'UnhappIy, the boy was taken out
end shot In the backyard few davs
ttAbel LIS oiisFotr -Nbf4t DI US taQ stomach
{caough to break the mournful news TO
Itae faithful fiancee. but she guessed the
( ruth when the boy no longer answered
Der whispered greeting or gave sign of
his presence. Her visits ceased, and no
more potatoes rolled down into the
dungeon.
''The lack of S1oper food, the nephitic
smell, the inpossibility of resting NV
aching limbs, save on the cold. damp
and verInIn covered stone floor, the fire. !
quent removal and shpoting Of prisoners !
i-4e constant expeRtation Of a similar
iste, TIE 'a4BFlng knowledge which filed
Lac minds Of all the prisoners Of being /
mute a'la helpless victims at the mercy /
O. men with the minds Of devils, Wed with |
nay illness in lowering my vitality
Some kind ggorlffnguen made me q
bed with their coats, which they could /
not take back, for d few days after their
good action they wqre taken out and shot. |
" hen they were led out for execution /