The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-01
ALL AMERICANS ID BE GIVEN FREEDOM
 SOON, SAY SOV|ETS
Mrs. Harrison Tells Experi- enceS and Declares She Was Told Others Will
 Be Out Soon
By Associated Press

Riga, July Sl-The release of all Americans still in prison in Russia may be expected within a few days according to Mrs Marguerite E. liar rison of Baltimore, who herself spent many months in Imprisonment at Moscow but was released and came here under the protection of United States Senator France of Maryland. She was informed before leaving Moscow that all would be out soon.
 No formal notification of the TO- lease of the Americans has been re- ceived at Riga and the American of ficials have not been advised as to whether the prisoners will be freed one at time or in a group.
 Mrs. Harrison related her story to- day and pictured her life in prison as differing far from sketches of her sufferings drawn from time to time by travellers arriving in the Baltic states from Russia Although under close confinement for considerable time Mrs. Harri soh gave an unemo- tional statement of her experiences She was thin and frail and her re- cital was interrupted occasionally by deep cough as she told of the events from the day of her arrest to her release.
 T was first arrested on April {. 1920, two months after l arrived in Russia by way of the Polish from tier" she said. T was detained two days for cross examination; then was released and for six months was per mitted to work unmolested in Mos COW.
 Tn October I was again arrested by order of the Cheka (the soviet in- quisitton.) l was charged among other things with having come Q Russia without permission, with hay ing supplied food Illegally to Amer ican and British prisoners and with having been in communication with people hostile to the government-ali of which was true. The examiners were polite but they made me realize the seriousness of my position.
 In Solitary Confinement
 Then I was put in solitary coa- finement for six days--not in a dun geou, but In room like small single room of a hotel At no time was l in a dungeon and this was my only solitary confinement in Russia I was removed at my own request to a general room, with the occupants varying from seven to II, where l spent nearly eight months. This building was not originally prison but was an old rooming house; It was primarily used for detention and the sllcon forts there were due to this tdGt.
 Generally speaking, the ratiors were as good as, or better than, "a the soviet dining rooms outside, but l. like the others inside and out, lost weight on them. Food packages from outside were permitted weekly and in these I shared intermtttentiy. There were priods of several weeks when I got nothing from the outside and some packages sent apparently never reached me.
 q had one more hearing in No- vember, which was without result. At intervals after January 1, I was in- formed officially that there were prospects of my release if the Amer ican government formally demande1 it on the basis of trade negotiations or in exchange for communist pris- oners in America.
 "On June 6, by order of the prison phy stefan, I was removed from Cn.ha detention to the hospital Tn anotner and better equipped prison especial-Y' for women, where l remained uhtli released. receiving every care and attention. The first word of immc diate prospect of my release came through Senator France, who called on me on July 23, and l was finally freed and taken to a railway sta ton. just seven minutes before the train left for Riga
 Mrs. Harrison declared she gave no pledge to the bolshevik not to tai outside but refused when asheu TOT one saving she would not accept re- lease under any such conditions. She was kept in suspense up to the last day before her release, not Knowing whether she was going to jail or tp freedom.