Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-01-12
SOVIET PRISON
CAUSES DEATH
Mrs. M. Schwartz, Of United
States, Vic
tim
COUPLE PUT IN PRISON
Roth Went 10 Russia to Attend In
ternatienale Congress-Why Popu-
lace Shouted.

Berlin, Jan COMMUNISM III
Russia is robberism; it tolerates I'm
priscnment, persecution and execu-
ton without trail; it has b,ough:
5 Russia to starvation. disease and
death. There is no government. Il
is a worse autocraey than the Car.
ist government, and / lived there for
over 20 years under the Car and
had the experiences necessary to
make comparisons"
M. Schwartz, an American Social
ist of San Francisco, who was re-
Gently released from four months
imprisonment in soviet prisons in
Moscow, made this declaration yes
terday. With his wife, known in
America as a Socialist worker under
the name of Jessie NJ. Mollie, he went
to Russia last June and attended the
second congress of the Third lrter-
/ rationale.
& The couple were thrown into pris-
on on August 6, because they failed
to express approval of conditions in
Russia. They were released on De
eember 8, after Mrs. Schwartz went
Z on hurger strike. and sent to lenfne,
Trotzky and Ghit"hern notification
that she preferred 10 have her death
advertised to the working classes Of
America rather than suffer further
hardships at tine hands of the Boil
s.he4iki. whom she had believed to
he expor ont, of justice to the WORK
crs rntil she arrived in Russia.
Mrs. SCHWARTZ died at Reval on De-
ccnlhcr 90 from the effects CT her
long solitary confinement ard hun
ger in soviet prisons; and her hus-
bad is returning to America a'onc
n give even worse pictures Of ccndi-
tions in Russia than MANY of the
Italian, British and German Gele-
oates to the Congress of the Third
Inte,rationsfe have painted.
H"iissetfore went III Russia" said
Mr.. Srhwor'z. 81 came here to Ber-
lin and visited Mrs. Karl Lebknecht
to express my sympathy with her
over he death of her husband, whom
she has charged Noske with murder
ing. Now I have come TO see aer
as.,ir and tell her that the Cor,mun-
ist leaders in Russia have killed my
wifeand that / am going to America
10 tell the working people thcr7 the
truth about the soviet government,
which formerly :T7,pathi.el with
thoroughly and ,':nportcd O.. the
platform from NV York to San
Francisco.
81 want to tell them what that sec
ond congress Of the Third lrterna-
tionale was. 1t was only 2irovieff,
Bukharin, IRnine and Trotzky. It
was ell cut and dried. The members
"er told what action to take, and
The ydid not dare do otherwise
Before their imprisonment. AR
Schwartz and his wife Travelled
through II governments. Taey VS.
tied Samara, Tambov, Nizhni-Nor.
gorod, Tula, Kazsn and many other
important centers. Schwartz, who
is member Of the American Fede-
ration Of Labor, was sent to Russia
by Otto Branstetter. executive secre-
tary of the Socialist party of Amer.
ica, to make thorough investiga.
ton, as he spoke the Russian Ian.
euage and knew the prewar ecnc'
tions.
Everywhere we went we were
met by brass bands and crowds wav
ing rcd flags shouting for the so
Wet government. But we were no
fooled. From the moment we land
Cd in Petrograd we saw misery, di.
lapidatior and squalor. We suspect
ed tat something was vitality wrong
which couh NOT De explained mel ely
by rev. t.tion.
g Instantly began talking to per.
sons Of all classes and broke away
from our Bolsbeyist conductors, who
were showing US only what they
wanted us to see. I soon found tha,
4 the shouting crowds had to shout 0,
tehir food rst;ons, would be redpce<
or entirely taken away. can tfpth
fully sayithat never talked with /;
single person. outside of officials
I who had gc,d wcrd to say for %,
soy lei S0vefIln, ent.'