Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-22
'PEPPER EXPLAINS
PLEA FOR C0Nv|CTS
savs Many political Pris-
oners" Were Virtually Rail-
roaded to Jail During War
CALLS oFFENsEs MINOR

eo,o,or George Wharton Pepper,
,0n,e % for thc holidays. had hopes TO-
I"" I" ,hot n Christmas present, in the
9aa ar of release from the Federal
aa.;snn ao;; ot I,cavcnworth. Kan, might be
pt,sy pirsn TO twenty eight of the so called
snoiiticol prisoners. who were SEN
.Ornced following the I. w. w. trials
y. ,."Si Chicago during the war. The mat
,or is in the hands OF the President
uitb senator Pepper s recommendation.
senator Pepper became Interested In
chase men some time ago. and after
lonu and careful study Of their cases
T. convinced, he says, that they had
aommittcd no offense against person or
nroperty and that public sentiment ut
tbe time of their trials was at such
= mitch that impartial consideration
~ their cases was impossible. Their
Alfonso. he said. consisted of the ut
tarances of their opinions on the war.
There nre sixty-two of the so-callcd
nolitiral prisoners now in prison. In
Tho Chicago cases the !. w. w. mem
hers we're convicted, on four coun,s
Two of the counts virtually were ruled
ont By the Court of Appeals. or the
two remaining counts, one covered con-
.nirary TO violate the Selectivc Service
Act, the penalty for when was pre-
scribcd as two years in prison. All the
men have served that sentence.
As High as % Years
The sentences on the last count ran
nm TO twenty five years in some cases,
and covered conspiracy to fOment dis
LOYALTY in the army and navy. Senator
penncr contcnded the sentences on the
tbird count were justified. but those on
tho fourth count were not. lie said at
his office here today:
Last summer was asked to sign a
nettion for amnesty to all political
prisoners. 7 declined to do that. al
though rcrignized it as my duty as an
American lawyer, though not rs q
Senator, to look into any individual
eases that might be brought to my at
tentiOn
"A group of young men, all Of them
former political prisoners. submitted
various names to me and obtained n
record of the trials at Chicago and
made an analysis of each of the twen =.
weight cases of men who were still
in prison at I.eavenworth. am work.
ing now on the Wichita and Sacra =
nento cases. but have not as yet
reached any conclusions on these.
II satisfied myself that in not one
Of the twenty eight cases | had looked
into did the evidence justify n con-
tinuancc of restraint and / then rec
ommendcd to the Attorney General and
also direct to the President that un-
conditional amnesty be granted these
men.
"It is fact that all We're I. W. VS..
but it ought to go without saying that
did not take that into consideration
either for or against them. Each et
these men presented problem in
human liberty.
President Is Interested
THE President is exceedingly inter-
estcd in these cases. There is also :,
great deal Of urgency upon him not
10 act in the matter and while he CAV,
me. and is giving the subject. ever!
consideration. could not ask him t,
commit himself-und he didn't-but
am hopeful that he will do it. ant
also hopeful that the public generally
will understand that none of these i.
a case Of violence or injury to life o,
property. None is case in which
there was any conspiracy to hinder tn,
United States. and the most there i.
against these men are their utternnces
IN and out Of print. expressing oppOsi
tion to the war or Indifference to it
and for these expressions some of tn,
sentences run as high as twenty 81,
years
''They were convicted at a time whel
public sentiment was such that it reall,
prevented fair trial"