Evening star., 1924-06-06
TEACHERS TORTURED
IN PROBE OF NURDER
Three Franks Suspects Beaten
With Hose by Police to
Extort Confession.
HELD PRISONER SEVEN DAYS
Prosecution Is Planned by. limo
cent Men
Rv Consolidated Press.

Rr Consolidated Press.
CHICAGO. June 6.-The gentle art
OF wringing confessions from sus-
poets, long known the third
degree" has been developed to such
a high point by the Chicago police
in their gold fish room" efforts TO
solve the murder of young Robert
Franks that it has turned into a
boomerang in their hands
So vigorous were the police tactics
that human welfare societies are
threatening action. while friends of
Walter Wilson, one of three in
Structors of the exclusive Harvard
school which the Franks boy attend
ed. are planning criminal action
against certain police officials as
result of their efforts to make Wilson
confess
dicted that the confessions of Nathan
Leopold, jr.. and Richard Loeb, the
youthful thrill slayers," will be at
tackled in court on the ground that
though, it is admitted the third
degree was merely mental. and was
fully justified by the results.
But Wilson and his two fellow in
Structors at Harvard school stand
out as exhibits A, r and G of what
IS not justified in the way of third
neSree. These now forgotten figures
IN the Franks case had once made
some remark that sounded as though
1t might be discriminating. AS
result, they spent seven days in the
Goid hsh ROOM undergoing eX-
periences which they assert make
the tactics of the Russian cheka ap-
pear humane
The Inc goldfish room" be it known,
derives its name from the fact that
~ lS pIentifully equipped with con-
Nenient little sections of rubber hose.
which. welded by a strong arm, in
mark. The undulations of the hose as
II is brandished before the victim
reminded some imaginative policeman
OF the motions of a goldfsh-hence
the title goldfish room
Deprived of Rights.
Whisked away from their homes
without warning. with no word to
tfer friends as to where they had
heen taken. the three instructors were
taken to the goldfish room" Not a
nance for habeas corpus proceedings
No one knew where they were. All
that was known came out in news
paper stories, apparently inspired
which announced that the prisoners
were at the point of confeSsing the
Franks murder.
Here, in the words of Walter Will
sons lawyers. is what happened to
Wilson in the goldfish room"
He was beaten with a rubber hose
until ii was torture for him even to
breathe. OF course during this time
ne was bound. Twice he was assault
ed by police lieutenant in person.
Two policemen held the prisoner
while the lieutenant knocked him
down with his fist. The point was to
argue Mr.. Wilson into confeSsing that
he had kidnapped and killed Robert
Franks.
The prisoners got little or no
sleep. During their inquisition the
gold fish operators would tell him
stories about the horrors of hanging.
one of their favorite yarns was about
how Carl Wanderer had gone to his
death singing Pal of Mine.
Worse Than InquisitiOn.
Seven days of this-days so filed
with horror for the victims that even
King Philip of Spain must have
turned in his grave in jealousy Of
this new inquisition-and then the
three suspects were released and for
gotten. Not a breath of suspicion
attached to them. although incrimi-
mating stories had been blazoned be-
fore the public No charge had been
made against them.
Such tactics have proved so ex-
tremely successful in one recent case
that two sets of persons confessed
the same murder-and more gold
fishing had to be done to find out
which confessors were telling the
truth.
But the pretty little gold fish
won't wiggle for future suspects if
the three Harvard school instructors
go successfully through with their
plans to punish the fishermen.