The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-17
Brutalities of
Fascist Govt.
of Rounania

| the prisoners seek the slightest loop
hole for communication with the
free life of the outer world.
The inventive talent of these I'M
fortunate beings often attains to
actual virtuosity.
In the Dungeons.
We have heard of the French re-
volutionist who tanned the rat who
was his sole visitor in the Bastille,
and trained it till it carried letters
to the neighboring cells.
Many are the tales related of the
ingenious ruses of the Russian re-
volutionists buried alive in the dun
geons of the Peter-Paul fortress.
The passing from hand to hand
of books, in which certain letters
were marked by pin-pricks, enabled
many notes, leaflets, and appeals to
be given to the outer world by pris-
oners whom the czarist warders
deemed buried forever, and no longer
existing as danger for the "immut-
able" autocracy of the czars.
Messages From the Depths.
With what joy and devotion these
scarcely visible pin-pricks were de-
ciphered by the friends outside; the
impassioned message read; the SEN
fences, filled with the ardent spirit
of revolution, put carefully to-
gether.
What can this dot mean? Where
does this word fit? For hours and
days the rare messages were stud
led, for they came from that dread
place where thousands of the BRAY
est class fighters and revolutionary
leaders were lying in chains. The
same devoted attention was given
to the reading of every practical
instruction or directive article, every
personal petition for tobacco or for
permission for w'fe's visit.
We do not know the means bv
which the letter has been Struggled
out of the Rumanian prison. It's
way to the outer world has GER
tainly been no less difficult than
that painfully followed by the mes
sages which penetrated from the
czaHst fortresses of Russia. For
the mantle of the international gen
darme has fallen from the Russian
czars upon the Rumanian govern
ment.
From the Deathless.
In cold dark cell, by the light
of wretched lamp, in the remotest
corner farthest from the watchful
eyes of the warder, the Criminals
gather together. They write let
ter. Oh, how little this picture, these
attitudes, and these faces, remind us
of the free" letter of the Zaporo-
shtzi to the historical Turkish
prince!
A stout elderly prisoner with ,
bearded face, already familiar with
the atmosphere of such Castles"
regards the little group thoughtfully.
For him the free life outside-lib-
erty-is something so distant and
unattainable that he can scarcely
imagine how this letter can reach
its destination, how it may be read,
and how his friends may remember
even him, the long forgotten.
Another face contrasts with this.
the still rosy face of a youthful
prisoner, looking down at the white
paper with ardent mpatienee, teem-
ing indignation, and burning longing
for freedom.
A foundry worker, consumptive,
wrapped up against the cold, drafts
the letter, undiscouraged by the two
years during which he has already
fought with death in this frightful
place, and finds words bold and
fiery, heart-rending, for the message
to the unattainable outer world of
the struggle.
Courage, Will.
The faces bent over the letter
sparkle with energetic fighting
courage and hope. In the shadowy
corners there are other faces, weary
and hopeless. Sombre and motion
less, bereft of hope, weary even of
despair.
And now how to get the letter
away. Day by day a fresh copy is
made with infinite labor, day by day
the fresh effort made to get it be-
yond the outer walls. The warder
strives, with blows and kicks, to dis
cover the writer, but in vain. The
letter, unsigned, is thrown down one
day after another, until at last a
youth succeeds in picking it up un-
noticed. Then the scrap of paper
begins it's further journey. Hidden
in the boot sole of a friend, it
crosses the frontier, and is not en-
trusted to post office till it reaches
Soviet soil.
Save Us From Horror"
All, you distant ghosts in the Ru-
manian dungeons, the hour of your
reward has come!
The letter is read. The figures of !,
it's authors rise with irresistible
power from it's few words, we see
the emaciated features and burning :
eyes.
What does the letter say?