Evening star., 1938-08-24
Z PRISON GUARDS
SEIZED IN DEATH
Of FOOD STRIKERS
Arrests Made on Mayors
0rder-Hearing Planned
on Homicide Count.
HEAT DROVE FOUR MAD,
CORONER DECLARES
Says Steam Was Turned On in
'Air-Tight' Cells-Conditions
Likened to Black Hole
Ey the Associated Press.

Ey the Associated Press.
PHILADELPHIA. Aug. 24.-Homi-
eide squad policemen today arrested
two guards at the Philadelphia County
Prison, where four hunger striking
convicts died in a heated punishment
cell
The arrests were ordered by Mayor
S. Davis Wilson, who said the guards
would be given a hearing later on
charges Of homicide.
Coroner Charles H. Hersch expressed
surprise at the Mayors action. He
had been conducting his own investi-
CATION and said earlier Ave guards
might be arrested before the end of
the day.
After two investigators attributed
the deaths to suffoc:tion and scaldinp
and told of prisoners being driven
stark mad" by steam heat in an
"air-tight cell block" Warden Will
liam B. Mills said:
AS far as we can learn, some one
as yet unknown closed the windows
IN the cell blocks and then turned
on the steam radiators"
Described as AgitatOrs.
The victims naked bodies were
found in adjoining punishment cells
Monday. Warden Mills said the men
were "agitators" among the 500 in
mates originally participating in q
revolt against "monotonous" food.
The coroner said the four, and some
20 other prisoners, were placed in the
cells Sunday night. that windows were
closed and steam was turned on in
the radiators by guard.
He said he would continue his in
vestigation until he learned whether
the heat was turned on Intentionally.
or if it might have been an act of
carelesSness. and added:
We know the guard who turned on
the heat. What We want to establish
now is who gave him the order"
Conditions Like BLACK Hole"
Similar versions Of how they said
the deaths occurred were given by
the coroner and Assistant District At
torney John A. Boyle, who said that
interrogation of witnesses revealed
conditions much more like the black
hole in Calcutta in Holmesbure, ra-
ther than a modern prison
Mr.. Boyle declared that nobody
went near the place punishment
cells' all night
An night long" he said "the pris-
oners were screaming and yelling to
have the steam shut off.
They needed water desperately.
There was only one way to get wa
ter, and that was from the toilet hop
pers. So those who had shirts on
tore them off and soaked them in the
hopper water. and rubbed the wet
shirts on their faces and bodies to
keep alive"
Coroner Hersch said the men
"crawled to the toilets and scooped
up water to try to drink it. and that
made them so sick, they retched"
The men vent stark mad during
the night" the assistant district at
torney asserted. They saw the weak
er convicts go first. Raving mad for
some time. and then dropping to the
floor unconscious. And then diving "
Two Prisoners Seriously I'll.
The coroner said Morris Spatz and
Joseph Forte, two prisoners found in
the same cells with the bodies, were
seriously i'll.
The coroner took charge of the gen.
eral investigation. Separate inquiries
were under way by State. county, city
and other officials Warden Mills
said he would turn the prison over
to any accredited investigating body
Warden Mills said the men prob
ably died" from excessive heat. but
said he knew nothing at all of what
had happened until the bodies were
found"
Five guards were responsible for
taking food into these men," he said.
and no one else would have had a
chance to go in there
My staff all know my orders per-
tanning to the trea tment of prisoners,
and only three weeks ago three guards
were suspended for slapping a pris-
oner in the face"