Evening star., 1942-02-19
FranceSweptb by Reign
OF Terror, Declares
Escaped Official
Filth and Poor Food in
Prisons Appalling,
Says Mendes-Fronee
BY HELEN KIRKPATRICK,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.

OF U6TTOr IN FRANCE UOQdy Is De-
yond anything the outside world
can imagine, Pierre Mendes-
France, Deputy for Louviers ir
the Department of Eure, former
Undersecretary of Finance and
an officer in the French Ali
Force, declared in an interview
today. M. Mendes-France ar
rived here from Unoccupied
France last week after escap-
Ing from prison.
Threat of Imprisonment or a con.
centration camp hangs over every
one in occupied France. M. Men
des-France said. Conditions in the
prisons are appalling and political
prisoners live in squalor of filth
and unedible food that is hard to
imagine. The prisons are being
cleared of ordinary criminals con-
stantly to make room for persons
suspected of political offenses. All
the French prisons are crowded to
overf1owing.
There is travesty of justice in the
military tribunals, before which po-
litical prisoners are tried. which the
judges make no attempt to hide All
dossiers go to Vichy where decisions
as to sentences is taken after con-
sultation with a German commits
sion.. The judges merely pronounce
Vichy's sentence, according to M.
Mendes-France.
Death Sentence for Communists.
The death sentence in unoccupied
France is only meted out to Commu-
nists or those suspected Of recon-
stitution des ligues dissoutes," (revi-
val of dissolved leagues a blanket
charge made against political Of
tenders. But supporters of Free
French leader Gen. Charles de
Gaulle are subject to the death SEN
tence by the Germans and Vichy
hands over their names to the Ger
man authorities.
Never are De Gaullists described
as such or as members of the Free
French movement. Instead they are
accused of acting for a foreign
power with intent to betray France.
All De Gaullists are sentenced to
hard labor or long prison sentences,
which are served in cells with COM
mon criminals.
M. Mendes- France described a
group of Is and 17-year- -old boys
serving five-year hard-labor SEN
tences at Casablanca CFrench
Morocco for having met together
to discuss escaping to London. Any
one. associated with De Gaulle, or
who has assisted those working for
him, is given 20 years at hard labor.
No Heat in Cells.
Most of those sentenced to long
terms at hard labor are sent to
the Maison Centrale de st. Etienne,
where heads are shaved and striped
uniforms are worn. Each individual
occupies tiny cell without cot or
mattress, has only one cover and
no heat. They are permitted two
walks of 10 minutes daily, no con-
versation and no work. No writing
implements, books, newspares and
no light.
Most of the men have lost mini
mum of 10 kilos (61s pounds) in a
few months there. They are per-
mitted to spend 25 francs $50 cents
monthly in the canteen.
Conditions vary from prison to
prison, M. Mendes-France said. He
had been imprisoned in Casablanca
and In Clermont- -Ferrand, where
ther are 300 in a prison intended to
hold 120. About 200 of these are
political prisoners who have been
tried by the military tribunal at
Clermont.
There are seven judges. but the
president of the tribunal always
is the same-Col. Perre, tank corps
officer whose hatred OF De Gaulle
is the dominating factor. The court
meets twice weekly.
Casablanca prison was constructed
to hold 10 and there are now 180-
10 to Is men to a cell: white, black,
French and Arab. Most of them
have no mattresses and all are shut
in their cells for IA hours, with no
light and tiny window for ven-
tilation. The depravity, perversion
and filth resulting from this mix
ture of races and criminals with
political prisoners is incredible, M.
MendeS-France says.
Despite these conditions, the men
at Casablanca are permitted to wash
daily. At Clermont-Ferra there
are Is wash basins, which are only
allowed to be used a half hour daily
insufficient for 300 to wash.
The principal impression from the
description that M. MendeS- France
gives of conditions is that the ordi-
nary man and woman in unoccu-
pied France cannot ever be sure
they will not be arrested from one
day to the next. He cites the case
of a war widow, running bistro,
who was sentenced to six months
for a Communist pamphlet left by
q customer.
And there is the case of the old
man who wrote "Vive de Gaulle"
on a wall. He was sentenced to only
six months because of his infirmity.
On his release the prefect sent him
to concentration camp. When evi-
dence against person is not strong
enough to convict him before the
court he is shipped off to concen-
tration camp.
Those known to be or suspected of
being De Gauulists are not only
sentenced to hard labor, but their
property Is confiscated. The wives
and children of many young Off
GERS are destitute.
When your correspondent asked
why American correspondents and
diplomats in vichy had not report
ed on this state of things, M
Mendes France shrugged his shoul-
ders.
They see only officials, officers,
bankers and Vichy burgeois," he
said. "They never see people on
the outside. If they were able to
go an hours distance to Clermont
and attend the bi-weekly tribunals
they would get an insight. The
white sepulcher that is Vichy would
u