“Here was a case concerning twenty-five or thirty ladies. The statement as to their treatment was bloodcurdling; it was shocking to man’s ideas of humanity if it is true. They are here in court, and yet your answer denies all these facts which they submit, It is a question whether you can do that anal yet deny these petitioners the right of testimony.” Proceeding with this argument, the defense contended that the act itself of the District Commissioners in sending prisoners to the Occoquan workhouse was illegal; that no formal transfer from one institution to another had ever been made, the sentencing papers distinctly stating that all prisoners were committed to “the Washington Asylum and Jail.” “We deny that the records of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia can show that there was any order made by the Board for the removal of these women. The liberty of a citizen cannot be so disregarded and trifled with that any police official or jailer may at his own volition, commit and hold him in custody and compel him to work. The liberty of the people depends upon a broader foundation.” Repeated questions brought out from Mr. Zinkhan, Warden of the Jail, the fact that the directions given by the Commissioners to transfer prisoners from the jail to Occoquan rested entirely upon a verbal order given “five or six years ago.” “Do you really mean,” interrupted the court, “that the only authority you have on the part of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia to transfer parties down to Occoquan is a verbal order made five or six years ago?” Questions by the defense brought out the fact also that Mr. Zinkhan could remember in detail the first oral orders he had received for such a transfer, dating back to 1911, although he could not remember important details as to how he had received the orders concerning the suffragists committed to his care! He only knew that “orders were oral and explicit.” Q. [By defense in court You say the three commissioners were present? A. Sure. Q. Who else was present? A. I am not sure just now who else was present. I remember somebody else was there, but I don’t remember just who . . . . Q. Were the three commissioners present at the time Mr. [Commissioner] Brownlow gave you this order? A. Yes. Q. You say it was a verbal order of the Commissioners? A. Yes. Q. Was the clerk of the Board present? A. I think not. Q. And you cannot remember who was present aside from the three Commissioners? A. No, I cannot remember just now. Q. Try to recollect who was present at that meeting when this order was given, aside from the Commissioners. There was somebody else present? A. It is my impression that there was some one other person present, but I am not sure just now who it was. Q. It was some official, some one well known, was it not . . . .? A. I am not sure. . . . [This conference was one in which Mr. McAdoo was reported to have participated.]