Biography
Charles Plann was a farmer from Louverne, Minnesota. Charles Plann was convicted at the mass IWW trial in Chicago, sentenced to five years in prison and fined $30,000. He served in the Cook County Jail and Leavenworth Penitentiary from September 1917 to October 1919 and from April 1921 to June 28, 1922.
The signed article “Isolation at Leavenworth” is printed under Charles Plahn. He describes his April 14, 1919 confinement in the black hole with other IWW prisoners, six days on bread and water, third-grade status and subsequent isolation with rock-breaking labor. He reports losing 100 days of good time for an alleged cup-throwing incident. The matching Chicago IWW and Leavenworth context supports the printed name variant; these disciplinary events are not a separate prosecution or the full custody total.
The January 1920 Chicago conspiracy list names Charles Plahn but explicitly marks him not apprehended. This allegation is not added as an actual confinement episode, conviction or served sentence.
The One Big Union Monthly, May 1920, vol. 2 no. 5, PDF page 60.
The March1922 official report lists Charles Plahn in List1 of convicted prisoners or parolees. The government entry reports Seditious conspiracy, etc. a sentence of August 30, 1918, 5 years at Leavenworth and fined $30,000,. Imposed terms, projected term-expiration dates, parole eligibility and intervals on bond are different measures; none is entered as a complete actual custody total. This attributed government entry is retained alongside the independently established individual chronology. [PDF15]
Government Prosecutions under the Espionage Act, Senate Document159 (March1922), PDF page 15.
