On the basis of the VTsIK's Plenipotentiary Commission's decree of June 1 of this year and of the order by the Tambov provincial troop commanders of the same date, the provincial administration of forced labor has been militarized and subordinated to the special department of the Revolutionary Military Soviet's troops deployed in Tambov Province, and has taken into its jurisdiction the concentration camps that have again been established for the temporary holding of hostages and persons convicted of banditry. Seven new camps have been established [ . . . ] The general type of camps consists of soldiers' tents surrounded by barbed wire fences. All those placed in the camps are held there only for a brief period, after which they are moved in convoys to permanent camps in other provinces [ . . . ] The closest relatives of persons who take part in bandit actions are those seized as hostages; moreover, they are all seized, whole families, without any regard to gender or age. A great number of children enter the camps, from the earliest ages, even nursing infants. The upkeep of small children is putting the camp administration in the most difficult position, and it is essential to receive clarification from you on this question in the most immediate fashion. I ask you to keep in mind that the camps are set up as temporary quarters (tents on the bare earth), which can lead to mass illness among the children < . . . >