New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-20
PRISONERS OF WAR.
INTERNATIONAL ACTION PROPOSED.
A CONFERENCE TO BE HELD-REsrLT or lrN
CONFERENCE OF ls7I-HUMANE TREAlMbNi
TO BE ARRANGED FOR.


held in recent years there has assuredly oeen
-, calculated - excite such widespread ana
obsorbinr interest az the one now in process OF
orc,niz,tion in Europe for the purpose OF de-
vlsng some international agreement In conncc-
.t,, With the treatment 81 prisoners OF war. The
dlspogaI Of the latter has since time immemorial
Constituted problem OF traordnary dlfiicuity-
q difficulty which certain barbarous races 10 this
l,,. s,lve as did our ancestors OF old, by con-
yartlng them into slaves or by putting them 10
death Indeed by some Of the African ana foly-
rosian tribes prisoners Of war are treated as
mere butchers meat and eaten. No such means
az these are at the disposal Of civilized nations
nowadays. who are debarred BY considerations
OF humanity and possibly Of gastronomy' from
either killing or devourng their prisoners ana
hence the question becomes more ana more per-
plexIng as time rolls by; and in view OF the iac'
that I'm the last great war OF lS'O-n IN FRANCE
and during the Civil War in this country rev
Years previously, the number OF comoatants VINO
succumbed TO the hardships Of captivity was three
fold that OF those who fell In battle or VINO died
NJ wounds IT is manifest that the matter Is one
which must at all costs be arranged before the
next great war breaks out
An attempt has already been made to deal
with the problem on much the same lines as
those upon which is based the international con-
vention for the treatment Of the sick and wounded
in time OF war and a conference was summoned
for the purpose in 1874. 1t assembled at Brus-
sells and was presided over by the Russian Pleni-
potentiary Baron Jomini Nearly every civil
lied power was represented. and after much de-
liberation and discussion a long series OF most
humane and praiseworthy resolutions were en-
acted These however. failed 10 receive the
official ratification and sanction OF any OF the
governments Interested The hasco OF the con-
rercur- Seems 70 been attributable 20 Prince
Bismarck and to the military authorities at
Berlin who from the outse, took exception to the
definition Of the Congress TO what really con-
stituted a prisoner ~ war Baron Jomini. whose
sympathies were distinctly French and who
consequently in bad odor on the banks Of the
Spree. put forward the pretenslon that prisoners
Of war are not merely the duly enrolled soldiers
and sailors correctly uniformed and organized
reglmentay. but also any civilian either man or
woman. who on the approach Of the enemy has
taken up arms spontaneously TO oppose the prog
rcss Of the invader"
Now. IL was obvious from the first that this
argument could not possibly find grace at Berlin
with the principal commanders Of the victorious
German army Of 1S70-'7l: FOR throughout that
sangulnary campaign the invaders had refused
10 recognize begerents either the Francs
tireurs or any Of the Inhabitants who were found
with arms in their hands without having been
regularly enlisted in some regiment and subject
10 military discipline They claimed that every
peasant who attempted 70 defend his hearth and
home was not belllgerent. but a bandit-an
outlaw-and as such entitled TO no consideration
or humanity Of treatment Thousands OF such
men. boys. and even women were brought be-
fore courts-martlal composed OF German off,
GERS. and either shot or hanged being often exc
cuted without even the formality OF a trial. Had
the Berlin authorities therefore. indorsed this
particular resolution OF the Congress they would
practically have admitted that they had been
entirely wrong in refusing to accord the rights
OF belligerents to those OF their opponents who
had adopted the guerilla mode OF warfare in 1870
IL and that every Franc-tireur every civilian
and every peasant who had been shot or hanged
during the conflict had been. so to speak. muir
dered. How strongly the Germans felt upon the
subject may be gathered from the fact that in
lS7O'1 Prince Bismarck and the German mill
tary leaders denounced Garlbaldi and his cohorts
~ Francs-tireurs as "freebooters" robbers and
"brlgands. worthy only of being shot down as
dogs, without any title to consideration or
mercy" They evidently forgot the appeal to
ment away back In 1s1s which entreated every
man, woman and child TO endeavor to repe the
French invader by whatsoever means were at
their disposal matter what their character,
and to Illustrate the projects of the foe in every
conceivable manner.
Since the accession 10 the throne Of the pres
ent Kaiser. however. and the substitution OF new
commanders for the grim old generals OF
quarter of n century ago. more enlightened sem
timents exist in Germany. evidence thereof be-
ing afforded by the pilgrimage Of Emperor WILL
lam, two years ago. to the island tomb OF Carl
baldi. upon which he deposited a laurel wreath
and at the foot OF which he knelt in prayer He
thus demonstrated the fact that he was far
from sharing the oplrion Of Prince Bismarck
and Field Marshal Motke with regard TO
the great Italian patriot. There is every reason
therefore, to hope that the conference now about
to assemble will result more successfully than the
Brussels Congress OF just twenty years ago,
and that Germany will no longer raise those OBJ
stacles which frustrated the efforts Of Baron
Jomini and his fellow delegates In 1874
Russia's enlightened views on the subject are
already known, and her adhesion assured to the
resolutions drawn up by the Brussels Congress,
while France has recently given an example to
the civilized world by enacting OF Its own accord
and without waiting for the cooperation of other
nations, a series OF laws dealing with the treat
ment Of prisoners OF war These admirable stat
utes embody the protocol of the Brussels con-
ference and provide, in ne first place. that the
peasant or bourgeois who has taken up arms for
the purpose OF defending his hearth and home
shall be just as much entitled TO the rights Of
recognized belligerents as the duly enlisted SOL
der. They then 60 on to arrange for the humane
treatment of all prisoners Of war, no matter
whether their character has been civilian or
military. the Government binding itself to fur
nsh them with ratons shelter and clothing on
identicav tn sama fontnR as to its own snidiara