The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1900-05-03
CONSIDERABLE AND HUMANE,
How The Beers Treat Prisoners.
(WaShingtOn Post. }


1t becomes more difficult with every
dav to make honest men believe that
the Beers are .'filthy, brutal and in
human savages." When the war first
broke out, thousands, nay, millions,
of Americans and Englishmen had
been educated in this false and wicked
creed by the Rhodes-Chamberlain
newspaper combination. The minds
OF both countries had been for years
ever since the Jameson raid-sedu-
lously poisoned against the Beers.
Intending to rob them of their homes,
their lands and their liberties event
ually, these banded pirates began by
robbing them of all human sympathy
through the vile agencies Of SANDER
and false witness. The Beers began
the war, then. as objects of horror and
aversion, and well-mcaning people
throughout the English speaking
world regarded their determination
with truly Anglo-SaNon complacency.
But the falsehood did not bear the
strain of practical inquiry and expert
ence. Honest and loyal English gen
tlemen began to see for themselves
how the Beers treated those depend
ent on their mercy, and found them
chivalrous, as they were valiant.
Winston Churchill, after a period Of
captivity, spoke of British South
Africa as this land of lies" Hun
dreds similarly informed by fact, bore
testimony to the same effect. And
now we quote from a letter to the
London Daily Ne,Os-a letter from it's
regular correspondent at the seat of
war, who was wounded and taken 4
prisoner, and who ran the whole
gamut of experience in that connec-
ton. 1t is dated "Bloemfontein Hos
pital, February 22nd, 1900" and it
says:
..For day and half l lay at that
lager while our wounded men were
brought in, and here l should like to
say a word to the people of England.
Our men, when wounded, are treated
by the Beers with manly gentleness
and kindly consideration. When we
left the laager in an open trolley, we,
some half dozen Australians and
about as many Beers, all wounded,
were driven for some hours to a small
hospital, the name of which l do not
know. 1t was simply farmhouse
turned into a place for the wounded.
On the road thither we called at many
farms, and at every one men, women,
| and children came out to see us. Not
one taunting word was uttered in our
hearing, not one braggart sentence
passed their lips. Men brought us
cooling drinks or moved us into more
comfortable positions on the trolley.
Women. with gentle fingers, shifted
baudages, or washed wounds or gave
US little dainties that come so pleas
ant in such time: while the little
children crowded round us with tears
running down their cheeks as they
looked upon the blood-stained KHAKI
clothing of the wounded British. Let
no man or woman in all the British
Empire whose son or husband lies
wounded in the hands of the Boer:
fear for his welfare, for it is fou
slander to say that the Beers do no.
treat their wounded we'll. England
does not treat her own men better
than the Beers treat her wounded
British, and l am writing that which
l have seen and know beyond th'
shadow Of doubt"
These are the people whom Cham
berlain and his gang of Shylocks woule
have US regard as hestial savages, oh
stacles in the way of progress. enlight
enment and human happiness. whc
must be exterminated like vermin 81
that the nobler and the higher ciyili
zation may move onward to th'
halcyon goal! Let US be thankful tina
; the light of truth is dawning at last
the more especially because gallan
and chivalrous English gentlemen
spread its noble radiance