Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-03-29
CONCENTRATION CAMPS
BRITISH SYSTEM OF GUARDING
BOER WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
The System Defended on Ground of
Sanitary and Humane Conditions
Camps Open to Inspection.

To the Editor of The Evening Star:
| have read in your paper letter written
| by Ulrica Dahlgren Pierce about the con-
centration camps established by the English
In South Africa for the protection of the
| Boer women and children. L cannot help
| feeling regret that you allow your excellent
| paper to be the medium for circulating
such wild and unwarranted attacks upon
the humanity of the English government.
Such articles have no effect, 1 admit,
upon minds trained to demand historical
accuracy as to the facts before attempting
to form an opinion involving censure or
| praise. Unfortunately. all are not so
trained, and there are many kind hearted
people in the community who are more than
willing to listen to stories of neglect and
| suffering, but who will not take the trouble
| to test the accuracy of them.
| 1t is not difficult thing to learn all about
the concentration camps-what was the
cause of their origin and how they are con-
quoted. A very great oeal of informal ton
| about them can be obtained by referring to
the English blue book, which is obtainable
| at the Congressional Library. The blue
| book is issued by the English government
| monthly or oftener, conta ms Informal
ton upon the current affairs of the coun-
| try. 1t corresponds, in some degree to our
| Congressional Record.
The First Camps.
The earliest concentration camps were
started in January, 1901, on the initiative
| of Lord Kitchener. The camps have in
| creased in number gradually, until there
are now over thirty camps in different
parts of South Africa. They give protec-
ton and support to from $4,000 to 10000
women and children. No pains and no
! money have been spared to bring the camps
! into as perfect a condition as possible I'M
| der the circumstances. The expense of the
| camps to the English tax payers is $50 900
per month, or over f2,O0O.0O0 per year. Jo-
seph Chamberlain has said, with truth
that never In the whole history of the world
| has there been such a gigantic effort made
| by any nation to minimize the horrors of
| war.
| The only alternative to the plan of re-
| ceivng the women and children into the
| English lines, and taking care of them in
camps, was to leave the whole non-combat-
ant population to live, or rather to die on
the veldt, in country denuded of supplies,
and exposed to attack by the kaffirs, whom
the Beers, by their past cruelty, have eX-
cited to vengeance.
Probably never before in history has
belligcrent force attempted to worst the
enemy by exposing it's own women and
children to famine and suffering On No
vember q, 1900, the commandant general of
the Beers issued the order that if burghers
refused to fight he would confscate all
their property, movable and immovable
and burn their houses. Such an order of
course, left women and children upon the
open veldt, without house or food 1t was
left to the English either to allow these
Boer women and children to die, or to in
vent some means of taking charge of them.
Kitchener and Botha.
Lord Kitchener on April 16 1901 informed
the commandant general that in conse-
quence of the method adopted by him to
force unwilling and peaceable inhabitants
to join his commandos-a proceeding totally
unauthorized by the recognized customs of
War-he QIord Kitchener) had no other
course open to him. and was forced to take
the very unpleasant and repugnant steps of
bringing IN the women and children. He
adds, Il have the greatest sympathy for
the sufferings Of these poor people, which
l have done my best to alleviate"
We have learned, through an intercepted
letter addressed to General SHUTS, that
General Botha even went so far as to give
explicit directions to him, ito load the Wo-
men and children into the British lines"
Having done this, he complains, in a letter
to Lord Salisbury of the cruel treatment
given to these same women and children
Lord Kitchener has offered to hand over
to General Botha, at any place he NAV ap-
point, all the women and children who shall
be willing to CO.
What the Blue Book Shows.
Any person who will take the trouble to
read the English blue book will see the
minute directions which are given for the
preservation of the health and for the COM
fort Of these refugees. There is hospital
connected with each camp and the orders
are that no expense shall be spared in pro-
Vld1ng everything necessary for the sick
Schools have been established at each
camp. with the best English teachers.
The refugees in a camp are allowed free
intercourse with each other. No camp is
inciosed by a fence. All are allowed to visit
the town adjacent to the camp they reside
in, pass being necessary only in cases
where military reasons require that they
should have one They can earn money by
work in the town. They can raise vegeta-
bles. Whatever flocks were brought in
must, for obvious sanitary reasons, be kept
at some distance away from the camps.
Many Of the camps, possibly all, are sup
fontein. for instance has six bath houses.
each with two full-sized baths
Each camp is under the care OF COM
tive officer, a chief surgeon and a minister
of the Dutch Reformed Church.
A ladies' commission, OF whom the presi-
dent Is Mrs. Fawcett. well known in this
country, went to South Africa for inyesti-
cation and visited thirty.three camps Each
lady was alone, unattended. in her inter-
views with the Boer women. They report
that no member of the commission re-
cetved one single complaint OF the behavior
Of the soldiers In charge. They considered
this magnificent tribute to those who or
ganized the benefcent work, and who have
taken care of these people In the most
difficult circumstances The orders of Mr.
Chamberlain, colonial secretary, were that
every suggestion of improvement made by
the ladies' commission should be carried
out, Ii possible.
Feeding and Medical Treatment.
It must be remembered that all food and
other supplies must reach the camp over
three poorly equipped railway Hines, Most