The Spectator., 1915-04-13
WAR PRISON CAMPS
Germany Superior to Britain in
 Care of Prisoners.
Unheated Shelters, Bad Sanitary Ar engagements and insufficient Food Found in England-AliT Treat
 ed Alike in Germany.

Frankfort.-A German recently re- leased from the British prison camp at Newbury. where he was interned for three months, has been investigat- ing German camps. He compares conditions as he found them in New bury with conditions in the typical German camp at Ruhleben, near Der lin. In arrangements for shelter, eX- ercise, sanitation and the food supply he found the German camps superior to the British. His report is published in the Frankfort Gazette. as follows:
 In the German camp at Ruhleben there is ample space for the prisoners to move about The camp is located on former race course, and the space behind the main pavilion and the stables is at the free disposal of the interned. They are allowed to take their exercises on the course it. self for couple of hours day.
 In the British camp at Newbury there are about 4,000 prisoners in- termed. Two-thirds were sheltered in  stables of the hurdle race. Only in the space between the tents or the stables was exercise permitted. Tho walls of the stables cut of all view of the pleasant surrounding country. Always we had the same picture be- fore our eyes-hundreds of people grown dull and apathetic by the un' certainty of their fate. moving around in the same small circle.
 When rain or fog set in, as it does almost daily during the English win ter. it was impossible to leave the tents and stables. The clay soil was soaked through, and the dirt was sev- eral inches deep. Great pools of wa ter caused noxious miasmas. Some times these pools were so large that they barred the passage entirely.
 When Prime Minister Asquith and Mrs. Asquith paid visit to the camp a sailor put stick in the mire bear ing a placard, Fishing Prohibited Here" Then he sat on bench he had constructed and waited, holding an improvised fishing rod in his hand. until the prime minister passed the spot Mir. AsQuith shot furtive glance at the commandant of the camp, who accompanied him. Next morning the fisherman was removed to the Isle of Man.
 Day by day the administration sought to improve the system of drain age. but every time the thick mire choked 1t again.
 On the contrary. the cleanliness in the German camp at Ruhleben Is worth emphasizing. The same room that serves for nine or ten people In the English camps serves for five or six people at Ruhleben. Not a single table nor a single chair was provided by the English government during the time of my internment. Trunks were used as seats: other pieces of luggage served as tables. Two things have been arranged at Ruhleben which were entirely lacking in the English camps-covered alleys where the prisoners can stay when the weather Is Dau ana sledu ucatihb III aiA ehO rooms.
 The food which is given to the pris- oners in England is not bad. The allowance, however. is not sufficient for adults.
 The food in the German camps can be called ample. The treatment of all prisoners at the German camp is the same. The English millionaire has no more right then the negro. Private food is allowed. but only in exception al cases.
 In the English camps money Is the most important thing. He who is fortunate enough to have money can get whatever he likes if he is on good terms with the sergeant major the representative of the commandant. This official is particularly fond of good cigars and English pounds. Ev- erybody in the camp agreed that this amiable man would have all the money of the German civilians in his pockets If the war lasted long enough.