The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-20
REGIMENT IS WIPED OUT BY GASAT TYRES But 37 of Fifth Canadian
 Royals Survived ALL ARE PRISONERS Black Troops Cowards, They Say. We'll Treated in German Camp.
 Belgians Better Fighters
 Than French, They Say

Goettingen, Germany, August 10-(Cor- resrondence of the Associated PressD Late in February the Fifth Royals, one of the crack Canadian regiments, HOO strong. left Montreal. enroute for Eng land and the great European war Less than four months later, after weeks in the trenches at Ypres, only 37 of those HOO men were known to remain alive
 anc they are prisoners in the great military camp here.
 Overpowered by the gases waited toward their positions, deserted by col osed troops supposed to come to their support all but decimated by the deadly German fire, the little band of four noncommissio officers and B privates was easy prey Before they
 regained consciousness they were in captivity.
 The 37 at Goettingen hope. that some of their brave regiment may have es- capped and may still be fighting, but | they do not believe it. They were on
 the outskirts of the gas columns that swept over the trenches, and they es- caped with their lives because they did not have to breathe the noxious fumes in their full strength.
 Many of them have as yet not been able 10 establish communication with their families in far-off Canada. and are not sure whether mothers, wives ano sisters know that they have es- caped death.
 Fight at Ypres Horrible The men portray the fight at Ypres as one of indescribable horror they ckafe at confinement and the lack of assurance that England is winning they express in varying degrees sur prise that the Germans the bar ! harians" they had believed them to be. Harry Aiming, a Montreal boy. serves as we'll as any other member of the lit el group to describe their feelings as they now loaf about in captivity. There isn't any question:" he said "hut that we all have had to revise our | orinion about the Germans, though not 1 all of us were prepared to believe all we had heard and read about them l The worst thing about being in a prison camp Is the inactivity. and for 1 that the Germans naturally are not | responsible.
 l ..The food is fair though as a mat
 ter of course monotonous. I for one
 haven't any complaint though man
 age to get good many extra things | from England to piece out with. 1 in agine that the man who hasn't any l friends and who doesn't get any extras l does certain amount of suffering.
 "But mail, money and packages come regularly and reasonably quickly. We all have to admire the thoroughness oi 1 the German. system in vogue here I Those of us who are able to take mat 1 ters philosophically appreciate tha l though being prisoners of war is fal l from being a joke. we are well treated
 on the whole. Those who are the leas | ar q 1o ff sit back. confident that England l. Il going to win and that this can't las
 forever.
 1 Think Little of French
 Another member of the Fifth Royal
 gave a brief glimpse into the relation l among the allies. He said:
 Let me tell you that the Franch. al I fighters have proved big disappoint
 ment to us, Whenever the two hay.
 been together-French and Englisl II Canadians-it has been the latter tw' H y-ho have had to bear. the brunt or tn | work
 "The Belgians on the other hand
 have proved the finest little lighter in the world. If the French were any where near as good. with their mum ters the war would be over.' ! .What do you people think or th cclored troops?' the Canadian wa asked as two oddly clad soldiers: placl IS ebony. and speaking norr.ue con of French, sauntered by the par
 racks.
 "They're towards.
 "At Ypres they sent up lot o
 those so-called soldiers to relieve us and they promptly turned and ran. w had to shoot lot of the nagEars our j AsiAe from the Fifth Royals. tn Fl ra1 adian troops now imprisoned q 'l (.ox tfinaan helcrs to the Fnrtv.ad sht'