The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-12-20
GERMAN PRISONERS
IN LONDON HOUSE
Former Home Of Nell Gwynne. Once
Famous Actress, Is Used as
a jail for 1875
Men.
ARE TREATED NICELY
Have Swimming Pool and Football
Games, With Lectures and
Lessons In
Spanish.
ARE TREATED NICELY
10y Wilbur S. Forrest, United Press
Staff Correspondent

Sean correspondents
LONDON. Dec. 20.-Seyeral resi-
dents of the United States and persons
well known in America are among the
lsa German naval and military of
ncers who are British prisoners in a
big, well furnished house at Holyport,
near Maidenhead They include So
tcial workers professors, engineers and
men from all walks of life. A party of
correspondents who were allowed to
visit the prison camp" for the first
time today were allowed to converse
freely with the imprisoned men from
America,
The mansion where the prisoners
are confined was once occupied by
Nell Gwynne. once famous actress. 1t
houses besides the German officers,
nfty-four German privates who attend
/ them as servants.
( AS We approached the building a
number of prisoners in football togs
Enled by enroute to a nearby field,
enclosed by wire and heavily guarded
by sentries. In few moments a Wig
orous football game was in full swing
at one end Of the field.
In the. Gwynne mansion we found
most comfortable quarters, lounging,
dining and smoking rooms and com
modious bed rooms The house was
well heated and provided not only
with regular baths, but a swimming
pool.
One large room had been converted
into school room. Suspended from
the ceiling we're several large maps of
the United States showing copper and
coal districts. On the black board was
a table Of comparisons of copper pro-
Iduction, showing that the United
States furnishes fifty-fve per cent OF
the worlds copper supply and Ger
many only one-eighth of one per cent.
Practically all the officers, we were
told, are studying Spanish, prepare.
tory to possible German commercial
invasion of Latin America after the
war.
Victor Won Borosini Schenstedt a.
social worker under Miss Jane AID.
dams, at Hull House, Chicago, was one
of the first German officer prisoners
who greeted us.
Schenshedt was on vacation IN
Saxony when the war broke out He
Joined the colors as first lieutenant
and was captured on the western
front. His American wife, who lives
in Saginaw, Mich, has been In Eng
land to visit him.
Was Carter Harrison reelected
mayor of Chicago?' demanded Schen-
stedt. Are Hinkey Dink Kenna and
Bath House John Coughlin still alder
men? What did they ever do about
the subway"
Dr. Arnold Kohlschutter, OF Mount
Wilson. Calf, an astronomer. had
been taken Off the italian steamer
while enroute to Germany.
He would not talk about the wars
but wanted all the latest news from
Los Angeles.
Another former resident of America
is Captain Kurt Basser, Of Los An.
Feles. He was captured at Gibraltar:
MS FAMILY is now in Los Angeles.
Dr. Fr1endensberg, famous geologist
and expert on the Panama canal, was
before the prison mansion when the
party arrived. DR.. Friedensberg was
member of the international COM
mission which considered whether the
canal should be at sea level or pro-
v1ded with locks. He gives weekly
lectures for the benefit of the prison.
ers.
DR.. Lutz, former surgeon aboard the
national German Lloyd liner Kronz
Prinzessin Cecile. is the camps chief
lecturer and teacher OF Spanish. He
was captured at Falmouth.
Captain Mahl Bauer who was in com
mand OF an east African trading yes
sci when the war broke out, is the hard
luck victim OF the camp.
1--WE hadn't any wireless outfit and
knew nothing of the war; said Mahl
Bauer. War was declared at Hoo u
O'clock. My ship arrived at Gibraltar
from Malta at 11:10 and before I
knew what had happened, was,
British prisoner"
DR. Martin Luther. Jr., descend
ant OF the famous Martin Luther and
a surgeon aboard the commerce. raid. |
ing Emden, Is one of the German
prisoners. Another is Wilmington Herr |
mann, whose father is president of
the Deutsch Bank of Berlin and who
was himself connected with a New
York bank for time before the war.
The German commandment OF the
camp is Captain Bochhamer, command /
er Of the German cruiser Gnefsenau.
sunk in the battle off the Fa1klands
one year ago. He acts as sole inter |
mediary between the prisoners and the
British commandant of the prison
camp. Many OF the Cheeseman's OF.
ficers and officers of the home Prus
sian guards, in brilliant uniforms. are
among the prisoners.
Two German chefs from trans-At-
lantic liners supervise the prepara.
tion of meals. The prisoners are al I,
lowed beer and light wines. but no
whiskey. The British government. |
by special arrangement with Germany,
pays each man dollar a day with
which to buy food, tobacco and lux
uries. A majority of the prisoners,