Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-07-16

Berlin, July 1.-The exact registra-
ton of the huge hords Of over a million
prisoners Of war in Germany. so that
rank. service division and place Of
confinement of each man can be in
stantly determined. has been perfected
to an astonishing degree by Count
Schwerin, a 60-year-old captain OF
cavalry. Today the relatives of any
French, Russian, English, Canadian,
Italian, Serbian, Montenegrin, Belgian
or japanese prisoner in Germany can
ascertain within "a hours where that
soldier is and what his condition is.
This is made possible through a card
catalogue that all but beggar's des-
cription, it is probably the most per-
feet thing of it's size and kind in ex-
istence, In it's creation two other sys-
TENS have had to be discarded as in
adequate, and the work and pains law
ished on them duplicated. In its main
,enance so persons are engaged, While
its inventor, Count Schwerin. works
II hours a day, overseeing things.
Each day dozens and scores of lists
of names pour into Count Schwerln $
department of the war ministry in the
Dorotheenstrasse, here in Berlin. Inese
lists give the necessary information
for filing out the cards, so that each
shall contain the name and surname
of the prisoner. his service branch,
regiment and company, the place ana
date Of his capture, and the place
where he is held. If he is wounded,
the nature Of his wounds and the hos
pital where he is are added.
Scores of young women I'LL out the
cards, which then go to sorters, under
the inspection Of a man who IN peace
times is a head instructor in one OF
Berlin's higher schools. Before the
sorters stand wooden cases built after
the fashion of type cases, but deeper
1t was the sight of compositors
throwing in type that led Count
Schwerin to adopt these cases.
The first set of sorters take the
cards just as they come, in alphabet
ical confusion, from the writing room,
and divide them according to the in
ital letter from A to 2. Other sorters
then take the AS and subdivide them
systematically-into IA, Aaa, Alb, Aba,
Abb. and so on Thousands Of cards
are sorted and filed daily-for the list
of prisoners never stops growing.
The names also are divided accord
ing to nationality, and put away IN
the cases that flank all four walls OF
three rooms There are between 2o.ooo
and so 900 Belgian names, from $4,000
to $4,000 English names, and hundreds
Of thousands of French and Russian.
;n,, no NON
Montenegrins and japanese who are
prisoners in Germany are civilians OF
military age interned here
Approximately 500 letters come to
Count Schwerins "Kartothek' daily
requests for information about rela-
tives or friends. 1t is the boast and
pride of this officer that no request re-
mains unanswered longer than "A
hours-4S at the very outside when the
letter or inquiry is in difficult Russian
To facilitate relatives in getting in
formation about the foreign soldiers,
however, Count Schwerin has for
warded the complete data about prls-
oners as fast as received at the war
ministry and filed in the card cata-
lorue. TO the governments at London,
Paris and St. Petersburg, and to the
Fed Cross headquarters at Geneva,
Brussels. Copenhagen and Berlin.
One of the most interesting features
If the card catalogue work, is the fact
that many men give false names and
data because they are ashamed of be-
ing in captivity and do not want any
one in their native land to know that
they have been taken prisoner.
An interesting example of this came
to light recently in case concerning
l9-year- old Prince Chimay of Belgium
He had enlisted under an assumed
name and was captured. He was put
in prison camp as a private soldier.
In due time inquiries about the young
man came in. His name did not ap-
pear in the card catalogue, and before
the young man was found it had been
necessary TO hunt out every soldier
of his regiment, scattered in half
dozen camps all over Germany, to take
them before military court, and de-
mand of them under oath what they
knew about his case.
Count Schwerin's "Kartothek" con-
tains between 100000 and 100000
names Two or three hundred thou
sand of the latest captives thus are
missing In a months time, however.
these too will be duly catalogued and
slowed away for future references.
So much for the catalogue about the
living soldiers Of the eight countries
now at war with Germany. A smaller
catalogue contains as far as available
the names Of the dead-supplied in a
variety Of ways but chiefly by means
of the metal tags worn by the soldiers
around their necks.
This list is incomplete for variety
Of obvious reasons, but partly because
many of the soldiers, especially the
French, take the tags off, through sup
erstition, and throw them away. Even
at that there are, in the war ministry
building, boxes on boxes full Of the
little tin disks.
The French tags are clearly stamped
with the soldiers name, regiment and
home station. The English tags are
far less clear, and sometimes cannot
be made out at all. The Belgian disks
are fairly plain, and those of the Ca
nadians, made Of leather, are good.
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