The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-07-25

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 beggars descrip-
ton; it is probably the most perfect thing
OF its size and kind in existence. In its
creation two other systems have had to
be discarded as inadequate, and the work
and pains lavished on them duplicated.
In its maintenance 80 persons are engaged,
while its inventor. Count schwerin, works
u hours a day overseeing things.
Each day dozens and scores of lists of
names pour into Count schwerin's de-
partment OF the war ministry in the Doro-
theenstrasse, here in Berlin. These lists
give the scessary information for filing
cut the cards. SO that each shall contain
the name and forename of the prisoner,
his service branch, regiment and COM
pany the place and date of his capture,
and the place where he is held. If he is
wounded, the nature OF his wounds and
the hospital where he is are added.
Sorted Like Type
Scores of young women fill 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 Ber-
Inns higher schools. Before the sorters
stand wooden cases built after the fash
ion 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 alphabetical con-
fusion, from the writing room and divide
them according to the initial letter from
A to u. Other sorters then take the AS
and subdivide them Observation-Disclosures
Aa, Aaa, Alb, Aba, Abb, and so on. Thou
sands of cards are sorted and filed daily
for the list of prisoners never stops
growing.
The names also are divided according
to nationality. and put away in the cases
that flank all four walls of three rooms
There are between 5000 and $4,000 Bel
gian names, from 1900 to 1900 English
names, and hundreds of thousands of
French and Russian. with but one ex-
ception the Servians, Montenegrins and
japanese who are prisoners in Germany
are civilians of military age interned
here.
Approximately 300 letters come to Count
Schwerins "Kartothek'' daily-reauests
for information about relatives or friends
1t is the boast and pride of this officer
that no request remains unanswered long
er than "a hours-4S at the very outside
when the letter or inquiry is in difficult
Russian
To facilitate relatives in getting infor-
nation about the foreign soldiers, how
ever, Count Schwerin has forwarded the
complete data about prisoners as fast as
received at the war ministry and filed In
the card catalogue to the governments at
London, Paris and st. Petersburg and to
the Red Cross headquarters at Geneva,
Brussels. Copenhagen and Berlin.
Give False Names
One of the most interesting features of
the card catalog work is the fact that
nrany men give false names and data be-
cause they are ashamed of being in cap
tivity and do not want anyone in their
native land to know that they have been
taken prisoner.
An interesting example of this came to
light recently in a case concerning 30
year-old Prince Chimay of Belgium He
had enlisted under an assumed name and
was captured. He was put In a prison
camp as a private soldier. In due time
inquiries about the young man came In.
His name did not appear 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 o dozen camps all over q hmany,
to take them before military court,
and demand of them under oath what
they knew about his case.
Count Schwerin's "Kartothek" contains
between 100000 and LOCO, 900 names Two
or three hundred thousand of the latest
captives thus are missing. In a month S
time, however, these will be duly cata-
logued and slowed away for future ref
erence.
So much for the catalog about the
living soldiers of the eight countries now
at war with Germany. A smaller cata-
logue contains as far as availa BILE the
names of the dead-supplied In a variety
n vrnt 1.ttt7 HI IA.
metal tags worn by the soldiers around
their necks
This list is incomplete for variety of
reasons. but partly because many of the
soldiers, especially the French, take the
tags Off through superstition, 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 Canadians, made
of leather, are good. The Russians rarely
wear any, and it is an almost hopeless
task to try to keep track of their dead
In thousands of cases, of course, the
men fall in such places that the Ger
mans can search their garments before
burying the bodies. All valuables keep
sakes and possessions are then tied up
and forwarded to Berlin where the treas
ury of the war ministry takes charge of
them.
An exact list of the contents of each
package Is made and forwarded to the
department which Count Schwerin heads
and the possessions then are sent to tho
war ministries in France, England or Rus
STA, which are best able to see that the
valuables come into the possession OF
the rightful relatives Of the fallen SOL
diers.
The huge catalogue has grown to be
Count Schwerln's pet" his greatest pride
and care. Though past middle age, he
gladly gives long hours and infinite pa
thence to its extension and upkeep. Re-
Gently he desired to go into the field for
active service, but it was found that In
the months he has been in the war min
istry he had made himself practically in
dispensable, and that no one could be
found who could take up the catalogue
where he would have to leave off
adv Do rot Pofurrs - Oor,r:c