The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-07
ALIENS IN FRANCE ARE WELL TREATED Total of 30,000 in August,
 1914, Reduced to 14,000 WIDELY SCATTERED
SCATTERED
Many Have Been Repatriated and Res- idence Permits Have Been Granted Others Whose Conduct Has Been
 Correct in All Instances

Paris, October 20.-(Correspondence of the Associated Press.)-The supervision and support of subjects of belligerent countries interned or allowed to reside in France has given the government a expense of approximately sS5.000,OoO to date.
 "The governments policy has been to treat justly all subjects of countries at war with France residing within it's terri tory at the outbreak of the war and to treat them as liberally as the necessary precautions for the nations security would permit" the Associated Press is informed by Minister of the Interior Malvy, upon whom this great responsi- hility has devolved,
 "At the beginning of hostilities. he continued, 'it became necessary to in- terne in concentration camps 30,000 sub jects of countries at war with France. That number has been reduced to 14,000 by the repatriation of certain number by agreement between the interested pow CTS, and by according to others residence permits that seemed to be justified by their ethnological origin or other con alterations.
 Many Residence Permits
 ''The Poles, Tcheques and Alsatans, and the Austrians of Italian origin, na- tives of Trentino, have benefited from these exceptional measures. Residence permits have been issud to 1124 Germans and 576 Austrians. Some of them are naturalized Germans whose attitude to- wards France has been correct in all circumstances. Some are fathers of boys serving in our armies. Others are old and tried servants in French, English or American families who are vouched for by their employers.
 There were 3754 subjects of the Otto man empire residing in France before the declaration of war by Turkey. All of these have been allowed to reside here with the exception of about 50 whose antecedents made their internment neces- sary in the interests of the national de- fense. The interned civilians were sent to 63 different camps widely distributed throughout the country where they have been fed absolutely free of any cost to them and at an expense to the govern ment of $15,000 month. They have also received all necessary medical attendance free of charge. Some of lnese little col onies have even seen their numbers in- creased by births that have occurred un- der the most favorable conditions.
 Under Interior Department
 "All the civilian camps are under the general direction of the interior depart ment and are directly supervised by the prefeet of the department. Order is gen. erally maintained by 0 commssary of police who receives the requests and com plaints of the interned and supervises their correspondence. There has been little for the commissaries to do, how ever, for the needs of the interned have, SC far as possible, been anticipated by the government.
 NO one in France has had less reason to complain than these people who feel their position keenly for the most part and appreciate that we have done what we could to make that position less pain ful.
 "The German, Austrians and Turks who have merited the exceptional privileges of a residence permit have by the same measure escaped the sequestration of their property. In general they have showed themselves worthy of the favor.''
 Germans and Austrians to whom resi- dence permits were accorded have them selves given very little trouble, it is stated, at the prefecture of police Their supervision, however, has been quite 6 burden, because of the natural suspicion in which they were held in their neighbor- hoods. The prefect has been flooded with denunciations sometimes signed, some times anonymous. partly inspired by q spirit of revenge, partly through excess of patriotic zeal. Many persons have been obliged to change their residence as a consequence. but the number of residence permits that have been withdrawn is in- significant.