Evening star., 1915-03-11
CRUELTY CHARGED
AGAINST GERMANS
Civil Prisoners Shot and
Otherwise Abused, Says
French Committee.
FAMILIES SEPARATED
AND FORCED TO HUNGER
Elderly Men Killed Because of In
ability to Keep Up With
Columns, Is Claim.

y
French civilian prisoners-men. Wom-
en- and chtldren-at the hands or the
Germans is the subject of a report
4,.t issued by the foreign office ms
report is the work of a standing COM
,nit.es appointed by the French gov
crnrl1ent to inquire into alleged Floia-
Mons OF international law It relates
that about 10000 French men. women
and children had been returned from
Germany to France prior to FEBRUARY
"s ar.e- having been held as prisoners
:, German territory. These were the
,ri,o-crs questioned by the investi-
eating committee. The only men among
them were more than sixty years ora.
nv bovs under seventeen. The invest-
gators cite in detail a number OF al
legged instances of hardship. III treat
men, and suffering The declarations
of the individuals questioned sho"
remarkable accord.
Members Of Committee.
The committee consisted of Georges
r'ayelle. president of the court oi d'
counts: Georges AIarinser. rolntliof 81
state Armand Mollard, minister ptei''-
,,,,-er.iary. and Edmond Poiii"t. 'oht
cflo- Of the court of cessation. he'i
=; addressed TO premier NiNiahi'
and In part. reads:
.Ne questioned 800 of the former prs
,n4e- oa1n. Some of them declare
..a+ ,nev we're arrested on the ldise
,,.tsy, that one of their townsneh hah
+rad nm German soldiers. wh.ie others
n.ere arrested on the high roads. IN tne
talds or In their homes without eApatia
,.on Many were led 10 oeleEe tHes
were being conducted 20 neisnee, desne,er 'n nf
,r ,n,nending battle. Members OF 'lie
s.Nyne family were separated ana sen. 70
.,ifferent camps. Children were Sepala 'eu :
f-n,,, their mothers and women from thelf
.h.nds MANY women are still In 1g-
,ni-Ince of the whereabouts OF theF
husbands.
Loaded in Cattle Cars.
"Au the prisoners were Obliged TO traSei
long distances on foot passing their
nights in the open or In railroad stations
or churches. They were then loaded INTO
cattle cars and SO taken into Germany
Generally speaking they were not sup
piled with food during the journey, ana
most ~ them remained several days with
ont food or drink. Many would have per-
fshed had they not received succor on
their way at the hands Of Belgian
women
about 1000 words. Going into details
NJ some OF the hardships and crueltles
suffered by the French civilian pris-
oners the investigators make the ioi-
lowing statement:
.prsoners from RoubaiX were loaded
into cattle cars 50 close that IT was
impossible for them to SIT down. Ines
remained In these cars Tor seten'y-t"o
hours. during which time thes ee'eo
food only twice
Several Men Shot.
.n,.,e&een men were taken prisoners
a, yarennes at the beginning OF the
GERMAN retreat from the Marne one
of them. named Jourdaine, was SPOT at
conlombe A man named LieVe, Sixty
one wears old, was dragged into Gem
e,ery at Chauy and shot A man named
Menil. aged sixty-seven. was kiiled py
= rifle shot at the same place MIL
1i,-det. aged seventy-eight. was shot at
CuaZy-en-OrxO.
All these three men were Killed pc
.,,.e thew were not able to Keep UP
mIth the column. On September %
,,o,mbee aged sixty-one years, suHer-
INK from fractured foot, ana forlih.
AGED sIxty-five years. crlppled Win
fneuuia,is.n. and unaoie 70 ~
yut a cane. were arrested on the pIs
,ext that they were guerrlias Fortln
as tied up with a rope. the end OF
n:cn was held by mounted man;
.-us was he dragged along and
:.iiged to keep pace with the horses.
-aiItpg repeatedly the caVairymen
struck him with their lances. f1naiiy,
.oSered with blood. this unfortunate
legged the soldiers to kill him.
Other Alleged Cruelty.
"At -; Naurice-Sous-les-C Two
prisoners were taken into house and
,,,,Iilpelied TO stand facing a wall with
r!ue!r arms extended. Here they werr
kept for TWO hours while their sol
dier captives made much ado with
their guns to create the impression
that they were about to be executed.
Many other instances were cited of
prisoners being obliged to make long
Journeys without food.
In conclusion the report describes
at length conditions at certain con-
cent1ation camps in Germany. and sets
forth that At some places prisoners
without money are almost dying OF
hYn