The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-06-28
Like Verifablc OutpOurir1gs
From the Depths of Inferno
The Exchange of Crippled War Prisoners, GhoSty AZ
sentiments of Men, Now Going on Through Sweden.


The great task of exchanging
wounded prisoners between Russia
and Germany through Sweden will be
continued. throughout the summer
The exchange applies only to those
prisoners totally unfit ever to serve
again.
One glimpse at trainload of these
miserable war derelicts leaves no
doubt as to their disability, writes a
correspondent. Missing legs, missing
arms, sightless eyes, shattered Jaws,
twisted spines and here and there the
CLASSY stare which tells its own story
of a burned-out brain-these are the
evidences the Swedish people see OF
the war that surrounds them.
The Exchange of Broken Men.
The transfer through Sweden IS
handled entirely by the Swedish Red
Cross. of which Prince Carl, brother
of the King, is the actual and active
head. The German prisoners are re-
ceived from the Russians at Hapar-
anda at the Swedish-Finnish frontier,
only a few miles south of the sweep
of the Arctic Circle. In trains espe-
ciallv fitted for their use the manned
and twisted wrecks of men are taken
south through the entire distance OF
Sweden, a journey of three nights
and two days, the pace of the train
being timed for the utmost of COM
fort.
At Trelleborg, the southernmost
part of Sweden, the one-time soldiers
of the Fatherland are placed upon
German hospital transports for the
short sail across the southern reach
of the Baltic to the German port of
Sassnitz.
In the case of the Russian prisoners
the operation is just reversed. They
are received from the German ships
at Trelleborg. The work was begun
this year with one train week IN
each direction. This month the num-
Der will be increased to three in each
direction. The trains consist of Is
cars and have a capacity of about
235 soldiers. When the work is fully
under way the rate of exchange will
be about 5000 prisoners month.
A CHASTITY Assortment.
The first train started north from
Trelleborg with the burden of 23O
physical and mental deficients-a
CHASTITY assortment of parts of men.
AS they hobbled or were carried down
the gang plank of the hospital steam
er at Trelleborg the procession SEEM
ed like a veritable outpouring from
the depths of an inferno.
The debarkation from this strange
ship of broken men had been under
way for ten minutes perhaps when
there suddenly appeared among the
human fragments at the foot of the
gangway a man who had been entire
" lost sight of as he made his way to
shore.
Wars Wreckage.
Both of his legs were gone and his
head scarcely showed above the gang
way rails as he swung the remnants
of his body along between two stubby
little crutches. 1t soon developed,
however, that he was not alone in his
misery, for there were several others
like him.
1t seemed that the crutch process
sion would never end, for the doc
tors said the number of "leg cases"
was unusually high in this first ship
ment of human wreckage home to
Russia.
But soon the EARN cases" and the
F'hand case" were very much in evil
dence, and at last came the wholly
helpless. There was one soldier with
one leg and both eyes forever gone
and shattered foot supported in
rope slung about his neck. Then came
the men crazed by the shock of bat
tie or suffering from acute melan-
cholia. One of the latter never ceas-
ed to cry.
All of the Russians said they had
been we'll treated in Germany and