Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1916-08-26


The prisoner of war in our day is the
snbject of an elaborate code Of rules
drawn up at meetings of The Hague
peace conference. No property must
be taken from him except arms and
military equipment He must not be
kept In close confinement If that can
be avoided, and if possible his parole
must be accepted. He may be set to
any work for which he is reasonably
fitted-although officers are not bound
to workout he must be allowed a
similar standard of life and credited
with a similar scale of pay to that
which obtains among the soldier-artif-
icers of the conquering nation.
When set free the cost Of his mainte-
nance will be deducted and he win re-
celve the balance In cash, He may be
shot when trying to escape, but IL
caught alive he must not be punished
except by curtailment of his liberty.
These are Il few Of the many rules by
which all civilized nations are now
bound in regard to their prisoners of
war.
Among savage men the destiny Of a
prisoner was to be eaten, mnssacred in
cold blood or tortured for sport, until It
dawned one day upon some primitive
political economist that live captive
had labor value, and so arose the insti-
tuition of slavery. Among free peoples
like the TeutOns, war prisoners were
the only slaves allowed. and they
might in time earn their freedom.
This idea of Communication became the
custom Of medieval Europe, applied
as prize money" TO ships and ran
som" to individuals. All officers
could claim the right to offer a reason
able ransom, which went into the
pocket of the captor. Sometimes Off
GERS would ransom n whole troop OF
their men.
Kings or great captains were ram
somed by their nations. Richard the
Lion Heart had a woeful time Of It
until England ransomed him from the
Emperor Henry. King John Of France.
taken at Poitiers by the Black Prince,
was held by England to ransom until
the Duke of Anjou came as hostage
while John went to raise the neces-
sary cash. King David of Scotland,
captured by Queen Eleanor, never per-
suaded the thrifty Scots to pay the
whole of his ransom and became a do
pendent as "a consequence.
In rrtn oh fnIn
you may read how bands Of mercenary
troops quarreled with gallant and i'm.
petuous commanders, whose only OBJ
jcct was the destruction of the enemy.
The mercenaries were out to take pris-
oners and trade In the ransoms. This
traffic gave rise to infinite abuses. In
Guiding torture and all manner Of dis
honesty. Sir John Falstatf-Shake-
speares Falstaif-was notorious for
nm extensive and INSCRIPTIONS traffic
In ransoms. Yet IL was not until dur
ing the eighteenth century wars that
an agreement 10 end the custom was
come to between the European com
handlers. Even then it fingered on In
practice until the eve of the Napoleonic
wars, when it was swept away for the
newer idea of exchange of prisoners.
rank for rank.
One great change brought about by
the new system was that the prisoners
became state care and responsibility.
Whether this change made for greater
humancncss OF treatment depended In
part upon the conquering nation. but
even more upon the individual COVER
nor or jailer This may be seen in the
varying accounts we have Of the con-
litions of prisoners of war in England
during the long struggle with Napoleon.
LIncolnshire's fens make good cen
ters for a military compound George
Borrow. In "Lavengro," has given a
terrible picture of the conditions at
Normans Cross prison. In the fen dis
trict. 'Rations of carrion meat" he
writes. "and bread from which | have
seen the very hounds occasionally turn
away were unworthy entertainment
even for the most rutilan enemy. when
helpless and captive"
In these prisons the inmates made
various articles of commercial utility,
such as straw plait which were
bought of them by dealers for miser-
Sble sum, the proceeds procuring them
A few trifling comforts and the luxury
IF tobacco. or afTording the brides nee
essary for the smuggling out Of letters.
More tolerable was the fate of those
settled on parole in such towns as
Chesterfield. where they endured ac-
tual confinement under guard only at
night, being free within certain bounds
during the day In many cases, as time
went by. prisoners who had won the
confidence of their guards became
virtually free In all respects. starting
workshops as cabinetmakers, etc, or
teaching drawing. music or French to
the children of the we'll TO do. Their
yeniality and politeness soon made
them very popular with the blunt and
serious DerbyShire folk, and quite a
aumher Of them married and settled
down in the Chesterfield district, where
The traces of this settlement may be
seen both I'm loca! names and In olive
skins and other features. -Philadel-