Arizona republican., 1916-09-26
HAVE CLEARING HOUSE FOR THE
 VAR PRISONERS
TRepublicsr A. p. Leased wire1

MAUTHAUSEN, AuSuia, Sept 24--l From picturesque though little known village on the upper Danube, Mduthausen has become the clearing house" in Austria for Italian prisoners of war. It's peace time population of q few hundred persons has grown to the size If a small city. and each month there pass through it, with q three weeks stop for quarantine purposes, several thousand Italian soldiers and several hundred Italian officers
 The town consists of group of picturesque houses church CT tWp and an ancient palace that clinEs t) the edge of the Danube. What may he called the new city consists of acres upon acres of white washed barracks holding i'm all, when full, i2 000 soldiers.
 There were only some eight or ten thousand Italian soldiers interned iE the "city" when The Associated Press correspondent arrived to pay the camp visit Two days earlier there had been 25.000 but the greater part If them had been sent ont along their Wa..-to permanent camps in eastern Austria and Hungary.
 / Daily there arrive at Mauthauscn some 5000 bulky parcels ar love gifts" from relatives. and friends in Italy. The banking and bookkeeping department of the camp has to main tain a ledger with sontrthing over 41.- coo running bank accounts the total | Of which far exceeds a million crowns 1 Each prisoner. wherever he may be ] is permitted to possess ten crowns q l week for canteeu spending money. All | that he receives from home over th7: l I,i 1sf n l.l handling of cash devolves upon Ans .rian officers. the booIisceping is done 1 by Italian prisoners of war, who are thus in a position to know that the funds of their comDatriots are honest 1 ly and accurately administered
 So long as he stays in MautEa1sen, which may be for a year if his con duct is good. the Italian soldier is of fered the privileges of a school in which illiterates are taught to read and write and in which the better ! educated ma take courses Tn German, 1 in English and in other useful sub iects If so inclined he may take m painting and wood carving and scHi1- turc. He will ho furnished the ma terials. his ''product' will be sold at 2 price not unde~. minimum set H himself. and he will be given the bal ance between sales price and cost oi materials Or he can enter either the stringed orchestra. or the brass han1
 The correspondent saw an eNhibi- ton of one of the half dozen fire com Danies. composed wholly of Italians who guarded the camp from 2 possible conCagration and who as a matter O fact have kept the fire loss desnit' the wooden construction. down to two barracks and no loss of life. Ftr' nreven+ion is further aided by a higl tower in the center of the camp ol which two men constantly stano ouard, with horn 10 warn off ; blaze and flag to indicate it's direc- tion
 The colonel of the camp led the cor resDOndent through the wash rooms huge barracks fitted with showers ans heated in winter time or equinpe' with rows of faucets for Washini hands and faces-and through the liV ing barracks. The latter are larg qnl roomy-and very clean-far bet ter than any of the corresnOndent ha seen in the course of visits tO camp in other countries.
 The hospital section of the camp | on': of the hest in Austria in clean illness and enuipment. It is the % lonePs hoas+ that there never has h"e'
 
 only such diseases as were hrough bv the men have eyer been encount cred and that there have been a larg number of cures Deaths occur regU larlv as in any large community. bu now the cause s chiefly tuherculos' of ancient standing among the pris oners.
 Since he wounded as well as th well often come to Mauthausen. tn amp has met the nood for artificia limbs bv creatino a little factory fo manufacturing these grim implements 9rd ID to date las turned out ahou 15O anG trained the war victims to us thar
 The Young Mems Christian Associa tioH amusement nall with it's tin stage has been equipped with scener made bv the prisoners and with dron curtain showing the Bay q Naples. He~e too are the educationa classes conducted by the intelligen and gifted Italians.
 The English classes ar" conducted 3 "Tonv' TrEorc who told the core snondent that a brother in New Tor (F'rank Tenoro Of 300 Fridge stree Brooklyn). helieved him to be dea because he had had no opnorfunitv communicate with him. The ltallaT who said he had lived two years ! America begged to be remembered [ tho brother
 One If the chief aims of the all thorites is to give the men as muc opportunity to work as nossihle. an on the whole find them traetahle an willing If tho mon do nothlne the receive cents a day if prlVates ! cents if cornorals or sergeant and "ents if higher non commissioned al 'icers. If thev % out to work Q farms or in duarriee or roads they g( 2 settled sim in addition
 SeIf-govcrnment. insofar as f
 nossible. has been introduced. and tt common soldiers are commanded h thcir own non -coms. and merely sI nervised by Austrian troops. Accord 'nrT to tho number in ramn theV 'lN tEN to 250 in tho biz. airy. liGhte barracks. with their own superiol told off to keen trem in order.
 Their food, so far as the correspor