Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-02-15
RUSS AND SERBS
POOR LABORERS
Austrian and Hungarian Land Owners
Not Impressed With War
Prisoners Skill.

Vienna, Jan. 90 Correspondence OF
the Associated Press. Austrian and
Hungarian land owners and farmers
are not particularly impressed with
the value of Russian and Serbian pris-
oners of war as farm laborers. Ac
counts from all sides generally sup
port the old saw, You can lead a
horse to water, but you cannot make
him drink"
On the whole, the prisoner Of war
as farm hand seems to have been a
failure This is true for other reasons
that that the prisoners have a natural
aversion to work for their enemies.
One Of the great handicaps has been
that the Russian and Serb farmers who
were selected to work on the Austrian
and Hungarian farms, were for the
greater part unframed in the rather
intensive farming methods employed
in the dual monarchy. Though the
men were shown how to go about their
work most of them failed to under
stand the reason why it had to be done
certain way. Others who did under
stand preferred to be careless, when
not under the eyes of the overseer and
guards. But few of the prisoners of
war took any interest in the work.
Patriotic feelings appear to have been
an active deterrent for most of them.
That Austria-Hungary had a splen-
did crop this year is due to unusually
favorable weather conditions. With an
ordinary crop year" and prisoners of
war on many of the farms, the country
would have Jared badly, say those ia
miliar with conditions. 1t is asserted
that the accession in crop returns due
to the labor of the prisoners of war
is hardly equal to what the Russians
and Serbs held in Austria-Hungary will
themselves consume during the year.
1t seems, however, that the labor of
prisoners of war was more productive
in other fields of endeavor, especially
is this true where the Russians and
Serbs remained altogether under the
control Of the military In building
roads and railroads no opportunity for
Sinking was given. Each gang had to
do a certain amount of work; results
were Immediately visible and therefore
susceptible to prompt correction, which
was not the case in farming The en-
gineer troops under whose surveillance
railroad work was done could not be
easily fooled by the prisoners of war,
while the farmer had he wanted to
supervise his involuntary farmland
closely, could have done the work him
self Since most Of the old reservists
guarding the prisoners of war were
city people no improvement from that
direction could be expected.
German farmers who employed Rus.
sian prisoners of war are said to have
obtained better results, though the AS
sociated Press correspondent cannot
say that a large land owner of the
Brandenburg province with whom he
discussed the matter was at all en-
thusiastic over the prospects of having
to raise another crop with the aid OF
| prisoners of war. He said that in ad-
dition to being most unwilling work
ers, the Russians he had employed fail
ed to learn rapidly though he had the
services of an able interpreter.
| The handicaps of language have been
sorely felt by both sides, of course. An
improvement in this situation is now
expected Many of the Russians and
/ Serbs have learned German and Hun
garian sufficiently well to understand
orders and be understood in their turn
! 1t is likely for this reason that next
year the prisoner of war will prove OF
greater value.
| The Russian and Serbian prisoners
of war are very tractable persons or
the whole Hardly any complaints
! have been made against them by ths
communities in which they worked and
! lived. usually with the scantiest provi
sions for their control. Their conduct
! has been very correct throughout, an(
'hey have also earned the reputation