Daily Kennebec journal., 1916-09-18
CORRESPONDENTS
INVESTIGATION
OF DEPORTATION

tASSoci5ted Press Correspo1EeCce)
Sedan. France, Sept 17.-FoIlowing
the protest abroad about the action ot
the German authorities in deporting
from TIE cities OF Lille, Rouhaix and
Tourcoing several thousand Of the
civil inhabitants, and about the al
legged hardships those civilians had
had 20 undergo. the military authori-
ties in the occupied portion OF France
recently afforded a number Of neutral
correspondents the opportunity .
visit several hundred ot the so-cslled
"Evacues" and see for themselves the
conditions under which they row live
a representative OF The Associated
Press visited two large "corscript
camps"-whsre men Of military age
are kept under guard-end some eight
villages where large numbers OF So
called era.grants. ue2 and women. live
without guard and busy themselves
Chiefly with agricultural occupations.
With one e3ception-that q con
script camp in the city OF Sedan Itself
the correspondent found the former
residents Of the cities TO the north
west living under surprisingly clean,
sanitary circumstances. peated
questioning brought only the answe,
that the people were reasonably happy
and comfortable, justly and fairly
treated, and. very often far better of
than they had been at home.
The correspondent ate the food
which the Evacues receive-most Of II
through the Spanish-American com
mittee with which the German au-
thorities have nothing 70 do-and il
rcd in
He was assured that in quantity i
eQualled the food received by the Ger
mans themselves.
The housing conditions varied &C.
cording to the town and the quarters
available IN each. but without oxcep-
ton they were spotlessly clean and
airy. The second conscr;pt camp
visited was located in an old chateau
or villa, and was declared BY the men
there TO be far better htan conditions
as they had known them at home.
Perhaps the best testimonial for the
generally prevailing sentiment was the
fact that in the thirteen villages which
form the group around Sedan. and
eight of which the correspondents
visited. only one attempt toescape had
been made, and the man who made
that- came back voluntarily.
The exception to the general rule Of
satisfaction on the part Of the Evacues
correspondents were told. only men Of
military age were kept, or men who in
Lille, Roubain or Turcoing had prose-
cuted some pernicious activity that
made their removal a military neces-
sity.
Here, in a one-tir1e factory now out
OF business, two or three hundred per
sons, from boys TO men Of Is, were
housed in close quarters. Asked re-
garding their condition several COM
planned that the food was monotonous
"a complaint that one can hear all the
way from the front trenches to the
best equipped prison camp in the
country-said the bread was sour. and
in some instances spoke of the Illness
es, notably rheumatism and tuberculo-
sic.
The men on week days are employ
ed from to II A. NJ. and from 2. to
P. N. at carpentering and construc-
ton work, for which they receive. from
40 to so centimes day and their food.
They battle twice weekly and receive
rations equivalent to those of the COM
mon soldier, Of which rice and bread
form the chief components.
Both the overcrowding and the COM
plants that were a feature of the con-
script camp In Sedan vanished as the
correspondents toured the rest of the
district, taking in the villages of
Francheval. villersCernay. Daigny,
Givonne. nly-Olly. lilly. St. Menges and
one or two others.