Arizona republican., 1917-09-13

prisoners. It is pity that these men should bear the odium which attaches to Germany because of the general bad treatment of prisoners of war in the first days of the war and because cer- tain commanders of prison camps were not fitted for their positions.
 Prisoners Imbued With Hatred of the
 Geramns
 The commander at the camp at Wit tenberg was replaced, but the Germans have never acknowledged that bad conditions had existed in that camp. Shortly before we left Germany the war department seemed to gain more control of the prisoners of war situation, and on our representations at least one camp commander was per manently relieved. If examples had been made early in the war of the camp commanders who were not fit for their places and of those who had in any way mishandled prisoners of war, the German people as a whole would not have to bear the burden of this odium. The many prisoners will re- turn to their homes with a deep and bitter hatred of all things German.
 The British government took a great interest in the British prisoners in Germany. Nothing was omitted, and every suggestion made by me was inn mediately acted on, while many most valuable hints were given me from London as to prisoners affairs. Their majesties the king and Queen, showed deep personal concern in the well fare of the unfortunate British in German hands, and this concern never Jagged during the period of my stay in Berlin. Lord Robert Cecil and Lord for the benefit of British prisoners.
 At time when the British prisoners were without proper clothing, over coats and the like, the British govern ment sent me uniforms, overcoats and so on, and l hired a warehouse in Berlin as distributing point, but after some months the German authorities refused to allow me to continue this method of distribution on the ground that it was the duty of Germany to provide the prisoners with clothes But Germany was not performing this duty and the British prisoners had to suffer because of this German official woodenheadedness.
 Tn the spring of 1916, quite char acteristically, the Germans broke theil treaty" concerning visits to prisoners and refused to permit us to speak tc pl ISOHtlS Oul Ol HtdTlng. on JaCON told me that this was because of the trouble made among Russian prisoner. | by the visits of Madame Sazanoff, bu this had nothing to do with the ar rangement between Great Britain an( Germany.
 l think that the Germans suspected that l had learned from fellow prison. l CTS of the cruel and unnecessar, 1 shooting of two Irish prisoners at Linn l burg. It was not from prisoners | however. that 1 obtained this informa l tion, but from Germans who wrote f, me.
 In addition to the English and Japa nese, l had the protection of the Serb ian and Rumanian subjects and tn | protection of the interests of a yer, small country, the Republic of Sal Marine. Soon atfer the Serbians am Rumanians appeared in the prisol camps of Germany we made report
 on the condition and treatment Q these prisoners, as well as reports con
 corning the British.
 was able to converse with som i Serbians in the first days of the wa | in their native tongue, which curiousl 1 enough, was Spanish. ImmediateI
 after the persecution of the Jews i
 Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella an
 other kings number of Spanish Jew
 emlgrated to Serbia, where they hay
 remained ever since. keeping their ol
 customs and speaking the old Spanis
 of the time of Cervantes
 Teh German authorities, in the mo!
 petty manner. often concealed from n
 the presence of British prisoners, e:
 peclaliy civilians, in prison camps. FL
 a long time l was not informed of II
 presence of British civilians in Ser
 nelager, and it was only by paying
 surprise visit by motor to the camp ;
 Brandenburg that I discovered a fe
 British, the crew of a trawIer tber
 IL was on information contained in 2
 anonymus letter. evidently from u
 Wife of some German officer, that visited Brandenburg, where the ere
 of this trawler, deprived of none
 Were without any of the little con
 forts or packages that mitigate u hardships of German prison camp.
 Continued Tomorrow (The Republican has taken the ii erty to change the sequence of the i staiiments of the Gerard series so as bring those articles relating to certa subjects such as the treatment of pri : oners together. In consequence some the lnstallments appear days in a vance of their appearance in oth papers which print the series. Wh
 the installments which they ha } printed will appear later in u , paper)