Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-06-30
DESERT|ERS BY
THOUSANDSC0
INTO HOLLAND
Most of Them Come From
German Arrny-Society
Of Deserters Formed.

OF 0e.
serters mostly from the German army
are swelling the stream of refugees
pouring into Holland from adjoining
countries. Holland has become . great
place Of refuge for fugitives fleeing
from tho terrors Of the German front,
food hardships or the German military
regime.
So numerous have these war refu.
gees become that q weekly periodical,
called "The Combat has been estAb-
lished at Amsterdam to carry on a
among them. A society Of desertere
has been formed in Holland, appar-
entity by German agents in order to
discover the names Of deserters and
exert pressure on their families to in
duce them to return to Germany. Re-
turning deserters no longer are shot
but are sent to the front.
Spies Everywhere.
The country 10 ovsrrun by Z small
army Of spies. persons Of both sexes
whose work 10 to, spy into Dutch If
fairs. to SPY upon the beliigsrents and
sometimes to SPY upon n another.
ernment agents, added to escaping
prisoners Of war Of virtually every
entente nationality, fugitive Poles and
other peoples of eastern Europe, fee
ing from forced labor and other evils
have swelled the immigration Hood
until the problem Of what disposition
to make Of these foreigners has be-
como acute in Holland.
There are many decent men among
the sufferings and slaughter at the
front, or rebelltng against their gov
ernment's system. or policy, have
shaken the dust of their fatherland
from their feet. Quite a number are
eonvaleseent mel who were ordered
back to the front. A great number are
un~dssirables to whom nany crimes
are attributed: Some become Snug
glers but wholesale Punishment from
the frontier regions now virtually has
closed this profession to them. Police
control OF them Is very inadequate.
Frontiers Opened Freely.
Proud Of its traditional hospitality,
Holland opened Its frontiers freely to
all corners but public opinion and the
government has discovered that there
are formidable dangers inherent in
this aggregation of Immigrants.
What might not happen, Holland
ers often ask themselves. II Holland
suddenly became involved In the war
with all these vast numbers of for
etgners spread all over the country.
80 Va VI IkA0 "O1Nl VI a. 1SAot
Of the most doubtful charaeter7
Infectious disease repeatedly has
been introduced. The great exodus Of
Belgians brought typhus and dysent-
~; Austro-Hungarian emigrants from
Galicia. on their way to join relatives
In America. and suspected smugglers
from that province, brought small
pox; escaped priseners-of-war from
infected German camps and others
occasionally introduced diseases like
spotted fever and meningitis In each
case the disease was quickly checked.
Now, however, smallpox has a real
hold in parts Of Germany % we'll a.
In countries farther east. and 1t 10
pointed out how easily this and other
scourges may DO brought across the
frontier.
The prime minister. cort van der
Linden, announced a few days ago
that the increased influx, ana the
bodily condition Of persons entering
drastic sanitary measures. Barracks
are to be erected at i've different
points OF the frontier, where all Ger
mans entering the country, Of whom
h great majority are deserters, Will
be d~tsinfected, while a camp 10 to be
erected for the accommodation Of
dangerous or undesirable clements
among dsserters. As regards the 10
tional danger, the minister tor war.
Major General N. Bosboom. ,sndeav-
ored to reaasure public opinion in par
Lament q few days ago by declaring
that, II Holland became involved in
the war, 1t would be made evident
that h government was far moro
conversant with the position a. re-
CARDS foreigners, and had taken far
more adequate precautionary meas-
ures, than most people thought.