The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-12-24
hun ATROCITIES
ARE REcouNTED
French Perish Under Inhu.
man and Barbar0us Treat.
ment of Germans.
PUT HOPE IN AMERICA
Awful Plight of Prisoners
Told in Letters Received
in Washington.

| Washington. y. C-The horrible Ger
| man atrocities upon French war pris.
oners and the anxiety with which
| France is looking to the United States
are vividly portrayed in letter ia
Prof. francesca Ventresca, a transla :
tor in the war department. from Prof.
Henri Chomard, who in happier days
was an instructor in the Lycee of Bour-
gen Bresse near, the Jura mountains.
| Chomard and Ventresca in early man
hood taught in German schools to-
gether and so know Germany thor
loughly.
For three years Chomard has been
| chief French censor at POntarlier. one
of the most important frontier posts:
Iall mail between France and Switzer-
land has gone through his hands.
Die by Thousands.
Chomard has had many opportuni-
ties to get news of what Germany is
doing to F'renchmen in it's power. sum
ming up, he says:
| 1.-The Germans are treating our pris-
oners in manner beyond human en-
DURANGO Tens of thousands of French
soldiers in Germany have already died.
The others will he returned all broken
up and worn out.
According to n German official re-
port. published year ago, 10000 of
our soldiers We're then filling the in
sane asylums Of Germany.
| Under all sorts Of pretexts they are
Iinficting terrible reprisals. Last year
they sent 10000 to Russian Poland.
This year they sent $4,000 to the
| French front, where they were ex-
| posed to fire from our gnns. They
We're packed in barracks too small to
afford comfort and had no fire. They
were not allowed to receive parcels
from home and We're made to work
about one hundred yards behind the
German first lines.
"Of the $4,000 nearly 1000 were
killed by our projectles or persisted
from disease. The others were taken
back to Germany in pitiful condi-
ton, crippled for the rest Of their
Lives.
Officers Special Victims.
THE Germans practice their re-
prisals especially upon officers and in
tellectuals The French prisoners
working in German mines during the
last two years, are ruined for life.
Germany acts in this manner be-
cause she has more French prisoners
than we have Germans At first she
treated the English prisoners worse
than ours, but now that England has
more German prisoners than Germany
has English, our accursed enemy has
changed tactics. The allies should be
united on the treatment of prisoners
of war as they are on military oper-
atoms.
ut is a question of the future of
our race which Germany seems to
want to annihilate."
In another passage Prof. Chomard
reveals how much the winning of the
fight for democracy depends upon the
United States:
Il do not doubt the intensity of the
effort in the United States, but what
is now needed most is speed. During
the first two years economic conditions
| in France had hardly changed The
prices of foodstuffs had not changed
| much, but it has been quite different
during the last year And life threat
ems to become more precarious for the
lahoring masses and for employees liv-
| ing on limited salary.
| America Must Hasten.
| France, which produces much less
and which is deprived of "A part of hel
imports because of the submarines
must nevertheless contribute her share
to feed the allied armies within hel
borders. Hence a soaring of prices
which would not have been though,
possible.
/ 1t is, therefore. necessary thai
America hasten. What are at present
the conditions on the French from
after three years of ware OF a from
extending over more than 700 kilome
tiers, our allies are holding only abou
$50. Thus the heavy load is still fall
ing almost entirely upon France, ant
the appearance of America on tn,
scene should relieve France