New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-05
German Prisoners in Britain
Contented, Well Fed, Healthy
ONLY Deaths in Years at Dorchester Where oooo N'e"
H.v. Reen Confined on an Average; Operas Given,
but "Wacht am Rhein" Is Barred

their own gardens and BUY extras ~
the cantean. OF the many with whom
| talked only one grumbled about the
food. and his complaint was that the
allowance was not as large as Tor
merly. At one time the prisoners got
one and one-half pounds of bread daily,
or ten and one-half pounds week
The ration for the British people TO-
dav is four pounds a week. -,
Evidently the prisoners relatives ana
friends believe the soldiers are under
fed. for they send large parcels OF 1000
and considerable sums of money by
every post. was told that the pris-
oners receive at least ten times as
much money as was sent out OF inc
camp, and that many of them were
ruttinp aside tidy sums for the day
thew are exchanged By the number
of wooden suitcases made and under
course of construction lot OF the
prisoners believe the time for their
departure is not far off.
Prisoners Are Lucky
As a rule the prisoners work well II
they know some trade, but the average
laborer is lazy and needs lot o.
watching to get any work out OF HIM
The men are not driven hard, because
many of them have been wounded In
the arms or legs, and war has taken
more out OF them than their physical
appearance would indicate. Some OF
them are employed on clerical WORK.
such as preparing reports, and IN TINS
they show interest. Most of them pre-
fer working TO idleness.
II is a lucky enemy who falls into
the hands os the British. Once he Is
a prisoner the enemy subject is treated
with much consideration and receives
more privileges than one would ex-
pect. He gets good food, clean. airy
living quarters and no harsh and brutal
treatment. The British fight hard, bnt
they cannot hate long.
German Aviators Story
In the prison camp is German
fugmeister ia non-commissioned
aviation officer, who wears an Iron
Cross of the second class and gold
shield, showing that he has made nifty
flights under fire. Physically and
mentally, he is as fine type of avia-
tor as one would expect TO find in any
service. He is twenty-eight years old,
about 5 feet 9 inches tall, powerful IN
chest ard arms, keen of eye, his face
and hands burned a deep bronze from
constant flying over land and sea. Eight
years ago he left his home in Augs-
burg, Bavaria. to enter the German
navy. After three months training he
got his license as pilot. and for n
, year he was flying on the Western
front, where he won his Iron Cross for
shooting down four French aviators.
This spring he was given seaplane
and had stretch of the English Chan
mel to patrol, starting somewhere
around the Scheldt and running almost
over to Dover. He tells the story of
how he came into the prison camp as
follows:
"On the morning of June II four Of
US were sent out on reconnaissance
work off Dover. We had single-seatei
seapanes. Ny lieutenant had engine
trouble, had to come down low, and
as a result his machine was hit by a
she'll fired from a British ship. He
glided down slowly to the water and
] planed down to see what was the
matter. He was badly wounded, but
still alive when | lifted him on to my
plane. Just then the British ship
fired a shot which ruined the pro-
peller Of my machine and all could do
was to surrender.
( 81 was taken aboard the ship and
here | am. Ny lieutenant died before
/ the ship arrived"
! He spoke with great pride of his
exploits in the air.
what does Germany think about
! Americas entry into the war?' asked
when he had finished the story of his
capture.
81 was on leave in April, Immediately
after Americas declaration Of war, and
+ it seemed to me no one took it to heart
We have become so accustomed to dec
larations of war one more doesn'.
worry us. America will never be able
: to get big army over here in time to
help. The greatest thing America will
do will be 10 help the Allies financially
have seen many American-built sea
planes-the Curtiss machine-fyine
over the English Channel.
Doesn't Like Bombing
! "What do | think about air reprisal:
4 by the English? don't like bombing
work; | like TO fight in the air. but al
the places we have attacked in Eng
/ land are fortified. They are all dowr
| on our maps as forts. and we are per
| fectly justified in bombing them. Tn,
/ English killed over a hundred chill
dren when they bombed Karlsruhe"
He replied quickly to every ques
/ ton; he spoke fearlessly and with mucl
1 feeling whenever Germany's spirit wa:
! questioned; it would have been ar
] insult TO ask him whether he preferre,
/ prison TO the dangers Of war. Polite,
was the only subject he would not dis
cuss, and that on the ground that h,
was uniformed.
! Germany can hold out" he said Nv,
have plenty of food to last US out tn
} war. Even our own newspapers hav,
! exaggerated the economic situation: i
| is not half so bad as has been stated
( All | can say about the material of wa
/ is that whenever | asked for any sup
| plies | always got them promptly. d,
| think there will be another big nava
battle like Jutland? There will be j
Germany thinks, it advisable we ar
ready. 1t is untrue that we hid gu
losses after the battle of Jutland; w
gave them all"
Boys Ignorance Shown
Next talked with three boys of TWEEN
ty who were in West Prussian regl
ment at the battle of Messines and wer
taken prisoners soon after the explosion
of the mines. Though less than a mil
away from the nearest mine, they sal,
they were not shocked, but the nois
was deafening. They had had min
months of training after being Gale,
up from the farm and then they wer
sent to the West front. where the.
had been only few months. All o
I them said they were sorry when tn
Gallup order had been given and al
were mighty glad to be prisoners.
They did not know America was a