The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-10
CRUELTY OF HUNS
Lieut.. 0'Grady Tells Experience
in German Prison Camp.
British Officer Speaks at Cham
Der of Commerce.
"Y" WAR WORKERS AROUSED
E. j. Copper Tells Them OF Big
Problems at Front.
Everything Ready for Topeka's
Drive for $4,000.
''Y" WAR WORKERS AROUSED

Wounded by German SnellS, lying
in a watery trench for three days and
three nights without food or drink,
Lieut. w. c. O'Grady, officer in the
Canadian army, was captured and
taken to German prisoner camp.
His comrades on either side were
stabbed and slashed with bayonets,
but he was fortunately picked up and
carried to a prison camp in Ger
many.
The treatment he received was
brutal to the limit, altho in his speech
before the Chamber of Commerce,
! teams and captains of the Red Tri-
angle Y. NJ. c. A. campaign and wom-
en- members of the Y w. C. A. army
council, he omitted the brutal Incl
dents of his capture and of his con-
finement in the camp.
i. After being stormed for nine days
| and nights necessarily by the Ger
mans. Lieutenant O'Grady and his
htroop of Canadian soldiers were cap
tured. During the storm of battle
shells, hundreds of men were killed
and left in the trenches with no time
for burial nor for transporting them.
| They were left there. dead and dying,
wounded and unwounded, all in the
same trench.
Packed in Train Six Days.
Six days and six nights the captured
Canadian army was held in train of
box cars by the Germans. Red Cross
nurses, assistants, doctors and hospi-
ais were all passed on the trip but not
once was the train allowed to stop.
They were on their way to a hospital
where medical attention could be
given them.
AT the end of the sixth night Lieut.
O'Grady and his troop were huddled
in hospital consisting of one lonely
room no larger than 200 feet square.
a 0i0fI1 Of fIo.AI
the Canadian officer who is now on
leave of absence from Canada, paint
ed one of the most horrid sights of the
war.
Hundreds of captured soldiers lying
side by side, bleeding. blue in the face
which could not be had That was
the picture touched only lightly in
Lieut. O'Grady's talk this noon
No Talking Allowed
The Germens even went so far in
their determination to make captives
miserable as to keep the English and
Canadians separated from each other
There was to be no friendship in the
German prisoner hospital, not even
talk. On either side of Lieut.. O'Grady
were two Al5erians who spoke no En-
| glish.
1T was one of the most lonesome
periods of my life that 1 spent there
.
with not single friend about me-
he said. Men, all blue of face, and
crying desperately for food and water,
were all that could be seen or heard
The Germans cared for the stricken
captiveS but their operations were
slow and nearly leisurely"
Later he was released and traded as
prisoner of war. He was returned
to Switzerland where he was truly
cared for.
During all these experiences. the z.
NJ. c. A. huts in Canada England and
in France and even in Germany and
later in Switzerland, played the part
of home, of cleanliness, and of good
spirits to Lieutenant O'Grady and his
men.
Test Hut in Canada.
The first appearance of the Y. NJ. c.
A hut was in Canada, where the
enlisted men were trained.
1T was not so important there
Lieutenant O'Grady said, because the
home ties and familiar surroundings
made life easier In foreign field,
however, it was the Y. NJ. C. A. that
played the role of life saver to the war
shattered soldiers
''In England where the Canadian
soldiers were later trained, the Y NJ
c. A. was their haven. The Canadian
soldiers were paid nearly four times
as much as the English Tommies. and
ale house. saloon and dubious pleasure
house in the country. There was
where the real Y. NJ. C. A. work
started.
"Clean, wholesome entertainment
was provided the soldiers by the Y NJ
C. A. Special concerts. lectures and
shows were the main attractions
Then, too, game rooms, reading and
writing rooms and lounging quarters
were arranged for the men.
I'm France, a still harder problem
came up in the entertaining of the
Canadian soldier.
After coming out of the trench
where the soldiers had been stationed
for thirty-six hours, the first thought
was there and that was the east est
form that could be found.
Needed in Switzerland.
In Switzerland. the Y NJ c. A
was the hea dquarters for returned
captives of the allied armies The
men were not allowed to enter service
after having been released by the
Germans. They were stationed in the
land with nothing to do but to amuse
themselves and care for their health
The Y. NJ. c. A. here was the only
place that assured clean, wholesome
and genuine entertainment for the
soldiers"
f. J. Copper, president of the Mum
sing Underwear company, who is now
interested in the central district of
the Y. NJ. c. A. Red Triangle war
work campaign, gave a short talk on
the Y. NJ. c. A. and its PURPOSES at