The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-06-30
HOLLAND A PLACE OF REFUGE.
Deserters and Refugees from Other
Nations Pouring into the Country.
IN Many Cases Bringing Infectious
Diseases,

| NSoTrcSponuence)- e)-ThOuSan of de
serters mostly from the German army
now are swelling the stream of ref
ugees pouring. into Holland from ad.
joining countries. Holland has be-
come a great place of refuge for fu-
gitives fleeing from the terrors of the
German front. food hardships or the
German military regime.
So numerous nave these war refu-
gees become that weekly periodical,
called 'The Combat" has been es-
tablished at Amsterdam to carry on
a revolutionary socialist propaganda
among them. A Society o. Deserters
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.
The country Is overrun by small
army Of spies. persons of both sexes
whose work is to spy into Dutch at
fairs, to spy upon the belligerents and
sometimes to spy upon one another.
These refugees. deserters and gov
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 food
until the problem Of what disposition
to make OF these foreigners has be-
come acute In Holland.
There are many decent men among
the deserters, made desperate by the
sufferings and slaughter ut the front,
DR. rebelling against their governments
system. or policy. have shaken the
lust Of their fatherland from their
'eet. Quite a number are GONZALES
cent men who were ordered hack to
he front. A great number are un-
to whom many crimes are
attributed. Some become smugglers
,ut wholesale banishment from the
frontier regions now virtually has
closed this profession to them. Po-
ice control of them Is very made
luate.
Proud OF It's traditional hospitality.
opened its ,ntiers freely TO
al comers but public opinion and the
government has discovered that there
are formidable dangers inherent in
this aggregation of immigrants.
What might not happen. Hollanders
often ask themselves. II Holland sud
denly became involved in the war
with all these vast numbers Of foreign
ers spread oil over the country. many
OF them of the worst or at least o:
the most doubtful character?
Infectious disease repeatedly has
been introduced. The great exodus of
Relgians brought typhus and dysen-
terry: Austro-Hungarian emigrants
from Galicia. on their way to join rel
atives In America. and suspected
from that province. brought
smallpox: escaped prisoners Of. war
from infected German camps and othr
ers occasionally introduced diseases
like spotted fever and meningitis. In
each case the disease was quickly
Now, however. smallpox has a real
hold In parts Of Germany as we'll as
In countries farther east. and 1t is
pointed out how easily this and other
scourges may be brought across the
The Primo Minister. Cort van der
Linden. announced few days ago
that the increased influx, and tn,
bodily condition of persons entering
the country. had necessitated moro
drastic sanitary measures. Barracks
are to be erected at five different
points of the frontier, where all Ger
mans entering the country. of whom
the great majority are descrters. will
DO disinfected. while camp is to
be erected for the accommodation OF
dangerous or undesirable element,
among deserters. AZ regards the nat
ional danger, the Minister OF War.
Mator-Gencral N. Bosboom. endeav-
ored to reassure public opinion in par
lament few days ago by declaring
that. IL Holland became involved ~
the war, II would be made evident
that tho government was far more
conversant with the position as re.
CARDS foreigners. and had taken far