The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-05-16
Treat Prisoners Worse Than Did
the Red Savages of Pr
oneer Days.
IMPLICIT CRUEL PUNISHMENT
Americans Paraded Half . Starved
About Germany and Cheated Of
Food Offerings From British
Prisoners by Swift
Removals.

The Hague.-From irrefutn evil
dence obtained by the New York Times
correspondent, II Is impossible to close
ones eyes to what Is going on In the
hospitals and prisoners camps In Ger
many. IL Is a mistake to believe that
the treatment Of prisoners and wound-
cd In Germany has improved. On the
contrary, it Is as bad as II ever was,
eve worse.
The punishments inflicted are cruel
and inhuman. AS Is well known, pris-
oners are absolutely dependent upon
parcels for food and clothing. A "a
vorite punishment Is to withhold these
from q whole camp or from large bod
les Of prisoners. 1t has been estab-
lished beyond doubt that prisoners are
employed behind the fsont and are un-
der shellire, in defiance of The Hague
agreement of 1911.
Some prisoners never reach a camp
In Germany for six months, meanwhile
receiving no parcels of food. Their
condition on arrival at camp, broken
down and starving, Is pitiable.
Hawked About Country.
The evidence doesn't tend to show
that American prisoners are receiving
n preferential treatment. 1t Is re-
ported that the first American prison.
ers taken were hawked about the u
try. presumably to show them of to the
p~opulace. At Giessen, where, IL would
seem, American prisoners were kept on
two separate occasions, they were pro-
hibited any intercourse, even by sign
language. with other prisoners and
were not allowed to receive parcels
or gifts from them.
British prisoners at Giessen asked
X they could give parcels to Ameri-
cans and finally received permission
to do SO the following day. But the
next day the American prisoners were
moved away early In the morning.
British prisoners were able to de-
tect Americans who had been captured
any length Of time by their appear
ance and by the state of their clothes.
Until parcels for them arrived from
Berne their state was deplorable.
A British noncommissioned officer
recently obtained the signatures of
the first ten Americans captured and
talked with them. These men signed
the scrap OF paper In the hope that
some news of them would reach the
outside world. They were In poor
physical health and somewhat de-
spondent.
Some OF the Evidence.
A few recent examples from a large
amount or sworn evidence follows:
In February. 1913. 1000 men were
sent from a Westphalian camp to with
In thirty kilometers behind the front.
Their guards ran away to escape the
British shrapnel fire.
The state Of prisoners coming from
the big Somme battle In the first week
Of the present month vas deplorable.
Their wounds had not been dressed I'm
many cases for more than ten days.
Owing to the lack Of dressing. British
comrades bandaged their wounds with
old towels and shirts.
II was formerly announced by the
German authorities In Camp Bonn on
April ID last that two British soldiers,
R and B., had been shot near
Minden for not stopping talking when
ordered to do 80.
In November. 1917, men were
brought into the hospital at M con.
tinually, having been wounded by
shrapnel from behind the lines
Wounded men lay for three or four
weeks unattended and grossly neg.
Jected.
Much Of the sworn evidence Is so
repugnant that It could not be pub
lished. There has been talk Of re-
prisals on American prisoners, and
even foreigners born In America are
included In these threatened reprisals.
I'VE will hit America through the
allies" one commandant stated.