The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-10-11
SOFT FOR THE HUNS
WORK ON THE farm
NUMBER OF THEM ARE BUSY
FILLING ENGLISH SOIL
Protest Was Made BY Women;
Farmettes Don't Like the
Teutons

London, September 11.-[By MALL
The Hun prisoner of war in Great
Britain has a soft lot. There's no
worry about the high cost of living
bothering this captured Fritz, and he
has the rich harvest fields of England
to utilize his idleness.
Great Britain employs on farms %,
600 Germans, practically all of whom
were captured on the western front.
OF these, 800 live on the farms,
their jobs ranking with those of the
American farmers "hired man."
The others are kept in clean camps,
under guard. Fritz is well pleased
abide on his present "job" until the
fighting's all over. There's plenty OF
opportunity for the Hun to escape,
but records show comparatively
small number of attempts.
Scheme of Employing Germans.
Great Britain put the scheme for
employing Germans on the land into
effect in June, 1917. In that month
fifteen agricultural camps were es-
tablished, with 100 Huns to each
camp.
Since then the number of camps
has increased to more than 300 with
a population of 10000, and in addition
there is considerable number en-
ployed on drainage and other work.
The leniency with which Britain
deals with prisoners is illustrated at
Cheshire; twenty six guards take
G.
tribution among ninety six farmers
within, distance of three miles. AS
a mail carrier drops his letters, the
guards drop prisoner here and
there, maybe two, three or four at
the next farm, and so on until all the
prisoners are disposed Of. If there
are more than three prisoners left at
one farm, a guard remains with them.
In the evening the guards return and
collect the prisoners.
Storm of Protest.
At first the scheme OF placing the
Huns on farms met with storm OF
protest by women land workers, and
as a result officials instructed county
committees not to allow prisoners and
women to work on the same farm.
Where farms, employing land girls,
adjoin farms employing Huns, in
spectors are stationed to prevent
communication between the prisoners
and the farmerettes.
At one place prisoner working
unguarded in field jumped over a
fence and forced girl, who was driv-
ing a bakers cart along the lane To
sell loaves to him.
At Swindon four Huns are alleged
to have attacked a sixteen year OLD
girl.
However, on the whole, the German
war prisoner is content to let well
enough alone and "play straight.
Allied Prisoners Badly Treated.
AS a contrast to the generous treat
ment of the Germans in this country
recent reports from authentic sources
show that allied prisoners in Germany
are being badly treated.
Towards the latter part OF May ano
at the beginning OF June, several
thousand Tommies prisonered by the
Germans before and during the Ger
man offensive, arrived at Stendal
camp suffering from dysentry, septle
poisoning and hunger typhus. They
had been forced to work behind the
German lines on railways and shell
dumps, under British artillery nre
MANY of them suffering from lack Oh
food. had to march six or eight miles
to their work every day. Two hun
dred of these died at Stendal soor
after their arrival.
This is but an instance of thou
sands OF cases of ill-treatment o.
prisoners by the Huns.