The daily Alaskan., 1918-05-27

I ESfVALAuk rpGE1SNlaASA AA N SeSNS- sxed by the Belgian legation at Wash lnEton, D. c. Introducing the subject matter, the legation statement says;
 "The information comes from A Bel gian soldier, whom we must here call simply D., who was taken prisoner at Namur August 23, 1914, was intern ed August 2S at Munsterlager, Han- over, and remained there until the be- ginning of January, 1917, at which time he was transferred to the camp SS Soltau."
 The statement. declares that the yer acIty of D. has been established and then gives his statement ln full. Extracts from it~follow:
 "At the beginning" says D. "tAs brutality 0t our oyerSesrs was e1- tTeme. The chief of the camp was a general who did not do anything. His aid-de-camp, Maj. von Valentine, brother of the private adviser of Will Ham II, used to insult us every time he came to see us, and he excited ms szbordInates Against us.
 Some Tortured to Death.
 ''His subordinsteS naturally were not tender, to begin with, and the bad treatment they made us endure was shocking. For the least lack of disci- pline they made us undergo the pun iEhment of the post. A certain ser geant major took a malignant Joy In making the sufferer get up on the box placed against the post, tying his Nc- tim and then removing the box. The man would remain hanging. Several of the prisoners died as a result Of this treatment.
 "In April, 1916, new instructions were sent to the camps. have seen them with my own eyes. They en- Joined upon the commanders Of the camps to utilize the prisoners aS much as possible and to send them to the mmandos'-farms, factories CT mines-as they were needed, without distinction, even those whom the Ger mans called 'Geblldete Teute,' edu- eated people.
 In August, 1916, further instructions were sent all the chiefs of detach- msnts, or 'kommando' heads, connect cd with the Nunsterlager prison camps. These Instructions declared that the prisoners did not do enough work, and that by some means or other the amount must be increased.
 Evsn ths Iil Forced to Work.
 "Agalnst those who did not work enough proceedings should be taken as follows: 8
 q. By not delivering mall to them ; showing 1t to them. but not letting them have 1t.
 70 If this should not succeed, hold Ing back their parcels from home, yet letting them see the parcels
 B. By employing force, using the butts of rifles, though without wound inE the prisoners and making them in- capable of working.
 A If withholding letters and par cells, if torcIble treatment and beating them with rife butts do not succeed then by shooting.
 ''The consequence of such orders, given to soldiers naturally brutal and to noncommissIonsd officers especially chosen for the job, was bound to be A fresh outburst of savage treatment.
 "At the beginning of March, 1917r still more urgent instructions from Berlin reached the camps. Without distinction of age, rank or aptitude. the prisoners who were still in the camps and occupied in various serv- lceS-clerIcal, postal, express, taking care of the yards, barracks and kitch- taa-IndeOd, all private soldiers. wsr" to be sent to 'kemmandOs' and thelr places were t0 be taken by pon-con- miRGIOned officers. Even me Eck were to work according to their strength, and not to be admitted to hospItslg or inhrmaries unless they were really quite Incapable of working. When cured they were ts 80 back to work the next day"
 Working Sixteen Houns a Day.
 The statement then tells of how prisoners suffering from serious and painful diseases were made to do the hardest kind of labor In the "kom- mandos." The statement continues:
 ''The prisoners who work on farms, lIke those in camps, mines and fac tories, are fed on turnips, nettles, barley gruel and Indian cornmeal al- most exclusively. Practically all po- tatoqs have been reQuisItioned. The orders are that the hours of labor shall be determined by the farmers. In sum- msr the prisoners work IA, 15, and even IS hours a day"
 D. tells of the severe labor the prisoners have to perform In loading md unloading. vessels, generally un- loading Swedish oreB and loading coal; men who are suffering from disease, lar gone with tuberculosis driven to hsartbreakinE tasks long hours every day, Then the statement tells about