Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-26

Denz mad been in Germany more
than three years--in the army by
compulsion, in prison and in hos
pitfalls, but he still had a sense Of
l.umor. He was drawn into Germany
from Switzerland by fraud, forced into
/ the army and refused permission to
establish his claims of American
citizenship. After four months trial
he had escaped and there he was in
Lausanne on the threshold of new
career.
The Swiss soldier presented a receipt
for Denz, which the consular agent
signed. Once more DEM was a free
man After the few official formalities
were over, which included the notifica.
ton of the military attache of the
United States legation in Rerne and
the American Red Cross, I had an op-
portunty of questioning the ex-soldier
and prisoner. Food being upper
most in his mind. he talked about that
most of the time.
Il had my first cup of coffee today,
the first in five months. They have no
more coffee in Germany. It's called
the morning drink now because
coffee is an obsolete term. l had meat.
too, also the first in three months" :"
Then Mr.. DEM of Philadelphia, told
his story: the tale Of three years of
suffering and oppression. Being a
civilian he was interned with other
civilians, mostly English and French.
Skeletons in rags" he called them.
But don't they get food from Eng.
land and France!"I asked.
Some of them do" he said, but
they worry. There is nothing to feed
their minds, and a man who was a
, lawyer, an engineer or business man
. before the war needs something to
occupy his mind"
: Didn't you get food from the Amer
ican Red Cross" ] asked.
: mo" answered Denz. because the
, Germans would never let me write
5 was in Germany before the United
States came in and they considered
me a German because l was born of
Swiss parents across the German
border from Switzerland. was
educated in the United States and
naturalized there but they said that
didn't count
Civilians Worst
A few days after / met Denz I was
l in Berne. talking tc members of the
American Red Cross relief committed
about his case, when ! discovered
what this organization has been doing
for American prisoners in Germany
since the first of this year: that is, fol-
prisoners officially reported through
TIE Spanish embassy which has
charge of American interests in tha;
country. Denz was one of thpse un
| fortunate civilians whom Germany
: for some unknown reason, attempts
to hide. Morris Rottenberg. of st
: Louis, is another naturalized American
i whose fate has been similar. Writins
1 to the American Red Cross from
Kantzen, Austria, on November II
1917, he said:
, Il. the undersigned, have been 70,
long time in captivity as an Amer
/ lean subject. ] am in great need ol
=; support. and | beg you very kindly tC
+; help ME and send some food. HOPING
: that you will fulfill my petition I re
: main.
Yours ever thankful.
n MORRIS ROTTENBERG.
= "P. s. ! was born in 1885 in Rus
= sian Poland and departed for America
e where ! was naturaliZed in 1918.
came to Austria in 1914 to a cure plac,
e where l am now interned. I hav,
o relatives in st. Louis and Russia"
: Although this letter was written II
November it did not reach the Rec
o Cross in Switzerland until spring o
: this year!
Ii Denz and Rottenberg were victims
o of the same fate that banishes mel
e from the front, but they had suffered
i much more terribly than military pris
O oners because under military gov
e ernment, members of the armed forces
i of belligerent Powers received the bes
e attention. Every American capture,
) by the Germans on the western from
II has his name, company and regimen
q reported officially to the Spanish EN-
bassy. The Spanish Ambassador re
a ports these names regularly to thu
= American Minister in Switzerland
= General Pershing is notified; the Wa
= Department in Washington receives
- telegram and his relatives are notified
: This is somethin which Fate canno
n prevent!
Red Cross Base In Switzerland
e. Anticipating the problems whic
5! arise as a result of American partici
a patton in the war. and knowing tina
American prisoners would have to b
a clothed and fed through an America
lie relief committee, the Red Cross estat
il lished a base in Switzerland and al
l. pointed Ellis Loring Dresel, formerl
g voluntary attache of the America
g embassy in Berlin, to direct the worl
T. Dresel retired Boston banker, wa
nj hard-working, capable, efficient ac
ministrator who had been helping o.
s. ficials of the American legation i
10 Berne since the United States had b,
come an enemy Of Germany. Dresel'
lie task was to get food and supplies int
D. Switzerland in such quantities as to b
D. able to care for any number of Amer
v can soldiers who might be selected b
D. Fate to live the life Of prisoner q
a war;" No one could supply him wit
figures; no one could tell him ho'
&, many men we would send to France
a and there. was no way to tell wha
"a proportion of them might be captures
n The misfortunes of war do not foilo'
~ known formulas.
Dresel had often inspected Germa
prison camps for Ambassador Gerar