Evening star., 1918-06-23

IN Y courtesy of our general staff I
~ have enjoyed a visit to Gen.
Ill " Allaire, provost marshal general
of the American forces in France
and England. and who, in addition to
his other duties, has in his care all our
prisoners Of war.
Inc kindness of the French war office
at the same time procured me an inter-
view, authorized for publication, with
nigh French military personality.
llhe French. at the beginning. loaned
US several thousands of their Ger
man prisoners)
These are the two great chiefs of
1t, and it was only an affair of five
minutes in each case to perceive
that fighting the Huns to a finish"
is notably speeded up by our humane
treatment of their rank and file, be-
come prisoners.
have seen plump and ruddy Ger
mans working cheerfully at an Amer
lean port barracks, an American rail-
road junction and an American saw
mill-a1 in France. Vast works, of
whose magnitude you have no idea,
call continually for skilled and un-
skilled labor. For example, we have
$4,000 Americans operating our own
there are 5000 American mechanics
in French railroad shops, repairing
French material only. At the same
time we are building and assembling
like giants-all of which can use
help.
* X
eve could place 10000, 20, 900, $4,000
Germans in day." said~our provost
marshal-general ut would release
great numbers of our own men en-
gagged in work which Germans could
do and speed up things generally.
You find all kinds of trades among
them. Right Aown this street have
you seen the forty Bavarians at the
sawmill?'
ing, instructive and not unbeautiful-
to see enemies who fought only yes
terday so desperately and viciously
take hold today so docilely and con-
tentedly at their old home trades.
Considering past performances, it is
almost disconcerting.
Gen. Allaire told me how they are
"sorted."
"As with the French and British
services" he said, "our prisoners of
war. as soon as captured, are taken
to divisional prisoner-of-war cages,
"hSiS lAey are SedTCHtu ana QuSS-
TONED by the intelligence department.
After this they are evacuated to corps
and Army prisoner-of-war cages,
whence they are taken to the rear to
central prisoner-of-war cages. These
latter are located at points conve-
here they are organized into COM
panies and categories. according to
vocation, and sent to different points,
depending on the kind Of work re-
quired.
I'VE treat our prisoners of war in
a humane and civilized way, in ac-
cordance with international law"
continued Gen. Allaire. at is our
way. How could we do otherwise?
You know, it is impossible for us to
compete in barbarity with those
Huns, who care nothing for the lives
and health Of their private soldiers
But they do care very much for their
commissioned officers. Their whole
philosophy is to cultivate a race Of
slaves and supermen."
The high French military PERSONAL
fly got it down to yet finer point
"They are a stomach" he said.
German prisoners are working all
over France, by thousands and thou
sands. French civilians, deprived by
restrictions. are often scandalized by
their fourishing condition, especially
of agricultural laborers rented out to
as small as five men, under a single
French territorial guard. SprawIing
in their noon spell, they seem to foy-
get the war and almost that they are
prisoners, but they are good workers.
~
Trench civilians are irritated at
the sight of these fat Germans" said
the high French military personality,
"and the authorities have been ac-
cused of weakness. Alas! in spite of
all circulars reducing fat-producing
rations (sugar. bread. etc) and equal
izing to 5000 calories the daily ra-
tion in conformity with the alleged
regime of French prisoners in Ger
many. the shining fatness in ques-
tion will continue until the end of
Athe war And the unique reason is
that our peasants, with their natural
fineness of observation. see. immedi-
ately, that the German soldier is a
stomach on two legs. To get the
maximum Of work from him it is only
necessary to give him maximum of
<oad ~, b;S rannsp And numerOuS are