Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-12-26

efforts both of h government and tho
prisoners Of war committee, supported
by the Swiss government, 1t nae been
found impossible to have special dele
cations sent to all the camps where
Belgians were interned. In the absence
of testimony from such delegates the
commissions bases its report on the
statements of repatrtated soldiers, only
quoting instances where the facts could
he established by the testimony Of sew
eral witnesses.
The torture of the post is a wen
established fact. At Soltan. in 1914
a mar was tied up without food for 20
hours. another was left hanging until
he tainted. There were four gibbets in
the camp and it was seldom that ont
was not In use; sometimes all four al
once. The post was in use in 1917 at
Thorn-Nord. At Gottingen reluctant
prisoners were shut up In In uncovered
and water logged enclosure called the
"U-boat." At Osnabruck some prison.
ers who refused to work in q coal mine
only consented when they were placed
between red hot iron bars which began
to close on them.
In July, 1916, the governor OF Han
over issued a proclamation making 10
obligatory for prisoners to work on
farms, in factories, and in the marshes,
In a cell without food, to be extended
II necessary to is days on water and
10 ounces of horse bread. with ordinary
food every fourth day, no blankets be-
ing allowed. Further obduracy resulted
in the prisoners being beaten with rifle
and finally IN the order of a German
officer, or a superior noncommissioned
officer. a prisoner might De shot on
the spot.
On June S, 1915. a quartermaster SER
geant who was undergoing the torture
0F fI1n r00f yrrn0 FtNrt fNSp4 A- H.
German noncom, and then beaten, in
order to make him face a camera with
which his torturers wished to photo
graph him..
At Soltau prisoners were often tied
to the post so tightly that the veins in
we're left in this position for two or
three hours no matter how hot or cold
the weather might be. Even in winter
prisoners suffered this torture in an
almost naked condition.
At Munster. at the beginning Of Sep
TENDER. 1914. II prisoners were shot
because they had not obeyed quickly
enough the sentry's order to line up.
At Soltau. in March. 1915. a prisoner
whose clothes were utterly worn out
tried to help himself to an old pair Of
on ou the spot tue At ss'' Minister saS. a a'R Bei Saaa
soldier was shot for crossing a road
between the military n civil camps,
In October. 1914, q sentry killed two
soldier prisoners and wounded three
others when firing on a civilian. Thir-
ty-ffve men were shot here in three
l months.
A soldier Of the 18th line regiment
who had complained of his treatment
in hospital was beaten with q heavy
stick by the doctor-a man called
Schilling. All witnesses agree that the
medical services in the camps were
very defective and that many men de-
veloped tuberculosis from lack Of food.
At Erfurt patients were laid side by side
on filthy mattresses.
Among the foreign doctors Illegally
detained al Wittenberg were two Bel
gians-Drs. Destree and Boland. Both
of these men contracted fever. Both
have been publicly thanked by the Brit
tsh n French governments for their
services. Copious extracts are given
from Or. Destree's report. which en-
tirely bears out that Of the English.
French and Russian statements.
The report also mentions punish
ments inflicted upon prisoners for COM
plants made to the Spanish embassy,
and also that prisoners who q been
selected for internment in Switzerland
were made before crossing the frontier
to sign q declaration that they had been
well treated in Germany. II they refused
to sign, they were kept In Germany.
Usual Procedure.
From tho Sydney Bulletin.
. new aet Of false teeth.
i RMl at MAJ iii ~ A.