Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-05-17
lNFucT CRUEL PUNISHMENT
Americans Paraded Half Starved,
About Germany and Cheated OF
Food Offerings From British
Prisoners by Swift
Removals.

Tbe Hagua.-From frrefutable evi
dence obtained by the New York Times
correspondent, 1t Is impossible to close
ones eyes to what is going on IN the
hospitals and prisoners camps In Ger
many. It is mistake to believe that
the treatment of prisoners and wound
ed in Germany has improved. On the
contrary, it is as bad as it ever was,
| even worse.
The punishments inflicted are cruel
and inhuman. AS is well known, prs
oners are absolutely dependent upon
parcels for food and clothing. A fa-
/ yorite punishment is to withhold these
from whole camp or from large bod
les of prisoners. 1t has been estab-
! lished beyond doubt that prisoners are
! employed behind the front and are un-
der shellfre, in defiance Of The Hague
agreement Of 1917.
Some prisoners never reach a camp
in Germany for six months, meanwhile
! receiving no parcels Of food. Their
/ condition on arrival at camp, broken
down and starving, is pitiable.
| Hawked About Country.
| The evidence doesn't tend to show
! that American prisoners are receiving
any preferential treatment. 1t Is re-
ported that the first American prisons
ers taken were hawked about the coun<
try, presumably to show them Off to the
populace. At Giessen, where, 1t would
seem, American prisoners were Kept on
! two separate occasions, they were pro-
hibted any intercourse, even by sign
! language, with other prisoners and
were not allowed to receive parcels
or gifts from them.
| British prisoners at Giessen asked
! If they could give parcels to Ameri-
/ cans and finally received permission
to do so the following day. But the
next day the American prisoners were
moved away early in the morning.
| British prisoners were able to de-
! tect Americans who had been captured
any length of time by their appear
ance and by the state Of their clothes
! Until parcels for them arrived from
Berne their state was deplorable.
| A British noncommissioned officer
recently obtained the signatures OF
| the first ten Americans captured and
| talked with them. These men signed
/ the scrap of paper in the hope that
| some news of them would reach ths
outside world. They were In poor
physical health and somewhat de-
spondent.
| Some of the Evidence.
A few recent examples from large
amount of sworn evidence follows -
In February 1918, 1900 men were
sent from q Westphalan camp TO with
| In thirty kilometers behind the front
Their guards ran away to escape the
British shrapnel fire.
The state of prisoners coming from
the big Somme battle in the first week
Of the present month was deplorable.
Their wounds had not been dressed in
many cases for more than ten days.
Owing to the lack Of dressing, British
comrades bandaged their wounds with
old towels and shirts
It was formerly announced by the
| German authorities in Camp Bonn on
| April 13 last that two British soldiers,
R and B., had been shot near
Minden for not stopping talking when
! ordered to do SO.
In November, 1917, men were
brought into the hospital at M con-
tinually, having been wounded by
shrapnel from behind the lines.
Wounded men lay for three or four
weeks unattended and grossly neg
]ected.
Much of the sworn evidence Is sd
repugnant that it could not be pub.
lished. There has been talk of re-
prisals on American prisoners, and
even foreigners born in America are
included In these threatened reprisals.
"We will hit America through the