The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1918-03-12
Deported Men and Prisoners Are
Driven Into Slavery by Ger
man Authorities.
make STARTLING DIScLosUR|,.
HolIander Tells How Deported Bel.
aians and French Prisoners of
War Are Compelled to Work
in Munitions Factory
in Essen.
BY w. J. Z. kIEHL.

BY w. J. Z. klEHL.
Correspondent of the Chicago News.
The Hague, HollanG.-A NetherlanG
er who until four days ago was en-
ployed at Krupp's munition works il
Essen, Germany, makes the startlin:.
disclosure that some 1900 Hollanders
are working at Essen in the munitioi
/and war material factories. Most 0.
these men get there through the machi
nations of what this escaped" Hot
lander calls "Seelenerkaufer'
& Ossendegner of Rotterdam, VIII
seem to act as agents for supplying
Germany with greatly needed labor
Eighty or ninety men a day generally
find their way across the border by
means of their agents, lured by the
prospect Of very high wages and gooc
food. What they find in reality and
how next to impossible it is made for
them to return to their own country
is thus told in the Hollarder's words:
No Return Pass Given.
"When this firm of agents secured
my services they did not mention war
work." he said. II was given to under
stand that field labor and trade work
was required. Also l was promised
that I could return any Saturday to
Holland to stay through Sunday. The
promised wages were high and food
was said to be plentiful. l accepted,
my pass was ready in few moments,
but aid not know that the signatures
and vises required for my return to
Holland had been omitted, as they al
ways are in the passes given by these
agents, no doubt because they know
perfectly well that after a week in
Germany no single HOllander would
ever think CT returning there after his
weekend in Holland.
''Soon after my entrance upon Ger
man soil at Elten, where found sey-
eral compatriots like myself, we were
met by an agent from an 'arbeits Du-
reau,' who secured our services for
shellmaking at Krurp's by telling us
that food was good there and wages
very high. He said that in other
branches Of labor food was but indif-
ferent and the wages nothing like
Krupp's, so we men went to Essen.
How good the food was there you can
judge Of by the fact that my weight
was reduced by "A pounds while there.
'For breakfast we received two
slices of bread without any butter or
fat whatever. For dinner potato soup
that left rs hungry an hour after
eating. Then in the evening again
two slices of bread like at breakfast.
If the Hollapder felt too i'll or feeble
to work the Germans simply took away
his bed from under him to make him
get I'D. On, yes, there is doctor, but
he always diagnoses the same. You
can work-if you don't work you won't
eat'-nicht arbeiten-nicth essen, as
we used to put it.
saThe laborers are housed by the 500
together in barracks, which are but
insuficicntly warmed and imperfectly
cleaned. Typhus claims many victims.
In the barracks where I was housed
1 found four men lying dead of typhus
beside my crib one morning. After
few days of this sort Of thing it is not
to be wondered at that many Holland
ers try in every way to get back to
their country, although the vises on
their passes are lacking.
eff they are captured they are
thrown into prison for fortnight on
bread and water. # they survive they
are then drafted back to KTupp's, and
set to work again. Production is
pushed to the utmost. Numbers of sol
diers are employed as change from
the front, and these men are so afraid
of being again sent to the front that
they would rather work themselves to
death at Krupps.
Where Deported Be'gians Work.
"Deported Belgians and French pris-
oners of war also work at Krupp's.
Discipline is strictly enforced, and any
utterances Of anti-GerInan views are
at once punished.
II got the impression that Germany
flung itself like mad into munition
work as its last card. But raw ma
terial is getting scarce, especially cop
Der. In Essen all topper faucets and
the like had already been replaced by
iron and tin. The general idea in Ger
many is that the war can be prolonged
at the utmost for another haf year, SO
they are employing their last forces
for supreme effort.
Every evening at Krupp's alarms IS
made-'Flieger Gemeldet' [airpla@es
reportedl. All lights are then extiD-