Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-24

this gentleman opens the door and
kicks HIM out.
admitted as a valid excuse from work.
Any one who complains of being sick
is thrown from his bed and beaten
with the butt ends of rifles by guards,
under the Crocodile's orders.
"On December 10. 1916. the Germans
treated four Englishmen in this way,
beating them till they lost conscious
ness. Then they carried them to the
cage and lowered them into the mine.
where they left them till they had dug
and loaded their eight carloads of salt
Horrible as Mines
Some of the swamp kommandos' are
as horrible the mines; for example,
the Teufelmoor swamp, which is sup
piled from the prison camp at Hameln
in the province of Hanover. To it are
sent. when their punishment has been
endured, most of the men who have
been recaptured after attempting to
escape, those who are condemned by
court-martial, and those who simply
'displeased' the Germans.
AT Teufelmoor the prisoners are fed
with bread especially manufactured for
them, made of bran, chopped straw and
other substances of which the nature
is not known. The soup is Intentionally
made of sinking material and inten-
tionally facilitating. Blows with the
butt-ends of rifles are dealt for no rea-
son whatever, and the men are con-
stantly insulted in the most outrageous
manner. They have to toll without
moments respite. Under this treat
from twenty to forty pounds in a few
weeks, and falling i'll. Some hold out
for two months. A man named d
of the 9th Zouaves. from Quadreville,
near Cherbourg. more robust than
others, was at Teufelmoor two months
without breaking down, but his~suffer-
ing was so great that he resolved to
poison himself. So he soaked some
drank the liquor and swallowed the
tobacco. He nearly died, and became
so ill that he was reduced to skin and
bones. He was picked out by tho
Switzerland. and has been there since
the 9th of July.
When a prisoner reports himself as
ill and his claim is disallowed, the
2o0-liter vat (abeut 200 quarts) with a
sardine box. bringing the water from
a pump about 500 meters (250 feet) dis
tant. The victim is watched by one of
the guards of whom I have just made
mention; if he stops for a moment the
guard runs up and hits him on the
head. and this occurs if he has had the
misfortune to speak to one of his COM
rades in passing. If he carries out his
task steadily and without error, the
guard. irritated at not having reason
for striking him. threatens him and
baWiS out such expressions as the fol-
lowing: Take care! If you stop I'll
going to quit? Look out. or I'll break
your head One of my former COM
rades at Munsterlager, who was en-
ployed for time in the kitchen at
Koenigsmoor. looked on daily for three
weeks at scenes like this.
sometimes, instead of filing this 200
liter vat with sardine tin. the victim
has to fill two immense reservoirs which
supply an electric plant. and use
buckets.
Sometimes it happens that when a
prisoner is struck he hits back He is
immediately committed for trial by a
court-martial and put in a cell or de-
At Munsterlager a prisoner named
manned thus committed and awaiting
trial from April 1. 1916. to October I
so by l meter IS (about 8 feet by 6
feet) which received only little light
and that through the top. When at
last they do come before a court
n' the men who are accused of
having returned the blows of a guard
are sentenced to terms of Imprisonment
OF from two to ten years.
Percentage of Sick Huge.
The percentage of sick men among
the prisoners is enormous. and their
lot Is iamentable To appreciate it,
inspection which takes place every
morning at Soltau. and see with what
cold Indifference the captives are treat
ed. Ranged in long line and naked
to the waist, many of them showing
wounds received on the battlefield, the
majority reduced to a dreadful thin
ness, one by one they pass before the
doctor. and as they do SO he utters
IN hcrt Ia
texemption), and the whole business
IS done SO rapidly that no. real exam
nation is made
Il attended one of these inspections
on the 9TH of last January. I saw men
whose feet. legs and thighs were eaten
into by running sores, men afflicted
with boils, hernias. oedemata, men
with bronchitis and racking coughs,
jected and who were driven to work.
From time to time there is a gen
eral inspection. at which the doctor
distributes numbers which indicate the
already referred. Unless man is
actually crippled or suffering from an
acute attack of disease, no one today
is exempt from labor. Germany needs
workmen. and the prisoners are looked
upon as the primary source. of supply.
Therefore. men suffering from chronic
diseases must work like the rest-men
with heart disease and tuberculosis.
The latter. when in the first stage of
the malady. receive. ordinarily. No. 2,
and are sent to field labor. After
few months they are generally done
for and return to the camp to which
they belong. being sent by the doctor
of the 'kommando.' Examined again
by the camp doctor. they then receive
No. 3. By this time their disease has
made progress and has reached its sec
ond stage; but they are not exempted
for all that, but must perform what
is called light work. We know what
Germany means by light work-un-
loading Swedish ore, for example. as
at Emden."
"A GROUNDS FOR NEW TRIAL.