Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-01-06
FRENCH AND BELG|ANS
MAKE KRUPP SHELLS
Hollander Tells How Deported Men
and Prisoners Are Driven
Into Slavery.

and Prisoners Are Driven
Into Slavery.
Correspondence of The Evening Star
and Chicago Daily News.)
THE HAGUE, Holland, November 2s-
Netherlander who until a few days ago
was employed at Krupp's munition works
in Essen, Germany. makes the startling
disclosure that some 1000 Hollanders are
working at Essen in the munition and
war material factories Most Of these
men get there through the. Vaccinations
OF what this escaped Hollander calls
| Observation-Disclosures & Osscndegner
for supplying Germany with greatly need
ed labor. Eighty or ninety men day
generally find their way across the border
by means OF their agents. lured by the
prospect OF very high wages and good
food. What they find in reality and how
next to impossible 1t is made for them
to return to their own country is thus
told in the escaped Hollander's words.
When this firm Of agents secured my
services they did not mention war work. "
he said. 81 was given to understand that
field labor and trade work was required.
Also I was promised that could return
any Saturday to Holland 10 stay through
Sunday. The promised wages were high
and food was said to be plentiful / ac-
cepted. my pass was ready in a few mo-
ments, but I did not know that the sig
natures 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 knoY per-
fectly well that after week In Germany
no single Hollander would ever think OF
returning there after his week end in
Holland.
soon after my entrance upon German
soil at Elten, where found several COM
patriots like myself. we were met by an
agent from an .arbeits bureau. who sc.
cured our services for shellmaking at
Krupp's by telling US that food was good
there and wages very high. He said that
In other branches Of labor food was but
Indifferent and the wage nothing ike
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 twenty-four pounds while there.
For breakfast We received two slices
whatever. For dinner potato soap that
left US hungry an hour after eating.
Then In the evening again TWO Slices
of bread like at breakfast. IL the Hoi-
lander felt too Ill or feeble TO work the
Germans simply took away his bed from
under him to make him get up. Oh, yes.
there i~ doctor, but he always dag
noses ne same. You can work-i1 you
don't work you won't get anything to
eat'-'nicht arbeiten-nicht essen. as
he used to put It.
THE 1aborers are housed by the 500
together in barracks. which are but IN
sufficiently warmed and imperfectly
cleaned Typhus claims many victims.
In the barracks where I was housed
found four men lying dead of typhus
beside my crib one morning. After a few
days of this sort OF thing 1t Is not to be
wondered at that many Ho1landers try
ia vrya1 n
country. although the vises on their
passes are lacking.
IF they are captured they are thrown
into prison for a fortnight on bread and
water. II they survive they are then
drafted back to krupp's, and set to
work again. Production 10 pushed to
the uttermost. Numbers Of soldiers are
employed as change from the front.
again sent to the front that they would
rather work themselves to death at
Krupp's
"Deported Belgians and French pris-
oners of war also work at krupp's. Dis
cipline Is strictly enforced. and any ut
terances of anti-German views are at
once punished. OF the 1853 Dutchmen
who arrived with me twenty-four are
in prison for having told their own
opinion about the war. A Belgian who
dared to say They will never tame that
proud Flemish lion mysteriously disap-
peared one day, and we never saw him
again. Other Belgians and Frenchmen
were threatened with the same lot II
they ventured to speak Of the occurrence.
Spies were everywhere among US.
Il got the impression that Germany
flung itself like mad into munitfon work
as Its last. card. But raw material Is
getting scarce. especially copper. In
Essen all copper faucets and the like
had already been replaced by iron and
tin. The general idea In Germany is
that the war can be prolonged at the
utmost fors another year, SO they are
employing their last forces for . su-
preme effort.
Every evening at Krupp's alarm IL
made - Flieger Gemeldet' (airplanes
|reported). All lights are then extin-
guished. This IL done so that we should
not know when flyers really came to
lombard the factories. No one is al
lowed to talk Of the damage done by
allied bombs, and the newspapers are
snjoined to Keep silence on those mat
ters. Still. can say that some damage
has been done. although cannot say
how much nor exactly whore. On the
other hand. stories likely to stimulate
the energy OF the people are eagerly
promulgated. such m those Of enor-
moua submarines Of dreadnau1iit type.
|0f guns that can shoot ninety kflo-l
|metars thAt aro soon to be used against