The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-15
WRITTEN BY T. B. DICKINSON
(Escaped Prisoner of War.

Uy l. D. D1Ch1uSOusI
 Thousands of deaths have been di- rectly attributable to the use of food substitutes in the Fatherland, and it is not too much to say that they have seriously impaired the health and strength of the nation as whole. In 1917 the average German working man was so weakened by lack of proper and nourishing food that his powers of production were reduced at least 50 per cent. compared with pre-war times. I make this state- ment on the authority of the manag- ing director of the largest paper fac tory in Germany, where I worked for a period.
 Target for Gross Wit When I was taken prisoner in the spring of 1915 the Germans were lus- ty and lumpish in body, while mental ly they were puffed up with the pride of victories won and conceit as to the glorious and all-conquering future. In those days the streets of the an- cient city of Munster were crowded with happy, well-fed Teutons, and the numerous cafes and restaurants Edid a roaring business. The beer in kthe beer gardens seemed to be about as plentiful as water, and the strains of ~Deutscherland uber Alles" i'm pinged upon the ear from every dt- rection. Ffguratively speaking, Nun ster was a city in a land flowing with milk and honey and the "heady'' wine of success.
 The first camp was taken to was near Munster, and when, as some times happened, I was put to work in the city, was, of course, accom- panied by a sentry with loaded rifle and fixed bayonet. The pavements were sacred to the Huns. It was ''ver- boten" that the feet of British "schweinehund'' should perambulate anywhere but in the centre of the roadway.
 I journeyed in front of the sentry, and as we made our progress along the thoroughfares became target for the dull and gross wit of the olea- ginous citizens.
 'See the Britisher! How thin he isl" cried pedestrian one day, adding "And before we are done with them the whole cursed brood will be hir- ing themselves out as pipe-cleaners.' Heaven knows, I was as lean as a rake at that period, the reason being that my parcels from home had not started to arrive, and I had perforce to exist solely on the meagre rations doled out by my captors.
 And the laughter of the. bystanders on hearing the prophecy which I have quoted might have worked me up in- to a temper and got me into serious trouble had I not remembered the old saw which declares that he who laughs last laughs longest.
 The adage proved true in this par ticular case, and, although cou1d not afford to rejoice openly, my careful Iy-concealed merriment placed se- were strain sn my risible faculties. The Munsterites looked as fine and to look until about the beginning o1 December 1915. Prior to that date business as usuar' accurately des- cribes the state of affairs in the way of eating and drinking. Food was plentiful, and the whopping 'tcorpor- ations'' of the Huns, respecting the terrible trials and hardships that lay in store, remained in a state of bliss full ignorance.
 Cursed the British Blockade It was about this time that I be- gan to hear the Germans refer to the British blockade. To put it mildly their language was of an unparlia- mentary character.
 They considered themselves the most persecuted and maltreated peo-
 pie under the sun. As for the Bri- tish they were the vilest and most depraved of eviI-doers-a nation thai
 wanted to starve the civilians of the
 Fatherland; that was incapable ot
 adhering to the recognized rules o1 civilized warfare.
 Truly, the psychology of the leu Iton is about the only comical factor
 with which he is endowed. His sense
 of right and wrong is grotesque ir
 the extreme. Put it briefly, there are innumerable things that are fit and
 proper when done by a German-an6 by a German only. Deeds of a sinf-
 lar character performed by men o1 another race-if they affect the vel
 fare of Fritz-are, he will seriously inform Sou, crimes of the b1ackes type.
 } Kurt Brieger, farmer for whom
 worked for time in Westphalia, wa: typical Hun in this respect I got
 fairly well acquainted with Brieger l who, despite his nationality, was no at all a bad sort. He would talk quit . freely to me about the war, and some 3 of his views sounded strange to m. - British ears.
 One day, when the Zeppelin raid 1 lwere at their height, Brieger came t g me with a garish story about tn I destruction of London and several o l the leading provincial cities Thous f ands of citizens, he declared, had beel slain, and great conflagrations hal