Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-12-11
He Chalked on the Door.

to anybody we wanted to, after which
he chalked on the door in big letters:
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
and told us it was the return address.
We were all surprised, and asked each
other where we were, because we had
thought we were in Neustrelitz. After
while, we learned that it means
"Prisoner-of-War-Camp." At first,
though, many of US thought it was
the name of the town, and we got to
calling it the Brewery, because the
name ended in lager. Whatever beer
though.
I noticed that all the time he was
writing the word and giving us the
stationery, the sentry was laughing
and having great time with his own
little self, but I figured he was just
acting German, and that nothing was
important about it.
We were all tickled to death to get
chance to let our people know where
we were, and each man thought a
long time about what he would say,
and who he would write to, before he
ever started to write. Each man want
| ed to say all he could in the small
| space he had, and we wanted to let
our friends know how badly they we're
treating us without saying it in so
many words, because we knew the
Huns would censor the letters, and it
would go hard with anyone who COM
planned much. So most of the men
said they were having a great time
and were treated very well, and spread
1t on so thick that their friends would
figure they we're lying because they
had to.
One fellow had an idea that was
better than that, though. He had been
three months, for beating up con-
stable, and he had hat pretty rough
time. So he wrote a pal of his that
he had been captured by the Ger
mans, but that everything was going
along pretty well. In fact, he said,
the only other trip he had ever been
on, where he had better time, was
the three months vacation he had
spent in Portsmouth two years before,
which he thought the friend would re-
member. He said that trip was bet
ter than this one, so the friend could
figure out for himself how pleasant
this one was. Everybody thought this
not all Of us had been in Jail, so we
could not all use it. Which was just
as we'll, we thought, because the Ger
mans would be suspicious if all Of us
compared this vacation with others.
A few of the men did not have any
body they could write to, and some did
not know their friends addresses, so
they would write letters. to friends Of
the other men, and sign it with the
friends nickname.
AS soon as man had finished his
letter, he had to go out to the center
of the camp, where they had built a
raised platform. There the sentries
took the letters, and the men formed
around the square. There were OFF,
GERS on the platform reading the let
tiers. We thought they read them
there In the open, before us, so that
we would know they were not tamper-
ing with the letters, and we thought
the heaven would fall If they were
getting so unkultured as that.
Finally, all the men had finished
their letters and turned them over to
the officers, who read them. And then
we saw why the sentry laughed.
The officers tore up every one Of the
. letters. They were anxious that we
, would see them do it, SO none Of US
would have any hope that our friends
would get word.
But we said to ourselves that, If It
: was information they wanted, they had
[ as much as was good for them, which
: was none at all, because do not think
, one letter In the bunch had single
word Of truth in 1t. But we were all
: very angry and pretty low after that
because it showed the Huns still had
plenty Of kultur left, after all, and We
: knew there was rough shedding ahead
: Of us.a Also, some Of the men were
|: lqee because they bad wasted tAel1
u q - Il IS 10 :