The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1918-12-02
PRISONERS ARE
BADLY TREATED
British Corporal Tells Of IN
Months Experience in
Germany.
SHOT FOR PICKING UP FOOD
sentrIes Fire on Starved Prisoners
Who Pick Up Food Thrown to
Them by French Women
Forced to Work.

M +
London.--A corporal in the Lincoln
shires, who was taken prisoner in
April, 1917, and who succeeded In es-
Gaping from the Huns clutches in
June. 1918, has given very interesting
account Of his experiences. He is a
man of the highest character and his
story is, therefore, worthy of credence.
He was captured April II, 1917. near
Algicourt, and was at first taken to
the. German headquarters, behind the
line. He was questioned, but refused
to give any information. He was
then sent to a working party behind
the German lines at place called
Maretz, and was employed on ration
dump. The party was about 18 kilo-
meters from the line; they could see
4 the British shells bursting a mile or SO
away. but the corporal never heard of
any casualties among the prisoners.
There was a commandment in charge
Of the camp, and the second In COM
mand was a feldwebel. Both these Of
fcials treated the prisoners very badly.
The first day that they were in camp
the commandment came, and the field
webel shouted "Achtung." The men
did not know what he meant and did
not therefore spring to attention. as
they should have done. The field
webel thereupon struck them with a
whip. The sentries also treated them
very badly.
Picks Up Food-shot.
When the prisoners were returning
from work the Frenchwomen used to
throw them food and other things. The
men knew that It was forbidden to
step out of the ranks to pick these
things up, but they were so hungry
that, they often broke the rules. The
corporal saw man shot by q sentry
for stepping out Of the ranks in this
way He was killed instantly, the bull
let passed right through him, went
through another mans pocket and
blew the finger, or two fingers, off a
third man. There were two other men
shot in the same way; the corporal
saw them both brought into the lager.
The prisoners got no food from Eng
land while they were on this working
party, and they. were not allowed to
write home. 445 S5s
Toward the end of May, 1917, the
corporal was transferred to Minister
IL, In Germany, and week later he
was sent on to Minden, where he ne
manned six weeks.
The treatment at Minden was not
bad, and In this respect 1t differed
from the food which was very bad
indeed. A five-pound loaf Of black
bread was divided among ID men; this
was their bread ration for the day.
They had coffee in the morning and a
thin, watery kind of soup at noon.
Once a week they had fish and a small
quantity of potatoes, AT $50 in the
evening they had what they called
sandstone It was just like eating
sand. Sometimes they had ground
maize, and one night out OF three they
had coffee.
Works In Munltlon Factory.
From Minden the corporal went on
q working party to huntington, where
he remained three weeks. He was
working in munition factory, unload.
ing iron and coal, but the prisoners
had nothing to do with the machinery.
There were ten Englishmen In the
working party, AZ Russians and four
Frenchmen. The treatment was not
good. and the work was very hard.
At the beginning the guards over
the prisoners were soldiers, but during
the last four months that the corporal
was in Germany they had been re-
placed by elderly civilians. The guards
told the prisoners that there had been
riots In Berlin just after Christmas,
1917, and several people had been shot.
The guards said that all the best men
had gone and that 1t was shameful to
think of the kind of men that they
were using in the army.
p, AS has already been said. this cor
poral Is particularly intelligent man.
He is quite ready to admit good treat
ment when good treatment has been
given to him, and he has contented
himself with giving the bare facts Of