The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-06
KEPT THREE YEARS
IN GERMAN PRISON
DIR. BOland, Once Canada's
Postmaster General, Could
Not See Dying Wife
FINALLY EXCHANGED
AFTER LONG DELAY
Says Kaiser Envies Hindenburg's Pop
ularity and Tries to Appropriate His
Victories-Will Go Back with Cana
dian Army as Surgeon.

AN ATLANTIC PORT, Aug. 6-After
being kept in a German prison for three
years DIR. Henri SEVERN Beland, post
master general of Canada under Pre-
mier Wilfred Laurier and who lives at
Beauce, in the province of Quebec, has ar
rived here, accompanied by his daugh-
ter, Miss Jeane, who was detained in Bel
GUM by the Germans while her father
of his Imprisonment was the death of his
wife in Belgium after he had been locked
up for eighteen months
His jailers refused to allow him to 90
from Berlin to see her when she was dy-
ing The news of his wife's death was
withheld from him for eleven days, and
he was only given the date after he had
begged to be allowed to go to her funer-
al, to show that it was too late
DIR. Beland was only postmaster gen.
eral for two months in 1911 when the
Laurier administration. was defeated
over the reciprocity question. 1t was
because he had held this political ap-
pointment that the Huns would not per
init him to leave Germany two years
ago when arrangements were made be
tween that country and Great Britain
Tor the exchange of civilian prisoners
more than IS years old DIR. Beland
was selected as one of twenty prisoners
| that Germany decided to retain. For
two years he was kept in prison with
out once going outside The third year
the chief medical officers of the mill
tary prisons gave permission for DR.
Beland to walk in the public park for
three hours twice a week under escort
on account of his health
| During the three years he lost twenty
pounds in weight, and his luxuriant black
hair became thin and turned gray. The
| only occupations he had were TO attend
the prisoners and the officials of the pris-
on when they We're i'll and to learn to
| speak, read, and write German fiuentIv,
| He was finally released in exchange for
the brother of Prince Won Bulow. who was
the head Of the Knlpp Gun company in
! London before the war
The doctor was in northern France
in August. 1914, and his wife was stop
ping at their estate in Cappellen. near
Antwerp. He promptly offered his serv-
ices as surgeon to the Belgian army and
was with them in the fighting at Liege
From that city he went to Antwerp and
was there when the British expedition
sent out by Winston Churchill arrived
III October of that year He also saw
the city captured by the Huns in Octo-
Der. Or. Beland continued to live with
his wife at Cappellen until she converted
the house into a Red Cross hospital and
trained herself as a nurse
The doctor spoke slowly and stopped
occasionally to think of his words He
explained that, like the majority Of the
prisoners he had met, he was suffering
| from loss of memory caused bv his lone
| imprisonment, which had interfered with
| the receptiveness of the organ in the brain
Up to May y. 1875" the doctor said.
Il practiced medicine among the poor
IN Antwerp and my wife carried on the
Red Cross hospital at Cappeilen Then
! the German commandant sent an officer
! To tell me that | was to be informed.
| When / pointed out that physicians
practicng as civilians were immune from
internment the Hun officer replied that
| was not receiving fees from my patients
| was arrested and taken to the Grand
Hotel, which was used as a military head
quarters and residence of the staff officers
in Antwerp. After three days / was sent
to Berlin and locked up in the Stadivogel
prison.
"The prison fare was rough, consist
ing chiefly of black bread greasy soup.
and potatoes This did not trouble me-
rs ! received parcels of food and sup
plies weekly from London The treat
upant xVaa about l.,
is in places of that kind The prison
was the most international in its char
aeter that | have ever been in. There
were 90 to 80 British. 200 Poles, and
representatives, of all the allied countries
the neutral countries and the nations
comprised in the central powers. They
included Bulgarians, who were known as
nolitical agitators: German officers who
Ii L. LII L 1 = 4