The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1918-02-20
F I B l r
i! l|ll ( Nj
stiollandsr Tells How Dsportsd Del
plans and French Prisoners Z
War Are Compelled TO Work
Ii Munitions Factory sSs 1
In Essen. .
BY ". j. q. KiEHl,

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
by w. IL. KiEHL.
Correspondent OF the Chicago News.) |
The Hague, HOlland.--A Netherlands
who until four days ago was em-
at Krupp's munition works in
Rssen, Germany, makes the startling
disclosure that some 1000 Hollnnders
are working at Essen In the munition
and war material factories. Most OF
these men get there through the machi-
nations of what this escaped" Hol-
lander calls Observation-Disclosures
q Ossendegner Of Rotterdam, who
seem to act as agents for supplying
Germany with greatly needed labor.
Eighty OF ninety men a 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 returnto their own country
Is thus told In the Hollander's words:-
No Return Pass Given.
when this firm Of agents secured
my services they. did not mention var
work" he said. Il was given to under
stand that field labor and trade work
was required. Also 1 was promised
that / could return any Saturday to
Holland to stay through Sunday. The
promised wages were high and food
was said to be plentiful. l accepted,
my pass was ready in a few moments,
bat I did not know that the signatures
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 know
perfectly well that after a week in
Germany no single Hollander would
ever think Of returning there after his
weekend in Holland.
"'Soon after my entrance upon Ger.
man soil at Elten, where I found ev.
eral compatriots like myself, we were
met by an agent from an 'arbeits bar
reau,' who secured our services for
sheilmaking at Krupp's by telling us
that food was good there and wages
very high. He said. that mother.
branches Of labor food was but indif-
ferent and the wages nothing like
Krupp'A 80 we men went to Essen.
How good the food was there you can
Judge OF by the fact that my weight
was reduced by "a pounds while there.
'For breakfast we received two
slices OF bread without any butter or
fat whatever. For dinner potato soup.
that left us hungry an hour after
eating. Then in the evening again
two slices of bread like at breakfast.
II the Hollander felt too i'll or feeble
to work the. Germans simply took away
his bed from under him to make him
get up. Oh, yes. there is a doctor, but
he always diagnoses the same. You
can work-if you don't work you won't
eat-.nicht arbeiten-nicth essen as
we used to put 1t.
"The laborers are housed by the 500
together in barracks, which are but
insuff1ciently warmed and imperfectly
cleaned. Typhus claims manysvictims.
In the barracks where I was housed
! found four men lying dead Of typhus
beeide my crib one morning After a
few days OF this sort Of thing it is not
to be wondered at that many Holland
ers try in every way to get back to
their country, although the vises on
their passes r lacking.
IF they r captured they are
thrown into prison for a fortnight on
bread and water. If they survive they
are then drafted back to Krupp's, and
set to work again. Production is
pushed to the utmost. Numbers Of SOL
diers are employed as a change from
the front, and these men are so afraid
OF being again sent to the front that
they would rather work themselves to
death at Krupp's.
Whsre peported Beigians Work.
'Deported Belgians and French pris-
oners Of war also work ut Krupp's.
Discipline is strictly enforced, and any
utterances Of anti-German views are
at once punished.
II got the impression that Germany
flung itself like mad into munitiOn
work as its last card. But raw ma
tefial Is getting scarce. especially cop
per. In Essen all copper faucets and:
the Ike had already been replaced BY
iron and tin. The general i6ea In Ger
many Is that the var can be prolonged.
at theiutmost for another half year, so
they are employing their last forces
for q: supreme. effort.
Every evening at Krupp's alarms is
nnAda-T1ierer Gemeldet' rairDlanes