Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-04-27
p0D STOLEN BY GERMANS
WHILE PRISONERS STARVE
'rced British Soldiers to Work for
Huns Under Shell
Fire.
3VELATIoNs ARE TERRIBLE
Pre- Than Million Dollars Worth
OF Ediblcs Left Lying Untouched
Willie Men We're Dying for the
Want of Them.
ny HAYDEN CHURCH.

cir offensive of last March. de-
erateiy starved 10 death thousands
laws of war, they were forced TO
prk under shell fire behind their
es IN france, and this in spite Of
dollars that had been sent to
ese men from England. was lying
touched In "a German prison camp.
IS related 10 me today by one Of the
lei officials OF the central prisoners
war committee of the British Red
oss. This remarkable organization
the past two ycars. with it's allied
re committee. has been solely re-
onsible for the dispatch of parcel
the men Of the British Army in
envy hands.
Condemned by Thousunds.
The worst grievance Of all that we
We against the Germans 80 FAR AS
CIR treatment or our prisoners is con-
NED. sad TINS official, Mr.. l.. -.
new. is the death by starvation TO
F1demned thousands of our men who
re captured IN the great boche Of
isivs OF last March: They let these
IN die from sheer hunger combined
IN III treatment while forcing them.
DER the shell fire of our own armies
puiiu trenches ana roads and TO as
,antiine making not the slightest at
npt TO distribute the hundreds of
usands OF food parcels, represent
value OF 10000 pounds u,ooo,-
I'm England TO keep these men alive.
Kept Parcels of Food.
This is what happened. AS a result,
the great German offensive OF
.reh, we lost as YOU know. over a
ndrcd thousand men. Up TO that
me. the Germans. apparently. had
Adc every effort to distribute honest
ana carefully. the food parcels that
Ia Dcch sent 10 our men ia England.
eSious TO this date. within "A reason
ic time after a man had been cap
Fed. his relatives received a post
"a from him announcing the fact
az he was a prisoner in German
NOS, and indicating the name OF the
ison camp TO which Letters and par
y might be addressed Some time
Ter the March offensive. postcards
gan 70 arrive from the ,hnuA.n.ls az
IN taken by the Germans, ana IN
,au d 9t Darying; as prsvio4sly. the
inicat!ons was in every case the
me, Limburg.
rds that parcels and letters must
be- sent TO l.imburg but that Il
oper address would follow.
Food Sent Into Germany
Later The proper address, came in
proved 10 b. in thousands OF cases
nps IN distant parts Of Germany
8ch as Gusirow. rarchim and 50 on.
cord iHEly thousands upon thousands
iood parcels the greater part Of
| ire promptly sent. but not :, single
e of them was received By the man
whom i, Was addressed The men
re not at tn. camps stated and had
! yer been sent there. The parcels on
rival were accordingly sent TO these
slant camps and thence sent back TO
iedrichs ticld. near the Dutch frontier
the Rhine, the hcadquart.r camp
p the Western front. Those in au-
Fority there and our own British HELD
inmittcc had been kept in ignorance
the real Whereabouts OF all these
Iisoncrs, and accordingly nothing
Iuld be forwarded TO the men HhO
Icded the food so sorely. In this
by. when the arinistice was signed
er 100000 pounds worth Of food par
Sls had accumulated at Fricdrichs-
Toll Under Bonbardment.
f"And all the time the men to whom
lis food had been sent toilinE under
M bardIncnt behind the German lines
R;re wasting away and dying at the
tie OF scores a day as the result OF
)e starvation diet which was all they
IRE permitted TO have combined with
Ie brutal treatment to which they
(.re subjected. If there is a blacker.
pre- outrageous chapter in the his
am at loss 10 know what IL is.
e only partially satisfactory thing
tout the whole matter is that this
eat quantity OF food. which was
Fide available for the prisoners Of a
|rmerly allied nation, the represent
lives OF the British Army. on arriv-
tx at Friedrichsfield, having made
|ese stores available for the feeding
large number of Russian prison
> still in German hands
|"What motive actuatcd the Germans
thus depriving these Britons OF their
I'D parccls?" was asked. why did
ley suddenly change their policy in
Feared Revolution rhen.
THAT is difficult to say" was the
|ply. but the probability is that,
ter March last. the Germany military
thorities did not dare TO bring we'll
|;t this positive evidence that we were !
nothing Ike such straits as they
far as food is concerned, might have
Thus Il new record OF furnish in
my is disclosed that would be cal
+ lated TO send thrill OF horror
|e fact that humanity. already suppcd
III OF horrors, Is today probably in |
pablo OF being either shocked or
'rprised by any tale that could be
Id OF the barbarity of the brutal
The record of the central prisoners
war committee of the British Red |
.oss and order of st. John of Jeru-
the story Of this country's aston
hing war organization. Until, rough |
p, Two years ago the business OF
nding parcels of food and comforts
as left entirely to the public, i. g..
the relatives and friends Of indi-
dual prisoners and to various pri-
.tely formed societies. This natur-
ly resulted in unequal distribution.
mounting to actual injustice.
Many Failed to Gain Aid.
Thus man with many friends
ight be almost inundated with par
Is from England. while the almost
iendless man in the next bed In
c prison camp might, and in thou
nds Of cases did, receive few or none
all. The thing eventually became
netting of a scandal, with the re-
1t that about the beginning OF 1916
e War Office decreed that In future
e feeding Of the British prisoners
ould be centralized. and the central
iSonerS of war committee was forth
It'll created as a department Of the
I'd Cross.
Associations Did Work.
Affiliated w$h' the central committee
ere havo bitAn. large number of
are committees" and associations
,st Of which have undertaken to sup
yJssthe needs of men OF individual
gsnents, and since the date men
fAfa the entire supplementary food
s3fHes of British prisoners OF war
Tta,:'been bought, packed and dis
tcfied by the central prisoners of war
and its authorized associa-
ms. 1t Is thanks to these food par
Is from England that most OF the
patriatcd British prisoners of war
0 alive today. since II has been
owed by actual analysis that the die
ry provided In the German prison