The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-09-15
BY GEORGE BRITT
Times Special Writer

Times Special Writer
MOTORING in Germany in the
AVA vicinity of any of 4,7Oo towns
and villages scattered all over
the map, you may pass any day
now a marching company of what
appear at first to be soldiers, but
which materializeS into workmen
husky, tanned, smiling young
srers in columns of fours, with
picks and shovelS at right-shoul-
der arms, marching to and from
work and singing as they march
always singing.
They are volunteers, "freiwilli-
gers" in the equivalent of our
new forestry camps for the I'M
employed. They have been trans
planted from the city streets to a
simple industrious country life,
for which they are paid their keep,
plus pocket money Of dime a
day, becoming we'll inoculated with
the Nazi religion as part of the
bargain.
Germany, it can not be forgot
ten, has come through her revolu-
ton a country perfectly safe for
big business, country in which
large powers remain in the old
time industrial classes, just as
before
Hitler, originally having prom
ised everything to everybody, thus
far has delivered the least to the
proletariats. Nevertheless, he has
made changes, and others are in
process quite different from and
in addition to the elimination of
Jews from influence on German
life.
The work camps are one of
these changes, also the emascula-
ton of labor unions, prospective
dissolution of department stores,
the new policy Of putting woman
in her place, and the CONCEALED
state of finance and foreign ex-
change.
Work camps we're not an origi-
nal Hitherto idea. But the new
regime took them over, converted
them to its purposes, increased
enrolment to about 100000 and is
backing them proudly.
TNQUIRING foreigners are sent
Il out in handsome automobiles
courteously provided by the min
istry O. labor to see the camps in
operation. After such a trip I
also went Independently to an
other camp, where exactly the
same sort of work was being done.
The latter had started as a
spontaneous religious group. First
called Christian Crusaders, they
are Nazified now.
Propaganda is an important OBJ
ject of the camps. One bulletin
board carried typewriter list of
eleven commandments for the
Reich workmen." No. l, literally
translated by one of the freiwil-
Tigers, was Thou shall be punctu-
al in every service and roll out of
bed at time, otherwise you will
be punished and late at work"
Other commandments enjoined
such virtues as obedience and
cleanliness until the eleventh,
Thou shall be a good-natured
German and National Socialist,
faithful to your SuperiorS and
your native country; only this
way you can help to strengthen
Germany"
Their songs are Nazi; their
hymns clang with martial smile.
They have such discipline and
saluting as an innocent foreigner
might never have dreamed of,
even in the old Prussian army.
-Four of us with a labor ministry
official were being shown about.
A T parting shook hands with
L N our guide. He clicked his
heels together, raised his arm
in Fascist salute and said, Hell
Hitler" Turning to the next Wis
itor, he repeated the routine, and
so on down the line. Five hand
shakes he gave, five heel clicks,
five SaluteS and five Hell Hit
lers," all in thirty seconds.
The volunteers are II and Is
years old. They serve forty weeks
and are not re-enliSted, the the
DRY being that in this time they
should have gained enough
health spirit and craftsmans
skill to take care of themselves.
They work six hours a day
no loafing. They repair the old
buildings in which they live, build
roads, drain SwampS, operate
canals and carry out minor local
improvements of all sorts.
Total cost to the state is 2
marks a day man, about IS
cents. Of this the individual re-
ceives thirty pfennigs; food
comes to ninety pfennigs. And it
would not take long to make
these drilled and disciplined lads
into soldiers.
Manual labor here is cheaper
than machinery Why buy a
steam shovel when plenty of
ditch diggers may be had for
two marks a day?
If times continue hard and the
labor market still is glutted, the
freiwilligers may take over prac-
tically all the public works con-
tracts IN Gorr1aanN And what