Evening star., 1941-08-28
Third OF a Series.)
By BETTY SARGENT,

DN DE SahOElN1
Correspondence of The stars Special News
Service.
GENEVA-The. lot of civilians
interned in enemy lands has been
better in this war than 1t was in
1914-19l8, International Red Cross
officials report.
Delegates from the international
Office have been allowed to visit
internment camps, have suggested
| improvements and obtained the lib
Grafton or repatriation of certain
groupS-not, of course, including
men of military age.
Civilian nationals of belligerent
countries caught and interned by
an enemy, while not protected like
prisoners of war by an International
Red Cross Convention, have been
the concern of the Geneva Red
Cross Committee on Prisoners.
Most belligerents accepted the
Red Cross suggestion that civilian
lnternees be placed under the pro-
lection of war convention in 1929.
Messages concerning whereabouts
and welfare of civilian internees re-
ceived by the Geneva Prisoners
Bureau already have totaled more
than 100000.
They include 264.O10 from the
Dutch Red Cross, 1873, ,802 from the
German Red Gross and 165, ,709 from
the British.
Red Gross inspectors are per-
mitted by all belligerent countries
to visit the camps of prisoners of
war, as we'll as the camps of in
ternees
These inspection trips are made
in an effort to insure that food,
housing, clothing, health conditions
and medical treatment are as ade-
quate as possible; that religious or
Intellectual needs are being looked
after.
Delegates have been given the
right to walk freely about the
camps, to speak with the prisoners
with no military authorities present,
and to hear any complaints which
the prisoners own representative
the man of confidence"-mayh have
to make concerning conditions or
treatment OF his fellows.
Reports Made to Government.
Detailed reports on conditions in
the camps are then prepared and
sent by the delegates to the govern
ment holding the prisoners, as well
as to the government whose prison.
ers are being held. From time to
time these reports are published in
the International Red Cross Review.
For the most part army officers
in prison camps of the various
belligerents seem to be getting their
pay at the rate fixed by the Geneva
Convention of 1929. Although Red
Cross officials decline to give any
statistics or precise information,
they commented:
I'VE have had practically no
complaints from any government,
so you may assume that payments
are being made in accordance with
international agreement"
Delegates are free to suggest
improvements in camp conditions
while they are on the spot. Where
necessary, the committee at Geneva
intervenes to make sure that these
suggestions will be carried out. In
many cases conditions are improved
with the understanding that SINH
lar improvements will be made in
the prison camps of the enemy, !.
Medical Missions.
Medical missions composed OF two
neutral doctors and one doctor of
the belligerent country where the
camps are located have. been ap-
pointed to visit badly wounded and
sick prisoners. Those most needing
disqualification are selected for re-
patriation or may be sent to
neutral country.
Trainloads of mained, wounded
and Ill French prisoners have
crossed Switzerland since last au-
tumn en- route to their homes or hos
pitfalls in unoccupied France. In
the same way wounded British
prisoners in Germany and Italy,
German and italian prisoners in
Britain, and Greek prisoners in
Italy have been repatriated under
the auspices of the international
Red Cross.
Uniformed sources in Vichy
said last week that "a relatively
important percentage" of French
prisoners released by the Ger
mans are suffering from tubercu-
losis.)
An agreement has been reached |
by the Swiss and Vichy governments |
for disqualification of demobilized
and tubercular French soldiers in
French-speaking sections of Switzer-
land. Large health resorts in the
Swiss Alps have been prepared for
months to receive them.
Red Tape Snarls Repatriation.
The repatriation of thousands of
wounded war prisoners who will |
never be able to fight again is begged |
down in the red tape of the German,
Italian and British foreign Offices. !
Both Germany and Great Britain |
made suggestions but each country !