Evening star., 1942-08-03
Italians and Japs
In Montana Camp
Snub Each Other
They Won't Even Eot
In Some Dining Room;
Both Are Well Treated
BY SIGRID ARNE,
Wide World,

BY SIGRID ARNE,
MISSOULA, Mont. Aug Sit
seems to be quite problem out
here to keep the hundreds Of
Italians and Japanese happy at the
Fort Missoula concentration camp
They're living in place that
looks like an expensive summer
resort. They get three good meals
a day. They have practically no
work to do.
But they still glover at each
other. The camp guards never have
seen an Italian say so much as Good
morning" to a Japanese The in
ternees just don't seem to grasp
the kernel Of the Axis philosophy
you know, that the Japanese and
Italians have a lot in common and
therefore should be as happy as
bugs In a rug when they're together.
So there had to be special ar
rangements at the Missoula camp.
OF course, no one at all gets into
the camp. The guards even arrest
people who try to take pictures
through the fence But the stories
circulate anyway through the
pretty college town of Missoula.
Japs Have Curious Hobby.
The Japanese have picked on a
curious pastime. They make gadg-
cts from pebbles. Vases. bowls,
what-nots. They'll sit alone for
hours picking small pebbles from
the gravel on the camp roads. Then
they trot silently back to their
quarters and stick them together
into some sort Of gadget. They all
seem to have the fever. They work
as intcntly as though they were dig
ging tunnel to Toxic.
The happy 60 lucky Italians vary.
Some make ship models, very
beautiful ones. Some get together
and sing opera arias. There are a
few gifted painters. The rest lust
walk, or set"
A few weeks ago the camp au-
thorities felt they should recognize
the prisoners artistic urges. So
they arranged downtown exhibit
OF their work. Some of the pieces
were sold.
The camp is an old military fort.
It's a handsome group Of white
buildings set at the edge of a
beautiful valley surrounded on all
sides by beautiful mountains. The
air is sweet with clover. The days
are warm and the nights cool
enough for good sleeping.
The Italians and Japanese are
housed in separate buildings. It
was soon found they wouldn't even
eat together, 80 there are two dining
rooms and two kitchens. Now the
camp is planning movies for the
men. They'll have to run each
show twice, 80 the Axis brothers
won't have to sit together.
The men have to take care of
themselves-clean their rooms, make
their meals, do their own laundry.
They rotate the duties.
Geneva Pact Observed.
The authorities are splitting hairs
to observe the Geneva convention
on the treatment Of war prisoners.
That says, among other things,
that prisoners should eat as wen
as soldiers. o.la
So the Miss0Ula camp can spend
each day for each prisoner the same
amount sof money spent to feed m
American soldier.
They've even decided to make
the prisoners happy by giving them
the food they're accustomed to. It
takes quite . bit of bookkeeping to
split the orders: Spaghetti, olive oil
and garlic for the italians, and rice,
soy beans and flsh for the Japa-
i nese.
There is q small cooking problem
with the Italians. They're 50 casual
about housekeeping that guards
have to ramble through their kitch-
en- periodically to point out spots
that need . touch OF soap.
The Japanese are immaculate.
Silent, you might almost say sullen-
but immaculate.
There's another little dtfnculty
with the Italians. They all want
what the next man has. The camp
buys clothes for the prisoners. And
when one italian gets q new pair Of
shoes, there's 4 flood Of requests
I; from the other Italians for shoes.
Not just shoes, but that exact tan
oxford the first man got.
This characteristic stirred up a
little furry when the Italians found
out that some of their group, on
special diets for diabetes, were get
ting special food. The camp sud-
denly had q big list Of diabetes
Then the camp doctor noised II
around that there are unpleasant
phases to treating the disease, and
pronto, the new diabetic case made
miraculous recoveries.
Visitors Welcome Any Time.
The prisoners may see visitors any
time. But they must either talk ir
English or In the presence of ar
interpreter. They can write ant
receive letters.
Most of the day there's little tt
do. That's slightly irritating right
now to Montana's sugar beet grow.
ers. They'd like to use some Of thu
prisoners to harvest crops which
may have to be sacrificed because o1
the shortage of labor here. But thu
rules say no"
There are no Germans in thu
camp. They're in another camp
with more Japanese. It seems tn.
Japanese just snub both the Italian,
and the Germans, and receive snub!
in return. But things happen wher
the Italians and Germans arr
housed together.
The only group which hasn'
caused trouble seems to be thl
Italian bakers.