The construction of the new barracks, the transfer of some hundred persons to Dr. Weiler's sanatorium, and the release of about a hundred persons have made it possible largely to reduce the crowded conditions of the "obens," or lofts, of the old barracks. Twenty per cent. of the occupants of these "obens" have been removed, and it is estimated that when the new barracks are fully occupied another 55 per cent. will be removed from the obens, so that only a quarter of the original occupants will be left there.

The most signal improvement which has been effected in the last two months has been the permission afforded the prisoners to use the ground encircled by the race-track for the hours from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The space thus gained is approximately 200 yards by 150 yards, and affords a splendid field for all kinds of games. Materials for the various sports have been provided by the camp, including the laying out of a football field and a small golf course. This ground has provided a chance for every interned prisoner to take part in some form of good out-of-door exercise or for those who so desire to move out their chairs to the field to watch the games. Permission to use the grandstands from 8 a.m. to 8-30 p.m. has further been obtained. As the stands are of modern brick and cement construction, a large enclosed hall is formed underneath the tiers of seats. In this hall a stage has been erected and a complete theatre installed with scenery, dressing-rooms, orchestra, etc. Performances, varying from Shakespeare to musical shows, are given practically every night. The betting boxes have been boarded up to afford small rooms for study, musical practice, etc. In other parts of this building space has been allotted for a carpenter's shop, a tailor's shop, barber and cobbler's shop. The grandstand tiers have been turned over to the educational department for schools and lectures, which are systematically conducted. Black-boards and other materials have been provided for the department.

A favourable account of Dr. Weiler's sanatorium follows. About this sanatorium individual expressions of opinion have varied.

Mr. Minot's report next gives a list of improvements effected at Ruhleben, under such headings as Laundry, Whitewashing, Beds, Dentist, Business Post, etc. The report then proceeds:

It can be seen from the above that very considerable improvements have been effected at Ruhleben. Graf Schwerin, Baron Taube, and the other camp authorities have done everything in their power to bring about these improvements, and have been materially helped throughout by the camp captains.

The effect produced has been a general improvement in the physical and moral condition of the camp. In general the health of the prisoners can be said to be excellent, practically no cases of contagious or infectious diseases, barring a mild epidemic of German measles, having occurred. The improvement in the food and the increased possibilities of the purchase of additional nourishment from the outside, have nearly silenced all complaints.

The work is still constantly progressing, and it is fair to state that the conditions are steadily, if slowly, improving.

I am submitting to you, herewith, a plan of Ruhleben, upon which are marked the various buildings and locations mentioned in this report. I have further included a selection of programmes of the various entertainments, sports, etc., which have taken place in the camp.—I have, etc.,

G. W. MINOT.

The following two extracts are also of some significance. The first is from the Times, the second is from the Daily Telegraph of June 18, 1915. The suspension of correspondence was due to some demonstration on the part of the prisoners.

Sir,—It may perhaps interest some of those who are feeling anxious about the treatment of their relatives at Ruhleben to hear that we have direct evidence of kindly action and consideration for the prisoners on the part of the German authorities at a date later than that at which the regular postal communication was suspended.—I am faithfully yours,

A PARENT OF A PRISONER.

February 17.

We received the following from the Press Bureau last night:

"A statement recently appeared in a letter to an organ of the Press to the effect that it was inadvisable to send parcels to civilian prisoners interned at Ruhleben in view of the heavy charges made on delivery.

"Information has now been received from the United States Ambassador at Berlin that no such charges have been made for the delivery of parcels at Ruhleben, but for a short time certain prisoners who had been temporarily released and sent to a sanatorium were charged duty on parcels sent to them there. This matter was, however, satisfactorily adjusted in a very short time, and duty is no longer charged on parcels to such prisoners."

In the early autumn of 1915 civilian self-government was fully established at Ruhleben. Writing on October 16, Mr. Page remarks: "The administration of the camp to-day is entirely in the hands of the prisoners themselves. There are no guards in the barracks, and all internal arrangements, including discipline, are in the hands of the camp and barrack captains." [Miscel. No. 3 (1916), p. 4.]

A CONTROVERSY.

White Paper Miscel. No. 3 (1916) is in many ways rather important to the student of internment. It affords some evidence of the kind of mental friction developing in all internment camps, and it makes clear that prisoners' statements often need to be subjected to impartial outside investigation. There is not space, however, to enter fully into details here. The paper opens with a report on Ruhleben camp "compiled by a British subject recently released," and forwarded by Sir Edward Grey to Mr. Gerard through Mr. Page. It is complained that the distance from the new barracks to the wash-houses is "in some cases over 200 yards." Mr. Page points out by reference to a scale map that "in every case the wash-houses are nearer than 60 yards from the barracks, and not at a distance of 200 yards, as stated. The barracks which are not diagrammed on this map have their own washing appliances." Mr. Page writes further: "The open space beneath the central tribune has not been, as stated in the report transmitted by the British Foreign Office, used for every conceivable purpose, but has been enclosed entirely for recreation purposes, religious services, lectures, debates, etc.... I cannot see how the introduction of [the] cinema show has in the least affected the comfort of the hall." "With regard to whitewashing, this was done in all of the barracks at the expense of the camp fund, and not, as stated, at the cost of those interned at the barracks. Extra whitewashing, borders, etc., were naturally paid for at the private expense. No measures were taken for exterminating mosquitoes for the reason that it has been found impossible to procure petroleum in Germany for the purpose." Three internees who tried to escape were in consequence imprisoned, and are stated in the report transmitted by the British Foreign Office to be starving. Mr. Gerard writes: "I visited Messrs. Ettlinger, Ellison and Kirkpatrick at the Stadtvogtei-Gefaengnis about three weeks ago, and heard from them that they had no complaint to make about the food. They are now allowed to receive parcels and money from the outside, and are no longer in solitary confinement. The limitation of exercise to half an hour seems regrettable, but owing to their attempt to escape, I fear that it will be impossible to obtain a change until their sentence expires."

The report forwarded to Mr. Gerard says:

It would be of material benefit to the interned if a representative of the United States Embassy could call at the Camp fortnightly, and receive complaints direct from prisoners, without the inevitable presence of the captains [i.e., the internees' own captains] in the room.

Mr. Gerard replies:

A representative of this Embassy has visited the camp at Ruhleben (with the exception of the time when the camp was first formed) certainly on an average of more than once a fortnight, and it has been possible for any prisoners to speak to him without the presence of the captains. For the past few months the camp has been visited once a week if not more often. In addition to this Mr. Powell, sometimes accompanied by other captains of the camp, has visited this Embassy regularly once a week for consultation with me.

"I wish again to reiterate," says Mr. Page, "that Count Schwerin, Baron Taube and the other officers in charge of the camp, are all kindly and considerate gentlemen, who do everything within their power to help the prisoners."

But the real quarrel was not with Count Schwerin or Baron Taube (of whom all seem to speak well), but with the English captains and their management. The financial statements and the distributions effected by the captains are adversely criticised by the released British subject. He adds, somewhat acidly:

It would be a kindness to the captains and to the camp if the Government could convey to them a message informing them that they are public men holding important and responsible positions, and that public men must allow criticism and seek to profit by it.

Here we get to the root of the matter. The original "Camp Committee" was (to quote Mr. Gerard's words) "disbanded by the order of the military authorities in February last (1915), because of its refusal to co-operate with the captains and its insistence upon publishing notices and minutes of its meetings after it had been forbidden to do so."[23] This "Camp Committee" continued to object to the financial arrangement and the general administration of Mr. Powell and the other captains, and pressed their objections upon the Ambassador on August 23, 1915. "I thereupon suggested that perhaps the best way would be to refer the matter to a general election. To this the 'Camp Committee' demurred, and upon my asking what suggestion they had to proffer appeared to consider that they, a self-constituted body, should be given charge of the camp by me. This proposition I naturally rejected, especially as the members of this self-appointed committee were, although very estimable gentlemen, personae non gratae both to the majority of the prisoners and to the military authorities.... A final decision of the question as to whether the present government of Ruhleben is representative or not is to be found in the election of September 15, 1915, when every one of the captains at that time in authority was re-elected. The occasion was caused by the decision of the military authorities to withdraw the soldiers from the camp, and the captains therefore considered it desirable that they should appeal to the camp for decision as to whether it was wished that they should continue the government or not. I cannot see that any further proof is required as to whether the captains represent the feelings of the majority of the camp."

One cannot help asking oneself, was the critic a member of the disbanded "Camp Committee"? The United States Ambassador on more than one occasion proved himself capable of speaking very decidedly to the German authorities of things he disapproved of. In this case, too, he speaks (though not to the German authorities) with some decision:

A properly heated and lighted recreation and assembling room is certainly extremely desirable for the damp and cold winter time. A new barrack has been sanctioned by the military authorities for the purpose, and I will do my best to press the work. I might venture to suggest that if so many private individuals had not occupied necessary space by election of private clubs the military authorities would be more willing to grant permission for the erection of further buildings intended for public good. Further, if the very men, such as the "camp committee" (who are all members of the "summer house" club), had devoted some of the energies which they expended upon the erection of the club for their own private use to the construction of a public sitting-room, the building might already be in use.

The British tax-payer is paying a large sum in wages because the Ruhleben prisoners are unwilling to do the fatigue work of the camp. The captured British soldiers who have been fighting in the trenches are compelled to do work in work camps, are often not properly clothed, do not receive an allowance from the British tax-payer of 5M. a week, cannot buy food at less than cost price, nor go to a sanatorium (at the expense of the British tax-payer) when sick; have not the benefit of expert dental and optical treatment, have no public libraries, lectures, schools, debates, or camp newspapers, have not seven tennis courts, three football fields, athletic games, cricket, golf and hockey, are not amused by dramas, comic operas and cinema shows, and above all are not paid extra wages for doing their own work to make themselves comfortable. All of these advantages and more which the Ruhleben prisoners enjoy have been largely the result of the effort of the camp administration which this commentator criticises.

These rather strong words of Mr. Gerard's display a not unnatural irritation against a critic whose facts prove unreliable and whose mental attitude suggests a somewhat querulous bias, but it is only fair to remind ourselves that after long internment all suffer from nerve strain and many suffer very severely. Under these circumstances complete reasonableness is probably more than any of us would be capable of.

SHORT RATIONS.

At Ruhleben there are (with the exception of some negroes) English only. The English receive many packages. The German authorities have been tempted to rely on those packages increasingly. That is the state of things revealed in Dr. A. E. Taylor's report of June 14, 1916. [Miscel. No. 21 (1916).]

A review of the present ration of the prisoners of war indicates that it is the aim of the 'Kriegsernaehrungsamt' to supply a ration which shall be physiologically adequate, though professedly containing little more than enough to cover minimal requirements; and it is believed that the official prisoners' ration contains as much as the daily food of many millions of German subjects. There is no question that the official prison ration is an adequate ration from the standpoint of animal nutrition. In addition to this allotted camp ration the prisoners possess the food sent in from abroad as addenda.

In the case of the Russian prisoners, these extra food stuffs sent in from abroad are small in amount; in the case of the French, moderate; in the case of the English, large. In all the prison camps that I have visited it is the practice to prepare food for the number of men in the camp, irrespective of nationality, in accordance with the menu of Professor Backhaus. As a rule, the British prisoners take little or none of the food, and their share is eaten by prisoners of other nationalities. In Ruhleben the state of affairs at present existing has convinced the interned civilians that the situation is, so to speak, reversed: that the German authorities seem to regard the foodstuffs sent in from abroad as the regular diet of the interned men, and the camp allotments as the addenda.

It is not surprising that "the interned men are deeply dissatisfied with the present state of affairs." The German authorities, finding that at least half the total number of the interned at Ruhleben subsist largely upon private packages, have made a "sharp reduction in the amount of foodstuff allotted to the camp." I have no wish to defend this proceeding, but it must be allowed that to the Government of a blockaded country there is a great temptation to cut down supplies when this will not be a danger to the prisoners themselves.

Both reports of Dr. Taylor [Miscel. No. 18 (1916) and Miscel. No. 21 (1916)] are important studies of the question of nutrition, and his short discussion (No. 18, p. 4) of the psychological aspects of monotonous diet and the nutritional effects of internment is worth careful attention. "A diet that would be tolerated if the subject were at liberty may become intolerable under conditions of imprisonment. There is a large personal equation operative in this direction. The soldier imbued with a high sense of his value to his country and of the justice of his cause will endure a monotonous diet that would not be endurable in the prisoner overwhelmed with disappointment and crushed with sorrow." These considerations are obviously of general application.

SOME COMPARISONS.

Mr. Gerard, in a note of June 28, 1916 [Miscel. No. 25 (1916)], animadverts strongly on the bad accommodation still provided at Ruhleben. The letter is rather strikingly different in tone from his other reports on Ruhleben.

It is intolerable that people of education should be herded six together in a horse's stall, and in some of the lofts the bunks touch one another. The light for reading is bad, and reading is a necessity if these poor prisoners are to be detained during another winter. In the haylofts above the stables the conditions are even worse.[24]

Bishop Bury's account ("My Visit to Ruhleben," p. 30) reads:

I don't know whether it was our internment at Newbury,[25] the race-course for Reading, or our using race-courses, such as Kempton Park, for the training of our own men, which caused Ruhleben to be chosen in November, 1914, as a suitable place for civilians' internment.... Without any description of mine it may be easily understood what they had to suffer until proper arrangements were made.... The loose boxes are now properly fitted with bunks, some being larger than others. The large corridor, with its stone floor, gives air and space, the lofts particularly being extremely well adapted now for their present purpose. I prefer the lofts to the boxes, because they have corridors out of which one can look, whereas the windows in the boxes are usually far above the ground. I went to tea more frequently in the boxes, and on one occasion we sat down sixteen in number—rather a crowd—but we were quite comfortable.

Bishop Bury has seen something on both sides, and his impressions are for that reason all the more important. We must not forget, too, that he lived a week with the prisoners at Ruhleben. It is also only fair to remember that no one has been invited to spend a week in any camp on this side. Bishop Bury also tells us "that when, a little time ago, the authorities proposed to relieve the overcrowding and construct another camp at Havilburg which could accommodate 600 men, the men at once petitioned that this idea might not be carried out, as they preferred, after this length of time to stay where they are." (l.c., p. 40.)

One caution must, however, be given to the readers of Bishop Bury's book. The conditions of the camp during the excitement and interest of his visit could not be the normal conditions. The frightful monotony of the long confinement does not obtrude itself in his book. Yet there is no doubt, I fear, that internment everywhere (at Ruhleben, as elsewhere) is becoming "intolerable." To live, as at Alexandra Palace, day and night, for years in a great hall with more than a thousand others must become almost destructive to any sensitive nature. But (to quote Dr. Siegmund Schulze once more) "We ought not to conclude from this that we are justified in making reproaches.... in respect of the treatment of prisoners, but rather conclude that we should work energetically towards the termination of the war."

Dr. Cimino, very, and very naturally, anti-German as he is, writes:

The only real suffering we experienced at Ruhleben was from the cold.... The fact is that he (Count Schwerin) was as kind-hearted an old soldier as ever fondled an English wife, and loved his English prisoners.... He used to take part in our daily life as much as possible.... As to the concerts, he was always present, et pour cause; he was passionately fond of music.... at the end of the concert he would make his little speech, and we filed out. But one night we gave him a rousing cheer, and the whole crowd struck up, "For he's a jolly good fellow." ("Behind the Prison Bars in Germany," p. 95).[26]

As to the food question, we must not forget that the blockade against Germany and the pressure upon neutrals have been continually increased in stringency. Up to October, 1915, Mr. Gerard could write as follows of Ruhleben:

The food material is excellent and the cooking, as I have stated, is attended to by the prisoners themselves, those doing the cooking receiving payment from the British fund, with the exception of 150M. weekly allowed for cooks' wages by the German authorities. The prisoners are given, if they choose, a bread-card, and are allowed to purchase extra bread—the Kriegsbrod, which we all use in Germany and which is quite palatable—at the price of 55 pfennige a loaf. Food also, as I have stated, can be purchased in the canteen at prices very much less than food can be purchased in Berlin, and at very much less than cost.—[Miscel, No. 3 (1916)].

The low price at the canteen, was, however, I take it, owing to the existence of the camp fund contributed to by the British Government.

Lord Newton spoke in the House of Lords on February 22, 1917, on the question of prisoners of war. The following extract is from the Daily Telegraph report:

There was nothing to be gained by exaggerating the conditions of prisoners in Germany or elsewhere. There was neither sense nor truth in representing, as was constantly done, that Ruhleben was a sort of unspeakable hell upon earth, and that a British internment camp was a kind of paradise compared with it. He deplored the hardship that these men underwent, but it was a great mistake to suppose that these civilians at Ruhleben were undergoing greater hardships than those being endured by our military prisoners. Like anyone who ventured to state the facts, he would no doubt be accused of being a pro-German, but certainly the conditions at Ruhleben had greatly improved recently. These conditions had improved, not on account of any action on the part of the German Government, but rather on account of their inaction. They had permitted the British there to organise on their own lines and make the conditions tolerable. Anyone could satisfy himself as to the conditions, because there were men who had arrived here recently who could give the fullest information. In addition, they were able to form their own opinions to a certain extent from independent testimony, for example, the visit of Bishop Bury. He could not understand why this prelate had been subjected to so much attack on the part of certain persons in this country. He went to Germany by permission of the German Government. He went to Ruhleben, lived in the camp, and was able to see what the conditions were. He reported exactly what he saw, and was thereupon denounced as not only being an inaccurate person but obviously pro-German.

ABSENCE ON LEAVE.

The following private testimony is also of interest: "A nephew of mine who is interned at Ruhleben has been let out for a fortnight's visit to some people whose son is interned in England, and who has been befriended here. My nephew met with the most overwhelming kindness, and his letters are most interesting and touching." The "reprisals of good," which we shall consider more fully presently, are, after all, the most practical measures in the world. There have been several other absences on leave, and a good many men have been released permanently. Moreover, at Christmas, 1916, most of the British officials in the camp were given three days leave in Berlin.

PRISONERS' ACTIVITY.

We may well be proud of the organising capacity of the British prisoners at Ruhleben and of the resolute determination of so many to make the very most of every slender opportunity, and to turn difficulties into a stimulus for ingenuity. The following is from the Manchester Guardian, February 23, 1916:

A letter from Mr. Walter Butterworth, dated January 22, and written from his internment quarters at Ruhleben, Germany, has been received by the Chairman of the Manchester Art Gallery, Mr. F. Todd. After a reference to newly added pictures in the Manchester Gallery and to the death of his friend, Mr. Roger Oldham, Mr. Butterworth continues: "You will perhaps like to hear a little about art matters in Ruhleben. We really have some activity in arts and crafts. A great crowd of musicians are here, including some composers and many excellently equipped executants. We have actors in plenty, not without a sprinkling of professionals. Professors, journalists, and lecturers are our nearest approximation to workers in the literary field. There is no stint of craftsmen, who produce very clever work in wood, metals, etc. With provision tins they make the most astonishing things, including tackle for our physics and chemical departments, for weighing, testing, measuring, etc. With only tins and wire a man made an amazing electrical clock, which has kept faultless time for over a year. Other men made a handloom for demonstration purposes, which wove cloth before our eyes at a meeting of Yorkshiremen, at which I presided.

Turning to the fine arts of painting and sculpture, I did not know we had any sculptors until this month, except one clever young artist who models heads in clay. But this month we have had a great deal of snow, and two men who have hitherto been resting came forward, and, like Michael Angelo on a famous occasion began to model in snow. But our designers and painters are the most numerous and active (after the musicians). They have a shed, in which art exhibitions are held periodically. Many portraits are drawn and a few painted. One artist is just completing a portrait of me in pastels. There is an endless outpouring of theatre posters, caricatures, humorous drawings, skits on the camp, etc."

Six students at Ruhleben passed the London University Matriculation examination in December, 1916. One of them took the Edinburgh papers as well later on. (Observer, August 26, 1917.) These are remarkable cases, for the strain of prolonged internment seems most of all to affect the power of concentrated attention.

The case of another successful student is recorded in the Daily News of June 2, 1918:

The distinction—probably unique—of graduating for the degree of Doctor of Music of Oxford University while a prisoner in enemy hands has been achieved by Mr. Ernest Macmillan, a young man with Edinburgh connections. Mr. Macmillan, who is the son of a clergyman in Toronto, was studying music in Germany when the war broke out, and since then he has been interned as a civil prisoner at Ruhleben. His answer to examination papers and his "exercise" (or composition) were sent from Ruhleben to Oxford.

That such things are possible at Ruhleben is a great tribute to English spirit and endurance. We must also not forget that they would clearly be wholly impossible if the Germans were actually barbarians.

A FRIENDLY ENEMY.

When Bishop Bury during his visit in November, 1915, asked what he might be allowed to say at Ruhleben, General Friedrich replied: "Please do all you can to hearten and cheer up your fellow countrymen. Appeal to their patriotism, speak to their manhood. You and they will have no one between you. There will be no official of the camp; no one to listen to you, no one to come between yourself and them. We trust you entirely with them, and you will understand, I am sure, that we do not wish to diminish anyone's sense of nationality who is imprisoned or interned in Germany." ("My Visit to Ruhleben," p. 21.) The words, says Bishop Bury, "seemed to come straight from the heart of the speaker." Some readers will be sceptical; but at least the words were acted on. The Bishop spoke about the armies and the war to the men, and told them of his own experiences in the war area, "just as I should have told them to my own countrymen in this country." At his last address the British flag was run in on a cord and "God Save the King" was sung. The Bishop had no time to propose the omission of the second verse, but one is proud to know that those Englishmen, even amidst their excitement, spontaneously omitted it. The whole scene revealed what was finest on both sides. Bishop Bury told the German Staff that at the meeting "we all sang 'Send him victorious.' They smiled indulgently."

WAR TERRORISM.

A good many more things of a favourable character could be said. Unfortunately men who speak well of their German captors are accused of pro-Germanism, and they dare not speak. This is a rather terrible fact, but it is a fact. As one man said to me: "I have my living to get, and if my identity could be traced through any account I gave I should be ruined. My work has already been very materially affected, but in private conversation I shall continue to speak the truth, come what may." War prejudice indeed desires one kind of story only, and victimises those who give it what it does not want. And so all along the line suppression begets suppression of the truths most needed to heal our ills. A woman teacher writes to me: "I think I have a fairly open mind myself to recognise good deeds of the enemy; but to tell such to my pupils is another matter, and I fear would be very impolitic seeing that I depend on my school for my daily bread." And again the Editor of a provincial paper writes: "... but when one has to rely on the public for one's living one has to think twice before expressing one's views."

LAST DAYS AT RUHLEBEN.

Mr. Desmond wrote of the coming of the Revolution at Duelmen (vide p. 61), Mr. Sylvester Leon has told us something of the last days at Ruhleben (Herald, January 4, 1919). "The soldiers are with you," said Mr. Powell to the interned men. "For with the triumph of the Revolution, that friendliness which had existed in the days of the old regime between the interned and many an individual German soldier now became general among the military of Ruhleben; the officers had flitted, or had capitulated to the new order of things with more or less grace; Councils of soldiers and workmen ruled in the towns of the Fatherland; the era of Social Democracy was dawning upon Central Europe.... It is but fair to admit that the Ruhleben Guard acted very loyally in the performance of their duty. For when they were given the option of returning to their homes they did not avail themselves of that opportunity, but volunteered to remain at their posts until the disbandment of the camp. It is of historic interest to note that the red flag—the symbol of the triumph of the Revolution—which flew from the flag-pole in the camp, had formerly done service in the cubicle of one of the interned. It was dyed red by another of the interned, a doctor of science and a member of our little camp school, and then given to the soldiers.... The first impression gained on a visit outside the camp was the terrible seriousness of the food question. No one who has once seen can ever forget the sight of the crowds of hungry women and school children standing outside the gates of Ruhleben, literally besieging the interned as they passed out." For it was only the interned who had food to spare. The Ruhlebenites gave, they had the facts before them. And "the people of Spandau turned out in force to wish us 'Godspeed' on our departure for home; and the send-off they gave us was astonishing in its enthusiasm, arresting in its spontaneity, and touching in its obvious sincerity."

HAVELBERG.

At Havelberg the camp for civilians had a population of 4,500. Of these only 372 were British subjects, being men from British India. Mr. Dresel writes on September 17, 1916: "This camp produces an excellent impression, the arrangements being unusually hygienic and modern." [Miscel. No. 7 (1917), p. 6.]

ON BEHALF OF THE CIVILIANS.

Yet, however excellent the impression may be, an internment camp is a miserable place.[27] It is, of course, especially miserable for those whose nature is at all sensitive, and it is surely such men whom we shall need everywhere if we are to make a less brutal world. Man after man has gone into internment seeking to employ himself and to make the best of it. For months, for a year, less often for nearly two years he has succeeded. But slowly success has dwindled and turned into failure. The monotony, the sense of oppression, the physical and mental discomfort, the deadly uselessness of the life—even where to these things is not added concern for those outside—have made him incapable of fixed attention, incapable of effort, incapable of rest, alternately nervous and torpid, fearful, despairing. The "barbed wire disease" has him in its grip at last. "Another winter interned here," wrote such a one, "and I shall need a padded cell." He had a fine nature and had struggled hard. But "the people outside do not understand." Certainly, there are those who can hold out to the end. I admire and envy them. I do not think any of us could predict with certainty that we should not give way.

There is only one remedy short of stopping the war, and that is the release of all civilians. Those who wish to remain, either in Germany or here, should certainly be allowed to do so, and if the police have no case against them, and if they can support themselves, they should be set free. Others should be repatriated or sent to neutral countries. The imprisonment of civilians is against the usage of war, and it is this fact which gave force to the claim of the German Government that there should be complete release on both sides.

I append extracts from a Swiss appeal to the belligerents on behalf of the civilian prisoners. It was issued in August, 1917, and has already appeared in Common Sense.

A civilian is not a prisoner of war.

We gladly acknowledge that the belligerent powers have effectively lessened the sufferings of the prisoners of war with an intelligent understanding of their duty; the military authorities have listened favourably to the proposals of the Red Cross, and already the soldiers have been spared many unnecessary sufferings. Humane measures have softened the captivity of military prisoners.

In the name of Justice we now address this urgent appeal to the authorities in the belligerent countries to adopt the same attitude towards civilian prisoners.

We have in mind all civil prisoners, for these, almost without exception, are innocent victims of the war; both those who since the beginning of the war have been interned, and those others in the occupied territories who have been isolated, oppressed or imprisoned, many of them in poor health, women, children, old men, who are not allowed to join their families in a neutral land. Our deep compassion and brotherly sympathy are especially moved on behalf of non-combatants who have been carried away like herds.

We pray all belligerents without distinction to hearken to our appeal; with dread we watch the approach of another war-winter, bearing, as it must, a fresh succession of distresses, deprivations and reprisals. Therefore we cannot keep silence.... Numbers of civilian prisoners have been suffering since the beginning of the war from the depressing conditions of the concentration camps.... The civilian took no part in the war, and in most cases did not even desire it. He should not therefore be treated as a prisoner of war.

Belligerent States! We call upon you to exchange all your civilians now interned.... This exchange must naturally be effected under certain conditions to be established. Each State must bind itself not to employ the liberated civilians for war-work; just as was arranged in the case of military prisoners who have been repatriated or sent to neutral countries. With these conditions, no belligerent should refuse to liberate the civilians so unjustly imprisoned.

Honour will be theirs who act upon this appeal....

The signatories to this appeal are G. Wagniere (Editor of the Journal de Geneve), Dr. A. Forel (Professor at Zurich University), Ed. Secretan (National Councillor), Benjamin Vallotton, Charles Baudouin (Professor at the Institut J. J. Rousseau), Ch. Bernard, P. Seidel (Professor at the Cantonal Technical College, Zuerich), A. de Morsier, Ph. Dunant (Lawyer of Geneva), Paul Moriand (Professor of Medicine at Geneva), and MM. Blonde and Arcos.

The Swiss Red Cross has also appealed for the release of all interned civilians.

From this side the following private appeal on behalf of all prisoners has been addressed to the Red Cross at Cologne:

I feel it incumbent upon me ... to draw your attention to the acute disappointment that is being caused among the prisoners in all the camps, and almost equally among their friends outside, by the delay in repatriation. Every phase in the long series of public discussions and official negotiations, every hitch, and every hesitation, has been followed with painful anxiety by those of us who know what it means for all these thousands of victims languishing in confinement, and you may be sure, with much more intensely painful anxiety by the victims themselves, whose ears are pathetically strained to catch the feeblest echo of any rumour from the outside world that brings them the slightest hint of release. For months these poor fellows had been continually alternating between hope and despair, when the news of the Hague meeting seemed for large numbers to bring them definitely, at long last, within measurable distance of the reality. Knowing therefore as you do, equally well with us, the mental condition of these men, and the terribly demoralising effect of long internment, even under the best conditions, you will realise the deep depression into which they are now being plunged by all the inexplicable delays in carrying out the terms of the convention. From every one who comes in contact with them I gather the same impression, that unless the Gordian knot is cut and a way is quickly found out of the present impasse, the most serious results are to be apprehended, as numbers of prisoners here—and the case can be no better in other countries—are on the verge of insanity....[28]

I would put it therefore to you in all earnestness that it is your duty, as representing humanity, to bring without delay all the pressure and all the influence you possess to bear upon the authorities to consider the sufferings of the prisoners and induce them, if possible, even at the cost of some concessions, to facilitate from their side the carrying through of this scheme, in which I can assure you not merely the happiness but even the life of many men is involved.

I speak, of course, quite unofficially, and with no other motive than pure philanthropy, but I may venture to hope that my representations, though only those of a private individual, will carry more than ordinary weight, inasmuch as there is perhaps nobody whose information and experience in these matters are more real and vital, or entitle him to speak with more authority.

Nor do I stand alone, for there are many others with whom I have worked from the beginning in the same field. All these associate themselves with me in this appeal, and, like myself, with no other motive than that of simple humanity. If the time, the energy, and the money we have all spent so unstintingly to improve the prisoners' lot give us any title to be heard, we all implore you, not only for the sake of the prisoners themselves, but in the eternal interests of humanity and justice, to do, and to do quickly whatever you can in furtherance of this object. We quite understand, of course, that military interests must be considered, but it is not always possible for those in high places, with whom such decisions rest, to realise as vividly as we do all that is at stake in a question of this sort, and that is why we feel entitled to assume that your advice would not be without effect, and that being the case, we submit it becomes your solemn duty to tender it.

The sufferings of this war are indeed vast beyond all comprehension. Is not there danger that this very fact may lead us to add to that suffering without need?

"ROTTING AWAY."

In a pathetic appeal to be given work the men at one internment camp here said, "We are simply rotting away." And others say, "The people outside do not understand." Loss, heartache, privation, stagnation, friction, stupid and malicious gossip, mental and moral deterioration—"rotting away." This disintegration of personality, the gradual rotting of the man's selfhood, is perhaps, clearly envisaged, as great a horror as war can bring. It is not the result of deliberate cruelty, but simply of conditions most of which are inevitable if there is to be internment at all.

A REPORT ON KNOCKALOE.

The reports available on our own internment camps do not go back beyond March, 1916.[29] It is perhaps well to remind ourselves that even by May, 1916, there were still defects. Thus in the American Report of May 18, 1916, on Knockaloe, we read: "The huts are being put in good weather-proof condition, and are being protected against the wind and rain by felt and tarred paper."[30] As to sanitation, "There have been improvements in the sanitary arrangements since our last visit." "In the hospital in Camp IV. there is now being built a recreation room, where convalescents may sit, which will give more room for the patients; also a special sink has been provided for washing the hospital utensils, and new latrines have been installed. They seem to be at work at this hospital to improve its condition. As Camp IV. has the largest number of older men interned, this hospital has more patients than others, and seemed rather crowded at the time of our visit." "In the isolation hospital we found only one bath and one tap for all the patients who are suffering from various sorts of contagious diseases. We took this matter up with the proper authorities, who assured us that it should have their attention. The sanitary arrangements in all the hospitals might be improved, except possibly in Camp I." "There were complaints about the hospital treatment, particularly of the care of the eyes, ears and teeth, for which the interned men claimed that there was not sufficient opportunity for special treatment."

These last complaints are curiously parallel to some made at Ruhleben. [See Miscel. No. 3 (1916) pp. 3, 15, 16.]

"There was complaint that there were no shelters for the men while waiting to receive parcels, nor for outside patients visiting the doctor. This matter was taken up."

"In Camp III. a complaint was made about the difficulty of personal intercourse between the representatives of the camp and the Commandant. This had caused dissatisfaction. The men seemed to have confidence in the new Commandant, but they told us that they had difficulty in approaching him. We took this matter up with the proper authorities, and were informed that they would in future have more opportunity for personal intercourse."

The huts for sleeping accommodation "are sectional, being of the regular War Office pattern, 30 feet by 15 feet, each section holding thirty men." This gives us a floor space of 450 square feet for each thirty men. In that portion of the Ruhleben loft most adversely criticised by Mr. Gerard the roof slopes from 10 feet at the ridge to a height of 41/2 feet only at the sides. The floor space allowed, however, is 10.2 metres by 12.8 metres, giving us about 1,390 square feet for 64 men, or 651 square feet for thirty men. When all allowance is made for the lowness of the sides in the rather wide loft (it seems to be more than 30 feet wide), this worst accommodation at Ruhleben seems, as regards space available, not inferior to that at Knockaloe. Further details would be needed for a complete comparison.

The report on Knockaloe is not enthusiastic, but evidently there had been many improvements, and still more was hoped for from the new Commandant. "The new Commandant, who has only been there some ten weeks, seems to have gained the confidence and respect of the interned men. He seems to be doing all in his power to better the conditions of the camp. He finds difficulty in getting material, such as tarred paper or felt, etc., for use on the huts. He told us that he had the matter in hand, and was giving betterment of the conditions at the camp every attention.... The whole tone of the camp is much better than it was at the time of the last visit. (See report of January 8, 1916.) There were fewer complaints, and the prisoners seemed much more contented."

A BRITISH COMMANDANT.

It is unfortunate that we cannot "see" the earlier report to which we are directed. But it is good to know that the new Commandant, Col. F. N. Panzera, proved to be a Christian gentleman with real sympathy for the unfortunate men under his charge. Like many other commandants, both here and in Germany, he did, amidst the various difficulties, what he could. As he is, alas, now dead, we may perhaps quote the words he addressed to the men in his care at the Christmas of 1916. It is a strange reflection that it might have injured his position to quote this fine and simple message during his life-time. Colonel Panzera wrote:

I am sorry that the size of the camp prevents my seeing you all, which I should do if it were smaller and thus possible. It would be a mockery to wish you a "Happy Christmas," I am afraid, but I wish you as happy a one as is possible under the circumstances. I most earnestly wish you a happier New Year. May the New Year bring Peace and restore you to all dear to you. I hope that prosperity and happiness may come to you in the future, and may in time obliterate the memory of the present period of sadness.

I should like to take the opportunity of saying how much I appreciate the general good behaviour of the camps during the past year. There have been little lapses, as there must always be in a mixed community of 25,000 people, but on the whole the conduct has been extremely good, which has been a great help to those placed over you. Once more I wish you as good a Christmas as possible and a better New Year.

FOOD DIFFICULTIES.

The food question also becomes increasingly serious in the camps, as it does in prisons. I confess I feel we ought to ration ourselves very strictly before we cut down the supplies of our prisoners, criminal or otherwise. "The reduced diet," wrote Fenner Brockway of his prison experiences, "is one of semi-starvation, and every prisoner is becoming thin and physically weak." (Labour Leader, September 6. 1917.) Those who care to inquire of the wives of interned men will learn their side of the case as regards the effect of changed conditions in the camps. The sad feature is that the increasing rigour comes upon men already weakened, both physically and mentally, by long confinement. The original published statement of Sir Edward (now Viscount) Grey [Misc. 7 (1915), p. 23] no longer obtains. The food is, of course, very different, and may not be supplemented.

TWO KINDS OF RUMOUR AND SOME REALITY.

I have not cared to quote adverse "unofficial information and rumours," either as regards our own or other detention camps. What some adverse critics say about our own may be read in the Woman's Dreadnought, Vol III., p. 551. The rather terrible appeal of the Captains at Knockaloe is also printed on p. 561. It is a letter which is unwise and hysterical. I do not wonder at its hysteria, and I confess that some things in the letter hit me rather hard. But, alas, the desperation of the interned men on either side does not help towards wise judgment, and for that desperation we are all, in every country, in some measure responsible. It is best to remember instead the real sympathy that those actually in touch with prisoners do often feel. Colonel Panzera's message is clear evidence of this, and from a private letter I take the following:

The attitude of prejudice or even hatred towards enemies, whether prisoners or not, often disappears when men are brought face to face in the work of an internment camp, for example, and find that they are very much like each other. An officer of a certain camp here was taken prisoner and interned for six months in Germany before he escaped. He says that two or three times the officers of the camp were changed, and in each case began with harsh treatment, either the result of official suggestion or of the general feeling. In each case, after the lapse of a short time, close acquaintance modified this attitude, and finally kindly relations and treatment resulted. In the same way the nurses in a certain hospital here refused to receive or treat German prisoners until a company of the wounded men arrived, when the feeling of natural humanity proved too strong, and they were quite eager to attend to them. At the internment camps in this country the officers generally speak of the men under their charge with humanity and respect.

The following is significant. "In the town near a certain internment camp of ours much indignation was roused by the story that some of the interned aliens had set in motion some railway trucks on a sloping siding, with the intention of allowing them to crash into an arriving passenger train at the bottom. An English friend of mine happened to observe the real origin of the story. The trucks began to move in an accidental way, and two or three of the aliens nearly lost their own lives, certainly risked serious accident, in endeavouring to stop the trucks when they were already moving."

Thus in the quiet neighbourhood of an internment camp a brave deed becomes by popular passion transformed into something monstrous. What would this popular imagination do in an invaded district? Its vagaries must be experienced and studied by any investigator of the atrocities of war.

Another example of heroism amongst German prisoners I take from the Daily News of April 30, 1918. A small boat in which two men were sailing capsized about 200 yards out from the Leasowe Embankment, Cheshire. The men, clinging to the bottom of the boat, were being driven out by the tide when two members of an escort of German prisoners, Sergeant Phillips and Private Matthews, jumped into the water and with difficulty brought one man back. One of the German prisoners, named Bunte, volunteered to go to the rescue of the other man, who was by then in great danger. The German swam out strongly and brought the man back.

AGAINST BITTERNESS.

I fear that on both sides it is embittered men who will be released from the civilian internment camps. People do not realise how financial ruin, harassment, illness and death (to which the harassment may have contributed) follow in the track of internment. A man is interned, his wife and family are reduced to a mere pittance, the woman is, it may be, delicate. She falls ill and dies.[31] And amid such incidents and the mental strain of the confinement a brooding hatred gradually settles down upon the souls of these sufferers. Personally, I do not feel one can expect much favourable memory of the authorities on either side. Certainly every one who has worked for prisoners is touched by their gratitude, but the iron has entered into their souls for all that. And perhaps it is well to remind ourselves that a far larger number of civilians have been suffering in the internment camps on this side. Let us not add to their bitterness by unworthy abuse or credulous malice. Men who, after long confinement for no offence of their own, have tried to save enemy lives, and find their efforts described as an attempt at murder, must begin to feel hopeless of justice. Excess of generosity would be far wiser. The world wants no more missioners of hate. Let us try to avoiding creating such.

In our own internment camps there was often, even early in the war, an atmosphere of depression which one worker said "haunted him for days." The following extract is from the letter of an interned man who showed quite remarkable courage and fought with considerable success against depression till the end of 1917. "I refuse to give way to depression," he wrote. But in 1918 the strain of useless monotony had become too great, he became physically ill, and how low hope had fallen the letter itself shows: "You can't think how good it is to hear you speak with so much sympathy. I feel sure you understand the dreariness of this life, the long and fruitless waiting, the nights of anguish—and all the misery of it, the terrible discontent and the passionate heart longings.... You don't know how sore it is sometimes about my heart...."

Methods that seem to many of us avoidable contribute also to increase ill-feeling. I take the following from the Daily News of September, 27, 1918:

Among others, I had my Christmas dinner last year with a German. At least, his name is German and he was born in Germany. He is less interested, personally, in those facts than in these, viz., that he is an international Socialist and a first class electrical engineer. For four years he has done extremely responsible work for a large engineering firm with important contracts from the M. of M. For four years he has had his liberty within the usual five-mile radius; for four years the local police have not found the least fault with him.

Now, thanks to the Northcliffe Intern-them-all-Stunt, he is shut up in the Isle of Man, and the country has lost the services of a man who was worth more to us than many Northcliffes.

From a letter which he wrote recently to an English friend I have copied the following:

As a result of the fact that no German paper is permitted here in the camp, not even those advocating understanding nor those critical of the German Government, and practically no English paper hitherto except those abounding in Hun-talk, there is still a general feeling here towards "England" exactly the opposite of what these restrictions are intended to create—a bitterness and a contempt which exist side by side with the most violent criticism of the governing clique of Germany, and with anti-capitalistic, revolutionary sentiment! So I am exerting myself to make people realise that, however influential, the Northcliffe and Allied Press is not "England," and that the best German papers constantly work for the abatement of hatred and for genuine reconciliation and co-operation in a League of Nations.

I am sorry to say that I fear acts of kindness and fairness will be largely forgotten by the majority of prisoners on both sides. An Englishman writes to me of his treatment in Germany: "Consideration was extended in even greater measure to others, yet not one has opened his mouth to record it. It makes one loathe one's fellow-men." I quote this because I am sure that neither side must expect fairness of statement from men so long exposed to so depressing and often petty a constraint. After all, when we see the war bias of the man who has not suffered at all, a calm regard for both sides of the case can scarcely be expected from those who for wasted years have been too often exposed to hardship, petty tyranny and a kind of barbed annoyance.

NEUTRAL CAMPS.

Even in neutral internment camps, though there the initial hostility is absent, misery and bitterness may become very great. The following cable from Rotterdam appeared in the Daily Telegraph of June 13, 1918:

Interned Britishers here are intensely interested in the British-German Conference at the Hague, in the hope that it may result in their repatriation. This is especially the case at Groningen, where the men of the Royal Naval Division, who have been interned since October, 1914, are getting desperate. The June number of the camp magazine had two blank pages, which the editor explains have been censored out because they contained an account of the recent "hunger demonstration" and "a moderate record of the general feeling of the camp."

It is in the internment camps everywhere, rather than in the fighting line, that bitterness sinks into the soul. It will not be remedied by more bitterness. But if the suffering of these men's stagnant years helps to strengthen a universal resolve for peace it will not have been a useless suffering. And peace means understanding by each of the good in the other.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 13: Many older men (even those over seventy) were subsequently interned.]

[Footnote 14: There were 35,000 Germans in Paris alone in 1870, but though expelled from the Department of the Seine, they were not interned.]

[Footnote 15: This was emphasised by the German authorities. See, for instance, Israel Cohen, "The Ruhleben Prison Camp," pp. 21-24.]

[Footnote 16: Cf. pp. 216, 218, etc.]

[Footnote 17: "In this camp, as is usual where civilians are detained, the atmosphere is one of depression."—Mr. Jackson on a civilian camp at Senne, Sept. 11, 1915.]

[Footnote 18: "Overseer" seems to be a translation of the German "Obermann," and represents, I think, the captain of a barrack.]

[Footnote 19: The second list represents members of the Camp Committee (see further p. 99).]

[Footnote 20: "Barrack" is no doubt meant.]

[Footnote 21: There are a large number of men interned at Ruhleben who are technically British subjects by reason of their having been born in British territory of naturalised British subjects, but who have spent practically all their lives in Germany.]

[Footnote 22: Cf. the report on Knockaloe (May, 1916) on p. 114.]

[Footnote 23: The original barrack captains were chosen, as an informant of mine writes, "in a hurry, when things were chaotic." Dissatisfaction was felt with their action, or inaction, and a "Camp Committee" was formed of newly elected representatives of the different barracks, which was, as it were, to supervise the captains (overseers). The arrangement was scarcely likely to work, and did not. The election, moreover, seems to have been but partial.]

[Footnote 24: Cf. p. 115.]

[Footnote 25: One of the difficulties at Newbury was the absence of light.]

[Footnote 26: A very useful account of Ruhleben is given by Israel Cohen in "The Ruhleben Prison Camp." In reading such accounts one must always, however, remember that to complete the picture we ought to be able to read accounts written by interned German civilians of their experiences on this side. Such a consideration should be obvious, but in war the obvious and reasonable are too often vehemently rejected as "unpatriotic"!]

[Footnote 27: For the mental difference between the civilian and the military prisoner see page 84.]

[Footnote 28: Compare the letter written by Oscar Levy, M.D., from Muerren, Switzerland, which appeared in the Manchester Guardian of Sept. 4, 1916: "That such grave cases exist the letters I have been receiving from both sides prove without doubt." That was two years ago.]

[Footnote 29: The earlier reports of the International Red Cross covered very little of this ground. (See footnote, p. 9.)]

[Footnote 30: Compare Report on Ruhleben, June 3, 1915 (p. 94).]

[Footnote 31: A case is in my mind where a man lost wife and two children thus. I shall never forget my task of trying to allay his misery and his bitterness.]



III.

PRISONERS IN PREVIOUS WARS.

SOME PREVIOUS RECORDS.

The suffering of prisoners has been great enough, God knows, yet if we are to help the future we must try to see even this, amongst the other terrible facts, in its proper perspective. The imprisonment of resident enemy nationals has certainly been a most unfortunate step backwards—unfortunate even if we regard it as inevitable.[32] Yet we must recognise that far more solicitude has been shown as to prisoners than was the case in most earlier wars, and this though prisoners have never been taken on so large a scale, and though there has probably never been greater embitterment. It will be useful to cite a few previous records.

NAPOLEONIC WARS.

I quote once more from Dr. Spaight's work, where much information may be found in a condensed form. "A hundred years ago, England, while she prayed in her national liturgy for all prisoners and captives, had no compunction about confining the French prisoners of war in noisome hulks and feeding them on weevily biscuits, salt junk and jury rum, which sowed the seed for a plentiful harvest of scurvy, dysentery and typhus." ("War Rights on Land," p. 265.)

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.

Here is a description of the state of things in the Confederate internment camp at Andersonville during the American Civil War, which, after all, did not happen so very long ago. "Over 30,000 prisoners were cooped up in a narrow space; there was no shelter from the sun or cold but what the men could improvise for themselves; every possible disease was rampant; the prisoners were largely naked; the dead were pitched into a ditch and covered with quicklime; the smell of the dreadful stockade extended for two miles.... The state of affairs was known, or might have been known, at Richmond, for Colonel Chandler, inspector-general of the Confederate army, inspected the camp, and reported upon its administration in no halting terms. 'It is a place,' he said, 'the horrors of which it is difficult to describe—it is a disgrace to civilisation.'"

Of the prisoners returning from the South, Whitman writes: "The sight is worse than any sight of battlefield or any collection of wounded, even the bloodiest. There was (as a sample) one large boat load of several hundreds—and out of the whole number only three individuals were able to walk from the boat. Can those be men—those little, livid, brown, ash-streaked, monkey-looking dwarfs?" (Cambridge Magazine, August 26, 1916, Supplement "Prisoners," p. iv.) In spite of such appalling horrors (worse than the atrocities of rage and fear and drink) the North and South became reconciled, and with the passing of war bitterness passed too. The South was hard pressed, supplies often ran out, and there was indifference at Richmond. And so the military bullies often got the upper hand, and their appetite for bullying grew with what it fed on. The North refused all exchanges. "The prisoners at Richmond, Belle-Isle, and Andersonville were the pawns in a great match, and had to be sacrificed to the rigour of the game." (Spaight, l.c., p. 270.)

FRANCO-GERMAN WAR, 1870.

In the Franco-German War of 1870 terrible hardships were endured by prisoners on both sides. The winter transport to Germany in open trucks led to scenes of indescribable misery for the French prisoners, who arrived sometimes "frozen to the boards in their own filth." German prisoners at Pau had for six days only bread and water till English and German ladies took pity on them. Faidherbe's prisoners had no fire, no blankets and insufficient food in a cold of sixteen degrees. Things now are at least better than that.

RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR, 1904.

The Japanese seem to have behaved remarkably well to their Russian prisoners in the Russo-Japanese War. But even here there was a food problem. The Japanese food did not suit the Russian soldier, and Sir Ian Hamilton was told by Russian prisoners going South that they felt hungry again half an hour after eating their ration of rice. The Japanese have usually been held up as models for their treatment of prisoners, yet, for all that, Professor Ariga admits that in Manchuria the prisoners were in many cases badly fed, badly housed and insufficiently clothed. We know that this involves great misery, suffering and mortality, yet we are, quite rightly, very far from considering the Japanese as barbarians. We are ready to consider their difficulties. Were we, however, fighting Japan, we should not be so ready.

BOER WAR.

There is plenty of evidence of good treatment of prisoners on both sides during the Boer War. It is in these days strange to find the German General Staff historian quoted in defence of the British treatment of prisoners. They behaved, he wrote, "as perfect gentlemen towards the prisoners." "The testimony of a responsible writer of this kind," says Dr. Spaight, "is more valuable than the catch-penny stories of British inhumanity which flooded the Press of Europe at the time of the war." "One is surprised to find such a writer as M. Arthur Desjardins lending his authority to back the uninformed newspaper abuse, and ascribing the brutality of the British Army (which he presumes) to the fact that 'a certain number of its soldiers, accustomed to fighting away from Europe, have not the least notion of the laws and customs of war obtaining among civilised nations'." (Spaight, l.c., p. 275.) Dr. Spaight's comments on such outbursts is: "There was a popular demand [in Europe] at the time for denunciation of England, the hotter the better, and the writers were too good journalists not to suit their output to the popular taste." I will not spoil the rather rich humour of these extracts by any remarks of my own.

Undoubtedly the Boers usually behaved well. Undoubtedly, too, there were some bad lapses. A Free State commandant was, for instance, convicted of putting prisoners in the firing line and driving starving prisoners on foot with a mounted commando. Such things, however, were very far from being the rule. During the guerilla warfare treatment depended entirely on the local commandants. The stripping of prisoners before they were turned adrift was often carried out, "and there is some force in De Wet's contention that the seizure was justified by the British practice of removing or burning all the clothes left in the farms and even taking the hides out of the tanning tubs and cutting them in pieces." In some cases starving, unarmed and practically naked men were abandoned far from any white settlement. What is and what is not allowable in war seems so largely a matter of "military necessity" that the layman is reluctant to comment, for, in the last resort, it is only the needlessly barbarous that is condemned in war.

CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

On our side, we cannot, I think, contemplate the history of the concentration camps with equanimity. Let us recall a few of the facts. The following are amongst the death rates recorded in July, 1901: Norval's Pont, 218.4 (per thousand per annum); Bloemfontein, 242.4; Springfontein, 462.0; Kronstad, 459.6. In June the average death rate was practically 200 (199.3). In the year ending February, 1902, the official returns (which are incomplete) show more than 20,000 deaths in camps with an average total population of about 100,000.[33] Our accusers said the camps were instituted for the purpose of killing off the Boer population. The truth is, the feeling against Britain, even amongst the onlookers, was extremely bitter, and great bitterness does not make for sane judgment. What is certain is that the camps illustrated some of the callousness and carelessness which war always produces. "The sites chosen for the camps were mostly chosen on purely military grounds, and were often unsuitable; the medical and sanitary staff was at first insufficient," writes Dr. Spaight. But, "unsuitable sites, and insufficient" sanitation may produce terrible results, where human lives are concerned, and one would not convert an adverse critic by simply quoting the "Times History" to the effect that "the Boers themselves proved to be helpless, utterly averse to cleanliness, and ignorant of the simplest principles of health and sanitation." The attempt to shift the chief burden of responsibility on to the prisoners is surely scarcely chivalrous. Carelessness and ignorance amongst the prisoners are certain in all such cases to be contributory causes, they are amongst the difficulties to be combatted, but to suggest that they should have been permitted to produce such appalling results is to court derision. Moreover, the chief authority on the subject, Lieut.-Col. S. J. Thomson, C.I.E., I.M.S., who became Director of Burgher Camps in February, 1902, by no means supports these charges. "Much has been said," he writes, "about the want of personal cleanliness among the Boers, but it must be remembered that ablutions are apt to be less frequent and popular when water has to be laboriously brought from considerable distances, as is often the case with farms on the veldt. When bathrooms were provided in the camps, they were very freely and regularly used. Nevertheless it is a fact that the Boer's notion of sanitation as understood by Englishmen is very vague, and all classes resort for purposes of nature to the open country. This custom, probably innocuous enough under the conditions of existence on an isolated homestead, made it extremely difficult to maintain the cleanliness of a camp site, and it was very long before the people could be brought to see that foul matters and dirty water could not be most satisfactorily disposed of by the simple process of flinging them out of the tent. It was found indeed that such proceedings had hopelessly fouled certain camps, and the removal of the people to a fresh site was followed by the best results. In a later chapter, the procedure which was found most successful is described in detail."[34] In July, 1902, the average death rate for the Burgher Camps had sunk to 23.0, and it fell afterwards even lower.

Tents were, in general, the only housing allowed, and this, though "the cold in the 'upper veldt' country in winter was intense." (Thomson.) What were known as bona fide refugees were allowed meat, but those who had their man on commando were, at first, allowed none. This was altered, however, in March, 1901. As to the families of this class, Major Goodwin reported in this month: "I would, therefore, beg respectfully to here place on record my opinion that had we compelled class 3 to decide between unprotected starvation on their farms, and at their homes, or taking up their quarters in or behind the enemy's lines, we should have facilitated the work of proselytism." Thus readily, we observe, may the starvation of women and children be advocated by an English Major as an aid to "proselytism." There were other ways in which "military necessity" showed itself. A Board of three reported on the site of Merebank Camp in December, 1901. The President was Surgeon-Gen. Clery, C.B., and the two members, Col. McCormack, R.A.M.C., and Mr. Ernest Hill, Health Officer of Natal. "The Board is of opinion that the site is by no means an ideal site, and has imperfection as regards elevation, drainage, etc., but do not recommend that the camp should be removed ... for the following reasons: (1) It is necessary that any camp should be on a railway line. (2) Purely sanitary arrangements as to site have to be held subservient to military exigencies. The latter do not permit the camps being located in the uplands, as military and civil traffic arrangements make it essential that the main line should not be further congested," ... and so on. The Camp had been condemned by the Ladies' Commission.[35]

The view I have given is the view admitted gradually and reluctantly by officials themselves. Miss Hobhouse gives a rather different account of things. In the earlier days of the camps, she tells me, the condition of things might be summarised thus: "Overcrowding (up to sixteen in a bell-tent)—no water supply—no soap—no beds or bedding—no fuel supplied—no utensils—barest rations—sanitary staff inefficient or non-existent." In "The Brunt of the War" Miss Hobhouse writes on page 118 of Bloemfontein Camp: "My request for soap was met with the reply, 'Soap is a luxury.' ... Finally it was requisitioned for, also forage[36]—more tents—boilers to boil the drinking water—water to be laid on from the town—and a matron for the camp. Candles, matches, and such like I did not aspire to. It was about three weeks before the answer to the requisition came, and in the interim I gave away soap. Then we advanced a step. Soap was to be given, though so sparingly as to be almost useless—forage was too precious—brick boilers might be built—but to lay on a supply of water was negatived, as 'the price was prohibitive.' Later on, after I had visited other camps, and came back to find people being brought in by the hundred and the population rapidly doubling, I called repeated attention to the insufficient sanitary accommodation, and still more to the negligence of the camp authorities in attending to the latrines. I had seen in other camps that under proper administrative organisation all could be kept sweet and clean. But week after week went by, and daily unemptied pails stood till a late hour in the boiling sun, and the tent homes of the near section of the camp were rendered unbearable by the resulting effluvia."

A sentence at page 120 has a bearing upon other wars and other helpers of distressed "enemies":—"It became clear to my astonished mind that both the censorship and system of espionage were not merely military in character, but political and almost personal, so that even to feel, much more to show, sympathy to the people was to render yourself suspect.... Everyone knows what class of men accept the work which means spying upon neighbours, and can draw their own conclusions as to the value of such reports."

As regards the food ration it has been seriously contended by others besides Miss Hobhouse (e.g., T. S. Haldane, M.D., F.R.S.), that it was totally inadequate. Dr. Haldane considered that "nothing but seething discontent" and "an enormous death-rate" could be expected from the dietary allowed. (l.c. p. 159.) But those who wish to learn more about this and many other matters should consult Miss Hobhouse's remarkable book.

The truth is, the prisoner's lot is always hard, and all nations have at times made it a terrible one. It is only the recognition of brotherhood that can alter this, and the recognition of brotherhood would end war.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 32: See the full statement, pp. 75 ff.]

[Footnote 33: See the summary of the official returns given by Miss Emily Hobhouse on p. 328 of "The Brunt of the War." The careful Boer compilation made after the war records the death of 26,370 women and children—more than four times the mortality among the Boer combatants. The full details are recorded in the archives at Pretoria, and it is to these that Miss Hobhouse refers in the pamphlet containing her speech at the unveiling of the National Monument at Bloemfontein on "Vrouwen-Dag," 1913.]

[Footnote 34: "The Transvaal Burgher Camps," by Lieut.-Col. S. J. Thomson.]

[Footnote 35: The marshy site of Merebank is compared by Miss Emily Hobhouse to that of the German camp at Wittenberg.]

[Footnote 36: "'Forage' needs explanation," writes Miss Hobhouse. "We requisitioned for forage, because, as there was no milk for the children, we were planning to buy some cows, if we could secure forage. However, we failed."]



IV

REPRISALS OF GOOD.

For the information contained in this chapter I am greatly indebted to the Friends' Emergency Committee. Most of it has already appeared in their leaflets and reports, and in articles in The Friend. The following is a reprint of a letter sent by the Bishop of Winchester to the Times. It appeared in the issue of September 29, 1916:

GERMAN WORK FOR PRISONERS.

Sir,—The following facts, if you can find space for them, will, I think, be of interest and encouragement amidst all the sorrow and misery of war.

The word "reprisals" is often heard in diplomacy and in war; reprisals are attempted or suggested; or reprisals of cruelty are condemned, we rejoice to know, by the instinct and conscience of the nation. These are all reprisals of what is bad. Rarer, at least on the surface, are reprisals of good. But here is such a case.

At the outbreak of the war members of the Society of Friends and others came together for the purpose of bringing help to those men and women of enemy nationality in this country upon whom the war had brought suffering. Their lot was often a pitiable one. The pull of contrary affections, the unkindness of former friends, the sudden loss of means of livelihood, the internment of the men, with its enforced idleness, were some of the troubles which would have produced despair in many cases had not the members of this "Emergency Committee" (169, St. Stephen's House, Westminster)[37] come to the rescue. They have given material help to thousands of families, and, above all, brought the healing touch of human sympathy to the men in the camps and their wives and children (mostly British-born) left to struggle on alone outside.

It was early in the war also that a group of Germans came together in Berlin and determined to start a similar work. The news of what was being done by the British Committee soon reached them and made them increase their efforts. Since then the two bodies have been in close communication, and each has endeavoured to see that what is done for "alien enemies" in one country is promptly repeated in the other.

Among the recent activities of the Berlin Committee has been the organising of travelling facilities and hospitality for wives from other parts of Germany, who are now allowed to visit their husbands at Ruhleben Camp; and it is now making vigorous efforts to co-ordinate and increase the work of the various agencies in Germany that are trying to lighten the lot of the military and civilian prisoners of war in their camps. At the end of June, I learn, a meeting in support of this work was held at the house of Prince Lichnowsky, former Ambassador in London, who returned specially from the front to preside. Many notable men and women were present, and a collection of 8,000 marks was made.

My reasons for writing to you with this information are two. In the first place, because these Berlin workers are incessantly spreading, through the German Press and otherwise, news of the doings of the British Committee, and even in this matter there should be reprisals. And, secondly, one cannot be too thankful to be able to put on record instances of that common humanity which we knew must exist in some quarters even among our enemies, overleaping national hates and prejudices, and which in this great work of Dr. Siegmund Schultze and his colleagues is so active and persistent. The names of several who are diligent in the work in Germany are those of men personally known to me in respect and affection; and (whatever their views of war and of Britain may be—which I do not know) I can feel as sure of their simple sincerity and good purpose as if they were my own countrymen. This may be, perhaps, an added excuse for troubling you.—Yours faithfully,

EDW. WINTON. Farnham Castle. Surrey, September 27.

The German work is an offshoot of the general work undertaken by the Enquiry and Assistance Agency for Germans abroad and foreigners in Germany (Auskunfts-und Hilfsstelle fuer Deutsche im Ausland und Auslaender in Deutschland). The following is a translation of the appeal issued by the parent society:

The war has caused great distress amongst countless Germans in foreign countries. In helping our countrymen we have to rely almost exclusively on the benevolence of the societies which have been for years in co-operation with us in those countries, especially upon our English and American co-workers in the religious societies for international friendship. In England, where great difficulties for German subjects might have been expected from the exceptional conditions prevailing, a Committee was formed directly the war broke out, whose object was to provide support for distressed Germans and Austrians in England; and already many Germans have told us verbally and in writing of the valuable help given to them by this Committee.

In consequence of many requests and complaints we have felt that it was our duty to interest ourselves in those foreigners who were in difficulties in Germany. At a time when the German people, from the highest to the lowest, have joined together in the consciousness of a stern defence against their enemies, and are fighting out the great struggle for existence and freedom, it may well appear to many that it is superfluous to render to the alien enemies amongst us any more than the most necessary services. But we have not only to think of those Germans who are now abroad, not only to remember that those foreigners who are in need in Germany are for the most part Germany's best friends and are bound to us by a thousand ties; besides all this the task is laid upon us by our own desire to render friendly service in these times of hatred to those who now find it so difficult to obtain help. Even in war time, whoever needs our help is our neighbour, and love of their enemies remains the distinguishing mark of those who are loyal to our Lord.

We have accordingly decided to establish a Berlin Enquiry and Assistance Office to work with the corresponding offices at home and abroad, especially with the above-mentioned Emergency Committee in London, the Berne and Stuttgart Peace Bureaux, etc. We beg for help and gifts, which may be sent to the following address: Berliner Auskunfts- und Hilfsstelle fuer Deutsche im Ausland und Auslaender in Deutschland; communications to be addressed to Fraeulein Dr. Elisabeth Rotten, Berlin No. 18, Friedenstrasse 60.

The signatories to this appeal were: Prof. W. Foerster, Ehrich Gramm (Banker), Dr. Kleineidam (Provost), Eduard de Neufville, Prof. Rade, Julius Rohrbach (Pastor), Dr. Elisabeth Rotten, Dr. Alice Solomon, F. Siegmund-Schultze (Pastor), Dr. Spiecker, Pastor Umfried.

It is important to note that of the families and others helped by the Committee, the largest percentage (49) were English. Russians made up 24 per cent, and French 9 per cent. (Dr. Elisabeth Rotten's circular of April, 1916.)

The following documents explain themselves:—Extract from a letter of Dr. Elisabeth Rotten, dated January 6, 1916.

In spite of the fact that the numbers of permanent workers in the office and out of it increase all the time, we have work here from morning to night, often including holidays. But we do it gladly, for it is a labour of love. At present our chief work lies in taking home French children from the occupied territory of France. In Belgium this work is now nearly discharged, and a lady has only to go there once more, this month, to fetch the last batch of children. The French children are not fetched by our delegates; they travel in the larger trains for civilians, who are brought from the occupied territory of France, through Switzerland, back into the unoccupied[38] parts. What we now have to do is to see that the children who had been left behind, separated from their parents, are reunited with them as quickly as possible. The children themselves seldom know where their parents are, but we have the addresses through working in conjunction with the International "Feminist" Bureau at Lausanne. This creates a great deal of correspondence with the respective authorities. I am glad to be able to add that the [German] War Office has come forward with sympathy to help us in this work.

We have sent large consignments of warm clothing and food—including honeycake—to the civilian prisoners' camps at Ruhleben and Holzminden, to be distributed among those that received nothing from other sources. French and Russian civilians are interned at Holzminden.

German women workers in connection with our Committee in other parts have also sent Christmas gifts to the camps nearest them. I enclose extracts from letters from Fraeulein Jens, of Hamburg, and Frau Kirchhoff, of Bremen, which I put at your disposal. The Berlin Committee of the Women's Suffrage Union has done the same for Doeberitz, and other Committees in South and West Germany have also carried out similar work. It is of particular interest to note that the request that German women might remember the prisoners of war in such a way came from a German soldier at the front. The ladies were already planning something of the sort, and would certainly have done it; but still, such a request, so heartily and earnestly expressed, is remarkable.

From Frau Senator Kirchhoff, December 28, 1915:

The camp at Achim, near Bremen, in the province of Hanover, is called Etelsen Moor. Frau Schmitt and I finished off everything in one day, and early on the 23rd we drove out with two large trunks and three cardboard boxes. Altogether we had collected 536 marks; 190 went to Frau Feist, 100 marks cash went to the camp at Etelsen. Our trunks contained 40 flannel shirts and 40 pairs of pants, 40 pairs of slippers, 32 pairs of socks, mittens, helmets, scarves, 1,000 cigars, 100 cakes of chocolate, 25 note-books, 50 pencils, 50 blotters, drawing paper, india rubber, calendars, etc. Three prisoners—two Belgian and one Frenchman—came with two wheelbarrows; they were accompanied by two German non-commissioned officers. The men were exceedingly pleased: the German soldier said they had long been wishing to give the men presents and were happy that we had made it possible for them to do so. Afterwards I received two charming letters; one from the Commandant, who thanked me very heartily. They had been able to give every prisoner—chiefly Belgians and French, but also Russians and one Englishman—a present. He enclosed a touching, grateful letter from a Belgian prisoner, an adjutant, and a programme of their Christmas theatricals. I have seldom been so glad about anything as I am that this has been a success.

From Fraeulein Jens, December 30, 1915. Work at Hamburg.

We had altogether about 400 marks, and out of this fund 100 parcels containing each about 3 marks worth of goods were purchased and handed over with 100 marks in money—for sick and needy prisoners—into the care of the camp chaplain. He took the opportunity of explaining in our presence to three of the camp "Captains," an Englishman, a Frenchman and a Russian, the object of the gift. They were greatly touched and most grateful. The Englishman thanked us in the name of his country. We were only sorry that we could not do far, far more, but if even this little is a seed of corn which may in the future bring forth thoughts of reconciliation between the nations we shall be happy. Our presents were given for the New Year, as it is the custom for English and French to make presents then....

SOME THANKS ON BOTH SIDES.

The following is from the Prisoners' Aid Society of the German civilians interned in Camp III., Knockaloe, Isle of Man. If the English shows signs of effort, it is an effort of sincerity:—

To the Emergency Committee for the Assistance of Germans, Austrians and Hungarians in Distress.

Dear Madam,—We do not wish to fail to remember at the beginning of the New Year with gratitude those who, during the past difficult year, have made it their task to alleviate, wherever possible, the misery and the most pressing sorrows of such families who, by their internment as prisoners of war, were deprived of their bread-winners. When assembled in silent prayer during the last festive season—the season of Peace and Goodwill to all mankind—our hearts felt the particular necessity of expressing our innermost thanks to your Committee for all the magnanimous acts of brotherly love and relief shown and granted to the dependents of the interned.

Whilst we venture to ask you to see in these few lines the unanimous vote of thanks of all the prisoners of war at Knockaloe Camp III., and kindly bring it to the notice of those who in a self-sacrificing manner generously assisted your work of love, we, the undersigned, respectfully offer our heartfelt wishes for the New Year.

P. H. Bernhard, Chairman; Carl Glock, Deputy Chairman; C. P. Toellner, Treasurer; B. Pflug, Hospital.

And here we have an extract from a letter of gratitude from some Serbian prisoners to one of the German Committees. It was despatched by the Serbian Aid Committee at the camp Frankfurt-am-Oder, on February 22, 1917. "The hundred or so parcels for Serbian Prisoners of War mentioned in your kind letter of December 20, 1916, came to hand in good time and in good condition from Switzerland, and were distributed to those who were in the weakest condition, and those who were most needy. In all there were 94 parcels, and you have the blessing of 94 human beings, ill, weak, and altogether deserted by the world. As our former camp (Halbe b. Berlin) was broken up just at that time and distributed amongst four other camps, we have only just learned who it was who had given us such kindly and noble thoughts. We thank you therefore once more with our whole heart for your great goodness and charity—God will repay it to you.

"The gifts (the many good and beautiful things) reached us here in good time, and were divided amongst Serbians who [were in various camps] and the remainder we distributed here on Christmas Eve in the camp. You should have seen the joy of these poor men!... May God only grant a speedy peace!... While thanking you heartily once again, we beg you to think of us in the future also.... P.S.—In all the camps belonging to our group we have a total of 30-40 sick men."