OCR Text |
Show Officers Give Data On War Prisoners toilet articles and a work allows ance of 80 cents a day in addition when performing- labor. A prisoner pris-oner is paid less than 80 cents a day when he produces less than he should have produced during his working time or when he works less than a full day, the General said. Prisoners are never permitted to have money in their possession, he added. They receive their allowance al-lowance and pay in coupons redeemable re-deemable for merchandise at the canteen. At the discretion of the prisoner, his allowance may be iaA tr Viit! predit in a trust fund -I is; well as those within a under guard at all t N said, are perform Police Escort Guard which have been gjVen-.. of special training j! " 17 duties relative to Z handling prisoners 0f "Kiln "Ki-ln those companies are the use of a variety Z X To assure effect! oner of war labor J"fc waste of manpower n, said, the administrativ overhead is reduced to minimum. v,"labM branch camps from the base camps are establsihed tempoarily by using existing facilities or tents to place prisoners of war nearer work projects-Prisoners projects-Prisoners are assigned to companies com-panies upon arrival at the prisoner prison-er of war camps. Usually, he said, several companies are assigned to each compound. Prisoners, thereafter, there-after, select from their number a spokesman under the provision of Article 43 of the Convention which states, "In every place where there are prisoners of war, they shall be allowed to appoint agents entrusted with representing them directly with military authorities and protecting powers. This appointment ap-pointment shall be subject to the approval of the military authorities." No prisoner, of war has com-, mitted an act of sabotage during his period of freedom following escape, Major General David Mc-Coach Mc-Coach Jr., Commanding General of the Ninth Service Command at Fort Douglas, Utah, revealed today. to-day. Effectiveness of the arrangements arrange-ments for recapture and close coordination co-ordination between law enforcement enforce-ment agencies following an escape can be noted from the fact that American uabor is unavailable." Eefore prisoners are furnished to a private contractor, the general gener-al explained, the contractor must secure a certification from the War Food Administration, if his isan agricultural project, or the War Manpower Commission if it is other essential labor. These certification cer-tification state there is no free American labor available for the project, that the project is essential essen-tial for the war effort, the going wage for the work involved and Thruogh security prisoner of war faciM r eff1Ciency of 1 . ery attempt is made ? any escapes. However Uncivil Un-civil prison, the General out some escapes are i "Under these circuZ k he added, been made for the recant, te: prisoners according tn T? f mined plans. Army p cal police and the & t of Investigation are Zt By press, radio, telephone .; egraph,the news of an J eluding identification data?, en wide distribution. p The effectiveness of theses sures is proven by the fact tf few prisoners have been at more than 48 hours. Not a sv prisoner has committed an 2, sabotage during his perJ; freedom and not a single wi er is now at large." ' vuJy iuw prisoners nave been at large more than, 48 hours, the General added. These comments highlighted a statement by the General dealing with the handling and utilization of prisoners of war by the United States under the articles of the Geneva convention. "The United States is adhering strictly to the letter and spirit of the Geneva convention of July 27, 1929, relative to the care and treatment treat-ment of prisoners of wa, a treaty wnich the United States and most of the other civilized nations are parties," the General said. "We j are adhering strictly to the letter and the spirit of the convention ; as a matter of natonal honor and ! integrity. the order of priority of that project pro-ject as against other projects recommended. rec-ommended. The contractor pays the stated prevailing wage to the Treasury of the United States, and the prisoners pris-oners are paid their regular wages wag-es by the War Department. No project is certified, it was emphasized, empha-sized, if free American labor can be made available. At the first opportunity after capture, a personnel record is prepared pre-pared for each prisoner. This rec-od rec-od contains his name, serial number, num-ber, photograph, fingerprints, description, de-scription, inventory of personal effects, and other personal information. infor-mation. This record is necessary for reports to the rjrotecti piavc maintained for him. In regard to discipline, the General Gen-eral reported that prisoners of war are subject, in line with the Geneva Gene-va convention regulations, to the laws, regulations and orders in force in the armies of the detaining detain-ing power. They are subject to the Articles of War, and also to the civil laws of the United States and municipality where interned. All prisoners, he said, are within with-in the jurisdiction of courts-martial and except for officer prisoners prison-ers are liable to summary punishment punish-ment by officers of the United States. Strict military discipline is maintained and prisoners are required re-quired to obey orders in the same manner as troops in the U. S. Army. They are not exposed to cruel or inhuman treatment or are they made to suffer any punishment punish-ment prohibited by the Geneva Convention. The punishment imposed im-posed is that which is allowed for personnel of the V. S. Army. Fraternization of any kind is not tolerated. To maintain security, adequate barbed-wire fences and guard facilities are provided. Prisoners employed on work projects, as Spokesmen are not allowed any command or disciplinary function, the General said. Their sole duties are the submission of complaints on behalf of the prisoners and the transmission of orders and instructions instruc-tions from the camp commander to the prisoners. These spokesmen the General explained, are usually older soldiers as distinguished from the prisoners' average of 20 to 22 years of age. The food ration of prisoners of war is equal in quality and quantity quan-tity to that of troops of base camps in accordance with Article II of the Convention. Prisoners are furnished a minimum of clothing cloth-ing and equipment. Unless necessitated neces-sitated by climate, no uniform or suit is issued as a replacement to the prisoner until the one in which he was captured has become unfit for use. The uniforms of prisoners prison-ers are renovated whenever practicable. "Accordingly, prisoners are treated ' humanely and fairly, as soldiers of an opposing army and not criminals. However, strict discipline dis-cipline is maintained and in no in-j in-j stance are the prisoners pam- peed. This treatment may be summarized sum-marized as fair but firm." The General said there are 99 x 0 jr er and the administration of the camps. It is particularly important import-ant for identfication purposes in the event of escapes. Prisoners are segregated in the camps by nationality, the General said, adding that officer prisoners are housed and messed in compounds com-pounds separated from thnsA itkv1 able in limited quantities only arei not sold in the canteens. Pursuant to the Geneva Convention Conven-tion and collateral agreeemnts made with the enemy, officer prisoners, pris-oners, except Japanese, are paid as follows: lieutenants $20; captains, cap-tains, $30; majors and above, $40 a month. Japanese officers are paid $5 less in each grade. Enlisted En-listed men prisoners receive an allowance of 10 cents per day for Likewise, the General said, prisoners pris-oners are provided with medical, surgical and dental treatment identical with that furnished United Uni-ted States troops. Hospital facilities are available at each prisoner of war camp. If prolonged hospitalization! hospitali-zation! is indicated the prisoner is transferred to the general hospital. hospi-tal. Special provisions are made to care for cases of tuberculosis, insanity, blindness and loss of hearing. Sick and wounded prisoners of war, certified by the Mixed Medical Medi-cal Commission as eligible for repatriation, re-patriation, are exchanged for similar sim-ilar Americans captured by the enemy. Canteens are established in each prisoner of war camp in order that prisoners may purchase, with coupons, toilet articles, tobacco and other small luxury items. These canteens are similar to Army Ar-my Post Exchanges. However, items which at present are avail- I base camps and 98 branch camps for prisoners of war in the United States. In these are interned 133,-547 133,-547 Germans, 50,133 Italians and 347 Japanese. They total about 194,000. The camps are under the jursdiction of the Commanding General of the Service Command in which they are located. Prisoners of war within this country are required, within certain cer-tain limitations, the General said, to work in order to assist in alleviating al-leviating the manpower shortage. These prisoners are required to work at least eight hours a day for six days a week. "They are used primarily on Army Ar-my posts, camps and stations for housekeeping or maintenance work. Also, "prisoners are used to alleviate acute manpower shortage short-age in essential work if free by enlisted men. Additional segregation segre-gation occasionally is used to nullify nul-lify the action of non-cooperative prisoners. The General said the Geneva conventon requires that as to dormitories dor-mitories "the suface, minmum cubic cu-bic amount of air, arrangement and material of bedding, the conditions con-ditions shall be the same as for troops at base camps of the detaining de-taining power." The standard layout for base camps for enlisted men prisoners provides in each compound 20 barracks, bar-racks, four latrines, four mess halls, an administrative building, an infirmary, a work shop, a recreation re-creation building, a canteen and four company store houses. One chapel and a guardhouse are provided pro-vided for the entire camp. Other facilities operated as |