Show prisoners of war in t y france and england by E G af copyright 1918 tf it la impossible to get back to the I 1 german to learn the composite ion of the german army but it Is not impossible to learn something 0 that army this was dona by seeing a great many men and boys fr from the army in prison campa in england and france not far from london there Is a camp for german officers who have been captured by the british As we approached this camp we saw 40 men an blue gray of germany marching along the road side or exercise these men were permitted to take the exercise out side the guarded camp on their honor to return and to make no trouble tor the three unarmed brit ish officers who accompanied them they lived up to this pledge be sides having given heir word they u must have recalled that it would be difficult to get out ol 01 england should r they attempt ta make a break tor liberty they were not permitted ar however to go near any city or hlll age the camp itself was surrounded by barbed wire entanglements entangle ments and r watched over by guards with rifles there 1 were german officers in the camp when we visited it and enough private soldiers also ger man prisoners ot war to act as their orderlies we were first taken into a room the size ol 01 a small church there was a platform in one end and benches in the body ot the room on the platform was a piano and a young officer was playing another was playing a violin and a third a cornet two others were working at eadels easels in another corner the men in this roam were young very young tor officers the first one approached a bright eyed kindly faced youth who said he had enter ed the army at 16 was then 19 and a lieutenant when captured another no older wanted to get back f to Ms work as an engraver amany I 1 other young men in the room were under 20 and all officers one found to be as old as 21 said that be entered the german army at 15 before the war but he did not seem to have the german military spirit as we understand it but the tact that here were a number of boys very young all officers when captured the tact that they were in this camp made it sure they were officers reveals bow pressed germany la to men the school boy is pressed into service and made to carry responsibilities but in another room were older men majors captains men up to 35 or 40 men steeped in german all it arism men who seemed to be apart from young men seen in the first room these older men had books and magazines and newspapers and were in easy chairs leisurely smoking and reading there could be seen in numbers men whom from their very appearances you would not trust one major was approached and his whole bearing was so ed one of deception and falsehood that it was not deemed worth while to waste breath on him another talked entertainingly and plausibly his manner was pleasing but there was something about it all that would leave one wondering what about him was asked an attendant the biggest liar in camp was the prompt reply there was a chapel a part of the prison camp in this were two officers one practicing on a musical instrument the other working on a lithographing litho graphing press printing some poetry about the rhine it the clothing of these men was bedraggled when they were taken r prisoners the british officers made them send home tor better uniforms whole and clean so that on the whole the officers presented a very neat appearance they were permitted to receive packages from home and one of these being opened while we were there told eloquently of the condi ions in germany it had been sent by a mother to her eon in the prison camp the package was about the size of a pasteboard shoe box and in it were about a dozen very small potatoes a few pieces of canned meat and other morsels of food thia meagre portion told of a a mother skimping to send something to her boy prisoner who in reality was faring very well tales were told in germany of the want among the men in british camps which led to the sending of this and other boxes but the tact way and is that the british are living up to in law in caring tor enemy prisoners there was an agreement mado be fore the war that officers in prison camps should receive 60 cents a day and badland waa not regarding this aa a ileac letter but waa paying he amount to the officers they had good food more meat than I 1 had seen in restaurants plenty of tobacco and cigars and good quarters another package received by one of the prisoners contained in it a small bottle ot white tablets the british officer who was inspecting all packages held it out the german officer got a companion to draw the attention 0 the british officer to another package and then picked up the forbidden bottle shoving it info his pocket put it down commanded another british officer not seen until then by the german why do you try to take it when told not to I 1 am a german officer said the prisoner that was intended for me and you have ne right to withhold from an officer that which is his for that your mall and packages will be withheld tor 30 days was the reply from a british officer who did not hold the german title in such awe and esteem as the german would have him it revealed again the trend of mind that comes with german militarism in other prison camps the soldiers and noncommissioned oell cers were kept at work on the roada and repairing the salvage gathered on the battle fields and made over for use in future battles the private soldier did not impress one as being up to the average of the french the british or the americans they appeared to be men who lacked initiative but who would take orders because they had been used to it all their lives in a hand to hand combat on the ground or in the air the british french and american best them almost invariably |