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Show Men in Siberian Prison Camps Must Be Rescued or Few Will Live. WASHINGTON, May. 5. (By. The Associated Press). Dr. Frldtof Nan-sen, Nan-sen, the Norwegian explorer, probably will head the organization to bo set ' UP by' the league of nations for tho purpose of repatriating 200,000 Gar-, man, Austrian and other war prisoner: , still held in Russia. Roports to be submitted to the league council at Rome this month say that unless these men are rescued from their prison camps In Siberia before be-fore next winter few are likely to survive. sur-vive. They have been In captivity for five years. Dr. Nanscn May Head Party. Dr. Nansen was mentioned during discussions at Paris last year of steps toward sending food relief to the captives. cap-tives. Word has reached Washington that he already has been asked if ho would bo willing to serve as tho agent i of the league In attempting the repat-. riation. He had considerable exper-' lence with food questions during the war, having headed the Norwegian' mission sent to the United States in1 1917 to negotiate for needed supplies I for his own country. I Suffering Must Be Alleviated. Tho question of aiding the war prisoners pris-oners in Russia was referred to the league by the supreme economic council coun-cil last February on the theory that under un-der article 25 of tho lenguo covenant members already had pledged themselves them-selves to take Interest in the "mitigation "mitiga-tion of suffering throughout the world." Some Jugo-Slav and Czechoslovakia Czecho-slovakia troops are among the prisoners prison-ers and the 200,000 estimate is based only. on those held in prison camps: those who have become amalgamated with the native population being stricken strick-en from tho list. |