Show 3 GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN N THE UNITED STATES STATE officers and men from the vessels interned at the beginning of the war and men arrested as alien enemies since the united states entered the war are being treated in Most Humane manner by FREDERIK FREDERI K C HOWE united states commissioner of immigration at new york it has been nearly sixty years since the hie united states ling lias held field any prisoners on american soil sell and t the lie prisoners of the clyl civil war were our own people split by the strife over ever slavery already there are approximately german prisoners in the united states St ittes they are arc not captives in n battle attle T they hey have never neve r seen the trenches S but a portion n of them wore were active participants in the war as officers rs and seamen on the german sea raider prinz eitel friedrich ledrich Fr which ventured into hampton roads rends for coal and supplies in july 1914 1014 but the great majority ol of our prisoners of war are officers and sailors the stewards and employees of the german merchant vessels which were seized by our government immediately on the declaration of war ovar and men 40 who are hold field ns as suspects who have been arrest arrested ed in various parts ot of the country there were 20 merchant ships which had boon been 1 in the harbor of new york since september 1914 they had on board about 1100 germans who iho were taken from the ships and interned at ellis island there were other german ships at boston porto rico panama while over GO germans were brought across the pacific to new york from the harbor of captured by the japanese since the outbreak of the war too german and austrian subjects from bankers to stevedores have been arrested as allen alien enemies and placed in temporary detention at various places throughout the united states awaiting final action by the government we iye were new in war methods unprepared for prisoners of war and whatever the treatment of germany to american prisoners the united states determined that german prisoners held here should be treated created on the assumption of the president that this was a war not against the german people but ut against the rulers of prussia moreover the he grent great majority of these prisoners were here on a peaceful ful errand they had come in their ships ol of which the greatest of all was the Va waterland terland now the leviathan and were marooned in american they remained by their ships for nearly three years but they were trained men many or all of them were reservists identified with the fatherland the great majority of these prisoners were held tor for six months at the ellis bills island immigration station in new york and on an island in boston harbor under the jurisdiction of the united states immigration authorities the officers and sailors of the prinz aftel friedrich were first farst taken to philadelphia and then to fort oglethorpe ga under the provisions of the hague tribunal agreed to liv v all the powers prisoners of war have certain rights they may not be com compelled to work at anything that will contribute to the military activities of the government they are to have means of communication with their friends it they do any industrial work they are to be paid on the same schedule of wages as that paid to boffl cors cars and soldiers of the same grade tri n the army I 1 secretary of labor wilson when confronted with the maintenance and care of 2000 german subjects placed under his care many of whom had wives in this country decided that the united states should set a standard of prison administration in harmony with the disinterested and war aims of america and so humane that our humanity would serve as a means of protection to american sol diers who he might become prisoners of var mr in german camps camps built by germans hot allot springs in the mountains of borth carolina was selected as an internment tern ment camp for tire interned sen sea men it lies iles tar far from the sea and nestles in the midst of mountain ranges ln western north carcell Car Carolina coll na other war prisoners are interned at F fiort rt mcpherson Mcl herson and andI Fort oglethorpe ga a where cantonments canton ments have been erected similar to those occupier occupied by troops these camps were built by the germans under direction of american officers and are surrounded by stockades relays of coll icem and seamen were transported from new york tori and boston to hot springs during the summer slid and early fall months or of 1917 and from out the crews of the ships till nil kinds ot of mechanic ians rind artisans were selected and the 0 german aerman prisoners were set bet to work building their own onn camp when the work was completed there was vms nothing tor for the men to do there wit ans no provision for activities except sports as the men themselves might devise A large number wore were employed in the kitchen they izop kept L the place in order some ran the pumping engines others looked after the water supply plumbing and electricity practically hit ill the work inside the tamp is performed bythe Gerin rma and the germans fir have ve been per bitted to find amusements for themselves they the have dei eloped 11 life ot of their own they developed it and perfected it until what a few months ago was merely an internment cubr caal ams ins now become a center of every kind of activity on the ri river ver banks a german s village was laid out it Is 9 suggestive of old heidelberg the crooked streets of or some little village pillage in the black mountains one almost forgets that one Is in the mountains of north carolina as he walks along the narrow crooked streets of this german village flanked on either side by artistic play playhouses houes built by the men themselves the houses are not for living in although ingenious stoves have been built to keep them warm from stones picked up along the riverside and the houses themselves are made from scraps of lumber f from rom broken branches of trees from little pieces of wood they are shingled with tin cans and are papered within and tinted at very little expense at the head of tile the roadway Is a miniature gothic church its lines hues are good it lias has pews within it a pulpit and all tile lie accessories of a church but it Is merely a play church flowers of all kinds are planted and in a short time the german village wa was wai i a flower garden and when this work was completed complete the men who had constructed ted these buildings organized classes for study one of these houses Is fin an artists studio two or three are cabinetmaking shops some old men are arc weaving they are plying all the trades that they learned in their idle hours on shipboard wonderful me mosaic work made out of cigar boxes Is turned out as are little ships complete in every detail Y M C A takes hold the young mens christian association followed the germans to hot springs as is it has followed our soldiers to their cantonments canton ments and it came with plans for bernice sen ser Nice ice with money enough to buy lumber but no money for labor and tile the representative of the young mens liens christian association called a number of the german seamen together in their camp and asked them it if they would be willing to build a young mens christian association building if supplied with material and tools immediately the men organized a construction squad they gave their labor gratuitously gratuito uly they erected a big building probably by feet artistically designed as a clubroom and schoolhouse and immediately all the classes were filled four hundred men were immediately enrolled the germans produced their own teachers classes boere w ere established in elementary and advanced english other classes were formed in french and in spanish shorthand geography chemistry marine engineering and navigation are taught all day and all evening these classes are at work studying various subjects similar classes were organized in the officers detention camp the young mens christian association ling lias also stationed secret secretaries arles and inaugurated work tit at fort oglethorpe and fort mcpherson ga and at fort I 1 D douglas on I 1 a s utah they have cooper co oper abed b heartily artely artily with the government and have rendered most valuable service along the lines of work usually carried on by the association religious educational athletic music and gardening life Is irksome in any camp the men get what the doctors call the barbed wire cofre sickness 11 it affects mens minds to be kept in an inclosure with nothing to do that Is the most serious complaint there have been but few attempts to escape and tho the guarding of the prisoners is relatively easy |