1916-12-29 — Page 7

THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29TH, 1916.

BRITISH LABOUR IN GERMANT TEXT OF GERMANY'S

PRISONERS ON THE LAND. THE SALVATION OF AGRICULTURE.

**PEACE" NOTE.

RECEIVED IN JAPAN.

The following text of the peace pro The following description of the ex- tent and actual conditions of employ-posal of the Central Powers has been ment of prisoners of ours in Germany received in Tokyo:-- has been supplied to The Times by an

The most terrible war which history English lady who has lived in that has ever seen has been raging for two country since the beginning of the war and & half years in a great part of the and has had exceptional opportunities world. This catastrophe, which the bond

accurate observation:- So far as I can judge, people in Eng-of common civilization for a thousand land do not fully understand the pres. years was unable to avert, strikes at sure of the food difficulties upon Gorman mankind in its most precious achieve families of all classes, but still les doment. It threatens to destroy the in they seem to understand the reasons why, tellectual and material progress which in spite of all difficulties, Germany is was the pride of Europe at the beginning able to continue her production of home of the twentieth century. grown foods, and at the same time to maintain the supply of men for the Army and of labour for the munition works. can speak of my own knowledge only of a small corner of North Germany, but I know enough to say that one of the most important factors is the employ

ment of prisoners of war.

success over

*Germany and her allies, namely, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, have proved their unconquerable strength in this fight. They have won mighty an enemy superior in numbers and war materials, and their lines have unshakably withstood ever Here in England my home is in an repeated attacks of the enemy armies agricultural district I find people say-The latest assault in the Balkans has ing that the extensive employment of been quickly and victoriously wrecked,

"The latest eventi prove that our 'Bome farm- prisoners is impracticable. are even say that they would rather give power of resistance cannot be broken by up their farms than employ German further continuance of the war and, that prisoners. It is argued also that the on the contrary, the entire situation guarding of them would be too difficult, justifies the expectation of further that the language difficulty would be successes. The four allied Powers were insuperable, and so on.

compelled to take up arms to defend their existence and their antional freedom and development. The glorious deeds of their armies have not altered that fact. They have always maintained the conviction that their own rights and well-founded claims stand in no opposition to the rights of other nations. Their sim is not to crush or destroy their enemies.

WEAKENING THE BLOCKADE.

CARDINAL MERCIER'S

APPEAL

GERMAN HYPOCRISY UNMASKED.

The full and authentic text of the appeal addressed to public opinion by Cardinal Mercier and the Belgian Bishops (excopt the Bishop of Bruges, who could not be communicated with) has been received in London,

WORKING PARTY WIPED OUT

SMART BRITISH RUSE OUTWITS, ...,

THE ENEMY.

A wounded machine-gunner, now in hospital in England, tells a remarkable story of how a party of British Tommies recently adopted a clever sure which made Frits look foolish. It is a characteristic incident of British methods on the Western front.

Our men learned that it was the in- tention of the Haus to place more barbed wire in front of their lines that night. So about 15 left the British trench and formed links of a human chain reaching to the German lines, which were only about a hundred yards away. The enemy, ho naturally wished to carry out their plans unobserved, were sending up no star lights, so that the Tummies, with a subaltern in charge of them, were able to crawl into position quite unnoticed.

-- TOOLS DISAPPHARZE.

The appeal opens with a statement that on 19th October the Cardinal and Bishops addressed a protest on the subject of the deportations from Belgium to the Governor-General, who refused to enter. tain it. After recalling that under the protext of carrying out public works on Belgian soil the German authorities stempted to obtain the commune lists of unemployed, which were refused by the majority of the communes, it proceeds to deal with the orders imposing forced labour upon the unemployed. The first was made on 15th Angust, 1915. The second was made on 2nd May, 1010. This

They had scarcely completed the forma reserved to the German authorities the right of giving work to the unemployed tion of their chair before the Germans and visiting with three years' imprison- began to throw out of their trench on to ment and a fine of £1,000 any person the ground in front the various tools carrying out work without the Governor-and materials they would require. Firat General'e sanction. By this order the of all a number of iron stakes were jurisdiction hitherto held by the Belgian pitched out. The arst man in the British Courts passed into the hands of the chain grabbed them, passed them back German authorities. The third order, to the man behind him, who in turn 13th May, 1916, empowered handed them on until they were safely dated governors, military authorities and corn-tanded in the British trenches, Every- mandents and chiefs of districts to rothing put out by the unsuspecting Hans

was disposed of in the same way. move by force the unemployed to any place where they are required to work. This in effect meant deportation to Germany.

The appeal proceeds:

Well, let me try to explain what the Germans are doing, and how they although blockaded and almost entirely dependent on the food that they grow are keeping their farms and amall hold ings going, and even cultivating and im proving their gardens and parks, while

To give an appearance of plausibility any idea of exemption of agricultural labour from military service is unknown. “Supported by the consciousness of to these violent measures, the occupying I should explain that the estate with their military strength and ready iPower Insisted in the German Press, both which I am acquainted was, doubtless, a necessary to prosecuto to the utmost the in Germany and Belgium, on these two very favourable sample as regards the fight forced upon them, but being at the pretexts: the unemployed constitute a treatment of the prisoners working there, same time inspired by the desire to pre danger to public order, and a burden on and I do not know whether other prison-vent further bloodshed and put an end official benevolence. as ary often as well off. I speak only of to the cruelties of war, the four allied what I saw or know.

Powers have proposed to enter forthwith into peace negotiations. The proposals which they will bring to these negotia tions and which aim at iasoring the honour, existence and freedom of develop ment of their peoples, constitute, as they are convinced, & suitable basis for the establishment of a lasting peace.

To this we replied, in a letter ad- dressed to the Governor-General and to the head of his political department, on 16th October as follows:

The neighbourhood where I lived in Germany is purely agricultural, and it was in August, 1915, that the ides of employing prisoners of war to help with the harvest became general. The inten- tion then was to send them back later to the camps, but labour was scarce, and in most cases they remained where they were. During the following year I saw them working everywhere, and in many cases they were doing the whole work of a farm with the help only of German tinue, the four allied Powers are resolved from your funds that they receive assist womon. Many of them are employed in

"If notwithstanding this offer of peace and conciliation, the fight should con to wage it to a victorious end.

You are well aware that public order is in no wise threatened, and that all influences, moral and civil, would support you spontaneously wore it in danger. The unemployed are not a burden on official benevolence; it is not

ance.

They In his reply the Governor-General no gardens, and I know of a large estate repudiato most solemnly all responsibillonger urged these two first considerations,

continuation the war before mankind and history.

ed, from whatever source they may come *The (name of Central Power) Im at present, must finally be a charge upon perisi Government, through the good our finances, and it is the duty of a good offices of Your Excellency, asks the Gov-administrator to lighten such charges;

adds that prolonged unemployment bring this communication to the know would cause our workmen to lose their ledge of the Governments of (names of technical proficiency, and that in the time of poses to come they would be useless the hostile Powern),”

to industry.'

birth-where the beautiful gardens are run entirely by French prisoners. I have heard a large landowner in Mecklenburg beast that he has at last been able to make fine new roads from one part to ernment of (name of neutral Power) to another of his estate, at practically no cost, by employing Russians.

In most cases there is one armed guard to a batch of 10 or more prisoners, but amall farms, and even peasants with tiny holdings have single prisoners working for them with no guard at all, although,A FIRST RATE TOMMYESS.” of course, there is some sort of

of control for the district.

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By the time they had reached their NETH. trench the German working party was in the open, and the men were busily employed searching for the missing wiro and tolls. Suddenly a rocket hissed up from the British lines, and, revealed by its pitiless light, the entire party was practically wiped out by a stream of lead from a machine gun. Later during the same night a second German party at tempted to get to work, with equally disastrous results.

At dawu a notice board appeared over the British trench bearing, in German, the words, "If you want your wire, come and fetch it.

The crestfallen Germans did not accept the invitation.

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**True, there were other ways in which our finances might have been protected. We might have been spared those war levies which have now reached the sum of

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among par workpeople, such as leaving to Belgian industry its machinery and accessories, its raw materials and its manufactured goods, which have passed from Belgium into Germany. And it is neither to the quarries nor to the lime kilne, to which the Germans themselves declare they will send our unemployed, that our specialists will go to complete their professional education.

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LANCASHIRE WOMAN'S OFFER LANGUAGE NO DIFFICULTY, As to the language difficulty, the TO GO TO THE FRONT. guards, where there are guards, carry specially prepared phrase books, and Women have fought in this war, as in they serve their purpose. But as a mat past wars, in the guise of men, but now ter of fact prisoners soon learn as much Woman--Lancashire Lace has of a language ne is absolutely necessary,came forward, without disguising bor sex and I heard British prisoners speak quite and offered to take her part on the fight well the dialect of the district, where I

ing front, was living.

The Dame of the plucky Amazon was On the estate that I know best there were 20 British prisoners, hailing from not disclosed, but her letter was read all parts of England and from Scotland at a meeting of the Whiston (South and Ireland, They had all come from Lancashire) Tribunal last month, a prisoners' camp which has well carned After stating that many men in the a bad reputation. On Christmas. district were excusing themselves before 1914, they had had no food. On other the tribunol on the plea that their wives Occasions they had been deprived of food were delicate, the writer proceeded:-- in the vain attempt to compel them to "Our authorities teil us that the Army work in mines or munition works. Their needs strong reinforcements, and, if the present lot is by comparison happy.men haven't the pluck, we women must

THE-NAKED TRUTH, They are doing all kinds of farm work, go. Therefore it is that I kindly ask.

**The naked truth is that every de- usually of the roughest kind. Last win you to send me to the front. I should ter they were employed in carting roots, make a first-rate Tommyess." I love ported workman is another soldier for threshing, carrying sacks,

He will take the carting fighting as my intimate friends can the German Army, manure, ploughing. the woods, and sawing wood. Sometimes in a scrap.

digging, working in testify. I am never happier than when place of a German workman, who will be

I am not of the fair, fat made into a soldier. Thus the situation towards families would be if the confid they worked in the gardens or the park and forty order.

which we denounce to the civilized world enco they placed in you through me and They work from 6 am to 6 pm with I can use my fists as well as a girl may be reduced to these terms: Four at my carnest entreaty should be so

lamentably disappointed." dinner, and a short time for tea. They of 20 can do, and if I am given a rifle hundred thousand workmen have been thrown out of work by no fault of their

The Governor-Genoral replied, “The live in rooms adjoining the stables and bayonet I would shoot the Huns as There is one bedroom for 10 men, while I now shoot the rats which infest my own, and largely on account of the employment of the Belgian unemployed the guard has a room adjoining,

pigsties, and with more pleasure, too. régime of the occupation. Sons, husbands, in Germany, which has only been initiated for while I pity the rats I should have and fathers of families, they bear their after two years of war, differs essentially There is a separate room for meals, and no pity on the Boches.

unhappy job without murmuring respect from the capacity of men fit for military. the cooking of dinner and supper is done I am not anxious to go to the front, ful of public order; national solidarity service. Moreover, the measure is not at the house of a bailiff. Dinner usually but if you won't send the men the women provides for their most pressing wants; elated to the conduct of war properly consists of a soup or kind of stew, with must go, so that's all there is about it.by dint of unselfish thrift and self-denial peaking, but is determined by social and potatoes and peas or beans, and a very Anyhow, I am ready to do my bit, for they escape extreme destitution, and they economic causes, b little bacon or meat, in it. Lately the I have neither chick nur child to keep await with dignity, and in a mutual

As if the word of an honest man were mo at home, and I am as strong and as affection which our national sorrows have terminable, at the end of a year or two meat allowance has been restricted to half pound per head per week, I often

intensified, the end of our common years like a ball d'officier. As if the tasted the dinner, and cannot say that I liked it, Nor did the men.. times a sheer was killed, and mutton was

After a description of a raid, with its declaration confirmed in 1914 did not attendant brutalitics, the appeal remind, explicitly exclude both military operations a great delicacy. For supper they bad.

the world that two high authorities of the and forced labour! As if, in fine, every notatoes or & soup, 1

Until last May the pay was 30 pfennige mind, and also on the fast

that he once German Empire guaranteed the liberties Belgian workman who takes the place of (3)d.) a day, but it was then raised te

was a member of a, shooting party at of the Belgian people. Baron von Hubne, German workman, did not enable the

after the capitulation of Antwerp, had litter to fill a gap in the German Army pfennige (7d.), and at the same time Windsor.

"We, the shepherds of these sheep who arrangements were made for the free As regards security for good behaviour, given the Cardinal the assurance in writi delivery of parcels from the neighbour the chief security is that the men thinking that the "young need have no fear are torn from us by brutal force, full of ing town-the delivery of each parcel themselves better off than they would be of being carried off to Germany either to anguish at the thought of the moral and Laving formerly cost from 2d. to 4d. elsewhere. On one occasion two men be enrolled in the Army or to be sub-religions isolation in which they are about When they first arrived these British were said to have given a little trouble,jected to forced labour. As to the other, to languish, imputent witnesses of the Tgrief and terror in the numerous homes prisoners were very poorly clothed They were promptly transferred to work guarantees the Cardinal says:- Their employer supplied them with boots on the moors, where the badness of labour "Immediately after the arrival of shattered or threatened, appeal to all and leggings. Their washing was given

conditions is notorious.

Baron von der Goltz in the capacity of souls, believing or unbelieving, in Allied cut to a German labourer's wife, There So much for agriculture, and I would Governor-General at Brussels, I went to countries, in neutral countries, and even was no work on Sundays, and for Roman only repeat that the employment of ask him to ratify the guarantees given in enemy countries, who have a respect Catholics no work on saints' days; on prisoners on the land is general through by Governor von Huhne to the Province for human dignity. Sundays the prisonera usually weat for oat Germany, and that it is perfectly of Antwerp, extending them to the whole "When Cardinal Lavigeria embarked a walk, or, after they had obtained a certain that, in spite of the very exten-country, without any time-limit, The on his anti-slavery campaign Pope Leo football.

played football. Sometimes the sive use of machinery, it would have been Governor-General retained my petition, XIII., as be blessed his mission, re guard took them to a neighbouring small impossible without prisoners of war to in order to consider it at his leisure.markod:- town to make their purchases, and also, keep agricultural work at its present The following day he was good enough Opinion is more than ever the queen if necmary, to see a doctor. After s level. time sufficient clothes came from Eng- Even in the country district where I to come in person to Malines to express of the world. It is on this you must land, but of course the men wore out a was I saw a little of other kinds of work. his approval, and in the presence of two work. You will only conquer by means great many pairs of boots.

In a neighbouring small town large num- aide-de-camp and of my private secre of opinion.

May Divine Providanos deign to hers of French and Russians are employ-tary, to confirm the promise that the ed on the railway, although the place is liberty of Belgian citizens would be re-inspire all who have authority, all who are masters of speech and pen, to rally round our humble Belgian flag For the abolition of European slavery,

stubborn as a mile.'

The letter was referred to the military

ordeal."; Some- representative.

1

Such relations as exist between these British prisoners and the Germans with whom they have to do are good. Their an important junction, through which spected. suployer has been at some pains to make large numbers of troops pass. Before" In my letter of 18th October last to them feel, as he told them last Christmas, the end of the war we shall be employing Baron von Bissing, after reminding him that they are regarded as having done all the prisoners in our hands, Why of the undertaking given by his predeces their duty for their country. The gen should we not employ them now, both in Bor. I concluded, Your Excellency will eral in command of the district, more-order to release British labour and in understand how painful the burden of over, prides himself on his breadth of order to maintain and increase our sap- responsibility I should have incurred

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