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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Clinton New Era, 1915-12-09, Page 6PAGE SIX, ;t THE OLIN TON NEW ERA. Thursday, December 9th, 1:915. vs sa nein s lee risoners kf at Tu .. c otty Although Well Defined Rules Govern Their Treatment, the Term "Prisoners of War" is Still Vague Owing to Germany's Stand —They Must be Paid For Work Performed Among the many military problems or the first that will be worked out f a now raging is (j AEROPLA�lLS AND WIRELESS • nflict g g time in the that of caring for prisoners of war. This is a new problem; because of its magnitude. In the Russo-Japanese War the daps had not more than 1u0,000, prisoners; and the B.ussians had comparatively few. So thorough was the Japanese organization that the Japs were able to treat their prisoners with as well as their own soldiers, and as the war was not a very long one the question of .ade- quately"feeding and sheltering the captives was not insoluble. In the present war, however, there are hun- dreds of thousands of prisoners, and the problem constituted by the great armies of prisoners will be one 09 the first 'magnitude. 11 seems likely that all the powers involved will regret that they did not • accept the solution proffered at The Hague a few years ago, which has the effect that all prisoners of war sl.ould be returned to their respective coun- tries, which would be pledged to de- tain them en masse until the war was over. The idea of detaining them en masse is to prevent them rejoining their regiments by stealth, but in the light of a certain -s famous remark about a "scrap of paper," psobabiy Britain and her allies are Justified in supposing that Germany at least would not 'consider herself bound to abide by any agreement entered into previous to the war. There is a general 'International agreement that while prisoners of war may be set to work by their cap tors, they must be paid for their ser- vices, and they must not be employed in any hazardous or humili ting occu- pation. Nevertheless, reports have been received of captured French soldiers in uniform being forced to Clean the streets of Stuttgart and other German cities. Who Are Military Prisoners? The international understanding as to the treatment of prisoners was arrived at in 1907 ley The Hague Peace Conference. All civilized powers then pledged themselves to a certain course of treatment of prisoners of war, but it was due to the action of Germany that no definition of what con- etitutes a prisoner of war was arrived at. Germany's policy on this subject was made clear at a conference held at Brussels in 1874, and indeed wets illustrated a thousand times 'u the course of the Franco-Prussian War. At this conference practically all the other powers, at the suggestion of the French representative, wished to have citizens who took arms in de- fence of their homes treated as recog, nized belligerents, and accorded the same treatment when captured as soldiers in uniform. Germany ob- jected then, objected and soan agreement was made im- possible. The point is that Germany has only one theory of war. That is a war of invasion. She has always calculated to do her fighting on the enemy's soil, and therefore she calculated that any armed citizens would be her enemies, not her countrymen. Any particular consideration extended to those fight- ers was consideration to an enemy, and that is why she stoutly refused to recognize them. To have done so would have been to admit that the thousands of armed -French citizens not In uniform whom she had taken prisoners and shot or hanged in .870 and 187.1 had been practically mur 'dered. , France's Humane Stand In 1894 France, without regard to the action of any other nation, passed a series of laws which recognized the armed citizen not in uniform' as a belligerent, and entitled to all the • consideration extended to any bel- ligerent, The regulations then adopt- ed by France were the basis of the. regulations subsequently approved by. the Peace Conference, but Germany's action, as stated, prevented the adop- tion of any definition of a prisoner of war. At best the fate of a prisoner of war is an unliappY one, especially if he 1: an officer. At the close of the war, when he returns home, an investiga- tion is held to ascertain all the facts as to his capture. If he happens to Is wounded he is given back pay, re- tains his rank, and may even be pro- moted. But if he is not wounded' he is called upon to explain how he was captured, and if the court thinks that be was neglectful of duty or cowardly he may be punished. To be captured unwounded, therefore, is hardly better. than to be wounded or even killed on the field, and this may explain the desperation with which officers will. fight to the last to avoid falling unwounded into the hands of the. enemy. Wireless teleraphy for communicat- ing between an aeroplane in flight and its headquarters is now adopted for urgent reports- A light apparatus weighing 80 pounds Is carried on the machine for this purpose, and the necessary electric current is provided by a small petrol motor which de- velops 2%• horsepower. The aerial wire by means of which messages are sent from the aeroplane is unwound from a reel situated beneath the land- ing anding chassis. It trails for a length of sixty to a hundred yards, and a weight is attached to the end of 'he copper cable so that it hangs vertically be- low the machine when in flight. Ih the event of the aeroplane having to make a forced landing a winch is pro- vided so that the cable may be wound up out of the way. If there is not time to do this before the machine touches the earth, the wire is severed by means of an aerial cutter fitted to the side of the winch, and it falls clear of the aeroplane and does not catch in trees or entangle the pro- peller. . The keyboard by means of which messages are sent from an aeroplane in flight is generally strap- ped ou the knee of the aviator, so that he can manipulate it easily with his free band. It is very difficult to send a mes- sage to an aeroplane when in mid-air, not that the wireless waves fail to reach the machine, but that the noise of the engine is so terrific that it makes the faint signals inaudible. Aviators flying many hundreds of feet in the air find it a comparatively simple matter, however, to keep up communication with obeerers on earth by means of wireless, and in this way messages have been sent over a dis- tance of one hundred miles. �AQ�®hDQ'000�®0�1tiQ'+000`"�w P�L9�l+AC�•®•a3•CU.00®��U>E'�'�' ��l'd4Q�4't�9® ASIOUNI1N6 STORIES FROM BERM 3, resence of Territorials TiTnic For Tired Troops P Britain's Volunteers do Their W ork Like Veterans—"As Fine Fighters as One Could Meet," Says Expert I have had many opportunities of talking with officers and men in the regular army who have fought side by side with members of the Terri- torial Force, writes a Lonoon corres- pondent, and I have seen the Terri- torials themselves when they have out oil action, and everything 1 have Sean and hoard has led to but one conclusion—that the well-trained Brit- ish Territoru.. .a as hoe a ngnter as one could wish to moot. When I speak of the well-trained Territorial I draw no distinctions between the various war regiments in the field, for, with- out exception, the hien who volun- teered for service in France and Bel- gium are well up to the standard which one has come to expect from the British soldier. That is saying much, for this war, if it has shown anything et all, has >hown that the British soldier, true to his rei.utatien of 'being oneof the best fighters in r the world, has established a great personal ascendency over Ms oppon- ent In that ascendency the British Territorial Minns. It would be undesirable to give any indication of the number rf Territor- ials in the field, but it is certainly much larger than any people in Eng- land might suppose. It would be ra mistake, let me add, to assume .hat the work with which they have been entrusted: has given them little scope for action. That their work could not be better done is proved by the tri- butes which are paid them by the men who have made the art of war their business in life. These tributes are as sincere as they are flattering. For example, two soldiers from one of our best regi-. meats, whom I met—men, who, for some weeks, had been fighting shoul- der to shoulder with Territorials, who happen to come from Wales—stated without reserve of any sort that their comrades at arms were as good fight- ers as any. They Shot well, they lasted well, and when their turn came they did well. But these two men, like all others I have talked to, took special care to emphasize. the man', ficent spirit with which the Terri- torials fight, their high daring, and their fine ,thusiasm. The presence of the Territorials, both of them agreed, Is the finest • The most amazing untrutbs con- cerning Great Britain are daily cir- culated in Berlin for the purpose of deceiving the German public' into the belief that England is in a state of panic. Here are a few of these gems, which make up in humor what they lack in veracity: "Sir John Jellicoe is to be tried for ineapacitg." , "The immediate resignation of Mr. Winston Churchill is expected." "The organ of the Labor Party demands the whole Cabinet shall be impeached for participation in tee war." "The Indian troops in France were told before leaving India that they were being taken to Europe for ex- hibition purposes." "Half of London is burned down. and Zeppelins are always hovering over it. Plymouth has also been de- stroyed. by fire caused by bombs from the air" ' "Mr. Asquith has fled from Dug - land, and is hiding in Ireland." "The citizens, of London now hurry tonic in the world for trench weari- ness. I heard from many sources that when going under lire for the first time the Territorials, without excep- tion, acted with a restraint and self- poesessiou which surprised' the sea- soned veteran, and gained and held his warm respect. With the bayonet, experience b .s shown that the Ter- ritorial has little to learn from any- body, and certainly nothing at all from the German soldier. Altogether, therefore, it may be said that the Territorial has justified himself, and more thanjustified himself. LIFE AT ALDERSHOT Lots of Drill and Early Rising But Highlander Enjoys It In a letter from Aldershot, Tom Smalley lance -corpora: in the Sea - forth Highiariders, and formerly fourth assiatrnt clerk at the Bieck burn Union Offices, said: "1 am writ- ing this letter with water swilling round my feet, having been rained off morning drill. I think we will be go- ing to the front in a very short time. With regard to work here I will try to give you an idea of a day with. the colors -4.30 a.m., rise, wash and shave; 5 a.m., early breakfast, con- sisting of tea and a bisoult; 5.30 to 8.30, parade •ith full equipment for inspection, platoon drill, and march- ing drill; 8,45, breakfast, tea, quarter - loaf of broad and brawn; 9.30 a.m. to 12.30, physical drill and• platoon drill; 1 o'clock, dinner, one potato and three or four pieces of meat; 2.80 to 4.80 rifle drill and target prac- tice; 5 p.m., tea, same as breakfast; 6.30 to 8,30 night marching. "As we have to be in camp and lights out at 9.15 p.m., you will see that it means stealing, a few minutes after meals to write letters. '_ am beginning to enjoy this, life. We have been drilling in gymnasium singlets, with the armr and the neck turned in, and the result iswe look like a troop of Indians. I 'eel in the best of health, and as strong as a young lion. It will be hard work to settle down to pen -pushing when I come back after such a wild life; but I suppose I shall come to .like it just as well as When I get into it." according to the latest figures, the live principal armies engaged in the war possess something -like 630,400 Motor vehicics. At ..the beginning of the war Ger- many ermany had 45,414,000 acres under culti vation. GERMAN FIELD, TELEPHONE AT WOPK The Germans carry their telephone wires to their outermost trenches, and in this respect make more use of the system than either the British or Fronde who find flag -signalling mop satisfactory for many pur- poses than telephoning, hither anti thither like scared mice because their battalions, of footba'.1- 1 icking,louts are mels .g away beiore the fire of German trtillery. "Instead of blowing .their victims from the mouths of the -r guns as they did in the ndian "Mutiny, the British now employ the truly bumane rale gently acting dumdum "gullets, es the approval 'of Lord Kitchener." "The French Government pays for the support o the British troops,•so that each man draws, on a day on which there is no fighting four francs, white on each fighting day heis en- titled to eight francs. The British are also completely clothed and fed by the 'French.". "Tice deeds of the German fleet are already causing the Lords of the Ad- miralty sleepless nights, while on board the British, :hips fearful appre- hension lurks In every corner" "'Come into the Army;' says the British' 'recruiting -sergeant to the youths. 'You shall have a villa in Rome, a bungalow on the Mediter- ranean, and in two months you shall be King of the Belgians.'" PCoree KEEP �'t�1.leNq •Aeov,.OexsMEN TELL • Mgr, Aeoor ecAemormUdW' 4Ir Alp { � RI l `Scofitioaouan was eif•,uce soTTER Posts TNPN CYXNA�EN TNeae. we teN Y ANY wOM5N O0. • CHILDREN KILLED PT CUE HAVLN ;� N NEN e.g. Mini, Tt qT PART os ,T' " BIG WILLIE AS VENTRILOQUIST ENTERTAINER "Clown Prince," line a stuffed doll, echoes what Kaiser says. Only, some- times he makes a bad mistake and lets out something he should have suppressed and annoys Kaiser papa.—By Mr. W. K. Haselden, in The London Daily Mirror. UTS "' YE t • R1 Is YMJY 1G Minister of Militia in South Afri- ca, a Man of Remarkable At- tainments- Was in Earnest When He Swore Fealty .o Britain. It is said •that the strongest man in South Africa is not the Premier, General Botha, but General Jan. Christian Smuts, his Minister of Finance and Militia, and his close personal friend.' General Smuts has proved .himself a devoted and loyal British subject, and has won the ad - ROSE FROM THE RANKS It is not often that a private in the British army rises '.o the rank of Lieutenant -General, but there are rare exceptions. The case of Sir Hector Macdonald -Fighting : Mac -18 Well known, and the, present war has established another record in this direction, Thirty years ago' a lad, William Robertson, accepted Queen's shilling which admitted him to the 16th Lancers. Young Robertson did not intend to rest content with his lot. His abili- ties were not lost upon his command- ing officers. In the early days of the Boer War ee was •a captain, and with- in the succeeding decade he attained' the rank of Brigadier -General. He re- ceived the D.S.O.in 1896, was created a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1906 and received the honor o1 knighthood in 1913. The present war gave Major-General Sir William Robertson, K.C.V,O., another oppor- tunity to display his military genius, and his brilliant services in connate- tion onnedtion with the British retreat from Mons drew forth high encomiums from Sir John French. Further pro- motion was inevitable, ' and the an- nouncement that Sir William had been made a Lieutenant -General has brought widespread satisfaction, es- pecially among the "Tommies" miration and respect of, the English- speaking Afrikanders quite as much as has General Botha. Indeed, it was Smut's voice that was first heard In South Africa after war had been declared. General Beyers, comman- der-in-chief of the defence forces of South Africa, had resigned rather than take the offensive against the Germans, and the letter in which Smuts- received his resignation will be remembered as long .as there is a history of South Africa to be re- membered. He lashed the traitor with words of scorn, and remarked that if Beyers had been in Germany he would have been shot for his action. In the Boer Tar Smuts proved him- self a military genius hardly second to De Wet himself, thus endearing himself to the burghers, and when ha entered the .-sotha Government after the war he consolidated himself in their affections. It is true that he Was responsible for the deportation of the labor leaders from South Africa, and thus incurred the enmity of the union men, but his firm handling of a difficult problem was generally ap- proved by the English-speaking popu- lation, and 'ly the Boer farmers every- where. Moreover, bis firm note to the Home authorities, in which he drew the color line, and declared that South Africa must be kept a white man's country, was almost everywhere wel- comed'. The son of a typical Boer farmer who could do little more than road. or write young Smuts at school early distinguished himself. He be- came a fine classical scholar and eventually won a scholarship that was to take hint to England. Unfortunate - In the bank which was administering this trust failed, but Cecil Rhodes stepped in, and sent Smuts to Cam- bridge. Here be won a gold medal and headed the list of both parts of the Law Tripos in 1894. On his re- turn to South Africa be became asso- ciated with Rhodes, who intended to piece him in Parliament. Then came the Jamieson Raid, and the friendship between the two men was broken, Smuts becoming one of the most resourceful and determined of the great Empire builder's opponents. In 1897 he was made State Attor- ney by Kruger. It is said that he did his best to persuade Kruper to grant reforms, but, though Oom Paul ap- precfated his unusualgifts, he con- sidered him a mere youth, which In- deed be was, and declined to take his advice upon the questions that were rapidly .bringing the Transvaal and the British Empire to a state of war. When war broke out, Smuts took the field as a volunteer but soon showed that he was as able a soldier as he was a lawyer, was advanced to the rank of General, and when the war was over he was first .in command in Cape Colony. Smuts, like Botha, determined to make the best of the new conditions In South Africa and became a loyal British subject. Boy- ers, De Wet and others also took the new oath, but the difference between them was that Smuts meant to keep the pledge that he accepthd, while the others seized the first opportunity to prove that they had the common Ger- man idea about a "scrap of 'paper." In 1907 Smuts was chosen to go to England to present the famous Guilt - nen diamond to King Edward, and upon that occasion he was given a Strong Cellar Best Place in Case of Bombardment "How to keep safe under abed fire" is the title of a statement given to the press by a prominent British army officer, for the benefit of coast towns. "The first fact to bear in mind," he..said, "is that no buildings in this country, however substantial, offer any protection against bombardment by warships. The biggest guns brought into action by the Germans at Scarborough and Hartlepool were of 12 -inch calibre. These fire a projec- tile weighing about 900 pounds, one of which would be sufficient to lay the cathedral of St Paul in ruins. "The otber guns used were 11 -inch, 8.2 -inch and 9.9 -inch, throwing re- spectively shells weighing 700,250 and 100 pounds. The lightest of these projectiles would go through the walls of any building as if they were brown paper, and 'ts bursting charge of 'high explosive would detonate inside with annihilating effect. "The inside of a house, then, is the very worst place to be during a bom- bardment, for if a shell strikes the betiding and the inmates have the luck to escape direct injury from the explosion or the dying splinters they are almost certain to be buried 111 falling debris or imprisoned and at the mercy, of the fire which usually breaks out. "Tho next most unsatisfactory place is the street. Shells burstingon the hard pavements are inost destructive; to their own splinters of steel are added fragments of Stone; each a deadly missile, The person in the street is also in imminent danger from the falling walls' "of houses and from bricks :end tiles that go hurtling about. "Where then i, safety to be Sound? The only plane to be recommended is a cellar, and that meet be deep andstrongly vaulted. If such aplace is availpbse iln use is recommended. A, Good Motto, 1 Go into it the moment 'bombardment begins and stay until you are quite sure all danger is past. If the build- ing above is supplied with gas turn it off at the meter. If possible, take candles, food and water with you into your subterranean quarters; for the time of your stay is uncertain and your exit may be blocked by -debris. "Apart from such a cellar, the best place to be when shells are fa:ling is the open country, well away from hard roads and trees and buildings. A. nice soft ditch, out of sight of the enemy on the reverse slope of rising ground, is the position that 'I should choose. • "Whatever is .done, let it be done without panic. Panic adds immense- ly to the sum'of the damage; it means blind rushes in which the weaker ones always suffer, it means also the overlooking of avenues of safety and neglect of many precautions. "Curiosity is one of the strongest impulse in human nature; often it is stronger than the fear of death, and so has fatal results. We had ex- amples of this at Hartlepool and Scar- borough; when' the German shells be- gan to fall, people crowded out."into the streets, curious to see what was going on. And many such were among the kneed and wounded." "DoY.c PROVED THE PILLAGE Imperial Officers Looted and Rloted in Trench Chateaus The French committee visiting the districts where atrocities were re- ported to have been committed by the Germans inspected the chateau of Baroness ale i:aye at Sezanne, in the Department of the Marne, which Crown Prince William is accused of having pillaged. The committee found unmistakeable signs that the chateau had been pillaged. Glass cases, in which Russian jewelry and gold medals were displayed had been - smashed. The room of the Baroness, the committee reports, "must have been occupied by a person of the highest rank, for on the door was in- scribed in pencil the word 'K. K. Ho - belt' meaning 'Imperial and Royal Highness.' "No one," continued the committee's report, "was able to inform us of the identity of this 'Imperial and Royal Highness.' A general who lodged with 1 d the Municipal Councillor illor Houi 1er told latter that the chatea•t bad sheltered. the Duke of Bruuswicle and his staff of the Tenth Corps." The Duke of Brunswick, formerly Prince Ernst of Cumberland, is the son-in-law of the Kaiser, having married the Princess Victoria Louise. The committee also reported that the Chateau Beaumont, near Mont- mirial, belonging to tho Duke de Rouchefoucauld, was pillaged and left in a filthy Bond tion. Desks, safes and jewelry boxes were smashed open and the doors were inscribed ,M pencil with the names of Major von Dibebur and Graf von Waldersee. The Price of a Fowl At Harseet, in Belgium, a patrol of Uhlans descended unexpectedly upon the village, They commenced shoot- ing all the meu,they could find, Then. having got rid of thorn, they dragged out the women and insulted, tortured,. and outraged them, After this they found twenty-two more men, whom they made prison• aro, leveeing to the outskirts of the village, two Villains demanded 'a fowl from a peasant; he told them he had nonce but making the man a prisoner they searched the place, and event- Mly they found one, And they prompt- ly ly phot the peasant. hrlstrn very warm reception. He is one of the best debaters and probably the most eloquent and force- ful speaker in the public life of South Africa. Only 44 years old, it seems plain that the highest honors in the gift of the Union will be his while he is still a comparatively young man. Whether he will seek other distinc- tions is not known, though it is said that both Botha and Smuts have de- clined knighthoods. Some Curious Wounds There have been a number of cur- ious casualties to the War. One man was struck y a small splinter of shell, which passed through ,his cheek, broke all his teeth, and came out near his jaw without injuring his tongue at all. He escaped with a very swol- len face and a: great deal of pain from his teeth. Another Pnidier was wounded by a large splinter of shell, which struck him absolutely flat on his chest '.^he only harm done to him was a gigantic bruise, In the case of a third a bullet passed through l;'s body just above his beset., avoiding all important ems sets. Tie was able to march two miles with his knapsack and rifle to hos- pital. On arrival a nurse gave an antiseptic dressing to ills wo he was discharged neat day cured. WHO IS "EYE -WITNESS"? Official Despatches Sent From Con- tinent by Col. Swinton, Not a few extraordinary stories have gone ,he rounds as to the identi- ty of 'Tye -Witness," the one corres- pondent in the. fighting ' 'ie, whose graphic descriptions of the great war are only equaled in interest by the despatches of Sir John French. The truth is that this chronicler of military matters—whose articles are passed so readily by the censor—is Colonel 'Ernest Dunlop Swinton,D.S.O., of the Royal Engineers, who holds the high sounding appointment of Assistant Secretary and Librarian of the Imperial• Committee of Defence. Colonel Swinton belongs to a military' family, his brother having been killed in one of the Indian' frontier Cam- paigns. Another brother is in . the Indian Medical Service, while Colonel Swinton himself first entered the army as a cadet at Woolwich Academy, afterwards joining gineers at Chatham, - During the South Af Colonel Swinton did so work with the 1ingine cidentally found materia bar of military books a entertaining as they a the information they the pseudonym of secret of which ha quite recently, Colo stories and sketch gaited on both si as masterpieces One of the fine wrote—"Full B• deeds .in the a considerable t broke out, an nificene work In France, t played by Lb conditions remarkable ands, and Germany is a customers. hop int,