AT RUHLEBEN CAMP

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 154, 19 March 1918, Page 5

AT RUHLEBEN CAMP

KEEPING UP THE PRISONERS') SPIRITS j MEN KEPT ALIVE BY HOME ; PARCELS | London, March 17. i Mr. Tom Sullivan, the sculler, em- . ] phasises tha necessity for doing every- ■; thing to keep up the* Rpirits of thd prisoners at Ruhlcben, who now include about 45 Australians and 10 New Zea- . : landers, to prevent tho monotony and weariness of waiting undermining their mental and physical vigour. Despite excellent sport and- pastimo and other 'i outdoor diversions, tho dilEcultj of- resisting depressing mode ,of life increases as the war. ■ proceeds. The constitutions of a number-of promising men have been shattered, and some probably will never recover. He found that the older men stand tho : strain better than the younger ones. Thoy are able to take a more philosophical view of their confinement and wasted years. Sullivan is convinced' i that the sporting and gymnastic activi-, ties have been of the greatest benefit. He found 1 that those who ,wero stndi- j ously inclined were apt to go .under > first. Ho mentioned cases of clever , young men slowly sinking to imbecil- ; ity. To some of these the damage will probably be found to be irreparable, and be therefore used all his persua- i sion to induce others to keep physically fit, especially the Australians and Now Zealanders. He found the latter on tho whole more disposed to strenu- : ous diversions than the others. Their j health when they quitted camp on March 7 was reasonably, good all , round. . j I Mr. Sullivan wants to impress upon j friends of the prisoners'the importance . j of helping them to keep going physical- 1 ly. He mentioned two shortages, par- j ticularly that of indoor gymnastic shoes ! of various sizes to tho largest, prefer- ' i abl.v with rope soles, as rubber would probably. be barred by the authorities. j Mr. Sullivan says it was difficult to j keep the men at the gymnasium, which was a godsend in .the winter, because their bare feet would v not endure the rough floor, and the regulation heavy clogs were disheartening. The other requirement was boxing gloves. An Australian committee was active in promoting the welfare of Australians and New Zealanders, especially in social intercourse,. in order to combat | | the prison gloom. The work of the ! committee was invaluable, but, he add- i ed, the only remedy was general re- ! patriation. The saddest sight was to see men, especially .the younger men, . j losing the most valuable years or their lives and employing their best energies. ; merely to the purpose of keeping up ; thoir spirits and preventing general de- . terioration.,, , Mr. Sullivan confirms the view that parcels from home alone enable the j prisoners to keep alive. (It may havo ! been due: to German neglect m - the j earlier periods, but' it was doubtful if : Germany was able to do much recent- : ly owing to her own food troubles. At all events, the prisoners' staple food had long been potatoes and turnips, with a very small ration of meat once a week. No one could subsist on tliat. Now that the Australian Red Ctobs had taken up tho dispatch of parcels he anticipated ■ that everything regarding delivery would be satisfactory. \ Ample bread was available from Hoi- | land. Too many biscuits were supplied, and he suggested that other food might be substituted. The mails were ; very unreliable, but there nro no means of ascertaining where the leakages occur. „ . . : Mr. Sullivan looks woll. and lslittlo altered, which ho attributes- to his-in-cessant activities, physical and socinl. 'T; His modesty refuses to accept the credit of keening tlie camp in good heart, but other Toleased prisoners i place -the matter beyond doubt.—Aus.- : N.Z. Cable Assn.