GUARDING THE GERMANS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 276, 10 August 1918, Page 7

GUARDING THE GERMANS

■ ; PEISON COMPOUND -SUGGESTED.' "Givo the returned soldiers a chance to hold the Germans," said a returned man to a Dominion reporter yesterday, when referring to the'escape of an juiditional batch of German prisoners from Somes Island. "I have' seen the compounds ( in which oiir people hold German prisoners, and I have heard stories of the way the Germans guard thuir prisoners. There is not much nonsense allowed on either side, though it is recognised that our'methods aro a great deal less , severe than the German methods. ■ "The usual system is to put a barb .ivjre' fence,' several feet thick, \'ound the prisoners' quarters in rectangular form. This fence is brightly lit with electric lamps at night, 'and there is a sentry box at each corner. The senf tries loaded rifles/and in the case of the big compounds, where prisoners ifiight. possibly make a concerted rush, a machine-gun is placed at eacli corner. 'Then if prisoners try to escape they.do so .at their own risk. The Germans use electrified "wires, , 60 that any prisoner .trying to, get through will have a good chance of being electrocuted, nnd I believe a similar system hns been adopted at some places by Britain and France." It is pointed out officially, in this connection, that the measuves used in the guarding of prisoners of war in Britainand France cannot be adopted here fully without producing complications. There is a difference under international'law between'a German prisoner of war and an interned German. Nearly all the enemy; subjects-on Somes Island are not prisoners of war at all. -They are-in-terned civilians, and the Imperial Government has been explicit in asking that they' be giveii. the treatment that internees are entitled to receive. Any undue severity in their treatment should be avoided, in t'lie opir.ion of the Imperial authorities; in order that the. German Government-, inn.v not be provided with-an- excuse' for reprisals .against the interned British' .subjects - now in Germany. : -■ . The ■ Germans on Somes Island, as a. matter of fact, have protested that their, treatment is too severe. The officer in charge of the internaient station has enforced disciplinary, measures on occaeions. There are over 2(10 Germane on Somes Island, and a large proportion of them are men of military age and activo habits. Many are seamen, who 'had the misfortune, from their 1 point of view, to be in' New or approaching New Zealand, when the war began. They naturally'have found the lifo on the:island during three or four years exceedingly monotonous. , -One of the rules of international law required to be observed here is that-in-terned persons must not be forced to work. Prisoners of war may be forced to' work, nnd the Imperial Government is using Ge.rman prisoners on the farms find elsewhere in the United Kingdom. But as 'has -been said alreadv, the interned Germans In New Zealand are not prisoners of war....