A BLACK PAGE OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 31, 31 October 1918, Page 5

A BLACK PAGE OF THE WAR

THE ENEMY'S TREATMENT OF j PRISONERS j STERN PUNISHMENT IN I STORE \ (Rec. October 30, 9.15 p.m.) • j London, October 29. i Mr. Httnie-Williams stated that the treatment of our prisoners in Turkey was one of the darkest pages in the history j of the war. Nearly bnlf the. English wtio j surrendered nt Kut'- bad died of starvation and neglect. ~ i Sir Georgo Cave, replying', said that j the rules of inter national 1 '•" kw and j Immunity had been observed in this ; country, but flagrantly broken by all our j enemies with the possible exception of j Austria-Hungary. Wo had ascertained j from returned prisoners all the facts ; concerning their treatment. These facte • j would be available for Vise when required. ; In some camps the conditions were almost unspeakable,, and continued so today, according to the evidence of prison- J crs who had lately returned. Sir George j Cavo described a camp where it was esti- I mated there had been two thousand j deaths of all nationalities of j prisoners since .November, 1916. Also j the record regarding the working parties \ was of the very blackest. Owing to the j prisoners being subjected to the caprice J of a commandant and the brutality pi ' ) uncduonted nnd vicious foremen, tho oris- j oners were beaten, tortured, overworked, ] and underfed. Mr. Justice Tounger'a ,■ report concerning the treatment of the j prisoners in tho mines would be publish- i ed shortly. Ho had the best reasons for ! believing that the Government would : demand the release of tho British j>rison- : era as ono of the essential conditions of ! tho armistice. It -was no use talking to . the authors of these outrages. They must j be taken by the throat and inade nn ex- j ample of for future generations of evil- | doers. AVoll-known lawyers were engaged ■ : in.putting- the record against them into | shape, and Germany must be forced to j pay the penalty.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable .Assn. j