Starvation At Rubleben

Horowhenua Chronicle, 7 October 1916, Page 3

Starvation At Rubleben

—» DIET TOO LOW TO SUPPORT LIFE. Further correspondence (Cel. 8262) respecting the conditions of diiet and nutrition in the internment camp at Huhlcbon has just been issued by the Foreign office. It will be remembered that on May 12 Dr. Taylor, of the American Embassy in Berlin, inspected the cam]) 'and reported that the interned British subjects were receiving insufficient food to maintain life adequately. A second report by Dr Taylor, dated May 24. now supplements his first statement. He writes that since his Jast visit a "sharp reduction has been made in the amount of foodstuffs allotted to the camp" and points out how the diet now falls below that of the military prisoners in other calmps. "One result of the present ration allotment is already seen in the fact that some of the Jews are appearing at the camp kitchens to secure food which is to them is not ritualistically clean." Sir Edward Grey, on receiving this statement from Mr Page, expressed the view that if the German Government were not in a position to feed the prisoners of war in their hands at was their dtuty to release them ; he stated , further:— "The German Government are detailing numbers of British civilians who are in a state of health entitling them to repatriation under the agreement relating to invalid civilians, and have further made no reply to the proposal of His Majesty's Government that civilians over 50 should be repatriated and those over 45 should be repatriated in cases where they are unfit for service in the field. . . . The German prisoners of war in this country, both combatant and non-combatant, are

5, | as Mr Pa.ge is aware, 'adequately fe dl ' without the aid, of parcels from abroa 3- j and His Majesty's Government ai y therefore entitled to demand reeiproct e treatment for the British prisoners i e Germany, or if this is not possible e their release." e Sir Edward Grey also asked for th •- names of men at Ruhleben who rc y ceive no parcels from outside the camp e In a, second letter dated June 8, Si t Edward Grey wrote that he would bi - much obliged! if the United States Am l bassador at Berlin could obtain per b mission from tho German Governmeni 1 for the Rritish Government to send ai fixed intervals a supply of food in bull . sufficient for 500 men. [ A TRAGIC DOCUMENT. The anxiety of the Government regarding the prisoners does not seem to have been, .assauged. On June 21 Sin- Edward Grey received a further report from Dr Taylor which can only be characterised as a tragic document. This report begins by stating that the reduction in the food rations at Ruhleben "has continued." Dr Taylor then ])resents a very instruct!re table showing how far the food allowed to the prisoners falls below the figures officially! established for the month of Juno for prisoners of war b.v Professor Backh'aus. head of the Nutrition Department of the Ministry of War. Both the flesh-forming protein and the heatforming carbo-hydrates are much lower in the Ruhleben diet than in the prisoner of war diet—which, be it noted, is a bare- minimum itself. In the case of the fats, the situation is well nigh desperate, seeing thot these are essential to life. SACCHARIN® FOR SUGAR. A notable feature of diet was tlie absence- of vegetables, >ai veiy serious matter, and the substitution of saccharine for sugar, a substitution which was absolutely prohibited in Germany before the war. Dr Taylor enters a strong protest against this, and goes on to point out that less and less food has been coming in from abroad, and that, though tho number of -pareels has increased, the amount of food has gone down. Also much of the bread received has been mouldy. Tlie quality of the bread received 1 from Switzerland has greiatly deteriorated. In April 800 packages were lost in this way, in May half the bread received was lost. The breads of Barker's and the army and navy stores always arrived in perfect condition.