TREATMENT OF THE BRITISH WOUNDED.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 4, 15 January 1915, Page 3 (Supplement)

TREATMENT OF THE BRITISH WOUNDED.

ALLEGATIONS OF SHOCKING BRUTALITY. ("The Times'' Special Correspondent.) Most of tlio newspapers reproduce without comment the " i'ijdV' article dated Maastricht, October 14th, in v !ii -h iu war corre-pondent- says that i.« saw iit Latsdvit wounded arriving I y train. _ M aiieiititui " • attracted to a riot I ml* lure imo (+»':• 'a»i carriages. _ T what i saw. V. • 1 it! Uoi'.vwn . wounded 1-VewJi-inen 'ay three sr. t -.* lv woundul English on straw. They pm-eiited a very :sul appearance. Their condition looked to rne very serious. I wa- t<>](! thai t-lu'-se men had had no food for rive u<iys, and now before the open carriage door stood two to thre e hundred German sldiers, somo slightly wounded, who could still walk "well; others, German sold Tors of the occupation force who had.cs>nie for the serving out of soup. And those two to three hundred stood raving and raging against the three unhappy, severely wounded English soldiers who had eaten nothing for five days, and lay helpless, stretched nn sonro. dirty straw in a cattle van. The smoking casks of hot soup were hold before them, and thundeircd ;*t them were the words: " You want t« eat? Swine! Swine! Down with you! Strike you dead! — Strike you dead! That's what you can haw.'' And while they said these last words they ainud their rifles on the unhappy, bloodstained, helpless, hungry soldiers. Others stood and spat on their clothes and in their faces, and foam stood oil the mouths of the raging men.

.Meanwhile, other soldiers passed before the three, all shouting and using most, abusive words. One of them lay stalling at his persecutors and then again turned a hungry look on the smoking soup. The other two had turned tlieT heads away. Another party of Germans laughed and found sport in the helplessness of the three. I stood tJiere. dumb, stupid. At first I could not. utter a word. Then, however, trembling all over, I went up to the under-officeir, who stood looking on and laughing, and said:

" What is occurring hero is cruel. They also are men who have been obliged to do their duty, tlie same as you.''

.More I could not say. My voice choked m my throat. And what did 1 get for answer: "What! They obliged to do their duty! o they're swine, paid my me. get money tor their foul work, the swine!'' 1 am fully conscious of the shocking accusation 1 make through this communication, but with the most solan n oath would 1 and will I sweair that nothing, nothing in this accusa--1 ion us untrue or the least exaggerated, and if the German authorities wish lo make a serious and impartial inquiry 1 will furnish the following indications. It took place at Landen on Friday, October 9, in a train with wounded who arrived there from tho direction of Brus.-eLs and wore fed about mid-day. Th.(i corros[>ondent adds. b« fore lie had this shocking experience tho Germans had told him in tho train that th.• v simply kill the English prisoners. Others said this was not doiio in their detachments but one said that 26 had been done away with by his company. " \