SERBIANS MALTREATED.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 84, 7 April 1916, Page 7

SERBIANS MALTREATED.

The Philadelphia Ledger, in recording the return of Colonel Govaars, of the Salvation Army, from Serbia, where -he had been sent to distribute relief some' six months ago, recapitulates an interview in which the colonel related some of his experiences." Colonel Govaars said: "I went out to Serbia to spend 5,000 dollars in the alleviation of distress there. It may sound curious to say so, but I found it difficult to spend the money. It would have been easy had my object merely been to give it away indiscriminately. But I did not want to do that. I wanted to put the people who got the money in the position of earners, not paupers. How I partly achieved this was to setting thorn to clean and clear up their villages and houses, which had been laid waste by the Austrians. I spent most of my time in the northwest of Serbia, and I found things to be even worse - than in Belgium. In Belgium many of the people have remained in their villages in Serbia nearly every one has fled. From what I saw and heard, the frightfulness of the Austrians is every bit as bod as that of their mentors, the Germans. Here is what happened in one Serbian township: The local chemist's shop was entered, and, according to written instructions which were subsequently found, every bottle in the place containing drugs had nitrate of sDver put into it. Tlie bottles Avere carefully -handled, and, so far as their positions on the shelves were concerned, they were apparently undisturbed. But whoever gave the order, which he evidently intended to result in Avholesali! poisoning, did not know much about chemistry. The action of the nitrate of silver gave the game away. Some of the drugs changed colours, some of the bottles burst, and in some cases the nitrate of silver showed its presence plainly. "A particularly horrible thing oo • curro'd in Shabacs. Here about 1,500 persons were driven into a church which SOO would have crowded. They were kept there three days without food, drink, or any of the conveniences of i'ife. Babies were born during these three days, and mothers died without any help. At the end of those three days 150 were brought out and shot, and over 1,000 of the remainder were sent to Austria as prisoners.''