UNDER THE GERMAN HEEL.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 November 1917, Page 3

UNDER THE GERMAN HEEL.

Further evidence of the brutal treatment by the Germans of those unfortunate French citizens who are still living in the invaded territory is afforded by an account of an interview j which appears in a French newspaper, with Monsieur Decamp, president of the Union of Ten Refugee His simple statement is that many unhappy Frenchmen in the invaded area have died of hunger, and thece is complete unanimity on this point among all those who have recently been repatriated. The mortality is enormous, particularly among the despite the efforts made by Dutch and Spanish committees. The normal rations distributed daily ar e ten and a-half ounces of bread, three-quarters of an ounce of bacon, three-quarters of an ounce of rice or peas, the same quantity of beans ? a-quarter of an ounce of sugar, a-third of an ounce of coffee, and three-quarters of an ounce of special meal. On this diet the people are forced by the Germans to work. Previously it was possible for them to make it suffice, as they were able to supuplement it by fruit and vegetables from their gardens but now all the crops have been seized by the Germans, and this source of food supply is therefore no longer available For the last three years the inhabitants of the invaded country have had neither meat nor wine, and M. Decamp expresses the fear that the population will not be liable to support another winter.