The midland journal., October 08, 1943, Image 7

About The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947

Image provided by: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

                
How America Treats Axis Prisoners of War
In Concentration Camps Throughout U. S.
Good Treatment
Pays Dividends
To Captor Nations
WHAT is our treatment of
prisoners of war? Are offi
cers overpaid? Do they have to
work? These and many other
questions are being asked as the
total of Axis prisoners mounts.
As a matter of fact, the pris
. oner problem has become a real
one since the mass surrender of
Italians in Tunisia. After Sicily
capitulated, Gen. Eisenhower
had on his hands the staggering
total of 135,000 Axis prisoners.
Quite a job for any man’s army.
While it is true that prisoners
are enemies of this country, and
many have been directly re
sponsible for the loss of Ameri
can lives, they cannot be treated
entirely as enemies, but must be
treated as soldiers rather than
as criminals, always with this
thought in the background—the
treatment we accord enemy
captives will, in some measure
at least, determine the kind of
treatment given American sol
diers who have been unfortunate
enough to fall into enemy hands.
There are at least two other
reasons for the good treatment
of prisoners, aside from human
itarian considerations, one
based upon a treaty made at
Geneva on July 27,1929, and the
other a purely psychological
one, namely, that war-weary
and underfed troops may be
tempted to lay down their arms
to an enemy who feeds them
generously and gives them safe
haven.
Geneva Conference.
At the Geneva Convention, which
was ratified by 37 countries (which,
by the way, did not include either
Japan or Russia) certain rules on
treatment and behavior were formu
lated. Under the provisions of the
Geneva Conference soldier prisoners
are required to work, but officers
are not. The amount of time a pris
oner must work is based On the
number of hours put in by free labor
in the adjoining territory, and one
day a week is to be a day of rest.
Food and clothing must be provided
by the detaining army.
Occupational classification is de
termined by the prisoner’s physical
makeup. For instance, the prisoner
who was formerly engaged as a
clerk or teacher should not be put
at hard labor. This provision, how
ever, has been largely ignored in
Axis countries, where many a schol
arly soldier grinds out a day that
taxes his strength sorely.
In every concentration camp
many different crafts and trades are
plied by the prisoners, but in no
case do they work on projects di
rectly connected with the war ef
fort, as a precaution against sabo
tage.
Payment for labor is at the rate
of 80 cents a day for the ordinary
soldier, here in the United States,
where we have some 70,000 Axis
prisoners scattered throughout the
country in 22 camps. The rate of
pay for officers ranges from S2O a
month to S4O a month. Officers who
have been assigned no work get paid
anyway, at the regular scale.
At some of the camps prisoners
are kept within by double barbed
wire enclosures. Armed guards pace
back and forth outside to make sure
that all is well.
Fed Army Rations.
Prisoners in the U. S. army
camps are fed the regular army field
rations. In this respect they fare
much better than General Wain
wright and his gallant band of de
fenders who laid down their arms
on Corregidor only after food and
water supplies had been cut off. The
Japanese diet consists mainly of
rice, and there is reason to believe
that the heroes of Bataan and Cor
regidor have suffered considerably
from malnutrition since they fell into
enemy hands. The Japs evidently
have nothing much better to offer,
for even the warriors of Guadal
canal and New Guinea have been
forced to rely upon rice as their
mainstay. Kiska and Attu furnished
mute evidence of the Japs’ utter de
pendence upon rice as a fighting
staple.
While the Japanese government
tentatively agreed to certain propos
als from this country with regard to
the treatment of prisoners, their at
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Pictured here are some of the 2,000 German prisoners of war who
are housed at Camp Breckenridge, Ky. They are marching to the mess
hall. German prisoners are closely guarded at all times, for, unlike the
Italians, they refuse to play ball and are confidently arrogant. Most
of them are glad to work to relieve the boredom of inactivity.
titude has been far from satisfac
tory. A case in point was the shoot
ing of the U. S. fliers who bombed
Tokyo with General Doolittle’s
squadron which took off from Shan
gri La (aircraft carrier, Hornet) and
who had the extreme misfortune of
either being shot out of the skies or
forced down for other reasons. These
prisoners, it was later announced by
the Japs, were shot, contrary to all
the rules of war, as a deterrent to
other American fliers who might en
gage in the bombing of Japan. This
violation of the international rules
of war has not, however, worked,
and Japan may well tremble in its
boots for the day of reckoning which
is drawing closer with each dawn.
Bombing perimeters are drawing
closer to the heart of the Japanese
empire day by day.
The bulk of the work done by Axis
More Gifts for Overseas Servicemen
Based on increasing demand for
gift items it is estimated that over
seas servicemen and women will re
ceive 20 per cent more Christmas
presents per capita this year than
last, and the home folks may ex
pect an even larger percentage of
reciprocal gifts, mostly of the luxury
and sentimental type. This forecast
was made by John C. Goodall, gen
eral manager of the Merchandise
Mart, Chicago, following a checkup
among gift item manufacturers and
distributors, including those who sell
Ernest J. Kreutgen, Chicago post
master, (left) explains to George
McCarthy, foreman in charge of
foreign mail, how packages should
be wrapped and addressed to get
favored delivery service to men in
the armed forces overseas.
to retailers and army and navy post
exchanges.
Reasons given for the expected in
crease in the number of gifts sent
this year overseas are:
1. The moved-up official mailing
date, September 15 to October 15,
extended to November 1, for those
in the navy, marine corps and coast
guard, will stimulate early shopping,
and the five pound limitation on gift
packages means more will be sent.
2. More stores have installed spe
cial gift counters or departments
which means more display, adver
tising, and sales.
3. The home folks are now better
advised on the gift preferences of
servicemen and women, and know
more specifically where they are sta
tioned, hence can make their selec
tions more intelligently.
4. The overseas forces, operating
on more fronts, and facing more
varied climatic and geographical
conditions, become eligible for a
wider variety of gifts.
The tendency to send more gifts
to those furthest from home also
favors increased sales. While short
ages at home are developing in such
items as watches, leather novelties
and jewelry, it is thought heavier
MIDLAND JOURNAL, RISING SUN, MP.
captives in the United States is agri
cultural. This field, of course, of
fers the least opportunity for sabo
tage. When captives engage in this
work they do not in any sense com
pete with native labor, but are sim
ply supplementary to it. Farmers
arrange with their county farm
agent for the* employment of prison
ers. The number is usually small
and the prisoners are scattered over
wide areas, thus removing from this
practice all element of hazard.
Generally speaking, Axis prison
ers, with the exception of the Jap,
of whom we have only a very small
number, are a contented lot. They
have better food, clothing and shel
ter than they had under the Nazi
banner; in a certain sense they have
more liberties, and for them the
war is over.
purchases of more available items
will more than offset these.
The number of gifts to come from
service personnel abroad to relatives
and friends at home is expected to
be larger per capita because manu
facturers and distributors, who sell
to army and navy post exchanges,
particularly in the Mediterranean
area, already report rising sales to
servicemen and women. More post
exchanges, greater opportunity af
forded servicemen to buy direct
from the natives, who also sell to
PX, is a factor now boosting sales.
Other sales stimulants are that over
seas servicemen and women, in
high spirits themselves, are not so
sure about the morale of the home
folk and seek to bolster it by gifts.
Flusher with cash, and conscious of
accumulated favors from home, the
overseas contingent find themselves
in an ideal spot to reciprocate.
Among American made gift items
most popular at overseas post ex
changes are pins, clips, earrings,
vanity cases, many bearing the in
signia of the various branches of the
service. Ornate pillow tops and
handkerchiefs, which embody deli
cately worded sentiments, come to
the aid of thousands of less articu
late servicemen. Such items are
prime favorites overseas as well as
at post exchanges at home.
Necklaces, embroideries, pipes,
laces, opal and topaz jewelry, met
al and leather handicraft of Latin
and Oriental origin, is also in high
favor. Watches, one of the top pref
erences among all in the service,
are relatively easy to get in the Med
iterranean area, since many of them
come direct from Switzerland.
The gifts servicemen may expect
from the home folks parallel some
what those sent last year, although
there will be a wider selection to
choose from. Furlough bags, small
carry-all and sewing kits, duffle
bags, wallets, religious medals, iden
tification bracelets, photo cases, pen
and pencil sets, shaving equipment,
insignia pieces, and of course ciga
rettes, are high on the preference
list of servicemen.
Money belts are not expected to
be as popular this year as last,
while watertight pocket-size holders
for miscellaneous personal things
are in high vogue. Pocketsized
games such as checkers, cribbage,
gin rummy, backgammon and acey
ducey are similarly popular.
While these gift items have gen
eral popularity among the forces
overseas as well as at home, a vari
ety of gift preferences is develop
ing. A large number on the Pacific
front, for instance, show partiality
to such articles as knives, sun
glasses and anti-sun and bug lotions.
The growing number of service
women is dictating the installation
of women departments in post ex
changes. Heavy orders for toilet
ries, apparel items, and the more
esthetic type of gifts are reported.
I P4TTERNSJL I
8484 \ 1
34-48 \ l
Soft, Simple.
'T'HE soft simplicity of this dress
makes it ideal as an afternoon
frock, in satin or one of the new
crepes for fall. The bodice may
be brightened with ruffling.
• • *
Pattern No. 8484 Is for sizes 34, 38, 38,
40. 42, 44, 46, 48. Size 38 requires 3%
yards 39-lnch material.
J*. (V. (V. (V. (V. {V. (V, (V. (V, (4, p(4 (%• (\. (V. (V. (V. (V,
\ ASK ME
f ANOTHER I |
j A General Quiz ?
The Questions
1. What is the highest mountain
in the Western hemisphere?
2. A desiccated article is what?
3. What was the capital of the
United States from 1790 to 1800?
4. How many islands are includ
ed in the Hawaiian group?
5. At what degree centigrade
does water boil?
6. What is a censer?
The Answers
1. Mount Aconcagua in the
Andes.
2. One from which moisture has
been taken.
3. Philadelphia.
4. Twenty.
5. One hundred degrees.
6. A vessel for perfumes.
Admirals may be admirable, but
that isn’t where the word comes
from. It comes from an old Arabic
word “amir-al” meaning “com
mander of.” That’s what the Ad
miral is, the top-ranking officer in
the Navy. Top-ranking cigarette
with our Navy men is Camel—the
favorite, too with men in the Army,
Marines, and Coast Guard, accord
ing to actual sales records from
their service stores. Camels are
a top-ranking gift, too. And though
there are Post Office restrictions
on packages to overseas Army
men, you can still send Camels
to* soldiers in the U. S., and to
men in the Navy, Marines, and
Coast Guard wherever they are.
—Adv.
U&/ffe/\ s for dgucttas. Only yoar taste and throat oin decide
Perfection.
\X7HEN you want to look your
two-piece with softly detailed jack
et and well-fitting skirt.
* • *
Pattern No. 8467 Is tn sizes 10. IS, 14,
16, 18 and 20. Size 12 Jacket takes. With
short sleeves, 1% yards 39-inch material,
skirt 1% yards.
Due to an unusually large demand and
current war conditions, slightly more time
is required In filling orders for a few of
the most popular pattern numbers.
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT.
106 Seventh Ave. New Vork
Enclose 20 cents la coins for each
pattern desired.
Pattern No Size
.Name
Address
look for the NAME
Ulflitm
IRoriiiiig a
• Don’t be misled 1 Be sure the name is spelled
WARM M-O-R-N-I-N-G. The name WARM
MORNING is your assurance of getting the gen
uine ... the heater with amazing, patented interior
construction features that are giving remarkabls
■ results to hundreds of thousands of users through
out the nation. It's the only heater of its kind
lEIIHEIIB when Jj||| jj|
rat. No. mutt S EE VOUR DEALER
Nan w Ktl. U. 8. A IK
Can. Pat. off. LOCKE STOVE COMPANYUf^aIII
I SOUTHERN COAL COMPANY, MC.
Factory Representative*
GENERAL OFFlCE—Memphis, Tennessee
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Brmnekma —"-
B,rmln ailiS|G i— 7t littti N—fcvfls
Russ Government Early
Sponsored Rifle Practice
Russia has millions of civilian
sharpshooters today because, in
recent years, she wisely urged and
helped her people to take up rifle
practice, Says Collier’s. Numerous
ranges were set up and guns sup*
plied; and men who did not under*
go training were considered un
patriotic. In the year 1038 alone,
more than 6,000,000 men, women
and boys won marksfnabship
badges.
GIVE HEAD ;
COLD THE AIR
Open cold-dogged breathing pannages.
You breathe freer almost instantly, feet
the difference. Caution: Use only as di
rected. Always use Penetro Nose Drops.
Unions Control Prices
In Russia, the labor unions are
empowered, for the duration, to
supervise the control and enforce
ment of ceiling prices so they may
be held in line with Wages that
will maintain the living standards
of the workers.
WHY TAKE
HARSH LAXATIVES?
Simple Fresh Fruit Drink
Makes Purgatives Unnec
essary for Most People
Here’s away to overcome con
stipation without harsh laxatives.
Drink juice of 1 Sunkist Lemon in
a glass of water first thing on
arising.
Most people find this all they
need—stimulates normal bowel ac
tion day after day I ,
Lemon and water is good tor
you. Lemons are among the rich
est sources of vitamin C, which
combats fatigue, helps resist colds
and infections. They supply valu
able amounts of vitamihs Bi and
P. They pep up appetite. They
alkalinize, aid digestion. Lemon
and water has a fresh tang too—
clears the mouth, wakes you up,
starts you going.
Try this grand wake-up drink
10 mornings. See if it doesn’t help
you I Use California Sunkist
Lemons.