A Revelation to the German Prisoners
Extracted from the OoLaLa Times, July 1918 issue , Vol. I. No.
IX
The big revelations have been to the 1,000 German prisoners working
on the job. When they first arrived, they were inclined to be
a little insolent and not averse to making predictions as to what
was going to happen to America in this war. In the few weeks since
their arrival, however, they have undergone a decided psychological
change.
From their camps they can see the American docks of the base port
and the main American railways leading to the interior and the
front, and the main United States line of rail transport passes
within a few hundred feet of them. They see ships dock and discharge
cargoes not singly but by the dozen and the score. They see train loads
of cheering, singing, American soldiers go by day and night riding
in American cars pulled by American locomotives. They are dumbfounded
by the American effort and seeing, from their vantage point, the fruits
of American activity, they have sadly admitted that Germany has been
grossly deceived about the part the United States is playing in the war.
If there is any favoritism in the treatment of the 4,500 men employed
on the job, it is to the German prisoners. They live comfortably
in tents, have cots to sleep on and mattresses with straw in them.
They are issued the regular Army ration and have the privilege of
answering sick call every morning, but they seldom take advantage
of it. After a recent medical inspection of the men their physical condition
was reported as excellent - a striking fact in comparison with the
latest information on the condition of Allied prisoners in Germany.