PARCELS FOR OFFICER PRISONERS OF WAIL [To THE EDITOR Or
THE " SPECTATOR.")
Sin—The sudden introduction of the scheme under which officer prisoners' parcels are to be sent through the Central Prisoners of War Committee, and the immense amount of sufferieg this will entail upon the prisoners and their relatione, should Ise very seriously considered by the public, and every effort should be made to prevent this plan from being carried into effect, or, at the very lenst, to modify it.
The welfare of the officer prisonerg is to be placed in the hands
of a Committee who receivedno praise—to putit mildly—for the way in which they, dealt with, the privates' parcels,. Indeed, it was stated in the Report that the change thes . made. ought to have been introduced more gradually. Yet this is being embed, giving es even less notice. That the Committee are lacking in under. standing aml sympathy still is evidenced by their letter, in which they inform me that the new regulations " milt make no great difference is adopters and relatimu," putting both on the stone plane, with precedence to adopters. The accuracy of this state- meet will be impugned by all who read their circular. Yet this is as nothing to the misery that will be inflicted upon the prisoners, whose sufferings have already been so intense and whom interests have not received due attention. The loss of this link with home will be a hardship, while the deprivation as regards fresh food, and a variety of preserved foods which have been selected to meet their inslivldual requirements, will add greatly to the monotony and discomfort they are now forced to endure.
The reason publicly advanced is that there was ass outcry when- the Central Committee took over the privates' parcels because the officers were not included—the privates having suffered, therefore officers must suffer more, is a poor argument. Privately they inform us that as the New Army officer prieoners are being fed by those of the Old Army, they feel their position acutely. This is a poor reason for increasing the hardships that many have en- dured for three winters, and sorely it cannot pass the wit of man to devise a scheme that would benefit the New Army without injury to the Old.
There are inherent hardshipe in the arrangements made. The reduction of the contents of parcels to about 74 lb. a month—for packing is included in the fill lb.—means that the actual food received, owing to the weight of tins, would be scarcely 2 lb. a day, and as they have no means of supplementing this they will, be reduced to a very low diet. The exclusion of fresh food will aggravate the effect on their health.
Among other objections is. the difficulty we will encounter in finding any firm to whom we can wholly trust the preparation of the parcels with which we are allowed to supplement the Com- mittee's scanty supply. From prisoners complaints have come of the non-arrival of shop-parcels ordered; of some being so badly packed that their contents were ruined; and of the substitution of other—often inferior—articles for those ordered. No check is placed on the few firms who are authorized, whereas if, as frequently occurs now, ire do not find them satisfactory we deal
If it is essential to reduce the supplies sent to officers there are reani v-ays of doing it which are not so iniquitous—this word is applied to the scheme by a returned prisoner who has studied it. Relations should lie licensed to pack and send their own parcels, end at the very least we should be given a month's grace to send the supplies in hand, which cannot be sent all at once, as the prisoners have no storage space.
I ore told that several Members of Parliament are interesting themeelves in the matter, and that those who are indignant at the treatment accorded to the prisoners and their relations should bring pressure to bear to have the whole matter reconsidered. I met, your assistance in making known the hardships that are to be added to the burden of the unfortunate prisoners by the hand of these who should lighten that which they already enslave—I am, Sir, &c., Psalms OF A 1914 Penman. [Every one nicest sympathise profoundly with attempts to keep the service of 'parcels at the highest possible state of usefulness and amplitude. At the some time, it should be remembered that the system which the Central Committee adesinisters was imposed on it by the War Council, no doubt for good and probably in- to Roble reagens. As Colonel Hugh Pearse points out in a letter to the Times of Wednesday, an increasing number of officer prisoners are applying to receive parcels through the Central Committee. Whatever the defects of the Committee may be, the labours of the voluntary workers under that Committee have been long and severe and are worthy of all gratitude. We limy add that the operation of the scheme has been suspended till October.—En. Spectator.]
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