THE BRITISH PRISONERS IN TURKEY.
WE have read with particular interest the first Report of the " Prisoners in Turkey Committee." No one with a spark of feeling could read this Report without distress, though also with good hope that the improvements brought about by the Committee in supplying and communicating with the British prisoners in Turkey will be greatly multiplied in future. If it be true that the lot of some of the prisoners in Germany hardly bears thinking of, what are V& to say of the misfortunes and sufferings of those who are in Turkey ? Though the Turks may easily be more humane than the Ger- mans, the conditions are more 'cruel. Pity might exhaust its vocabulary and yet not measure the human suffering, for indeed the facts are beyond the ordinary imagination. The " Prisoner of Chinon " has become a legend, and the experi- ences of all prisoners notoriously have a special niche in history ; but it is certain that the suffering of prisoners in the past four years cannot find its match in any past record. The fact that about half the British prisoners in Turkey have died speaks for itself, and what we desire to do in this article is to call attention to the labours of the " Prisoners in Turkey Committee," and to ask that the Committee should be given every kind of support by Members of Parliament and by others who are able to perform the office of what is called " bringing pressure to bear."
One of the first impressions which the Report makes upon us is that neither the War Office nor the Admiralty was sym- pathetic towards the work of the Committee. If there was sympathy it was at all events disguised. But even in saying this let us be fair. It must always be remembered that the War Office and the Admiralty largely bear the responsibility of maintaining our man power. Whenever there is a question of exchange of prisoners, it is the obvious duty of both the War Office and the Admiralty to insist that the exchange shall not be to the detriment of our power in the field or on the sea. This obvious duty almost requires that the War Office and the Admiralty should keep a stern face whenever the question of prisoners is being discussed. It is for them to insist upon the truth that it is an obligation of honour and discipline upon a soldier not to be taken prisoner if he can possibly avoid it. Clearly if the War Office and the Admiralty out of gentleness of heart were to let it be known that the prisoners could look forward normally to enjoyiag a bed of roses, they would be putting a premium upon surrender among a class of men— fortunately small—who through weakness of nerve or resolu- tion are naturally prone to surrender. But when all this has been admitted, it must be said that the case of all prisoners in this war, and especially in Turkey, is a very special one, and for our part we cannot conceive that the War Office and the Admiralty would have failed in their duty if they had displayed more sympathy and helpfulness than the "Prisoners in Turkey Committee " are able to record. There are surrenders and surrenders ; prisoners and prisoners. No one can possibly say of those British prisoners who were taken at Kut, for example, that they put up anything but a glorious defence. The surrender was inevitable.
The Report states that the efforts of the Committee to obtain an interview with representatives of the War Office were at first unsuccessful, and it was found necessary to put a number of questions in the House of Commons. At the last conference, however, held on August 1st of this year, an officer from the War Office was present. On Augist 2nd the Prime Minister received a deputation, and promised to give his careful consideration to the demands of the Committee. A good deal is said in the Report about the Berne Agreement. This Agreement was signed in December, 1917, but was not ratified by the Turks till April. It provides for the immediate repatriation of 300 British and 700 Indian invalid prisoners in exchange for 1,500 Turkish invalid prisoners, and for the subsequent repatriation of prisoners suffering from certain specified disabilities. The repatriation is to take place by sea, and the " exchange ship " is to sail from Alexandria to Scala Nuova, near Smyrna. Food and clothing for the British prisoners in Turkey are also to be sent by this ship. Before the ship can leave Alexandria, however, guarantees must necessarily be obtained from the German and Austrian Governments that she will not be attacked. So far the guarantees have not been obtained, in spite of the efforts of our delegates at the Anglo-German Conference at The Hague, of the Spanish Ambassador at Vienna, of the Swedish Minister in London, and of the Dutch Minister at Constantinople. But even when the guarantees have been obtained, if they ever are, about ten weeks will be necessary to warn the German submarines at sea of the arrangement. Probably the German Government is with- holding the guarantees in the hope of embittering our relations with Turkey. In brief, it is impossible to say when the ship will sail. Of course there might be an exchange of prisoners by land, but this arrangement is deemed hopeless, because German influence at Constantinople would obstruct exchange by land just as much as an exchange by sea. Nevertheless, the Committee hope for a much wider basis of exchange in the end than that contemplated in the Berne Agreement. It has already been said that more than half the British prisoners have died, and the mortality among the Indians has been nearly as high. According to a statement made by Mr. Hope in the House • of Commons on July 23rd, 530 British prisoners and 733 Indian prisoners have died in Turkey since January 1st, 1917. The attempts of the Committee to send through food and clothing to the prisoners make a long record of difficulty and disappointment. Owing to the scantiness of transport, supplies either do not reach the camps or are many months—even over a year—on the way. Money has been sent but, owing to the scarcity of supplies and the depreciation of the Turkish paper currency, the purchasing power is small. According to recent infor- mation, bread costs about 2s. to 4s. a pound, sugar about 20s. a pound, potatoes about ls., and other things are propor- tionately expensive. In the winter the prisoners suffer greatly from the cold because fuel is unobtainable or beyond their means. As regards the broader basis of exchange, the Committee suggest that all prisoners should be exchanged who have been eighteen months in captivity. They further suggest that exchanges might take place through the lines in Palestine, like the exchanges which were carried out in Mesopotamia in 1916. If the military objections to an exchange through the lines are really insuperable, there is the further possibility of effecting an exchange by way of Bulgaria, Austria and Switzerland.
The efforts made to supplement the inadequate food and clothing supplied by the Turkish Government have hitherto been made in two ways, first by purchases in Constantinople and Aleppo, and secondly, by parcels sent through Switzer- land by post or by means of the American Express Company. It is stated, however, that no more than ten pounds of food per person and no clothing at all have left Switzerland for Turkey during the last seven months. During the same period about 600 pounds of food and two outfits of clothing have been sent to each prisoner in Germany. The contrast is painful and instructive. The parcel post to Turkey has been reopened, but it cannot be relied upon. The Committee very wisely insist that all supplies should be duplicated—that is to say, the quantities sent by each route should be calculated on the assumption that the parcels sent by the other route will fail to arrive. The great thing is to get the parcels into Turkey, for experience shows that when parcels have reached Turkey they are forwarded to the camps. In the desperate circumstances people must not yield to the temptation to say that because there are delays and failures it is not worth while to send supplies. Suppose that a person whose life was very valuable, or who personally was dear to you, was confined in a dungeon into which food could be intro- duced only by throwing it up on to the roof in the hope that a certain proportion would fall through a slit in the roof into the dungeon. The fact that a large part, if not most, of the food failed of its mark would not deter any humane or persevering person from keeping up a shower of food. Let us keep on throwing food to the British prisoners in Turkey. That is all we can do, and we certainly must not do less. Precious lives depend upon it. At the conference at the Howe of Commons on August 1st, the War Office representative objected to the dispatch of any Clothing via Switzerland to the rank and file unless guarantees were forthcoming that it would reach camp. The objection was afterwards withdrawn. On August 5th the War Office authorized the dispatch by relations of British officers of a hundred pounds of food monthly, clothing as here- tofore, and also one blanket. Care Committees may dispatch to other ranks sixty pounds of food monthly, winter clothing, including a greatcoat, and one blanket, and further supplies of clothing after six months. The War Office wid also send to the Dutch Minister at Constantinople a reserve of clothing and blankets equivalent to a quarter of the quantities sent in individual parcels. The War Office will further send from Alexandria food for four months for both officers and men, two blankets for each officer and man, and clothing for the rank and file. The Committee consider that these arrange- ments may for the present be regarded as satisfactory, pro- vided that proper effect is given to them. The latest letters from prisoners indicate that the need is most urgent.
A curious episode is that of the temporary stopping of the bread ration for officers. Last February the Turks stopped issuing bread at Government rates to British officers as a reprisal for our refusal to allow that privilege to Turkish officers in India. The Government of India have now given way on this point, and the Turkish Government have been asked to end the reprisal. No answer, however, has yet been received from Turkey. One would like to know whether the certainty—for such it would seem to be—that reprisals would take place in Turkey was considered by the Government. of India. It is most touching to learn that there is evidence that some of the British officers are denying themselves proper food, while their wives at home are doing the same thing, in order that slender money resources may not be exhausted. The strain on those resources will be understood when it is stated that £15 sterling hero has a value of only about £3 sterling in Turkey. Unfortunately, medical officers in some cases are deprived of the staff allow- ances they drew on active service. They get no ration allowance in lieu of the free rations they drew on active service, and a portion of their pay is withheld until they are released. Surely in the peculiar circumstances these grievances should at once be remedied. We congratulate the Committee on the work they have accomplished. It has had its results, and we earnestly hope that it will have more. In particular, we should like to express the hope that the proposal for the exchange of prisoners through the lines will be most carefully considered. There may be decisive reasons against it, but we do not know what they are, and we trust that there will be no absolute refusal by the War Office till the matter has been exhaustively examined. In this direction lies the best hope for the unhappy prisoners.
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