BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3173, 25 August 1917, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

The Ruhleben Prison Camp. X[r. Israel Cohen, tlio author of "The Kuhleben Prison Camp, a Eecord of Nineteen .Months' Internment" (ilethucn and Co.), ivas residing in Berlin when the war broke out, acting as correspondent lor the Glasgow Herald." lie is a man of considerable literary ability, his work, 'Jewish Life in Modern Times," being recognised as an exceptionally ablo and comprehensive study of modern Jubiiism. Although ho had been living in Berlin three years before tlio outbreak of war, Mr. Cohen confesses that, m common with so many other Englishmen m Germany, even men who, like himself, made it their business to follow Anglo-German relations very closely, ho never foresaw tho cataclysm that broke upon the world in the mouth of August, vas an-es ted at Schandau as a '■Russian spy," and after four days' detention was released. Ho was not al>le, however, to leave the country, and 011 November G was re-arrested, and sent to the Stadtvogel Prison in Berlin, thence being transferred to Ruhlelien, where 110 spent nineteen months in internment. Of his imprisonment, of tho conditions of life at Kuhleben, he now gives the public a most exhaustive description. He never indulges in any coarse abuse uf tho German officials, although he is most outspoken in his exposure and denunciation 01 tlie innumerable acts of petty tyranny and cruelty which the unfortunate prisoners had to suffer. His account of the working of the camp, its organisation, and discipline, of the accommodation of the prisoners, their food, etc., is lengthy and most detailed. Somo of tlio officials were little better than human beaits; in others there were redeeming traits to which the author does full justice. 011 the whole, it was tho mental torture which came from ignorance of the lute of those near and dear to them which affected the prisonci'3 lar more tiian tns wretched sleeping and housing accommodation generally, the scanty and, as time went on, the quite insufficient supply of horrible so-called "food." Fortunately the prisoners included many men who, in various stations of life in peace times, had exercised administrative functions, ana possessed great powers of organisation; These qualities were exercised tor tlio good ot the community, 'and numberless societies and institutions were founded for educational and amusement purposes. Naturally, the sportiiy eiymeiit was soon to the fore, and footuall, both iiugby and Association, tennis, lacrosse, hocKey, all had their crwds of devotees, Nevertheless, tnere wero many victims oi mental derangement, and, to the innnito disgrace of tno authorities, such cases received little sympiuuytic treatment. The lluhieben Uimp was a true cosmopons. All sorts anu conditions oi men wero there. All languages wero spoken. Jivery country under the sun seemed to bo represented. Kays Jir. Cohen: There wero suruee clerks aud long-haired musicians, music-nall uerioriuors, and pictorial artists, ouny Unmsoy jiaueriueu lit lop-uoois, aud uusky jiLaiteso with earrings, mercantile marine captains wicji uoiu-Draiued coats, aud uuiversity students with college blazers; lucre were uryiessioual looloallers ami goiters, jocKeys and iraiucrs, chauueurs anu waiters, touts ana auvcuturers. There was a little colony 01 coloured men 01 diifereut races aud shades —Jjascars and Jamaicans, West Africans and Zauzibarees—some with princely mutilations on their ciieeks, others of a low imysioguoinical type, but all livniK haupily together in tneir own barracks, where tiieir love of violin-scraping anu baiijobtruminjug had to no restricted 10 certain hours of the day in tho interests of peace, and wnere tho professional boxers _ occasionally save an unpremeditated display of their prowess, ilany of theso negroes aid a busy trade in tne niornins shoeblacks, under such fancy names as "Sunny BiniUy," or "Mambulai.'' the great i'olisn Kiug, providing their patrons with an arm-chair on a little platform, on wlncii they could recline during the operation. Others conducted "ileal Isnglish" or "Japanese" laundries. Some knitted hammocks, others sold mineral waters on iho sports ground, aud one of them, a grizzled man df fifty, made artistic pajier-weights of different shapes out of slaos of marble. On Sunday tho negroes who could overdressed themselves in smart lounge suits, patent boots, and high collars that shone resplendent against their dusky skinß. There were many eccentric characters amongst the prisoners. One, a half-de-mented Belgian, known as tho French Ambassador, always wore a black bowler hat aud very tight black trousers, and constantly carried about his pewter dinner bowl, going with it to eacu successive barrack tap and cleaning it anew. Another poor fellow, more fit for a lunatic asylum than a prison, wore in all weathers a heavy Inverness cape secured by a chain across the breast, a 6ailor hat with ribbons fluttering from the back, and white gaiters, amusing his neighbours in the barracks by his antics as a wandering minstrel and as a supposed tight-rope dancer. Amon'gst_ the characters of the camp was a Boer giant, seven and a half feet tall, whose feet hung out far beyond the end of his bed. He was credited with having been the chief of Kruger's bodyguard, and had been taken prisoner in the South African War and interned in Ceylon for eighteen months. Latterly he had -tovn-ed through Austria and Germany as 'an Indian giant waiter" at country beer restaurants. Many and varied were tho means by which the prisoners beguiled the tedium of their captivity. Sports clubs were numerous, amateur and professional dramatic •performances frequent, and, of course, there was a vast amount of cardplaying and much gambling. Amongst those mentioned by tho author as being prominent in the. management of the numerous sports gatheriug was Mr. Tom Sullivan, the champion sculler. Pro-Germans thero were many, and after a time they were segregated, and for a while —until they failed to "volunteer" for service in the German Armyenjoyed better treatment. Of tho proUermaiis—'"Perfect Gentlemen" was tho camp nickname for them—Mr. Cohen says:— For the most part they were men who had beou born and bred in Germany, who had acquired naturalisation after the minimum period of residenco in England or iu , one of her colonies, and who had then returned to tne Fatherland. They also included the sons, and even grandsons, of such naturalised Englishmen; men who had inherited their English nationality. 1 but who had never set loot on English soil, and wero utter strangers to the English tongue. . . . All tilese various types of p.ro-Oernian prisoners numbered at first from seven to eight hundred. . . . The outbreak of war found them ardent champions of the Fatherland; they took part in patriotic demonstrations and contributed to patriotic funds. But when tho order of internment was issued, ihey wore , arrested exactly like all tfic Stock-Eng-lander ("out-and-out" Englishmen), much to their indignation and to the surprise of their neighbours. They protested f.hat it was absurd to intern them as they could never dream of thinking—let alone doing—evil to the Fatherland. But the police bluutly reminded tliein that, they had sheltered themselves all along under their British nationality in order to escape ( from military service; and pointed out that it they were really concerned for tho welfare of Germany they should draw the sword in her dcfcncc. Amongst the Jews in Barrack VI there was not, savs tho author, a "single native of England or of a British colony who declared himself Deutehgessmnt ("ISermaii feeling"), "but, ulus. amongst the British-born Christians there wero soveral notorious case of men who openly avowed their pro-German sympathies, and some of the-e profited by their disloyally to tho land of their birth, piocuring their liberation through "their sons volunteering for the German Army.' These cases wero specially numerous amongst tlio professional horse-trainers emploved by Gorman racing magnates. It is to be iioped that after the war the names of these contemptible recreants may bo made public, For n time, 4 so the author alleges, there was a certain antiJewish prejudice in the camp. "AntiSomitism," he says, "is cruel enough to i'he «Tew in freedom, who can shun it or shelter himself from it? but iu a prison camp, from which thero is uo escape, itauakes tho Jew drink tbo cup of bit- ,

terness to the dregs." Tfie better clas3, academic section, in the camp did i:u± harbour this prejudice, and the author himself, judging by his success at a Parliamentary election at which ho was a candidate, seems to have been ono of the most popular men—with all classes—in j the whole camp. I Air. Cohen's book is well illustrated from photographs and drawings, and is fur and away the best and most unprejudiced account of prison life in Germany that has yot been published. (N.Z. price 10s.) Some Gardening Books. Every year, so lovers of the city beautiful must rejoice to notice, gardening is becoming more and more popular as a ; pastime with Now Zealanders. Ono has | only to take a stroll round any of our suburbs to see what excellent work in I horticulture and vegetable gardening is being done by enthusiastic amateurs. To all such I would signal the appearance of tho excellent series of cheaply, but beautifully printed and illustrated manuals or guides to gardening now being issued by the enterprising publishing house of Cassell. In "Gardening: A Complete Guide" and "Rockeries: How to Make and Plant Them," both by H. H. Thomas, editor of "The Gardener," a vast amount of useful information is convoyed in a simple, clear language. The illustrations are both numerous and very beautiful, both in subject nnd reproduction. These books are published (New Zealand price)' at Is. 9d., and' are almost ridiculously cheap (review copies through Messrs. S. and W. Mackay). Also from Cassell and Co. (through Messrs. Whitcombo and Tombs) come copies of two even lowerpricod - books (9d.), to wit, "Tho Beginner's Gardening Book" and "Profitable Small Fruits," being volumes of a series entitled "Gardening Handbooks for Amateurs," edited by H. H. Thomas. These books, especially tho former, should bo specially useful to beginners in gardening. Like tho higher-priced volumes they are most liberally illustrated. The full list of titles in tho two series, which includes quite a number of volumes on special branches of hardening can be seen at Messrs. Whitcombo and Tombs and S. and W. Mackay'e. Songs of the Sailor Men. ; 's6ngs of the Sailor Men," by T.B.D. (Hodder and Stoughton; per Whitcombo and Tombs), is tho title of a collection of stirring verses which throw much now and interesting light on the work of tho British Fleet during tho Great War, and, in addition, bring home to us how much tho Empire owes to tho great leaders and splendid men of the Navy of bygono years. The author is a naval officor, who makes no pretence to any great poetic gifts, but, nevertheless, invests his verses with a vigour and sense of realism which make them very effective. Here are a couple of sample verses from the "Merchant Skipper s Song," the song of an old merchant captain who composed a "Fleet store-ship" in 'tho North Sea :— TVe used to sail from London docks And steer for Kivcr Plato, "Where I slaved all day at cargo (For they'd made mo second mate); But I hated most the Doldrum zone Both steaming out and back; I often prayed for a cold north wind. When the docks began to crack; Helgh-ho, who'd ha' thought it possible That I should bo a-sailing in the coiU

North Sea. Cursing overy time it snows (Though they'vo "issued winter cloMics By order of their Lordships of tho Admiral—tee).

My next job was tho China trade, Hong-Kong/Amoy, Poo-Chow; And we ne?er did a single trip But tho crew kicked up a row; "We used to make the dagoes work, With our fists and a little tact, But T often prayed for a cell or two And a proper working Act. Heigh-ho, who'd havo thought it possible That T phould bo a-sailing in tlio cold North Sea, With a crew like, men-of-war. Under proper naval law; By order of their Lordships of the Admiral—tee. Not all the verses are in lighter vein, ns witnrps Hie pathetic "Only Son" and the really fine poem, "The Reason Why/' in which Hie author recalls the great of "Dralce, Anson, TTawlce, and Howo, of Hood, Jervis. and Nelson, but soaco limits sternly forbid further quotation. A capital little book. (Price Is. Gd.)