TURKISH PRISONERS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 17 June 1915, Page 7

TURKISH PRISONERS.

TREATMENT IN EG^PT

I In Egypt Britain io giving the world a lesson in humanity (writes the Daily Telegraph Cairo correspondent). Her treatment of the Turkish r>risoners of war entitles her to the respect of all civilised nations; it has already won for her the gratitude of the prisoners themselves, i I will go so far as to say that when the Turks have to admit themselves beaten almost all the men captured on the canal would he willing to serve under British officers., and they would make a battalion of firstclass fighting men. The victors at Sarapeum would admit that. If we had some motive in winning the confidence of the Tm-kish soldiers, which we have not, no better scheme could have been devised than that which provides comfortable qiiailters, with adequate attention for these prisoners, who, if they were released tomorrow and went back among their own people, would make the remnant of Djemal Pasha's desert-marching division regret that 'they did not give themselves up. To-day I visited the prisoners-of-war camp at Tcura, and I confess my first j feeling was that officers and men werej treated too well. If the British sol-; dier in German hands lives half as i comfortably he will rate himself as | fortunate. The buildings in which the j prisoners are housed were formerly the ' small arms factory of the Eygptian • Government —two large, airy buildings, solidly erected, clean and bright. The dozen officers have a large chamber, with beds and bedding, newly-made racks for their kits, mats' round their beds, a. mess room which most officers on active sei'vice would envy, a kitchen in which the best of food is prepared by qualified cooks, while the luxury of bathrooms is not denied them. They are entirely separated from the rank and file, a high barbed-wire fence running round their quarters, and when I was there the majority of the officers were reading Arabic papers and books. Most of them were wearing new clothimr. which they had been able to buy with money advanced for the purpose, and—think of it!—these officer prisoners of war are actually drawing the half-nay of their rank. Probably thenpay from their own Treasury is months overdue.