17 APRIL 1915, Page 3

A White Book has been issued containing correspondence with the

American Ambassador in London on the treatment of prisoners of war and interned civilians in Germany and Britain. Readers will learn in these papers, if they did not know before, how much Englishmen owe to the American diplomatists and other Americans who have acted as inter- mediaries. It would be impossible to do justice to the unfailing energy, courtesy, and humanity with which the Americans have worked. The conditions under which the prisoners of war live in Germany seem to vary very much according to the goodwill or whims of the commandants. In some prisons there is little to complain of, and in others there are many hard and objectionable features. The worst

indict-

ment against German humanity in the book is the report of Major Tandeleur, who was taken prisoner after being wounded near La Basset) last October, but escaped. He was insulted and reviled in public places, and he and his fellow-prisoners were herded in a foully dirty truck for many hours without room to move and without food or covering. It is a shocking story, and Major Vandelenr believes that this treatment was ordered by superior authority with the object of making British soldiers "as miserable and despicable objects as possible."