NAVAL PRISONERS OF WAR.
(To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sra,—I appeal on behalf of our Royal Navy prisoners, the men who have unfortunately fallen into enemy hands whilst protecting our shores and securing our food supplies, and are now in need of our help. The Ladies' Emergency Committee of the Navy League, of which I am President, has looked after these men since May, 1915, but we are finding it more and more difficult each month to carry on our beneficent work, owing to the increased cost of food, so your help is urgently needed. I can personally testify to the zeal and care with which the work of sending food and other necessaries is done, and can vouch for the fact that all money received is devoted to the prisoners, the work of the Committee and their helpers being entirely voluntary, and the premises occupied have been placed at our disposal free. For obvious reasons, it is not desirable to give details of the actual numbers of Royal Naval prisoners now in the hands of the Germans, Austrians, and Turks, but the aggregate figure is such as to make a very heavy demand upon all our available resources.
In accordance with the regulations of the Central Prisoners of War Committee, each man receives through us weekly supplies of food, bread, tobacco, drugs, and other necessaries, and supplies of clothes twice yearly. This costs us on the average £1 ls. per week per man. The estimated expenditure in 1918 will be upwards of £29,000, and this leaves us little margin for possible unforeseen contingencies. We also would gladly welcome more adopters. We have numerous cards and letters from the men, assuring us that without our parcels life would be impossible. All cheques should be made payable to the Ladies' Emergency Committee of the Navy League, and sent to 56 Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square, W. 1.
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