How prisoners are employed in Germany is described by "The Man Who Dined With the Kaiser," that daring young neutral who penetrated into the heart of the enemy country and brought back much information valuable to the Allies. In _My Secret Service_ he writes: "At Buda-Pesth the Balkan-Zug was tidied and made presentable. Windows were cleaned by men having little ladders, and the compartments and corridors swept. To my great surprise I found that this work was being done by big bearded men in {272} Russian uniforms. I spoke to one or two of them, but they had very few words of German. They explained that they were Russian prisoners." What are we doing with our prisoners of war? This indiscreet question never receives a satisfactory answer. Forty thousand prisoners have been placed in Government and private employment, but the remaining mass are twirling their thumbs, languishing in enforced idleness. This hopeless and monotonous inactivity has even here and there developed hooliganism in their ranks. And further, how have we placed the comparatively few to whom we have seen fit to give employment? I have received a letter from a lady landowner of my acquaintance, who tells me that after a long and complicated correspondence, ten prisoners of war were sent to her estate. The men were quiet, polite and respectful, and on their arrival were sent to the cattle yard to dig manure. But at this point came surprises: one of these prisoners was a violinist from an opera orchestra, another a photographer, a third a skilled working optician, a fourth a clerk, a fifth--but good Heavens! what is one to do with such farm labourers as that? The dull misery of their long complete inaction had so depressed them, that they were only too pleased to be occupied even if only with the roughest manual labour; but of what use is such work, and what return can it give for the outlay of the employer?