The Colonel met me more than half-way, and it was evident that his inspection had convinced him of the necessity for that closer co-operation between Swiss and British which I had urged upon him previously. He now, at my request, sent out orders convening a meeting at Berne of the "D.M.Os." and the "S.B.Os." of Château d'Oex, Mürren, and Leysin, with a view to the co-ordination of the diverse systems in operation in these camps. This meeting, at which I was present, took place under the presidency of Major de la Harpe, Staff Officer of the British Section at Headquarters, and resulted in the elaboration of the procedure evolved at Mürren, and the subsequent promulgation of orders to all British camps alike, whereby the delicate questions of the position and duties of our officers were, at last, finally set at rest.
The principles laid down at this meeting had far-reaching consequences, for they were made applicable at a much later date, and in a modified form, to the Franco-Belgian and German sections of the Interned. I was always led to understand, however, that the relations between our officers and the Swiss Camp Staff, as also between the former and their men, were of a more intimate nature than those of our Allies or of the Germans in a corresponding sense.
Another reform was effected by the appointment of an officer of the Swiss Army as Camp Commandant, assistant to the "D.M.O.," who relieved the latter of the greater part of the purely disciplinary work. The title of "Commandant" was somewhat of a misnomer, as this officer was subordinate to the "D.M.O."; but the change proved of a beneficent nature, as it enabled the medical officers to devote themselves more particularly to the medical and administrative side of their task, and transferred the matter of discipline to officers accustomed to the handling of men. Most of these Commandants had had experience of business life abroad, and were, therefore, qualified by their linguistic and cosmopolitan education to understand the outlook of the British soldier. They found no difficulty in adapting themselves to the mentality of the Interned, and became useful members of the camps' organization.
These reforms did not connote any change in the status or duties of the "D.M.O.," who remained, as before, the administrator and disciplinary chief of the region. Under the new conditions, the Commandant was assisted by orderly officers chosen from the junior ranks of the Interned, who were allocated duties in connection with the interior economy of the camp, and with the maintenance of discipline. The right of punishment for military offences was reserved to the Commandant alone, but in all cases the preliminary investigation was made by the orderly officer, who carried on the case to the Commandant for punishment or otherwise. This procedure gave great satisfaction to the men, who were thereby assured of a careful hearing by their own officers before the final hearing by the Swiss Commandant.
Minor offences were dealt with by the Commandant or the "D.M.O.," their respective powers being limited to ten and twenty days' cells. More serious offences were referred to the consideration of the "Médecin d'Armée" at Berne, whose powers extended to thirty days' cells. Cases for court martial were reported to the Judge Advocate-General for decision. If orders for trial by court martial ensued, the matter was dealt with by an "Itinerant Court Martial," composed of Swiss officers, the defence of the accused being delegated to an officer of the Swiss Bar possessing a knowledge of the language of the accused. The composition of the court martial was in every way satisfactory, great regard being shown to the interests of the accused with the aid of Counsel. The area covered, however, was so great, extending, as it did, from one end of Switzerland to the other, that it was impossible for the Itinerant Court to keep abreast of the work. Accused were, in consequence, not infrequently incarcerated for considerable periods whilst awaiting trial. It would sometimes happen that at the end of this delay the accused would be declared "not guilty," and be released after a detention lasting from four to twelve weeks. If declared "guilty," the period of detention was deducted from the award; if "not guilty," a compensation in money might or might not be paid, as the circumstances of the case dictated. The fact of this prolonged detention before trial was the only unsatisfactory feature of the system, but as the procedure was common to both Interned and the Swiss Army alike, and was, moreover, in accordance with the tenets of Swiss Military Law, protests were unavailing.
Taken as a whole, the severity of punishments for military offences was no greater than in the British Army, though the difference was marked as regards the offence and its antidote. It was at first a matter of much amusement to our men to be sent to bed for three days for a minor offence which would have been awarded three days' "C.B." (confinement to barracks) by a British officer. This form of punishment is quite common to the Swiss soldier, and is evidently much disliked by him; but to our men it appeared more in the light of a joke. Here we have one small instance of the divergence in custom and mentality between the Swiss and ourselves.
CHAPTER VIII
MEDICAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF THE SICK AND WOUNDED
—THE PROVISION OF HOSPITALS AND CLINICS
As already stated in a previous chapter, in the first stages of the negotiations of 1915 for the internment of Ps. of W. attention had been directed solely to the hospitalization in Switzerland of one category of prisoners, viz., that of the tuberculous; but very shortly, under the pressure of public opinion, further attention had been drawn to the advisability of extending the principle to other categories, with a view to the inclusion of disabilities of a very varying nature. The discussions were continued during 1915, with a view to the realization of an enlarged programme, and in January, 1916, a first list, comprising twelve categories of disabilities or wounds, had been prepared and agreed upon, including that of tuberculosis, and the first essays of internment were made on the 26th of January, 1916, commencing with 200 tuberculous cases. By the 14th of February 1,247 French and German Ps. of W. had been interned in the regions of Montana, Montreux, Leysin, the Bernese Oberland, the Quatre Cantons, and Davos, comprised of men of the aforesaid categories.
By the 16th of February the list had been increased to twenty categories, to be afterwards reduced in June and July, 1916, to eighteen. These lists formed the basis of the work done by the so-called "Itinerant Commissions of Swiss Medical officers," who were authorized to proceed to Germany, France, and England for the examination and selection for internment in Switzerland of all those prisoners found to be suffering from the diseases or wounds mentioned in the aforesaid eighteen categories.