This visit of Colonel Jones, and the satisfactory nature of the report, once and for all set my mind at rest as to the general efficiency of the service and the skill of the medical officers, and certainly had a tranquillizing effect on the majority of our own officers and men. The contrast between the condition of the recent arrivals and those who had been in residence for some time was most marked, and furnished a proof of the almost miraculous change effected by the climate, the freedom from anxiety, and the good work of the doctors. In every camp the two classes of men were paraded for inspection side by side, and the difference in their mental outlook and physical condition was of a marked nature.
Further confirmation of the activities of the Swiss doctors reached me about this time from another quarter. Having regard to the great mass of Ps. of W. arriving in Switzerland, the majority of whom had received insufficient treatment in Germany, the "Médecin d'Armée" found it necessary to call for an objective and uniform examination of all wounded men, with a view to obtaining detailed indications for the treatment of their wounds, and in September, 1916, Dr. Matti, a distinguished specialist of Berne, was charged with the duty of visiting the "regions," and of examining every case where surgical and orthopædic treatment was in question. In December this order was modified, the "regions" being divided into four zones, for each of which a Specialist was nominated. The result of these examinations was communicated to me in due course, supplementing, and, I am glad to say, confirming, the conclusions drawn, quite independently, by Colonel Jones.
CHAPTER X
SWISS ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE INTERNED
—DIVISION INTO CATEGORIES TO CORRESPOND TO DEGREE OF VALIDITY
—TECHNICAL AND EDUCATIONAL INSTRUCTION
—WORKSHOPS AND FACTORIES
The employment of the Interned became at an early date the object of much solicitude on the part of the Swiss Government and the Swiss public, and it was soon recognized that the best tonic for repairing the ravages caused by sickness, wounds, and a long captivity, was to be found in the restoration of the soldier to a state of activity approximating to the normal, by bringing him into touch with the ordinary conditions of civil life. For this purpose it was necessary to find work, study, or occupation for all those whose physical and mental conditions were still adapted for that purpose.
Instructions were issued by Colonel Hauser in April, 1916, by which the D.M.O.s. were made responsible for the occupation of the Interned in a manner appropriate to the state of their health, and it was laid down as a principle that the work assigned was no longer to be treated as voluntary, but was to be made obligatory. Any refusal to work was to be severely punished. Nothing was said as to the method of procuring such occupation or of its organization. These instructions, therefore, proved of little practical value, beyond focussing the attention of the responsible Swiss officers on the subject. It was soon realized that many of the wounded and sick had been utterly and permanently broken down by their sufferings, whilst others were quickly recovering their physical, moral, and intellectual stamina.
To meet these varying conditions, an order was published on July 8, 1916, with the approval of the Political Department, classifying the Interned into six categories:—
1. Those incapable of all work.
2. Those partially capable, and fit for employment in the residential establishments as postal orderlies, waiters, etc.
3. Those partially capable, and fit for a few hours' work in the camps and workshops.