Imperial Valley Press

War Prisoners Held in U. S.

WASHINGTON. Dec. 11. (UP) - Enemy prisoners of war in this country now number approximately 170,000, it was disclosed Saturday at the war department as censorship relaxed some of the restrictions on information concerning prisoners.

Of these, about 120,000 are Germans and 50,000 are Italians. In October it was announced there were approximately 140,000 prisoners here, about three-quarters being German.

Japanese prisoners are negligible since the Japanese usually fight until the bitter end, preferring death to imprisonment. The latest figure on Japanese prisoners, issued last July. showed only 62 in the United States. There are only a handful more now, it was understood.

Relatively few Italians have arrived lately; and despite the changed status of Italy - no a co-belligerent Italian prisoners status in this country has undergone little change.

One concession has been made: prisoners who have been here six months and have proved trustworthy are permitted to go from camp to work without being under guard.

Prisoners are housed in more than 56 permanent and numerous temporary camps throughout the United States.

Many temporary camps have been set up in areas of labor shortages.

Originally prisoners' camps were located with the advice of the war food administration in areas where acute agricultural labor shortages existed, with due regard to strategic conditions barring them from coastal defense areas.

Subsequently camps were established on the basis of war department and war manpower commission needs, resulting in a wider distribution of prisoners. Many are employed by the war department in maintenance labor in existing army camps, posts and stations which utilize the services of about one-fourth of all prisoners.

They have been employed in brick plants, land clearing projects, canning plants, dry cleaning plants, pulpwood manufacture and construction of reservoirs for public water supply and power. They have harvested potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, cotton, sugar beets and corn in such separated areas as Georgia, Colorado, Texas and New York.

Employers may obtain services of the various army service commands and army air force procurement districts. They must pay prevailing wages, of which the prisoner receives 80 cents a day in canteen script plus his keep, the balance going to the U. S. treasury.