The following sets the scene and shows the almost near hysteria

Manchester Evening News - Wednesday 28 October 1914

ALIEN ENEMIES. Three Hundred More Arrests. Three hundred more alien enemies were arrested in Manchester last night and early this morning. Most of them have been sent to concentration camp at Newbury, Berks. The arrests are being completed to-day, and it expected that by this evening the number of alien enemies in Manchester who have been deprived of their liberty since the outbreak of the war will reach between 1,000 and 1,200. The majority of these have been arrested during the past week, and are between and 45 years of age. The question arises What is to done with alien enemies whose ages exceed 45? It is pointed out that there are many alien enemies over that age who might, with possible advantage to the community, be interned, and it is felt that these people ought to dealt with.

SALFORD. The Salford police authorities have again resumed the-task of rounding the Germans, and to-day between forty and fifty aliens were arrested. Knowing that the police had again resumed operations many of the men required surrendered themselves at the Salford Town Hall.

MARRIED A GERMAN. Sarah Jane resident of Lees, near Oldham, was charged in Ashton to-day with failing to register as an alien enemy. She pleaded guiltv, but added that she was a native of Oldham. She had married a German subject named Guetave Eichler, who was now engaged in a hospital in Toronto, Canada. When she saw cases in the papers where wives of aliens were being prosecuted for non-registration she went to the police station and registered on October Mrs. Eichler waa bound over to observe the regulations. Defendant asked the magistrates whether if her husband sent a pass for her and her three children for Canada if she could leave the place. She was told she could not leave the country without Home Office permit.

ALIEN ENEMIES.

550 ARRESTED IN MANCHESTER. NEW GOVERNMENT ORDER

As the result of a new order which suggests that the Government have determined that all male alien enemies of military age residing in this country shall be kept as prisoners during the period of the war, hundreds of Germans and Austrians residing Manchester and Salford were arrested yesterday, as we announced in our later editions last evening. Others were arrested at night.

The arrests during the day time were made by detective officers wearing plain clothes. At night uniformed policemen are said to have taken part in the round-up. Having both the business and private addresses of all aliens registered under the Aliens Registration Order, the work presented no difficulty the police, who took many men into custody at their places of employment during the afternoon, discharging their duty so quietly that few people knew that anything unusual was happening. Amongst the people arrested were several directors of limited companies.

The aliens were taken to the nearest police stations, and when all the 25 Manchester stations were filled prisoners had to be found temporary accommodation elsewhere. Few of them seemed to at all surprised being put under arrest.

550 ARRESTS. The round up during yesterday afternoon and evening and in the early hours this morning resulted in about 500 arrests. The police are continuing their activities, and many more arrests have been made, the total up to this afternoon being 550.

SENT TO CAMP. Batch of 112 Despatched to Lancaster. At noon to-day 112 of the prisoners were sent by special trains to Lancaster, where they will be interned. The destination of the other prisoners is present unknown. The wholesale arrests that have taken place during the 24 hours will put a heavy strain on the existing accommodation at the various concentration camps, and additional provision will have to be made.

WORK FOR SPECIAL CONSTABLES. The prisoners sent away to-day had been housed at various police stations the city during the night, and they were conveyed to Exchange Station in prison vans and ambulance carriages. There was a strong escort of armed police, including 50 special constables drawn from Nos. 1, 4. 5, 6, and 9 companies. The escort accompanied the prisoners to Lancaster.

The entraining was witnessed by a small crowd consisting mainly of friends of the prisoners. One of the number was a young woman who appeared greatly distressed. She bid good-bye to young man leaning out of one of the carriage windows, and then sobbed bitterly.

"WAR IS WAR."

A young Englishman, who witnessed the incident remarked, You don't like see a young woman crying, but war is war. Think of the British mothers, wives, and sisters of our Tommies who are crying because their dear ones have been killed, and set that off against the sobbing of this woman whose husband or brother is only going to a concentration camp. We cannot afford to be sentimental in this business, and we ought not to allow male alien enemies to be at large."

The action of the authorities in rounding up the alien enemies between the age 17 and 45 is generally approved, though there are a few sentimentalists who ask that certain individuals should released.

SALFORD. There were some 500 aliens who registered themselves with the police but of this number many were females, to whom tbe present order does not, of course, apply.

staff of 20 officers are now busily engaged up the male aliens, and by noon, to-day, about 50 men had been lodged at the various police stations in the borough. It is not yet known when the men will leave Salford for the concentration camp. half-past four this afternoon the Salford police had brought about just over hundred arrests.

DUNFERMLINE. Two men, one a German and the other the a German, were put under an armed guard Dunfermline to-day. One had previously owned carrier pidgeons and the other a Photographic business which commanded a view of the Forth Bridge.

SOUTHPORT. In pursuance of the new order regarding yesterday, the Southport police yesterday made about 20 arrests, including several Manchester and Liverpool business men dna soma members of a local foreign band.

NEWCASTLE. police Newcastle and Gateshead during the night rounded up the German and Austrian residents, arresting 90 in Newcastle and 20 in Gateshead, including hotel managers commercial travellers, clerks, waiters, chefs, ana pork butchers. Several German tradesmen were Included, today, in the arrest of a number of alien enemies at Aldershot. They included men of repute and many years' residence in the town

FAILING TO REGISTER. It is important that persons born in Germany British parents should register under the Alien Enemies Act. Several cases came before the magistrates Manchester City Police Court, to-day, of people charged with having failed to register,  In one an Alexander Price, am elderly man, of Wellesley-street, West Gorton, told the magistrates that he had always regarded himself a Britisher. He had been in this country over 50 years, and had been in the militia. Inspector Tonge said the defendant's father was Scotch and his mother Welsh, and owing to the fact- that the defendant was born in Brennan, Germany, he was a German subject. The case was adjourned sine die.

Mary Muchau, a  widow, of Bolton-street, Gorton, was bound over for twelve months. She was German subject. Her husband died some years ago, and she had not become naturalised. She was ordered to register at once. Rebecca Fieldman, an Englishwoman, the wife of a German, of City Road, Manchester, was fined 20s. and costs. She said that her husband had registered she did not think it was necessary for her to do so.

A VEXED QUESTION. Northampton's Tramway Manager. The Northampton Tramways Committee, last light, decided to suspend Mr. Gottschalk, the tramway manager, for the period of the war. Mr. Gottschalk was born in Hanover, and has lived in England for 27 years. He took out his naturalisation papers since the war began. This suspension does not satisfy those who have agitated against his continued employment, and they demand his immediate dismissal. They intend to force contests at the forthcoming municipal elections on the subject, notwithstanding the agreement between the three politioal parties tnat there should be no contests this year.

SEASIDE PROHIBITIONS. The London " Evening News " learns that the Home Office has issued instructions making practically the whole of the East Coast a prohibited area for Germans and Austrians. Most of the South Coast towns as far Dorsetshire are also now prohibited to alien enemies.

Fifty Germans from farm colony Mainden, Herts, were removed by the police to concentration oamps this morning. The police have arrested very large number of German aliens in the East End of London.

A Belgian refugee who landed Dublin, this morning, was arrested on suspicion that was German spy.

Manchester Evening News - Monday 16 November 1914

WITH THE ALIENS.

Healthy Conditions at Newbury.

Investigation of All Complaints.

A special representative of the Press Association paid a surprise visit a lew days ago to the concentration camp at Newbury Racecourse, where 3,400 German prisoners of war and aliens arrested in this country are accommodated, under the supervision of Colonel C. S. Haines. He found nothing to justify the charges of ill-treatment and unhealthy conditions made recently in the Cologne " Gazette." The prisoners (he writes) nominate their own "captain" in the compounds, and one of the number, Mr. Hermann, who until recently was a tradesman at Clapton, was engaged with the senior executive officer listening to complaints.

The first to step up I recognised as a former reception room clerk at one of the leading Strand hotels, tall, fair-haired well-spoken youth. He is the son of hotel proprietor  in the German province of Munster, an excollegian, and member the German Rifle Brigade Reserve. He spoke about his engagement to an English girl.

"I am very fond of the English," he said, " and while here I would nothing against the British Empire, but—{this laughingly)—if I were over there in my uniform —well, it would be my duty to fight."

His grievance was that while the beef supplied is plentiful and good, he would prefer mutton a little more frequently. The commandant's reply was that the ration given is what has been laid down as suitable for prisoners of war. and it ample.

SOUP WANTED TOR SUPPER.

Three meals daily is the provision regularly made, and the prisoners asked that soup formerly given out for supper should be restored. This is a matter depending on arrangements for distribution. On another matter the commandant observed, "We can give you fellows good boarded floors, mattresses, and first-class blankets, but we cannot treat vou to feather beds.

A few prisoners are unquestionably pro- British. They have married English women, they have had children bom to them in this country, and they are fervently hoping for a speedy return to their families. One of the officials told " There have been wholesale arrests, and if there is to be change to the Isle of Man there should be certain releases before we move out.

In large marquee a party of prisoners were practising glee-singing, led by skilled violinist. It was the preparation for the nightly camp concert, at which the choir was to be supplemented by two bands of trained instrumentalists.

"Kosher" meat is provided for the Hebrews among the interned. The butcher's store also contains fish, corned beef, vegetables and fruit. In a large open space football was being played. One Austrian has dignified his tent by the title " Hotel Hapsburg."

A meeting of "captains" in this part of the compound complained of delay with letters, telegrams, and parcels. This can be avoided by adding to the number of over-burdened staff. In the censorship department of the post office more interpreters are needed, as letters are delayed because they cannot censored at once.

CLAIMING DISCHARGE. Claiming their discharges were a Darlington publican who has an English wife and five children, and who fears for his licence; a reverend " pastor "; the bandmaster of a Danish steamship, and a Galician Jew, arrested while passing through this country on his way to America. A sympathetic interest was shown in all these cases, and the authorities have these and other cases under review.

At the camp hospital no record was found of the deaths" from ill-treatment. Not a single death has occurred from the first day of the Newbury concentration until now. The patients under treatment number ,14, and one of the " cases" is that of a -fractured arm, resulting from an accident.

The executive officers of the camp have received many letters from prisoners after their release, expressing grateful appreciation of kindness shown to them in the camp. The chief captain" of the camp writes: " The position of the better-class prisoners is, of course, very hard in many ways, but many of the lower-class prisoners are better off than they have ever been before, and would not leave the camp at present if they were asked to do so. The commandant does all in his power to make things as bearable possible under difficult circumstances."