diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-0.txt | 2019 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/12644-h.htm | 2269 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img01.jpg | bin | 0 -> 159984 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img02.jpg | bin | 0 -> 175227 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img03.jpg | bin | 0 -> 154297 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img04.jpg | bin | 0 -> 199963 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img05.jpg | bin | 0 -> 140904 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img06.jpg | bin | 0 -> 172831 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img07.jpg | bin | 0 -> 193098 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12644-h/images/img08.jpg | bin | 0 -> 176209 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-8.txt | 2410 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 52623 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 1407582 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/12644-h.htm | 2674 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img01.jpg | bin | 0 -> 159984 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img02.jpg | bin | 0 -> 175227 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img03.jpg | bin | 0 -> 154297 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img04.jpg | bin | 0 -> 199963 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img05.jpg | bin | 0 -> 140904 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img06.jpg | bin | 0 -> 172831 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img07.jpg | bin | 0 -> 193098 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644-h/images/img08.jpg | bin | 0 -> 176209 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644.txt | 2410 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12644.zip | bin | 0 -> 52571 bytes |
27 files changed, 11798 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/12644-0.txt b/12644-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cd70104 --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2019 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12644 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 12644-h.htm or 12644-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644/12644-h/12644-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644/12644-h.zip) + + + + + +THROUGH THE IRON BARS + +Two years of German occupation in Belgium + +BY + +EMILE CAMMAERTS + +ILLUSTRATED WITH CARTOONS BY LOUIS RAEMAEKERS + +MCMXVII + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + I. The Prison Gates + + II. The Lowered Flag + +III. The Poisoned Wells + + IV. The Sacking of Belgium + + V. The Modern Slave + 1. The Creeping Tide + 2. "By the Waters of Babylon" + + VI. The Olive Branch + +Through the Iron Bars + + + + +I. + +THE PRISON GATES. + + +The English-speaking public is generally well informed concerning the +part played in the war by the Belgian troops. The resistance of our +small field army at Liège, before Antwerp, and on the Yser has been +praised and is still being praised wherever the tale runs. This is easy +enough to understand. The fact that those 100,000 men should have been +able to hold so long in check the forces of the first military Empire in +Europe, and that a great number of them, helped by new contingents of +recruits and led by their young King, should still be fighting on their +native soil, must appeal strongly to the imagination. + +If it be told how the new Belgian army, reorganised and re-equipped +after the terrible ordeal on the Yser, is at the present moment much +stronger than at the beginning of the war, how it has been able lately +to extend its front in Flanders, and how some of its units have rendered +valuable help to the cause of the Allies in East Africa and even in +Galicia, the story sounds like a fairy tale. There is, in the history of +this unequal struggle, the true ring of legendary heroism; it seems an +echo of the tale of David and Goliath, or of Jack the Giant Killer; it +is full of the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, of independence and +free will over fatalism and brute force, of Right over Might. + +I feel confident that some day a poet will be able to sing this great +epic in verses which shall answer to the swinging rhythm of battle and +roll with the booming of a thousand guns. But, in the meantime, I should +like to say a few words about a much humbler, a much simpler, a much +more familiar subject. It awakes no classical remembrances of Leonidas +or Marathon. My heroes risk their lives, but they are not soldiers, +merely prosaic "bourgeois" and workmen. They have no weapon, they cannot +fight. They have only to remain cheery in adversity and patient in the +face of taunts. They cannot render blow for blow, they have no sword to +flourish against an insolent conqueror. They can only oppose a stout +heart, a loyal spirit, and an ironic smile to the persecutions to which +they are subjected. They can do nothing--they must do nothing--only hope +and wait. But there are as much heroism and beauty in their black +frock-coats and their soiled workmen's smocks as in the gayest and most +glittering uniforms. + +It is the plain matter-of-fact story of Belgian life under German rule. +Many more people will be tempted to praise the glory of our soldiers. +But, if the incidents of conquered Belgium's life are not recorded in +good time, they might escape notice. People might forget that, besides +the 150,000 to 200,000 heroes who are now waging war for Belgium on the +Western front, there are 7,500,000 heroes who are suffering for Belgium +behind the German lines, in the close prison of guarded frontiers, cut +off from the whole world, separated alike from those who are fighting +for their deliverance and from those who have sought refuge abroad. + +These are the people whom America, England, Spain, and many generous +people in other allied and neutral countries have tried to save from +material starvation. If I could only show to my readers how they are +saving themselves from despair, from spiritual starvation, I should be +well repaid for my trouble, for, among all the wonders of this war, +which has displayed mankind as at once so much worse and so much better +than we thought, there is perhaps nothing more surprising than the way +in which the Belgian people have kept their spirits up. + +One can, to a certain extent, understand the bright courage and the grim +humour of the fighting soldier; he has the excitement of battle to +sustain him through danger and suffering. But that an unarmed +population, which, having witnessed the martyrdom of many peaceful +towns, is threatened with utter destruction, which, ruined by war +contributions and requisitions, is on the brink of starvation, which, +persecuted by spies and subjected constantly to the most severe +individual and collective punishments on the slightest pretext, is +obliged to refrain from any manifestation of patriotic sentiments--that +such a population, completely cut off from its Government and from most +of its political leaders, and, moreover, poisoned every day by news +concocted by the enemy, should remain unshakable in its courage and +loyalty and should still be able to laugh at the efforts made by its +masters to bring it into submission, is truly one of the most amazing +spectacles which we have witnessed since the war broke out. General von +Bissing has declared that the Belgians are an enigma to him. No wonder. +They are an enigma to themselves. I am not going to explain the miracle. +I will only attempt to show how inexplicable, how miraculous, it is. + + * * * * * + +The German occupation of Belgium may be roughly divided into two +periods: Before the fall of Antwerp, when the hope of prompt deliverance +was still vivid in every heart, and when the German policy, in spite of +its frightfulness, had not yet assumed its most ruthless and systematic +character; and, after the fall of the great fortress, when the yoke of +the conqueror weighed more heavily on the vanquished shoulders, and when +the Belgian population, grim and resolute, began to struggle to preserve +its honour and loyalty and to resist the ever increasing pressure of the +enemy to bring it into complete submission and to use it as a tool +against its own army and its own King. + +I am only concerned here with the second period. The story of the German +atrocities committed in some parts of the country at the beginning of +the occupation is too well known to require any further comment. Every +honest man, in Allied and neutral countries, has made up his mind on the +subject. No unprejudiced person can hesitate between the evidence +brought forward by the Belgian Commission of Enquiry and the vague +denials, paltry excuses and insolent calumnies opposed to it by the +German Government and the Pro-German Press. Besides, in a way, the +atrocities committed during the last days of August, 1914, ought not to +be considered as the culminating point of Belgium's martyrdom. They +have, of course, appealed to the imagination of the masses, they have +filled the world with horror and indignation, but they did not extend +all over the country, as the present oppression does; they only affected +a few thousand men and women, instead of involving hundreds of +thousands. They were clean wounds wrought by iron and fire, sudden, +brutal blows struck at the heart of the country, wounds and blows from +which it is possible to recover quickly, from which reaction is +possible, which do not affect the soul and honour of a people. The +military executioners of 1914 were compassionate when compared to the +civilian administrators who succeeded them. The pen may be more cruel +than the sword. Considered in the light of the recent deportations, the +first days of frightfulness seem almost merciful. + +Observers have found no words strong enough to praise the attitude of +the Belgian people when victory seemed close at hand, when news was +still allowed to reach them. What should be said now after the +twenty-seven months for which they have been completely isolated from +the rest of the world? The ruthless methods of the German army of +invasion which deliberately massacred 5,000 unarmed civilians and sacked +six or seven towns and many more villages has been vehemently condemned. +What is to be the verdict now that they have succeeded, after two years +of efforts, in sacking the whole country, ruining her industry and +commerce, throwing out of employment her best workmen and leading into +slavery tens of thousands of her staunchest patriots? The horrors of +Louvain and Dinant were compared, with some reason, to the excesses of +the Thirty Years War, but modern history offers no other instance of +forced labour and wholesale deportations. If, fifty years ago, the +conscience of the world revolted against black slavery, what should its +feelings be today when it is confronted with this new and most appalling +form of white slavery? We should in vain ransack the chronicles of +history to find, even in ancient times, crimes similar to this one. For +the Jews were at war with Babylon, the Gauls were at war with Rome. +Belgium did not wage war against Germany. She merely refused to betray +her honour. + + * * * * * + +Let us watch, then, the closing of the prison gates. Up to the beginning +of October, the Belgians, and specially the people of Brussels, had been +kept in a state of suspense by the three sorties of the Belgian army, +which left the shelter of the Antwerp forts to advance towards Vilvorde +and Louvain, a few miles from the capital. At the beginning of +September, the sound of guns came so close that the people rejoiced +openly, thinking that deliverance was at their gates. To sober their +spirit--or to exasperate their patience?--the Governor General ordered +that a few Belgian prisoners, some of them wounded, with their +quickfiring gun drawn by a dog, should be marched through the crowded +streets. The men were covered with dust, their heads wrapped in +blood-stained bandages, and they kept their eyes on the ground as if +ashamed. Some women sobbed on seeing them, others cursed their guards, +others plundered a flower shop and showered flowers upon them. At last +two stalwart workmen shouldered away the escort, and, helped by the +crowd, which paralysed the movements of the Germans, succeeded in +kidnapping the prisoners, and getting them away to the neighbouring +streets. They could never be discovered, and it was the last display of +the kind which the Governor gave to Brussels. + +During the siege, people had learnt to recognize the voice of every fort +of Antwerp. They said to each other: "That is Lizele, Wavre Ste. +Catherine, Waelhem." One after the other the Belgian guns were silenced, +first Wavre, then Waelhem ... and the vibrating boom of the German +heavies was heard louder than ever. The listening Bruxellois grew paler, +straining every nerve to catch the voice of Antwerp. It was as if their +own life as a nation was slowly dying away, as if they were mourning +their own agony. But still the valiant spirit of the first days +prevailed. "They will be beaten for all that. What was Antwerp compared +with the Marne? All forts must fall under 'their' artillery. After all, +the nest is empty; the King and the army are safe." + +Since those days a kind of reckless indifference has seized the +Belgians. If we must lose everything to gain everything, let us lose +it. The sooner the better. It is the spirit of a poor man burning his +furniture in order to shelter his children from cold, or of a Saint +suffering every physical privation in order to gain the Kingdom of +Heaven. It is an uncanny spirit composed of wild energy and bitter-sweet +irony. "First Liège, then Brussels, then Namur, now Antwerp. The King +has gone, the Government has gone. If all Belgium has to go, let it go. +It is the price we have to pay. The victory of our soul shall be all the +greater if our body is shattered and tortured." + +Henceforth, the voice of Belgium reaches us only from time to time. Its +sound is muffled by the enemy's strangle-hold, which grows tighter and +tighter. Before the fall of Antwerp, the German administration of +General von der Goltz had merely a temporary character. We knew that +most of the high officials were stopping in Brussels on their way to +Paris. On the other hand, any skilful move of the Allies, any successful +sortie from Antwerp, might have jeopardized all the conqueror's plans +and necessitated an immediate retreat. The Yser-Ypres struggle barred +the way to Brussels as well as to Calais. The Germans knew now that they +were safe, at least for a good many months, and began systematically to +"organize the country." All communications with the uninterrupted part +of Belgium were interrupted. It became more and more difficult and +dangerous to cross the Dutch frontier without a special permit. The +economic and moral pressure increased steadily, and the conflict between +conquerors and patriots began, a conflict unrelieved by dramatic +interest or excitement from outside, which carried the country back to +the worst days of Austrian and Spanish domination. + + + + +II. + +THE LOWERED FLAG. + + +The contrast which I have endeavoured to indicate, in the first chapter, +between the attitude of the German administration before the fall of +Antwerp and its behaviour afterwards is nowhere so well marked as in the +measures taken for the purpose of repressing all Belgian manifestations +of patriotism. + +During the two first months of occupation, the Germans made at least a +show of respecting the loyal feelings of the population. In his first +proclamation, dated September 2nd, in which he announced his appointment +as General Governor of Belgium, Baron von der Goltz declared that "he +asked no one to renounce his patriotic feelings." And when, a few days +later, the Governor of Brussels, Baron von Luttwitz, issued a poster +"advising" the citizens to take their flags from their windows, he did +this in conciliatory words, giving the pretext that these manifestations +might provoke reprisals from the German troops passing through the town: +"The Military Governor does not intend in the least to hurt, by such a +measure, the feelings and self-respect of the inhabitants. His only aim +is to protect them against all harm." (September 16th.) Every Belgian +was still wearing the national colours, pictures of the King and Queen +were sold in the streets, and the Brabançonne was hummed, whistled, and +sung all over the country. The people had lost every right but one: they +could still show the enemy, in spite of the declarations of the German +Press, that they were not yet ready to accept his rule. + +This apparent tolerance is easy to explain. After the massacres of +August, the German authorities were anxious not to exasperate public +opinion, and not to spoil by uselessly vexatious measures the effect +which had been produced. During the Marne and the three sorties of the +Belgian army, they had only a very small number of men at their disposal +to garrison the largest towns. The slightest progress of the Belgian +army might have endangered their line of communications. We know now +that the withdrawal of the seat of the government from Brussels to Liege +was at one moment seriously contemplated, and that the same troops were +made to pass again and again through the streets of the capital in order +to give the illusion that the garrison was stronger than it really was +(_Frankfurter Zeitung_, August 22nd, 1916). Besides, Germany had not yet +given up all hopes of coming to terms with King Albert, since a third +attempt was to be made at Antwerp to separate the Belgian Government +from the Allies. In these circumstances it seemed wiser to let the +Belgian folk indulge in their harmless manifestations of loyalty, so +long as they did not cause any disturbance and did not complicate the +task of the military. + +Let us look now at the next phase. As soon as the Belgian army has +achieved its junction with the Allies on the Yser and all communications +are cut between the Government and the people, the Germans cease to +consider Belgium as an occupied territory, and seize upon every pretext +to treat her as a conquered country, which will, sooner or later, become +part of the Empire. They no longer take the trouble to explain or +justify their oppressive measures, or to reconcile them with their +former promises. They simply ignore them. First in Namur (November the +15th, 1914), then in Brussels (June the 30th, 1915), it becomes a crime +to wear the tricolour cockade. The Te Deum, which is celebrated every +year, on November 15th, in honour of King Albert's Saint's day, is +forbidden. From the month of March, 1915, it is practically a forbidden +thing to sing the Brabançonne, even in the schools. All patriotic +manifestations, on the occasion of the King's Birthday (April 8th) and +of the anniversary of Belgian Independence day (July 21st) are severely +prosecuted. + +In some of the orders issued there is still a weak attempt at +"respecting," in a German way, "the people's patriotic feelings." The +Governor of Namur, for instance, discriminates with the acutest subtlety +between wearing the national colours in private and in public, and the +Brabançonne can for a time be sung, so long as it is not rendered "in a +provoking manner." In fact, the Belgians are free to manifest their +patriotism so long as they are neither seen nor heard. They are +generously allowed to line their cupboards with tricolour paper and to +hum their national tunes in the depth of their cellars. But, in most of +the orders made under Governor von Bissing's rule (his reign began on +December 3rd, 1914), this last pretence of consideration and respect +disappears entirely. "I warn the public," declares the Governor of +Brussels on July the 18th, 1914, "that any demonstration whatsoever is +forbidden on July 21st next." + +More than that, the German Administration frequently goes out of its way +to hurt the people's feelings. The fact of helping a patriot to join the +Army is not merely punished as a crime against the Germans, it is +delicately called "a crime of treason," and when people are condemned +because they are suspected of belonging to the Belgian intelligence +service, the public posters announcing their condemnation speak of them +as supplying information "to the enemy." + +The sham tolerance of the first days has given way to a restless +repression, and even, during the last year, to deliberate persecution. +Schools may be inspected at any time by the authorities and every +"anti-German manifestation" (that is to say, any pro-Belgian teaching) +is severely punished. Shops are raided so that every patriotic picture +post-card (especially the portraits of the Royal Family) may be seized, +and even the intimacy of the private home is not respected. To begin +with, the Belgians have been allowed to show their loyalty--with +discretion; next, every patriotic manifestation is excluded from public +life; and last, the Germans, through their spies, penetrate the homes of +every citizen, and endeavour to extirpate by a reign of terror these +same feelings which they so emphatically promised to respect. + + * * * * * + +People who are leading a quiet life and who enjoy the blessings of an +autonomous Government will perhaps not appreciate the importance which +the Belgians attach, at the present moment, to these patriotic +manifestations. They may imagine that, so long as national life is +assured and citizens are otherwise left alone by their conquerors, +public affirmation of loyalty to King and country is of secondary +importance. + +God knows that the economic situation of occupied Belgium is bad enough, +and the endless and tragic lists of condemnations and deportations are +there to prove that her people are living under the most barbarous +regime of modern times. But, even if this was not the case, anybody with +the slightest knowledge of their national character would understand the +extraordinary value which the Belgians attached to their last privilege +and the deep indignation roused by this German betrayal. + +Von Bissing shrugs his shoulders and calls them "big children." So they +are. And his son, with a scornful smile, declares in the _Suddeutsche +Monatschrift_ (April 15th, 1915) that it is in "the people's blood to +demonstrate and to wear cockades." So it is. The love of processions and +public pageants of all kinds is deeply rooted in Belgian traditions. +But what does it prove? Simply that the people have preserved enough +freshness and joy of life to care for these things, enough courage and +independence to feel most need of them when they are most afflicted. +This is how they think of it: "Our bands used to pass through the +streets, shaking our window-panes with the crashing of their trombones, +our flags used to wave in the breeze--in the happy days of peace. Should +we now remain, silent and withdrawn, in the selfish privacy of our +houses, now that the country needs us most, now that we want, more than +ever, to feel that we are one people and that we will remain independent +and united whatever happens in the future?" Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von +Bissing sneers at the Belgians because on any and every pretext they +display the American colours. If they do, it is because they are not +allowed to display their own, and because they feel somehow that the +best way to show that they have still a flag is to adopt the colours of +the great country which has so generously come to their help. It may +well be, as the Baron informs us, that most of the "small and big +children" who wear the Stars and Stripes do not know a word of English. +What does it mean again? Simply that heart may call to heart and that it +is not necessary to talk in his own language to understand a brother's +mind. It is true that only children--children small and big--know how to +do it. + +If the Germans had had the least touch of generous feeling for the +unfortunate country upon which they thrust war in spite of the most +solemn treaties, they would not have obliged the Belgian citizens to +lower the flags which they had put up during the defence of Liège, they +would not have torn their tricolour cockades from their buttonholes, +they would not have silenced their national songs, they would not have +added these deep humiliations to the bitter cup of defeat. One wonders +even why they did it if it was not for the mere pleasure which the bully +is supposed to feel when he makes his strength felt by his victim. They +might have gone on gaily plundering the country, shooting patriots, +deporting young men, doing whatever seemed useful in their eyes. But the +petty tyranny of these measures passes understanding. Governor von +Bissing is certainly too clever to believe that the satisfaction of +making a few cowards uneasy by such regulations can at all outweigh the +danger inherent in the resentment and the deep hatred which the bullying +has aroused against Germany. You may take the children's bread, you may +take their freedom, but you might at least leave them a few toys to play +with, and you would be wise to do so. + + * * * * * + +Such narrow-minded tyranny always defeats its own objects. Burgomaster +Max's proud answer to General von Luttwitz's "advice" to remove the +flags became the password of the patriots. Every Bruxellois henceforth +"waited for the hour of reparation." A great number of women went to +prison rather than remove the emblems of Belgium which they wore. +Stories passed from lip to lip. Their accuracy I would not guarantee, +but they belong to the epic of the war and are true to the spirit of the +people. A young lady, who was jeered at by a German officer because she +was wearing King Albert's portrait, is said to have answered his +"Lackland" with, "I would rather have a King who has lost his country +than an Emperor who has lost his honour." Another lady, sitting in a +tram-car opposite a German officer, was ordered by him to remove her +tricolour rosette. She refused to do so, and, as he threatened her, +defied him to do it himself. The Boche seized the rosette and pulled .. +and pulled .. and pulled. The lady had concealed twenty yards of ribbon +in her corsage. + +When the tricolour was forbidden altogether, it was replaced by the +ivyleaf, ivy being the emblem of faithfulness; later, the ivyleaf was +followed by a green ribbon, green being the colour of hope. The +Brabançonne being excluded from the street and from the school took +refuge in the Churches, where it is played and often sung by the +congregation at the end of the service. There are many ways of getting +round the law. The Belgians were forbidden to celebrate in any ordinary +way the anniversary of their independence. Thanks to a sort of tacit +arrangement they succeeded in marking the occasion in spite of all +regulations. On July 21st, 1915, the Bruxellois kept the shutters of +their houses and shops closed and went out in the streets dressed in +their best clothes, most of them in mourning. The next year, as the +closing of shops was this time foreseen by the administration, they +remained open. But a great number of tradespeople managed ingeniously to +display the national colours in their windows--by the juxtaposition, for +instance, of yellow lemons, red tomatoes and black grapes. Others +emptied their windows altogether. + +These jokes may seem childish, at first sight, but when we think that +those who dared perform them paid for it with several months' +imprisonment or several thousand marks, and paid cheerily, we understand +that there is more in them than a schoolboy's pranks. It seems as if the +Belgian spirit would break if it ceased to be able to react. One of the +shop-managers who was most heavily fined on the occasion of our last +"Independence Day" declared that he had not lost his money: "It is +rather expensive, but it is worth it." + + * * * * * + +If patriotism has become a religion in Belgium, this religion has found +a priest whose authority is recognised by the last unbeliever. If every +church has become the "_Temple de la Patrie_," if the Brabançonne +resounds under the Gothic arches of every nave, Cardinal Mercier has +become the good shepherd who has taken charge of the flock during the +King's absence. The great Brotherhood, for which so many Christian souls +are yearning, in which there are no more classes, parties, and sects, +seems well nigh achieved beyond the electrified barbed wire of the +Belgian frontier. Are not all Belgians threatened with the same danger, +are they not close-knit by the same hope, the same love, the same +hatred? + +When the bells rang from the towers of Brussels Cathedral on July 21st +last, when, in his red robes, Cardinal Mercier blessed the people +assembled to celebrate the day of Belgium's Independence, it seemed that +the soul of the martyred nation hovered in the Church. After the +national anthem, people lifted their eyes towards the great crucifix in +the choir, and could no longer distinguish, through their tears, the +image of the Crucified from that of their bleeding country. + + + + +III. + +THE POISONED WELLS. + + +We must never forget, when we speak of the moral resistance of the +Belgian people, that they have been completely isolated from their +friends abroad for more than two years and that meanwhile they have been +exposed to all the systematic and skilful manoeuvres of German +propaganda. Not only are they without news from abroad, but all the news +they receive is calculated to spread discouragement and distrust. + +How true lovers could resist a long separation and the most wicked +calumnies without losing faith in one another has been the theme of many +a story. From the story-writer's point of view, the true narrative of +the German occupation of Belgium is much more romantic than any romance, +much more wonderful than any poem. The mass is not supposed to show the +same constancy as the individual, and one does not expect from a whole +people the ideal loyalty of Desdemona and Imogen. Besides, we do not +want the reader to imagine that, before the war, the Belgians were +ideally in love with one another. Like the English, the Americans and +the French, we had our differences. It is one of the unavoidable +drawbacks of Democracy that politics should exaggerate the importance of +dissensions. Therefore it is all the more remarkable that the sudden +friendship which sprang up between classes, parties and races in +Belgium, on the eve of August 4th, should so long have defied the +untiring efforts of the enemy and should remain as unshakeable to-day as +it was at the beginning. + +We do not wonder that the German intellectuals who have undertaken to +break down Belgian unity are at a loss to explain their failure. +Scientifically it defies every explanation. Here was a people +apparently deeply divided against itself, Socialists opposed Liberals, +Liberals opposed Catholics, Flemings opposed Walloons; theoretical +differences degenerated frequently into personal quarrels; political +antagonism was embittered by questions of religion and language. Surely +this was ideal ground in which to sow the seed of discord, when the +Government had been obliged to seek refuge in a foreign country and a +great number of prominent citizens had emigrated abroad. The German +propagandist, who had been able to work wonders in some neutral +countries, must have thought the task almost unworthy of his efforts. +Every one of his theoretical calculations was correct. He only forgot +one small detail which a closer study of history might have taught him. +He forgot that, in face of the common danger, all these differences +would lose their hold on the people's soul, that the former bitterness +of their quarrels was nothing compared with the sacred love of their +country which they shared. + + * * * * * + +The first action of the German administration after the triumphal entry +into Brussels was to try to isolate the occupied part of the country, in +order to monopolize the news. Rather than submit to a German censor, all +the Belgian papers--with the exception of two small provincial +journals--had ceased to appear. During a fortnight, Brussels remained +without authorized news. From that time, the authorities allowed the +sale of some German and Dutch dailies and of a few newspapers published +in Belgium under German control. The Government itself issued the +_Deutsche Soldatenpost_ and _Le Réveil_ (in French) and a great number +of posters, "_Communications officielles du Commandant de l'Armee +allemande_," which were supposed to contain the latest war-news. + +To this imposing array, the patriots could only oppose a few pamphlets +issued by the editor Bryan Hill, soon prohibited, and copies of Belgian, +French and English papers, which were smuggled at great risk, and +consequently were very expensive. Still, before the fall of Antwerp, it +was practically impossible for the Germans to stop private letters and +newspapers passing from the unoccupied to the occupied part of the +country. Besides, they had more important business on hand. Here again, +it was only after the second month of occupation that the pressure +increased. During October and November, several people were condemned to +heavy fines and to periods of imprisonment for circulating written and +even verbal news. The Dutch frontier was closed, wherever no natural +obstacle intervened, by a continuous line of barbed wire and electrified +wire. Passports were only granted to the few people engaged in the work +of relief and to those who could prove that it was essential to the +interests of their business that they should leave the country for a +time. The postal service being reorganized under German control, any +other method of communication was severely prosecuted. At the end of +1914, several messengers lost their lives in attempting to cross the +Dutch frontier. Under such conditions it is easy to understand that, in +spite of the efforts made by the anonymous editors of two or three +prohibited papers, such as _La Libre Belgique_, the bulk of the +population was practically cut off from the rest of the world and was +compelled to read, if they read at all, the pro-German papers and the +German posters. The only wells left from which the people could drink +were poisoned. + + * * * * * + +The German Press Bureau in Brussels, openly recognised by the +administration and formerly the headquarters of Baron von Bissing's son, +set to work in three principal directions. It aimed at separating the +Belgians from the Allies, then at separating the people from King +Albert and his Government, and finally at reviving the old language +quarrel between Walloons and Flemings. + +The campaign against the Allies, though still carried on whenever the +opportunity arises, was specially violent at the beginning, when the +Germans had not yet given up all hope of detaching King Albert from the +Alliance (August-September, 1914). It was perhaps the most dangerous +line of attack because it did not imply any breach of patriotism. On the +contrary it suggested that Belgium had been duped by the Allies, and +especially by England, who had never meant to come to her help and who +had used her as a catspaw, leaving her to bear all the brunt of the +German assault in an unequal and heroic struggle. It was accompanied by +a constant flow of war news exaggerating the German successes and +suggesting that, even if they ever had the intention of delivering +Belgium, the Allies would no longer be in a position to do so. + +According to the first war-news poster issued in Brussels, a few days +after the enemy had entered the town, the French official papers had +declared that "The French armies, being thrown on the defensive, would +not be able to help Belgium in an offensive movement." I need not recall +how, his name having been used at Liège to bolster up this false report, +M. Max, the burgomaster of Brussels, found an opportunity of +contradicting it publicly and, at the same time, of discrediting all +censored news. + +The effect was amazing. Henceforth the official posters were not only +regularly regarded as a tissue of lies, but definitely ridiculed. The +people either ignored them or paid them an exaggerated attention. In +some popular quarters, urchins climbed on ladders to read them aloud to +a jeering crowd. The influence of M. Max's attitude was such that, +eighteen months later, several people coming from the capital declared +that, as far as war news was concerned, Brussels was far more +optimistic than London or Paris, every check received by the Allied +armies being systematically ignored and every success exaggerated. + +When one reads through the series of German "_Communications_" pasted on +the walls of the capital during the first year of the occupation, one +wonders how they did not succeed in discouraging the population. For, in +spite of some extraordinary blunders--such as the announcement that a +German squadron had captured fifteen English fishing boats (September +8th, 1914), that the Serbs had taken Semlin because they had nothing +more to eat in Serbia (September 13th, 1914), or that the British army +was so badly equipped that the soldiers lacked boot-laces and writing +paper (October 6th, 1914)--the author of these proclamations succeeded +so skilfully in mixing truth and untruth and in drawing the attention of +the public away from any reverse suffered by the Central Empires, that +the effect of the campaign might have been most demoralizing. + +After this first reverse, the Germans only attacked the Allies in order +to throw on their shoulders the responsibility for the woes which they +themselves were inflicting on their victims. When some English +aeroplanes visited Brussels, on September 26th, 1915, a few people were +killed and many more wounded. The German press declared immediately that +this was due to the want of skill of the airmen, who dropped the bombs +indiscriminately over the town. We possess now material proof that the +people were killed, not by bombs dropped from the air, but by fragments +of shells fired from guns. This can only be explained in one way. The +German gunners must have timed their shells so that they should not +burst in the air, but only when falling on the ground. This method of +propaganda may cost a few lives, but it is certainly clever. It might +well be calculated to stir indignation in the hearts of the people +against the Allies and at the same time to serve as a warning to enemy +headquarters to the effect: "Whenever you send your aeroplanes over +Belgian towns, we are going to make the population pay for it." + +The same kind of argument is used at the present moment with regard to +the wholesale deportations which are going on in Belgium. To justify his +slave-raids, Governor von Bissing denounces England's blockade. It is +the economic policy of England--not German requisitions--which has +ruined Belgium and caused unemployment: "If there are any objections to +be made about this state of affairs you must address them to England, +who, through her policy of isolation, has rendered the coercive measures +necessary." [1] But the argument is used more for the sake of discussion +than in the real hope of convincing the public. General von Bissing can +have very few illusions left as to the state of mind of the Belgian +population. He knows that every Belgian worker, would answer, with the +members of the Commission Syndicale: "All the Allies have agreed to let +some raw material necessary to our industry enter Belgium, under the +condition, naturally, that no requisitions should be made by the +occupying power, and that a neutral commission should control the +destination of the manufactured articles." [2] Or, more emphatically +still, with Cardinal Mercier: "England generously allows some foodstuffs +to enter Belgium under the control of neutral countries ... She would +certainly allow raw materials to enter the country under the same +control, if Germany would only pledge herself to leave them to us and +not to seize the manufactured products of our industry." + +Such arguments are extraordinarily characteristic of the German mind, as +it has been developed by the war: "Let Belgium know that she is +suffering for England's sake. Let England know that, as long as she +enforces her blockade, her friends in Belgium will have to pay for it." +It is the same kind of double-edged declaration as that used on the +occasion of the Allied air-raid on Brussels. Literally speaking, it cuts +both ways. The excuse becomes a threat and the untruth savours of +blackmail. Healthy minds work by single or treble propositions. If we +did not remember that our aim is to analyse the beautiful and heroic +side of the occupation of Belgium, rather than to dwell on its most +sinister aspects, we should recognize, in this last manoeuvre, the +lowest example of human brutality and hypocrisy, the double mark of the +German hoof. + +[Footnote 1: Answer of Governor von Bissing to Cardinal Mercier's +letter, Oct. 26th, 1916.] + +[Footnote 2: Letter of the "_Commission Syndicale_" to Baron von +Bissing, Nov. 14th, 1916.] + + * * * * * + +In spite of the most authentic documents, of the most glaring material +proofs, it might be difficult to realise that the human spirit may fall +so low. It seems as if we were diminishing ourselves when we accuse our +enemies. We have lived so long in the faith that "such things are +impossible" that, now that they happen almost at our door, we should be +inclined to doubt our eyes rather than to doubt the innate goodness of +man. Never did I feel this more strongly than when I saw, for the first +time, a caricature of King Albert reproduced from a German newspaper. + +Surely if one man, one leader, has come out of this severe trial +unstained, with his virtue untarnished, it is indeed Albert the First, +King of the Belgians. His simple and loyal attitude in face of the +German ultimatum, the indomitable courage which he showed during the +Belgian campaign, his dignity, his reserve, his almost exaggerated +modesty, ought to have won for him, besides the deep admiration of the +Allies and of the neutral world, the respect and esteem even of his +worst enemy. There is a man of few words and noble actions, fulfilling +his pledges to the last article, faithful to his word even in the +presence of death, a leader sharing the work of his soldiers, a King +living the life of a poor man. When in Paris, in London, triumphal +receptions were awaiting them, he and his noble and devoted Queen +remained at their post, on the last stretch of Belgian territory, in the +rough surroundings of army quarters. + +The whole world has noted this. People who have no sympathy to spare for +the Allies' cause have been obliged to bow before this young hero, more +noble in his defeat than all the conquerors of Europe in their victory. +But the Germans have not felt it. Not only did they try to ridicule King +Albert in their comic papers. Even the son of Governor von Bissing did +not hesitate to fling in his face the generous epithet, "Lackland." [3] +As soon as the last attempt to conciliate the King had failed the German +press in Belgium began a most violent and abusive campaign against him. +The _Düsseldorfer General-Anzeiger_ published a venomous article, in +which he was represented as personally responsible for "the plot of the +Allies against Germany and for the crimes of the franc-tireurs." He was +stigmatised as "the slave of England," and it was asserted that "If he +did not grasp the hand stretched out to him by the Kaiser on August 2nd +and the 9th it is only because he did not dare to do so" (October 10th, +1914). He was said to have "betrayed his army at Antwerp. Had he not +sworn not to leave the town alive?" And _Le Réveil_, another paper +circulated in Belgium by German propagandists, announced solemnly that, +once on the Yser, the King wanted to sign a separate peace with Germany, +but England had forbidden him to do so. The _Hamburger Nachrichten_, the +_Vossische Zeitung_ and the _Frankfurter Zeitung_ repeated without +scruple this tissue of gross calumnies. The _Deutsche Soldatenpost_, +edited specially for the German soldiers in Belgium, went even a step +further and violently reproached the Queen of the Belgians for not +having protested against the cruelties inflicted on German civilians in +Brussels and Antwerp, at the outbreak of the hostilities! + +[Footnote 3: _Suddeutsche Monatshefte_, April 1915.] + + * * * * * + +Not being able to stir the people against the Allies or against their +own Government, the German Press Bureau attempted to revive the language +quarrel and to provoke internal dissensions. It is interesting to notice +that the new campaign, whose crowning episode was the opening of the +German University at Ghent, in October last, began two months after the +surrender of Brussels and did not develop until the spring of 1915, when +an important minority of Germans began to realise that it would be +impossible to retain Belgium, and when a greater number still only hoped +to keep Antwerp and Flanders, thanks to the "social and linguistic +affinities of Flemings and Germans." + +That is how Germany, who had never troubled much before about the +Flemish movement and Flemish literature, suddenly discovered a great +affection for her Flemish brothers who had so long been exposed to "the +insults of the Walloons"; how she suddenly espoused their grievances and +put into effect, in spite of their strong protests, some reforms +inscribed on the programme; how she tried by every means at her disposal +to conciliate Flemish sympathies and to stir up antagonism and +jealousies by treating Flemings and Walloons differently, whether +prisoners in Germany or in occupied Belgium. + +The German train of thought is clear enough: "If we are unable to hold +Belgium, any pro-German demonstrations in the Northern provinces may +suggest the idea that it is the wish of the Flemings to be bound to the +Empire and give a pretext for the annexation of Antwerp and Flanders. If +even that is impossible and if we are obliged to give back his Kingdom +to King Albert, we shall have sown so many germs of discontent in the +country that it will be impossible for the Government to restore Belgium +in her full unity and power. She will never become against us the strong +bulwark of the Allies." + +All this Walloon-Flemish agitation started by Germany belongs to a vast +plan of mismanagement. The day Germany knew that she would not be able +to keep her conquest she deliberately set herself to ruin Belgium +economically and morally. She succeeded economically, for nobody could +prevent her from requisitioning whatever she wanted. She failed morally +because the people understood her purpose and because the Flemish +leaders proudly refused the German gifts. The reform of Ghent University +was made in spite of them. It was made with the help of a few Germans, +German-Dutch and Belgians without any reputation or following. The +professors have been bought and the students (they only number eighty) +have been mostly recruited among the Flemish prisoners in Germany and +among a few young men threatened with deportation. They are obliged to +wear a special cap and are under the ban of the whole population. No +true "Gantois" passes them in the street without whispering, "_Vive +l'Armée_." This is the pitiful medley of cranks, traitors and unwilling +students which General von Bissing is pleased to call a "University." + +In his inaugural speech, the Governor exclaimed, "The God of War, with +his drawn sword, has held the new institution at the font. May the God +of Peace be gracious to her for long years to come." The Germans' lack +of humour surpasses even their ruthlessness. With one hand General von +Bissing was baptizing the baby--rather a difficult operation--with the +other he brandished his fiery sword over the heads of all the true +Flemings who refused to adopt it. Many of them paid for this patriotic +attitude by losing their liberty. With one hand Germany inflicted this +unwelcome gift on the Flemings, with the other she banished M.M. +Pirenne, Frédéricq and Verhaegen from the sacred precincts of Flemish +culture! + +Most solemnly, on different occasions, all the prominent Flemish leaders +have protested against the German Administration's action. They have +declared that it was illegal and unjust. Governor von Bissing reminds +them that, according to De Raet's words, "Two heroic spirits dominate +the world: The Mind and the Sword." They may possess the first but he +holds the second. + + + + +IV. + +THE SACKING OF BELGIUM. + + +There is one idea which dominates the Belgian tragedy: "The body may be +conquered, the soul remains free." These words were uttered for the +first time, I believe, by the Belgian Premier, Baron de Broqueville, in +the solemn sitting of the House, when the German violation of Belgian +neutrality was announced to the representatives of the people. The idea +is supposed to have been expressed by King Albert, in another form, +before the evacuation of Antwerp. It was used to great effect in one of +the most popular cartoons published by _Punch_, in which the Kaiser says +to the King, with a sneer, "You have lost everything," and the King +replies, "Not my soul." It is so intimately associated with the Belgian +cause that the image of the stricken country is scarcely ever evoked +without an allusion being made to it. + +We have seen, in the course of the earlier chapters, how Belgium +succeeded in preserving her loyalty and patriotism in spite of the most +ruthless oppression and the most cunning calumnies. We must now look at +the darker side of the picture and see how she has not succeeded in +preserving either her prosperity, or even her supply of daily bread. + +We shall soon be confronted with the most tragic aspect of her Calvary. +So long as her armies were fighting the invader, so long as her towns +and countryside were ruined by German frightfulness, so long as her +martyrs, men, women and children, were falling side by side in the +market-place before the firing party, so long as every symbol, every +word of patriotism was forbidden her, Belgium could remain vanquished +but unconquered, bleeding but unshakeable. She enjoyed, in the face of +her oppressors, all the privileges of the Christian martyrs of the +first centuries; she could smile on the rack, laugh under the whip and +sing in the flames. She remained free in her prison, free to respect +Justice, in the midst of injustice, to treasure Righteousness, in spite +of falsehood, to worship her Saints, in the face of calumny. She was +still able to resist, to oppose, every day and at every turn, her +patience to the enemy's threats and her cheerfulness to his ominous +scowl. She had a clear conscience and her hands were clean. + +There is one thing that can be said for the Roman emperors, they seldom +starved their victims to death. Popular imagination revels in their +cruelty, and the _Golden Legend_ displays to us all the grim splendours +of a chamber of horrors. But the worst of all tortures--starvation--is +not often inflicted. The idea is, I suppose, that the conversion must be +sudden and striking. But Belgium's oppressors do not any longer want to +convert her. They have tried and they have failed. They merely want to +take all the food, all the raw materials, all the machines and--last but +not least--all the labour they can out of her. Their fight is not the +fight of one religion against another. It is the fight of material power +against any philosophy, any religion which stands between it and the +things which it covets. The Germans do not sacrifice Belgium to their +gods. Such an ideal course is far from their thoughts. They sacrifice +Belgium to Germany--that is, to themselves. It matters very little +whether a slave is able to speak or to think, as long as he is able to +work. + +Here again, in spite of the wholesale plundering of the first days of +occupation, and of the enormous fines imposed on towns and provinces, I +do not suppose that the German plan was deliberately to ruin the +country. It might even have been to develop its resources, as long as +there was some hope of annexing it, though this benevolent spirit had +scarcely any time to manifest itself. After the Marne and the Yser, +however, when it became evident that anyhow the whole of Belgium could +never be retained, and when the attitude of the people showed clearly +that they would always remain hostile to their new masters, the +systematic sacking of the country began without any thought for the +consequences. + + * * * * * + +The best way of coming to some appreciation of the work accomplished +during these two years is to remember that, before the war, Belgium was +the richest country in Europe in proportion to her size. Relatively she +had the greatest commercial activity, the richest agricultural +production, and she was more thickly populated than any other State, +with the exception of Saxony. Nowhere were the imports and exports so +important, in proportion to the number of the population, nowhere did +the average square mile yield such rich crops, nowhere was the railway +system so developed. Pauperism was practically unknown, and, even in the +large towns, the number of people dependent on public charity was +comparatively very small. To this picture of unequalled prosperity +oppose the present situation: Part of the countryside left without +culture for want of manure and horses; scarcely any cattle left in the +fields; commerce paralysed by the stoppage of railway and other +communications; industry at a complete standstill, with 500,000 men +thrown out of work and nearly half of the population which remained in +Belgium (3,500,000) on the verge of starvation and entirely dependent +for their subsistance on the work of the Commission for Relief. + +It is said that the tree must be judged by its fruit. Such then is the +fruit of the German administration of Belgium. When he arrived in +Brussels, Governor von Bissing declared that he had come to dress +Belgium's wounds. What would he have done if he had meant to aggravate +them? + +There is an insidious argument which must be met once and for ever. We +have seen how Germany is trying to throw the responsibility for the +misery prevailing in Belgium and for the present deportations on the +English blockade, which paralyses the industry and prevents the +introduction of raw materials. But, if this were the case, the situation +ought not to be worse in Belgium than in Germany. On the contrary, +thanks to the splendid work of the Commission for Relief, she ought to +be far better off. How is it then that--according to General von +Bissing's own declaration made to Mr. Julius Wertheimer, correspondent +of the _Vossische Zeitung_ (September the 1st, 1916)--how is it that +"the average cost of life is much higher in Belgium than in Germany," +and that "a great number of inhabitants (tens of thousands of them) have +not eaten a piece of meat for many weeks?" + +This inequality between the social conditions in Germany and in Belgium, +in spite of the advantages given to the latter by the introduction of +food through the blockade with England's consent, can easily be +explained: On the one hand, German industry has transformed itself, many +factories which could not continue their ordinary work owing to the +shortage of rawstuffs having been turned into war-factories in which +there is still a great demand for labour. On the other hand, Germany has +not been submitted to the same levies in money, and requisitions in +foodstuffs and material; Germany has not been deprived, from the +beginning, of all her reserve, she has not been depleted of all her +stock. + +We shall have to deal, in the next chapter, with the first question. Let +us only consider the second here. + +It is impossible to give more than a superficial glance at the matter. +The particulars at hand are not complete and a full list of German +exactions has not yet been drawn up. Let us, however, try to give an +idea of the disproportion existing between the country's resources and +the demands which were made on her. + +On December 12th, 1914, a poster announced to the citizens of Brussels +that the nine Belgian provinces would be obliged to pay, every month +during the coming year, a sum of forty million francs, making a total of +about 480 millions (over 19 million pounds). In order to understand the +indignation caused by this announcement it is necessary to remember: + +1st. That the Belgians were at the time already paying all the ordinary +taxes, to the commune, to the province and to the State, so that this +new contribution constituted a super-tax. + +2nd. That all the direct taxes paid to the State, in ordinary times, +amount scarcely to 75 millions, that is to say, to a sixth of this +contribution. + +3rd. And that the new economic conditions imposed by the war had +considerably reduced the income of the most wealthy citizens. + +As the Germans persist in invoking the text of the Hague Convention of +which they have again and again violated every clause, it may be useful +to point out that, according to the 49th article, the occupying power is +only allowed to raise war contributions "for the need of the army," that +is to say, in order to pay in money the requisitions which he is obliged +to make in order to supply the army of occupation with food, fodder, and +so on. As, most of the time, the Germans only pay for what they +requisition in "_bons de guerre_" payable after the war, and as, in spite +of their sound appetite, we can scarcely believe that the few thousand +"landsturmers" who are garrisoning Belgium are eating two million +pounds worth a month, the illegal character of the German measure seems +evident. Besides, if any doubt were still possible, we should find it +laid down in the 52nd article that any service required from the +occupying power must be "in proportion to the country's resources." + +As the announcement had provoked strong protests, Governor von Bissing +announced a few days later that, if this contribution was paid, no +further extraordinary taxes would be required and the requisitions would +henceforth be paid for in money. Needless to say, none of these promises +have been fulfilled, and the contribution of 480 millions was renewed at +the beginning of 1915, and even increased to 600 millions lately, so +that, from that source only, the Germans have raised in Belgium, after +two years of occupation, a sum equal to one-fourth of the total State +debt of the country on the eve of the war. + +This is only one example among many. The communes did not enjoy better +treatment. The reader will remember that during the period of invasion +the enemy exacted various war-taxes from every town he entered: 20 +millions from Liège, 50 millions from Brussels, 32 millions from Namur, +40 millions from Antwerp, and so on. Since then, he has never lost an +opportunity of inflicting heavy fines even on the smallest villages. If +one inhabitant succeeds in joining the army, if an allied aeroplane +appears on the horizon, if, for some reason or other, the telegraph or +the telephone wires are out of order, a shower of fines falls on the +neighbouring towns and villages. In June last the total amount of these +exactions was estimated, for 1916, at ten millions (£400,000). If we add +to this the fines inflicted constantly, on the slightest pretext, on +private individuals, we shall certainly remain below the mark in stating +that Germany succeeds in getting out of Belgium over twenty million +pounds a year. Twenty million pounds, when the ordinary income of the +State amounts scarcely to seven millions! And I am not taking into +account the money seized in the banks and the recent enforced transfer +to Germany of the 600 millions (£24,000,000) of the National Bank. + +If we remember that the total value of commercial transactions in +Belgium, before the war, did not exceed ten million francs (400,000 +pounds) per year, we shall realise the absurdity of the German argument +which shifts on to the English blockade the responsibility for Belgium's +ruin. Even a complete stoppage of trade could not have done the country +as much harm as the German exactions in money only. But the conquerors +were not satisfied with fleecing the flock, they succeeded in robbing it +of its food, in taking away its very means of life. + + * * * * * + +Quite apart from any sentimental or moral reason, the last step was a +grave mistake, even from the German point of view. It would certainly +have paid the Germans better in the end if they had allowed the Allies +to send raw material to feed the Belgian factories, under the control of +neutral powers, and if they had not requisitioned the machines and +paralysed industry by the most absurd restrictions. It would have been a +most useful move from the point of view of propaganda, and, while posing +as Belgium's kind protectors, they might always have reaped the benefit +through fresh taxes and new contributions. If they have killed the goose +rather than gather its golden eggs it is because they could not afford +to wait. It was one of these desperate measures, like the violation of +Belgian neutrality, the ruthless use of Zeppelins and the sinking of the +Lusitania, which did them more harm than good. From the beginning +Germany has fought with a bad conscience, prompted in all her actions +more by the dread of being defeated than by the clear intention of +winning the game. The manifestation of such a spirit ought only to +encourage her enemies; they are the sure signs of a future breakdown. In +the meantime, they must cause infinite torture to the unfortunate +populations which are not yet delivered from her yoke. + +During the first months of occupation the requisitions extended only to +foodstuffs, cattle, horses, fodder, in short, to objects which could be +used by the army. They were out of all proportion to the resources of +the country (Article 52 of the Hague Convention) and therefore +absolutely illegal, but they could still be considered as military +requisitions. In a most interesting article published in Smoller's +_Jahrbuch für Gesetzgebung Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft_, Professor +Karl Ballod admits that the requisitions made in Belgium and Northern +France have more than compensated for the harm caused by the Russian +invasion of East Prussia. Not only the army of occupation, but all the +troops concentrated on the northern sectors of the Western front, "three +million men," have been fed by the conquered provinces. Besides this, +Germany took from Belgium, at the beginning of the war, "more than +400,000 tons of meal and at least one million tons of other foodstuffs." + +With Governor von Bissing's arrival the requisitions extended to +whatever raw material was needed in the Fatherland, and all pretence of +respecting the Hague Convention (Article 49) ceased forthwith: One after +another the stocks of raw cotton, of wool, of nickel, of jute, of +copper, were seized and conveyed to Germany. The administration seized, +in the same way, all the machines which could be employed, beyond the +Rhine, for the manufacture of shells and munitions. I am afraid of +tiring the reader with the long enumeration of these arbitrary decrees, +but in order to give him an idea of what is still going on, at the +present moment, I have gathered here all the measures of the kind taken +by the paternal administration of Baron von Bissing which came to our +knowledge during one month only (October last). I have chosen the period +at random, and it must not be forgotten that, owing to the difficulties +of communication, these particulars are far from complete. They will, +however, give a fair idea of the economic situation of the country after +the second year of occupation: + +October 5th: The requisitions in cattle have been so frequent in +Flanders _that many farmers have not a milch cow left_. + +October 6th: Owing to the lack of motors, bicycles and horses, some +tradespeople in Brussels are using oxen to draw their carts. + +October 10th: All the chestnut trees around Antwerp have been +requisitioned. Potatoes cannot be conveyed from one place to another +even in small quantities. + +October 17th: According to a decree dated September 27th, any person +possessing more _than 50 kilos of straps or cables_ must report it under +a penalty of one year's imprisonment or a fine up to 20,000 marks. + +October 19th: The scarcity of potatoes is increasing, in spite of a good +crop. The peasants were forbidden to pull out their plants before July +the 21st, _when the greater part of the crop was commandeered_. + +October 22nd: The boot factories in Brussels are forbidden to work more +than 24 hours per week. + +October 24th: A decree dated October the 7th adds borax to the list of +sulphurous products which must be declared according to the decree of +September 16th. + +October 29th: The Germans continue to take away the rails of the light +railways ("vicinaux"). The line from St. Trond to Hanut has been +demolished. A great deal of rolling stock has been commandeered. Owing +to the shortage of lubricating oil _it is to be feared that this last +mode of conveyance left to the Belgians will have to be stopped +shortly_. + +October 30th: A decree dated September 30th makes the measures for the +requisition of metals still more severe. All the steel material--_in +whatever shape it may be (including tools)_--must be declared to the +_Abteilung für Handel und Gewerbe_ in Brussels, under a penalty of five +years of imprisonment (25,000 marks). + +October 31st: The commune of Anderlecht has voted a credit of 40,000 +francs for the purchase of _wooden shoes as the shortage of leather +prevents most of the people from buying boots_. + +November 1st: A decree dated October 14th prepares for the seizure of +all textile materials, ribbons, hosiery, etc. No more than one-tenth of +the stocks can be manufactured, under a penalty of 10,000 marks. A +decree dated October 17th makes the declaration of poplars all over +Belgium compulsory. + +It was scarcely necessary to underline some passages of this report. +However bad may be the impression it causes, it would be twenty-six +times worse if we had the leisure to follow step by step the progress of +German economic policy in Belgium. It is evident that the German +administration, in spite of its former declarations, is resolved to ruin +Belgian industry and to throw out of work the greatest number of men +possible. All raw material must go to Germany in order to be worked +there. As it has become evident that the Belgian workers will not submit +to war work so long as they remain in their surroundings, they must be +torn away from their country and compelled to follow the materials and +machines over the frontier. Labour has become an inanimated object +necessary to the prosecution of the German war. It is as indispensable +to Germany as cotton, nickel and copper. It will be treated as such. If +the men resist, they will be crushed. If the soul of Belgium will not +yield to persuasion, it will be taken away from her, like her cattle, +her corn, her iron and her steel. And so Belgium will become a weapon in +Germany's hands, a weapon which will strike at Belgium. And the only +thought of the deported worker turning a shell in a German factory will +be, as is suggested by Louis Raemaekers' cartoon, "Perhaps this one will +kill my own son?" + + + + +V. + +THE MODERN SLAVE. + +I. THE CREEPING TIDE. + + +We must now deal with the second factor which makes the conditions worse +in Belgium than in Germany. While German peace-factories, ruined by the +blockade, have been turned into war-factories, the majority of Belgian +industries have remained idle. In spite of the high wages offered by the +Germans--some skilled workmen were offered as much as £2 and £2 10s. per +day--the workers resisted the constant pressure exerted upon them and +preferred to live miserably on half-wages or with the help given them by +the "Comité National" rather than accept any work which might directly +or indirectly help the occupying power. If a few thousands, compelled by +hunger or unable to resist their conquerors' threats, passed the +frontier, all the rest of the working population kept up, under the most +depressing conditions, a great patriotic strike, the "strike of folded +arms." If they could not, as the 20,000 young heroes who crossed the +Dutch frontier, join the Belgian army on the Yser; they could at least +wage war at home and oppose to the enemy the impenetrable rampart of +their naked breasts. It should not be said, when King Albert should +return to Brussels at the head of his troops, that his subjects had not +shared the sufferings of his soldiers. They should also have their +wounds to show, they should also have their dead to honour. + + * * * * * + +When, at the beginning of November last, the protests of the Belgian +Government and the "Signal of Distress" of the Belgian bishops made +known the slave raids which had taken place, most of the outside world +was shocked and surprised. It had lived, for months, under the +impression that "things were not so bad" in the conquered provinces. +After the outcry caused by the atrocities of August, 1914, there came a +natural reaction, a sort of anti-climax. Fines, requisitions, petty +persecutions do not strike the imagination in the same way as the +burning of towns and the wholesale massacre of peaceful citizens. It had +become necessary to follow things closely in order to understand that, +instead of suffering less, the Belgian population was suffering more and +more every day. Besides, news was scarce and difficult to check. When +alarming reports came from the Dutch frontier, it was usual to think +that the newspaper correspondents spread them without much +discrimination. + +But to those who were familiar with the policy pursued by the German +administration since the spring of 1915, the bad news which they +received lately only confirmed the fears which they had entertained for +a long time. As the war went on, it became more and more evident that +Germany, whose man-power was steadily decreasing, would no longer +tolerate the resistance of the Belgian workers, and would even attempt +to enrol in her army of labour all the able-bodied men of the conquered +provinces. The slave-raids coincide with the "levée en masse" in the +Empire and with the organisation of the new "Polish Army": "If every +German is made to fight or to work, ought not every Belgian, every Pole, +to be compelled to do the same? The fact that they should turn their +arms or their tools against their own country is not worthy of +consideration, as it is supposed already to enjoy the blessings of +German rule and has become an integral part of the Fatherland." + +There is a great deal to be said for the slavery of ancient times. It +was at least free from cunning and hypocrisy. The conqueror ill-treated +the vanquished, but he spared him his calumnies. The only law was the +law of the stronger, but the stronger did not pretend to be also the +better. The tyrant was always right, of course, but he did not pretend +to show that the victim was always wrong. + +Now the worst aspect of the German policy is that it associates the +subtlest dialectics with the most insane brutality. When the time comes, +they act with the blind fury of the bull, but they have already thought +it all over with the wisdom of the serpent. That is why the popular +appellation of "Huns" is so misleading. It suggests merely the brutality +of primitive men, which is not always so dangerous and so depraved as +the brutality of civilised men. Brutality does not exclude honesty and +pity. Attila listened to the prayers of the Pope and spared Rome. The +Kaiser's lieutenant does not listen to Cardinal Mercier's protests. The +Huns, as most strong men, made a point of keeping their word. The +Germans seem to make a point of breaking theirs. When I compared the +fight of Belgium and Germany to the unequal fight of Jack and the Giant, +of David and Goliath, I was forgetting that David and Jack were cleverer +than their antagonists. Folklore and fairy-tales always equalize the +chances by granting more wit to the small people than to the big ones. +It is a healthy inspiration. But we are confronted to-day with a new +monster, a wise giant, a cunning dragon, a subtle beast. + +We must therefore not imagine that Governor von Bissing got up one fine +morning, called for pen and ink, like King Cole for his bowl, and wrote +a proclamation to the effect that all Belgians of military age would be +reduced to slavery and obliged, under the penalty of physical torture +and under the whip of German sentries, to dig trenches behind the +Western front or to turn shells in a German factory. Any fool--any +Goliath--might have done that. + +Every German crime is preceded by a series of false promises and +followed by a series of calumnies. Between such a prelude and such a +finale, you may perform a symphony of frightfulness with Dr. Strauss' +orchestration--it will sound as innocent and artless as the three notes +of a shepherd's pipe. The violation of Belgian neutrality is bad enough, +but if you begin to lull Belgium to slumber by repeating, on every +occasion, that she has nothing to fear, and if you end by declaring to +the civilised world that Belgium was plotting with England and France a +traitorous attack against Germany, then it becomes quite plausible. To +massacre 6,000 civilians and burn 20,000 houses in cold blood looks +rather harsh, but if you begin by giving "a solemn guarantee to the +people that they will not have to suffer from the war" (General von +Emmich's first proclamation) and end by saying that women have emptied +buckets of boiling water on the heads of your soldiers and that children +have put out the eyes of your wounded, it becomes almost a kind +proceeding. In the same way, to seize and deport hundreds of thousands +of men and compel them to work in exile against their country seems the +act of Barbarians, but if you accumulate assurances that "normal +conditions will be maintained" and that nobody need fear deportation, +and if you end by declaring that the Belgian working classes are +exclusively composed of loafers and drunkards, it becomes a measure of +providence and wisdom for which your victims in particular, and the +whole civilised world in general, ought to be deeply grateful. + +The promise testifies to your good intentions and the calumny explains +how you were regretfully obliged not to fulfill them. The promise keeps +your victims within reach, the calumnies shift to them the +responsibility for your crime. Who doubts that every town visited by a +Zeppelin is fortified, that every ship sunk by a U boat carries troops +or guns? The old Hun killed everything which stood in his way; the +modern Hun does the same and then declares that _he_ is the victim. The +old Hun left the dead bodies of his enemies to the crows; the modern Hun +throws mud at them. The old Hun tried to kill the body; the modern Hun +tries to ruin the soul. + + * * * * * + +For this last and most monstrous of all Germany's crimes we have to +register not one promise only, but a series of promises, an accumulation +of solemn pledges. It seemed worth while apparently to keep the Belgian +workmen at home. Let us record them here, in chronological order: + +1st. September 2nd, 1914. Proclamation of Governor von der Goltz posted +in Brussels: _"I ask no one to renounce his patriotic sentiments..."_ + +2nd. October 18th, 1914. Letter of Baron von Huene, Military Governor of +Antwerp, to Cardinal Mercier, read in every church of the province in +order to reassure the people after the fall of Antwerp and to stop the +emigration: _"Young men need have no fear of being deported to Germany, +either to be enrolled in the army or to be subjected to forced labour."_ + +3rd. On the same day, a written declaration of the military authorities +of Antwerp to General von Terwisga, commanding the Dutch army in the +field, declaring without foundation "the rumour that the young men will +be sent to Germany." + +4th. A few weeks later, this promise was confirmed verbally to Cardinal +Mercier _and extended to the other provinces_ under German rule by +Governor von der Goltz, two aide-de-camps and the Cardinal's private +secretary being present. (See letter from Cardinal Mercier to Baron von +Bissing, October 19th, 1916). + +5th. November, 1914. Assurances given by the German authorities to the +Dutch Legation in Brussels in order to persuade the refugees to come +back: "_Normal conditions will be restored and the refugees will be +allowed to go back to Holland to look after their families_." (See also +the letter of the Dutch Consul in Antwerp urging the refugees to come +back to their homes.) + +6th. July 25th, 1915. Placard of Governor von Bissing posted in +Brussels: "_The people shall never be compelled to do anything against +their country_." + +7th. April, 1916: Assurances given to the neutral powers after the Lille +raids that _such deportations would not be renewed_. + + * * * * * + +Now, let us confront these texts, not even with the facts which come to +us from the most trustworthy sources, but with the German decrees and +proclamations preparing and ordering the recent deportations. We are not +opposing a Belgian testimony to a German one, neither are we, for the +present, propounding even our own interpretation of what occurred. We +will merely oppose a German document to another German document and let +them settle their differences as best they can. + +The first trouble began in April and May, 1915, in Luttre, at the +Malines arsenal, and in several other Flemish towns, when the German +authorities exerted every possible pressure to compel the Belgian +workmen to resume work. They were brought, under military escort, to +their workshops, imprisoned, starved, and about two hundred of them were +deported to Germany, where they were submitted to the most cruel +tortures. (See the _Nineteenth Report of the Belgian Commission of +Enquiry_.) The threats and persecutions are sufficiently established by +three placards issued by the German authorities. + +The first one, posted on the walls of Pont-à -Celles, near Luttre, says, +among other things: "If the workmen accept the above conditions (that is +to say, resume work with handsome wages) _the prisoners will be +released_...." The "prisoners" being several hundred workers who had +been imprisoned in their shops and deprived of food. (April, 1915.) + +The second, _signed von Bissing_ (so that nobody could imagine that +these measures were taken by some too zealous subaltern) and posted in +Malines, on the 30th of May, tells us that "_the town of Malines must be +punished as long as the required number of workmen have not resumed +work_." These workmen were employed by the Belgian State--which owns the +country's railway--for the repair of the rolling stock. When they had +refused to resume work, at the beginning of the occupation, a few +hundred German workmen had filled their posts. These had been sent back +to their military depots. The patriotic duty of these Belgians was +evident enough: by resuming their work, they released German soldiers +for the front and increased the number of coaches and engines, of which +the enemy was in great need for the transport of troops. If you will +compare this poster with the one printed above and dated July 25th, you +will be confronted with one of the neatest examples of German duplicity. +Other people have broken their promises after making them. It was left +to Governor von Bissing to make them after breaking them. + +The third document is still more conclusive. On June the 16th the +citizens of Ghent could read on their walls that: "The attitude of +certain factories which refuse _to work for the German Army_ under the +pretext of patriotism proves that a movement is afoot to create +difficulties for the _German Army_. If such an attitude is maintained I +will hold the communal authorities responsible and the population will +have only itself to blame if the great liberties granted to it until +now are suspended." This clumsy declaration is signed by +Lieutenant-General Graf von Westcarp. And to think that, even now, +Governor von Bissing perseveres in maintaining that no military work has +ever been asked or will ever be asked from the Belgian workers! As the +French proverb says: "On n'est jamais trahi que par les siens." [4] + +But, like the man who marries his mistress after the birth of the first +child, the Governor General was thinking of "regularising the +situation." He knew that his attitude was illegal. He decided, +therefore, to concoct a few decrees in order to legalize it in the eyes +of the world. He had, you see, to save appearances. You cannot get on +with no law at all. It might shock neutrals. So, if you break all the +articles of the Hague Convention one by one, like so many sticks, the +only thing to do is to manufacture some fresh regulations to replace +them. And everything will again be for the best in the best of worlds. + +That is where German subtlety comes in. You must not do things rashly, +at once. Like a skilful dramatist, you must prepare the public to take +in a situation. There is a true artistic touch in the way this General +of Cavalry succeeds in gradually legalizing illegality. + +In a first decree, dated August 10th, 1915, a fortnight after his last +pledge, Governor von Bissing promises from fourteen days' to six months' +imprisonment to anyone dependent on public charity who refuses to +undertake work "without a sufficient reason" and a fine of £500 or a +year's imprisonment to anyone who encourages refusal to work by the +granting of relief. Notice that the accomplice is punished more heavily +than the principal culprit. The idea is clearly to deprive every striker +of the help of his commune and of the "Comité National." However, as it +is still left to Belgian tribunals to decide which reasons are +"sufficient" and which are not, this decree is not very harmful. + +On May 2nd, 1916, the rising tide creeps nearer to us. The power of +deciding on the matter passes from the Belgian tribunals to the military +authority, and thereupon every striker becomes a culprit. + +On May 13th, there is a new decree by which "the governors, military +commanders, and chiefs of districts are allowed to order the unemployed +_to be conducted by force_ to the spots where they have to work." This, +no doubt, in order to avoid the crowding of prisons, which would have +necessarily followed the last decree. It only remains to declare that +the workers can be deported to complete the process and to legalise +slavery. + +This step was taken on October 3rd last, when an order, signed by +Quartier-Meister Sauberzweig and issued by the General Headquarters of +the German Army, was posted in all the communes of Flanders. This order +warned all persons "_who are fit to work_ that they may be compelled to +do so _even outside their places of residence,_" when "they should be +compelled to have recourse to public help for their own subsistence or +for the subsistence of the persons dependent on them." + +[Footnote 4: Another poster dated from Menin (August, 1915) reads as +follows: "From to-day the town is forbidden to give any support whatever +even to the families, wives, or children of workmen who are not employed +_regularly on military work_.."] + + * * * * * + +But there is more to come in the story. Three guarantees were left, +which have been quoted again and again by the German Press and by Baron +von Bissing in his various answers to Cardinal Mercier. It was first +stated that the men seized would not be sent to Germany, then that only +the unemployed were taken, and finally that these would not be used on +military work. These last guarantees have been repeatedly broken. +Again, I will leave the Germans to condemn themselves. + +In his decree published at Antwerp, on November the 2nd, General von +Huene (the same man who had given Cardinal Mercier his formal written +promise that no deportations should take place) declares that the men +are to be concentrated at the Southern Station, "whence ... they will be +conveyed in groups to _workshops in Germany_." + +In a letter sent by General Hurt, Military Governor of Brussels and of +the province of Brabant, to all burgomasters, it is said that "where the +Communes will not furnish the lists (of unemployed) the German +administration will itself designate the men to be deported to Germany. +If then ... errors are committed, the burgomasters will only have +themselves to blame, for _the German administration has no time and no +means for making an inquiry concerning the personal status of each +person_." + +Finally, an extraordinary proclamation of the "Major-Commandant +d'Etapes" of Antoing, dated October 20th, announces that "_the +population will never be compelled to work under continuous fire,"_ this +population being composed, according to the same document, of _men and +women_ between 17 and 46 years of age. If they refuse "they will be +placed in a _battalion of civil workers, on reduced rations_." Here is +the address of one of these militarised civilians dropped from a train +leaving for the Western front and picked up by a friend: X., 3 Comp. +Ziv. Arb. Bat. 27.--Et. Indp.--Armee No. + +This did not prevent Governor von Bissing from declaring, a week later +(letter to Cardinal Mercier, October 26th), that: "No workman can be +obliged to participate in work connected with the war (_entreprises de +guerre_)"! [5] + +The last fatal step has been taken. From decree to decree, from +proclamation to proclamation, the last threads of the curtain of +legality which remained between the victim and the tyrant have been cut +one by one. Between the acts of the German administration in Belgium and +those of the African slave drivers, we are now unable to discover any +difference whatever. The old plague which had been the shame of Europe +for more than two centuries has risen again from its ashes. It appears +before us with all its hideous characteristics. People are torn from +their homes and sent away to foreign lands without any hope of +returning. Any protest is crushed by the application of torture in the +form of starvation, exposure, and their kindred ills ... There is, +however, one new point about the modern slave: his face is as white as +that of his master. + +The nineteenth century stamped out black slavery. It was left to the +twentieth century to reinstate white slavery. It is the purest glory of +the English-speaking people to have succeeded in eradicating the old +evil. It will be the eternal shame of the German-speaking people to have +replaced it by something worse. Civilisation forbade any man, sixty +years ago, to force another man to work for him. Civilisation to-day +does not forbid a man--a conqueror--to force another man to work against +himself. The old slave only lost his liberty. The new slave must lose +his honour, his dignity, his self-respect. He has only one other +alternative: death. And this, not the glorious death of a martyr which +makes thousands of converts and shines all over the world, not the death +of Nurse Cavell, but the anonymous death of X.Y.Z., the death of +hundreds and hundreds of unknown heroes who will die under the whip or +in the darkness of their cells in the German prison camps. + +I had almost forgotten a last distinction between the old and the new +forms of slavery: The average slave driver of past days was only a +trader who sold human beings instead of selling oxen or sheep. When his +trade was prohibited, he took heavy risks and ran great danger of losing +his fortune and his life. But the German rulers of Belgium, whether they +be in Brussels or in Berlin, whether we call them von Bissing or +Helfferich, live in the comfort of their homes, surrounded by their +families, and when assailed by protests, can still play hide and seek +around the broken pillars of the Temple of Peace and wave arrogantly, +like so many flags, the torn articles of international law: "I assert," +said Dr. Helfferich in the Reichstag (December 2nd)--"I assert that +setting the Belgian unemployed to work is thoroughly consonant with +international law. We therefore _take our stand, formally and in +practice, on international law, making use of our undoubted rights_." + +Let Dr. Helfferich beware. He is not the only judge on international +law. His stand may come crashing down. + + +[Footnote 5: I should ask the reader to confront this declaration with +the statement made by the Belgian workmen in their appeal to the working +classes of the world. "On the Western Front they force them, by the most +brutal means, _to dig trenches_, construct aviation grounds...." + +In his letter sent to the Belgian Ministers to the Vatican and to Spain, +Baron Beyens, the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, says: "The men +are sent to occupied France _to construct sets of trenches and a +strategic railway, Lille-Aulnaye-Givet."_ + +Among many trustworthy reports, we hear that the 5th +Zivilisten-Bataillon, including some men of Ghent and Alost, has been +forced to work, under threat of death, on the construction of a +strategic railway between Laon and Soissons. Some of the men, exhausted +by the bad treatment inflicted upon them, have been sent back to Belgium +in a critical condition, and have written a full statement relating +their experiences, signed by twenty of them. On the other hand, the +Belgian General Headquarters report that Belgian civilians, obliged to +dig trenches and dug-outs near Becelaere (West Flanders), were exposed +to the fire of the English guns.] + + + + +II. BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON ... + + +"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion." + +What prophetic spirit inspired Cardinal Mercier when he chose this psalm +for the text of his sermon, on the occasion of the second anniversary of +their Independence (July 21st, 1916), which the Belgians celebrated in +exile and captivity? It was in the great Gothic church, in Brussels, +under the arches of Ste. Gudule, at the close of a service for the +soldiers fallen during the war, the very last patriotic ceremony +tolerated by the Germans. Socialists, Liberals, Catholics crowded the +nave, forgetting their old quarrels, united in a common worship, the +worship of their threatened country, of their oppressed liberties. + +"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" His audience +imagined that the preacher alluded only to a spiritual captivity, that +he meant: "How shall we celebrate our freedom in this German prison?" +And they listened, like the first Christians in the catacombs, dreading +to hear the tramp of the soldiers before the door. The Cardinal pursued +his fearless address: "The psalm ends with curses and maledictions. We +will not utter them against our enemies. We are not of the Old but of +the New Testament. We do not follow the old law: an eye for an eye, a +tooth for a tooth, but the new law of Love and Christian brotherhood. +But we do not forget that even above Love stands Justice. If our brother +sins, how can we pretend to love him if we do not wish that his sins +should be punished...." + +Such was the tenor of the Cardinal's address, the greatest Christian +address inspired by the war, uttered under the most tragic and moving +circumstances. For the people knew by then the danger of speaking out +their minds in conquered Belgium; they knew that some German spies were +in the church taking note of every word, of every gesture. Still, they +could not restrain their feelings, and, at the close of the sermon, when +the organ struck up the _Brabançonne_, they cheered and cheered again, +thankful to feel, for an instant, the dull weight of oppression lifted +from their shoulders by the indomitable spirit of their old leader. + +What strikes us now, when recalling this memorable ceremony, is not so +much the address itself as the choice of its text: "For they that +carried us away captive required of us a song." + +Many of those who listened to Cardinal Mercier on July 21st, 1916, have +no doubt been "carried away" by now, and they have sung. They have sung +the Brabançonne and the "Lion de Flandres" as a last defiance to their +oppressors whilst those long cattle trains, packed with human cattle, +rolled in wind and rain towards the German frontier. And the echo of +their song still haunts the sleep of every honest man. + + * * * * * + +For whatever Germany may do or say, the time is no longer when such +crimes can be left unpunished. Notwithstanding the war and the +triumphant power of the mailed fist, there still exists such a thing as +public conscience and public opinion. Nothing can happen, in any part of +the world, without awakening an echo in the hearts of men who apparently +are not at all concerned in the matter. The Germans are too clever not +to understand this, and the endless trouble which they take in order to +monopolise the news in neutral countries and to encounter every +accusation with some more or less insidious excuse is the best proof of +this. When one of them declared that Raemaekers' cartoons had done more +harm to Germany than an army corps, he knew perfectly well what he was +talking about. Only they rely so blindly on their own intellectual power +and they have such a poor opinion of the brains of other people that +they believe in first doing whatever suits their plans and then justify +their action afterwards. They divide the work between themselves: The +soldier acts, the lawyer and the professor undertakes to explain what he +has done. However black the first may become, there is plenty of +whitewash ready to restore his innocence. + +If the unexpected resistance of Belgium has infuriated the Germans to +such an extent, it is not only because it wrecked their surprise attack +on France, it is also because, even after the retreat of the army, they +have been confronted by a series of men courageous enough and clever +enough to stand their ground and to come between them and the uneducated +mass of the population. + +Since, for the sake of propaganda, they wanted to make a show of +respecting international law, they were taken at their word; so that +they were obliged either to give way or to put themselves openly in the +wrong. When they tried to break their promise to the municipality of +Brussels and to annihilate the liberties of the old Belgian communes, +Mr. Max stood in their way, calm and smiling, with no other weapon than +the law which they pretended to respect. Mr. Max was sent to a German +fortress, but Germany had torn up another scrap of paper--and the +civilised world knew it. When they wanted to establish extraordinary +tribunals for matters which belonged only to local tribunals, Mr. +Théodor and all the barristers of the country lodged protest after +protest and fought their case step by step. Mr. Théodor was deported, +but the German administration had blundered again--and the world knew +it. When Baron von Bissing tried to infringe the privileges of the +Church and to cow the Belgian priests into submission by forbidding them +to read to their flock the patriotic letter of Cardinal Mercier, +published on Christmas Day, 1914, he found himself opposed not only by a +far cleverer man than himself, but by all the spiritual influence of one +of the greatest priests in Europe. The letter was read, the Cardinal did +not leave for Germany but for Rome, whence he came back to Malines, and, +if anything, adopted a still firmer tone in his subsequent letters and +speeches. Von Bissing was beaten--and the world knew it. + +These are only a few striking examples among many. Since August, 1914, +hundreds and hundreds of civilians have been imprisoned or deported; +workmen, because they refused to work for the enemy; lawyers, because +they refused to accept his law; bankers, because they would not let +their money cross the frontier; professors, because they did not consent +to propagate Kultur; journalists, because they objected to print Wolff's +news; tradespeople, because they put their patriotism above their +private interests; priests, because they did not worship the German god; +women, because they did not admire German officers; children, because +they did not play the German games. Meanwhile the firing parties did not +remain idle. The world has heard with horror of the death of Miss +Cavell; it has been shocked by the disproportion between her "crime" and +her punishment, and by the hypocrisy displayed by the German +administration during her trial. But, if England has lost one great +martyr, Belgium has lost hundreds, who perished in the same way, +sometimes for smaller offences, often for no offence at all. For the +German judges are in a hurry, and they have no time to enquire too +closely in such matters. The vengeance of a spy, the slightest suspicion +of a policeman, sometimes even an anonymous letter, are enough to +convince them of the guilt of the accused person. The healthy effect +produced on the population by Dinant and Louvain must not be allowed to +spend itself. Frightfulness must be kept up at any price. The reign of +terror is the condition of the German regime. + + * * * * * + +To-day, in this most tragic hour of Belgian history, when so many +leaders, so many patriots, have been imprisoned, deported or shot, after +twenty-nine months of constant threats and persecutions, we might ask +ourselves: Is Belgium at last cowed into submission? + +Listen, then, to Belgium's voice, not to the voice of the refugees, not +even to the voice of the King and his Government, but to the voice of +these miserable "slaves" whom Germany is trying to starve into +submission. Letters have been dropped from these cattle trucks rolling +towards Germany or towards the French front. They all tell us of the +unshakeable resolution of the men never to sign an agreement to go to +Germany, and never to work for the enemy: "We will never work for the +Germans and never put our name on paper" (_onze naam on papier +zetten_)--"We will not work for them. Do the same when you are taken." +(_Faites de même quand tu dois aller_.) Two young men imprisoned in +Ghent write to their father: "They will have to make us fast a long time +before we consent to work for the King of Prussia." Another man who was +stopped when attempting to escape writes: "They tell us here that the +Germans will make us work even if we do not sign an engagement. It would +be abominable. _Take heart, the hour of deliverance will strike one day, +after all_." Another workman sends the following message to his +employer: "We are here two thousand and three hundred men. They cannot +annihilate us. _It is not right that our fate should be better than that +of our brothers who suffer and fight at the front_. We cannot make a +step without being threatened by the gun or the bayonet of our jailors. +_I am hungry ... but I will not work for them_." + +And as the slave raids reach one province after another from Flanders to +Antwerp, from Hainant to Brabant, as the fatal list of deportees +increases from 20,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, from 100,000 to +200,000, whilst the cries of women and children are heard in the +streets, whilst the modern slaves tramp along the roads carrying a light +bundle of clothes on their shoulders, from everywhere in Belgium the +strongest protests are sent to the Governor General, by the communes +which will not consent to give the names of the unemployed, by the +magistrates who will not see the last guarantees of individual right +trampled upon, by the Socialist syndicates which are defending the right +of the workmen not to work against their own country, by the chiefs of +industry who show clearly that the whole responsibility of the labour +crisis rests on Germany alone, by the bishops of the Church, who refuse +to admit that, after two thousand years of Christian teaching, a +so-called Christian nation should fall so low as to revive, for her own +benefit, the worst custom of Paganism. + +The energy of these protests is wonderful if one considers the +conditions in which they have been made. The town councillors of Tournai +were asked to draw up a list of unemployed. They refused; as the Germans +insisted, they passed the following resolution: "The municipal council +decide to persevere in their negative attitude.... The city of Tournai +is prepared to submit without resistance to all the exigencies +authorized by the laws and customs of the war. Its sincerity cannot be +doubted, as it has shown perfect composure and has avoided any act of +hostility during a period of over two years ... But, at the same time, +the municipal council could not furnish weapons against their own +children, fully conscious that natural law and international law, which +is derived from it, forbids them to do so." (October 20th, 1916). We +possess also the German answer, signed by Major-General Hopfer. It is a +necessary supplement to von Bissing's unctuous literature. Major-General +Hopfer calls the resolution "an act of arrogance without precedent." +According to him, "the state of affairs, clearly and simply, is this: +the military authority commands, the municipality has to obey. If it +fails to do so it will have to support the heavy consequences." A fine +of 200,000 marks is exacted from the town for its refusal, besides +20,000 marks for every day of delay until the lists are completed. + +The case of Tournai, like that of Antoing and a good many small towns, +is typical. The officers commanding in these districts either disregard +the "mot d'ordre" given in Brussels or do not think it worth their while +to keep up the sinister comedy played in the large towns. Here "Kultur" +throws off her mask and the brute appears. We know at least where we +stand. The conflict is cleared of all false pretence and paltry excuses. +The councillors of Tournai appeal to some law, divine or human, which +forbids a brother to betray his brother. It is not without relief that +we hear the genuine voice of Major Hopfer declaring that there is no +other law than his good pleasure. That settles everything and puts the +case of Belgium in a nut-shell. Men like him and the commander of the +Antoing district--another Major, by the way--are invaluable. But they +will never become Generals unless they mend their manners. + +From the perusal of the Belgian protests and of all particulars +received, two things appear clearly: First, in spite of all the official +declarations, whether the raiders are able or not to get hold of the +lists, there is no real discrimination between employed or unemployed. +And, secondly, in many districts, unemployment has been deliberately +created by the authorities in order to justify the deportations. + +We cannot discover any method in the raids. In some places, all the +able-bodied men from 17 to 50 are taken away; in others the priests, the +town-clerks, the members of the "Comité de Secours," and the teachers +are left at home; in others still a certain selection is made. _But +everywhere some men who were actually working at the time or even men +who had never been out of work since the beginning of the German +occupation have been obliged to go with the others_. The proportions +vary. In the small town of Gembloux, of a total of 750 inhabitants +deported, _there were only two unemployed_. At Kersbeek-Miscom out of 94 +deportees only two had been thrown out of work. At Rillaer, the Germans +have taken 25 boys under 18 years of age.[6] In the district of Mons, +from the numbers taken down in fourteen communes, we gather that the +proportion of the unemployed varies between 10 and 15 per cent. of the +total number of deportees.[7] Among the 400 men taken from Arlon +(Luxembourg) were 43 members of the "Comité de Secours" who were working +in connection with the Commission for Relief, so that not only the +people supporting their families are being deported, but even those who +employed themselves in alleviating the sufferings of the whole +population. This practice has been repeated in several other towns, for +instance, in Gembloux and Libramont. + +Whether the people are ordered to present themselves at the town-hall or +seized in their own homes, whether they are taken forthwith or allowed a +few hours to prepare themselves, whether they are forced to sign an +agreement or not, the same fact is evident: the criterion of employment +is never considered as a sufficient cause for exemption. + +In certain districts where, in spite of the requisitions, no +unemployment existed, the authorities have manufactured it. Some of the +new coal mines of the Limbourg province have been closed on the eve of +the raids. The case of the Luxembourg province is still more typical. +"We have not to enquire here," declare the senators and deputies of this +province, "if unemployment has been caused in other regions by the +disorganisation of transports, the seizure of raw stuffs and machines, +the constant requisitions, and other measures which were bound to +penalize the national industry. One fact remains incontestable; it is +that, so far as the Luxembourg province is concerned, unemployment has +been non-existent. During the worst periods, we have only had a small +number of unemployed, and thanks to the initiative taken by the 'Comité +de Secours' all, without any exception, have been at work without +interruption." After enumerating a great number of works of public +utility which had been approved by the German authorities, construction +of light railways, drainage of extensive moors, creation of new +plantations, water supplies, etc., ... the report goes on: "And to-day +most of these works, which had been approved and subsidized by the +province and by the State, have been suddenly condemned and +interrupted.... _Such official obstacles to the legitimate and useful +activity of our workmen renders still more painful for them, if +possible, the measures taken against them by those who reproach them for +their idleness and who prosecute them to-day under the pretext of an +inaction which they have deliberately created_." + +In the face of such testimony all the German argument crumbles to +pieces. As Monseigneur Mercier puts it decisively: "It is not true that +our workmen have caused any disturbance or even threatened anywhere to +do so. Five million Belgians, hundreds of Americans, never cease to +admire the perfect dignity and patience of our working classes. It is +not true that the workmen, deprived of their work, become a charge on +the occupying power or on public charity under its control. The 'Comité +National,' in whose activity the Germans take no part, is the only +organisation concerned in the matter." But even supposing, for the sake +of argument, that the 43rd article of the Hague Convention should +justify some form of coercion in the matter, the new measures should +only be applied to some works of _public utility in Belgium_. Far from +encouraging such works, the Germans have stopped them, seized _employed +and unemployed_, and sent them either to _Germany_ or to some _war-work_ +on the Western front. To put it simply, they wish to avoid public +disturbance where there is no disturbance, to save money which is not +their money, to deport unemployed who are not unemployed, to oblige them +to work against their country instead of for their country, and in +Germany instead of in Belgium. They are doing everything but what they +want to do, they go anywhere but where they are going, and they say +anything but what they are thinking. + +[Footnote 6: Letter of Cardinal Mercier to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +29th, 1916.] + +[Footnote 7: Reply of the Deputies of Mons to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +27th, 1916.] + + * * * * * + +The other day I heard two people--two wizened city clerks--discussing +the war in the train. "When and how will the Germans be beaten?" asked +the first. The other shrugged his shoulders and declared solemnly, +while pulling at his pipe: "The Germans? They have been beaten a long +time ago! They were beaten when they set foot for the first time in +Belgium." + +The remark is not new, and I daresay it was a reminiscence of some +sentence picked up in a newspaper or at a popular meeting. But whoever +uttered it for the first time was right. The case of Belgium has +uplifted the whole moral atmosphere of the struggle. Since the first +guns boomed around Liège and the first civilians were shot at Visé, a +war which might have been represented, to a certain extent, as a +conflict of interests, has become a conflict of principles. In a way, +the Germans were beaten because, from that moment, they had to struggle +against unseen and inflexible forces. Whatever you choose to call +them--democratic instinct, Christian aspiration, or the conscience of +the civilised world--they will do their work relentlessly, every day of +the year, every hour of the day. It is their doing that, in spite of the +immense financial influence and the most active propaganda, Germany has +become unpopular all over the world. Other facts, like the _Lusitania_, +the trial of Miss Cavell, the work accomplished by Zeppelins, have +contributed to provoke this feeling. But whether we consider the origin +or the last exploits of German policy, whether we think of two years ago +or of to-day, the image of Belgium, of her invasion, of her martyrdom, +of her oppression, of her deportations, dominates the spiritual aspect +of the whole war. + +When they crossed the Belgian frontier, the Germans walked straight into +a bog, and since then they have been sucked deeper and deeper into the +mud of their own misdeeds and calumnies. They were ankle-deep at Liège, +waist-deep at Louvain, the bog rises even to their lips to-day. In the +desperate efforts which they make to free themselves they inflict fresh +and worse tortures on their victims. It is as if victory could only be +reached through the country's willing sacrifice. But every cry which the +Germans provoke in the Belgian prison is heard throughout the world, +every tear shed there fills their bitter cup, every drop of blood they +shed falls back on their own heads. The world looks on, and its burning +pity, its ardent sympathy, brings warmth and comfort to the Belgian +slave. There is still some light shining through the narrow window of +the cell. And there is not a man worthy of the name who does not feel +more resolute and more confident in final victory when he meets the +haggard look of the martyred country and watches her pale, patient, and +still smiling face pressed against the iron bars. + + + + +VI. + +THE OLIVE BRANCH. + + +We may ask ourselves if it was by chance only or through some subtle +calculation that the first slave-raids in Belgium were timed to take +place on the eve of the Christmas season, when the angels proclaimed +"good-will towards men," and when the German diplomats offered us the +olive branch and the dove--peace at their own price. We may perhaps +admit, now that the crisis is over, that for us Belgians at least the +temptation was great, and if our repeated experience of the enemy had +not shown us that he is most dangerous when he dons the humanitarian +garb, we might have been duped by this remarkable piece of +stage-management. There is every reason to believe that the deportations +were part and parcel of the German peace manoeuvre. By increasing a +hundredfold the "horrors of war" Germany provided a powerful argument to +the pacifists all the world over: "Look at these miserable Belgians. +Have they not suffered enough? Is it not time that an end should be put +to their misery? Germany has declared that she is ready to evacuate the +country. She might even give an indemnity. What other satisfaction can +the Allies ask, considering the present situation on both the Eastern +and Western fronts? If England really went to war to deliver Belgium, +let her prove it now by stopping the struggle to spare her innocent +citizens. It is all very well for those who are living comfortably at +home to urge the continuance of the struggle. But can they take the +responsibility of speaking on behalf of the population which has to +submit to the enemy's rule and whose sufferings increase every day? ..." + +We have all listened to that voice. The Belgians in exile more intensely +perhaps than the other Allies. Belgium had nothing whatever to do with +the origin of the quarrel. She had nothing to gain from its conclusion. +She had been drawn unwillingly into the conflict. She has taken arms +merely to defend her rights and territory. What should her answer be if +Germany offered to restore them? + + * * * * * + +At the beginning of August last, a certain number of Socialist leaders, +in occupied Belgium, succeeded in arranging a meeting, in spite of +German regulations, and passed the following resolution, which they sent +to the Minister Vandervelde, in London: "The Belgian working classes are +decided to endure all sufferings rather than to accept a German peace, +which could neither be lasting nor final. The Allies must not think that +they must hasten the conclusion of the struggle for us. We are not +asking for peace, and we take no responsibility for the Socialist +manifestations made in neutral countries on our behalf. _We ask those +who want to help us not to let the idea that we long for peace influence +their decisions_. We pass this resolution in order to prevent the +disastrous effect, which such an argument might produce." + +The Belgium people has never departed from this attitude, and it is the +plain duty of all those who are defending them, to conform, in the +spirit and in the letter, to their heroic message. In the "Appeal" of +the Belgian workers to the civilised world, sent during the worst period +of the slave-raids, the idea of a truce is not even entertained. On the +contrary, the workers declare that, "whatever their tortures may be, +they will not have peace without the independence of their country and +the triumph of justice." An eye-witness of the raids was telling me, a +few days ago, that, on some occasions, the men in the slave trains are +able to communicate with the people outside: "They shout, of course, +'Long live Belgium' and 'Long live King Albert,' but the most frequent +cry, in which they seem to put their last ounce of strength, is: 'Do +not sign,' which means: 'Do not sign an engagement to work in Germany, +do not sign a compromise.'" And I have not the slightest doubt that, if +they had heard of the German peace offers, they would still shout, "Do +not sign, do not sign a German peace!" + +We know what this attitude costs them. We know, from the report of those +few men who have been sent back to Belgium from the Western front and +from the German camps, the tortures to which the modern slaves are being +subjected. These men were so ill, so worn out, that their family +scarcely recognised them, and greeted them with tears, not with +laughter. It was like a procession of ghosts coming back from hell. At +Soltau, the prisoners are given only two pints of acorn soup and a +mouldy piece of bread, every day. They are so famished that they creep +at night to steal the potato parings which their German guards throw on +to--the rubbish heap. They divide them amongst themselves and eat them +raw to appease their hunger. After the first week of this régime, +several men went mad. Others were isolated for a few days and given +excellent food. "Will you sign now? If you do, you shall be kept on the +same diet; if not... you go back to camp?" The great majority refused +... and were sent back. This is not an isolated report. All the accounts +agree, even on the smallest details, and the deportees who have been +able to write to their families tell the same story as those who, being +henceforth useless, have been sent home to die. + + * * * * * + +It has always been the German policy to bully and to cajole almost at +the same time. But the image of Germania offering, with her sweetest +humanitarian smile, an olive-branch to the Allies whilst her +executioners are starving thousands of Belgian slaves and clubbing them +with their rifles, will stand in the memory of mankind as the climax of +combined brutality and hypocrisy. + +Should we wonder if the present has been refused? There is only one +peace which matters, it is the peace of man with his own conscience, the +peace of the soul with its God. We have it already, and even the roar of +the German guns will not disturb it. It hovers over our trenches, over +the sea, even over these terrible German camps where the best blood of a +great people is being sucked by the vampires of War. And those who have +fallen stricken on the battlefields, those who have succumbed to the +slow tortures to which they were subjected, are resting now under its +great wings. Should we dare to disturb their sleep? Should we dare to +stain their glory? + +It is not for Germany to offer peace. She has lost, it with her honour. +It lies in some pool, at the corner of a wood, where the hooligan waits +in ambush, or on the rubbish heap of the Soltau camp in which men--noble +men--are made to seek their food like pigs. Germany cannot offer what is +not hers to offer. The Allies cannot take what they have already. For +there is only one peace, "the peace that passeth all understanding." + +As for the German olive branch, how could we accept it? It is no longer +green. There is a drop of blood on every leaf. + + * * * * * + +It is perfectly useless to try, as has been done in certain quarters, to +distinguish between Belgium's attitude in the conflict and that of the +Powers who are fighting for the restoration of her integrity. From the +day when England, France and Russia answered King Albert's appeal, the +unflinching policy of Belgium has been to act in perfect harmony with +the Allies. How could it be otherwise? Their cause is her cause. Their +victory will be her victory, and--if we should ever consider the +possibility of defeat--their defeat would be her defeat. The Belgians +who like myself, were in England during these fateful days of August, +1914, when the destiny of Europe hung in the balance, know perfectly +well the decisive influence which the invasion of Belgium had on English +public opinion at that time. Nothing can ever blur the clear outlines of +the events as they passed before us under the implacable rays of that +glorious summer sun. + +The whole policy of Germany is determined by her first stroke in the +war. That stroke was delivered against a small nation. The whole policy +of England and of the Allies is determined by their first efforts in the +struggle, and these efforts were made to protect a small nation against +Germany's aggression. Never has the choice between right and wrong been +made plainer in the whole history of the world. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12644 *** diff --git a/12644-h/12644-h.htm b/12644-h/12644-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c415514 --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/12644-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2269 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Through the Iron Bars, by Emile Cammaerts</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + P { text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 12pt; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + .ctr {text-align: center;} + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + PRE { font-family: Courier, monospaced; } + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre.pg {font-size: 9pt;} + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12644 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Through the Iron Bars, by Emile Cammaerts, +Illustrated by Louis Raemaekers</h1> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<center> +<a href="images/img01.jpg"><img src="images/img01.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +</center> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1>THROUGH THE IRON BARS</h1> +<h4>Two years of German occupation in Belgium</h4> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>EMILE CAMMAERTS</h2> +<h3>ILLUSTRATED WITH CARTOONS BY<br> + + LOUIS RAEMAEKERS</h3> +<h4>MCMXVII</h4> + +<p> </p> + +<hr> +<p> </p> +<a name="TOC"><!-- TOC --></a> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<p><a href="#RULE4_0">I. The Prison Gates</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_1">II. The Lowered Flag</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_2">III. The Poisoned Wells</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_3">IV. The Sacking of Belgium</a></p> + +<p><a href="#RULE4_35">V. The Modern Slave (1. The Creeping Tide)</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_4">V. The Modern Slave (2. "By the Waters of Babylon")</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_5"> VI. The Olive Branch</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_6"> Addendum: Cartoons by Louis Raemaekers</a></p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr> + + +<a name="RULE4_0"><!-- RULE4 0 --></a> +<h2> + I. +</h2> + +<center> +THE PRISON GATES. +</center> +<p> +The English-speaking public is generally well informed concerning the +part played in the war by the Belgian troops. The resistance of our +small field army at Liège, before Antwerp, and on the Yser has been +praised and is still being praised wherever the tale runs. This is easy +enough to understand. The fact that those 100,000 men should have been +able to hold so long in check the forces of the first military Empire in +Europe, and that a great number of them, helped by new contingents of +recruits and led by their young King, should still be fighting on their +native soil, must appeal strongly to the imagination. +</p> +<p> +If it be told how the new Belgian army, reorganised and re-equipped +after the terrible ordeal on the Yser, is at the present moment much +stronger than at the beginning of the war, how it has been able lately +to extend its front in Flanders, and how some of its units have rendered +valuable help to the cause of the Allies in East Africa and even in +Galicia, the story sounds like a fairy tale. There is, in the history of +this unequal struggle, the true ring of legendary heroism; it seems an +echo of the tale of David and Goliath, or of Jack the Giant Killer; it +is full of the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, of independence and +free will over fatalism and brute force, of Right over Might. +</p> +<p> +I feel confident that some day a poet will be able to sing this great +epic in verses which shall answer to the swinging rhythm of battle and +roll with the booming of a thousand guns. But, in the meantime, I should +like to say a few words about a much humbler, a much simpler, a much +more familiar subject. It awakes no classical remembrances of Leonidas +or Marathon. My heroes risk their lives, but they are not soldiers, +merely prosaic "bourgeois" and workmen. They have no weapon, they cannot +fight. They have only to remain cheery in adversity and patient in the +face of taunts. They cannot render blow for blow, they have no sword to +flourish against an insolent conqueror. They can only oppose a stout +heart, a loyal spirit, and an ironic smile to the persecutions to which +they are subjected. They can do nothing—they must do nothing—only hope +and wait. But there are as much heroism and beauty in their black +frock-coats and their soiled workmen's smocks as in the gayest and most +glittering uniforms. +</p> +<p> +It is the plain matter-of-fact story of Belgian life under German rule. +Many more people will be tempted to praise the glory of our soldiers. +But, if the incidents of conquered Belgium's life are not recorded in +good time, they might escape notice. People might forget that, besides +the 150,000 to 200,000 heroes who are now waging war for Belgium on the +Western front, there are 7,500,000 heroes who are suffering for Belgium +behind the German lines, in the close prison of guarded frontiers, cut +off from the whole world, separated alike from those who are fighting +for their deliverance and from those who have sought refuge abroad. +</p> +<p> +These are the people whom America, England, Spain, and many generous +people in other allied and neutral countries have tried to save from +material starvation. If I could only show to my readers how they are +saving themselves from despair, from spiritual starvation, I should be +well repaid for my trouble, for, among all the wonders of this war, +which has displayed mankind as at once so much worse and so much better +than we thought, there is perhaps nothing more surprising than the way +in which the Belgian people have kept their spirits up. +</p> +<p> +One can, to a certain extent, understand the bright courage and the grim +humour of the fighting soldier; he has the excitement of battle to +sustain him through danger and suffering. But that an unarmed +population, which, having witnessed the martyrdom of many peaceful +towns, is threatened with utter destruction, which, ruined by war +contributions and requisitions, is on the brink of starvation, which, +persecuted by spies and subjected constantly to the most severe +individual and collective punishments on the slightest pretext, is +obliged to refrain from any manifestation of patriotic sentiments—that +such a population, completely cut off from its Government and from most +of its political leaders, and, moreover, poisoned every day by news +concocted by the enemy, should remain unshakable in its courage and +loyalty and should still be able to laugh at the efforts made by its +masters to bring it into submission, is truly one of the most amazing +spectacles which we have witnessed since the war broke out. General von +Bissing has declared that the Belgians are an enigma to him. No wonder. +They are an enigma to themselves. I am not going to explain the miracle. +I will only attempt to show how inexplicable, how miraculous, it is. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The German occupation of Belgium may be roughly divided into two +periods: Before the fall of Antwerp, when the hope of prompt deliverance +was still vivid in every heart, and when the German policy, in spite of +its frightfulness, had not yet assumed its most ruthless and systematic +character; and, after the fall of the great fortress, when the yoke of +the conqueror weighed more heavily on the vanquished shoulders, and when +the Belgian population, grim and resolute, began to struggle to preserve +its honour and loyalty and to resist the ever increasing pressure of the +enemy to bring it into complete submission and to use it as a tool +against its own army and its own King. +</p> +<p> +I am only concerned here with the second period. The story of the German +atrocities committed in some parts of the country at the beginning of +the occupation is too well known to require any further comment. Every +honest man, in Allied and neutral countries, has made up his mind on the +subject. No unprejudiced person can hesitate between the evidence +brought forward by the Belgian Commission of Enquiry and the vague +denials, paltry excuses and insolent calumnies opposed to it by the +German Government and the Pro-German Press. Besides, in a way, the +atrocities committed during the last days of August, 1914, ought not to +be considered as the culminating point of Belgium's martyrdom. They +have, of course, appealed to the imagination of the masses, they have +filled the world with horror and indignation, but they did not extend +all over the country, as the present oppression does; they only affected +a few thousand men and women, instead of involving hundreds of +thousands. They were clean wounds wrought by iron and fire, sudden, +brutal blows struck at the heart of the country, wounds and blows from +which it is possible to recover quickly, from which reaction is +possible, which do not affect the soul and honour of a people. The +military executioners of 1914 were compassionate when compared to the +civilian administrators who succeeded them. The pen may be more cruel +than the sword. Considered in the light of the recent deportations, the +first days of frightfulness seem almost merciful. +</p> +<p> +Observers have found no words strong enough to praise the attitude of +the Belgian people when victory seemed close at hand, when news was +still allowed to reach them. What should be said now after the +twenty-seven months for which they have been completely isolated from +the rest of the world? The ruthless methods of the German army of +invasion which deliberately massacred 5,000 unarmed civilians and sacked +six or seven towns and many more villages has been vehemently condemned. +What is to be the verdict now that they have succeeded, after two years +of efforts, in sacking the whole country, ruining her industry and +commerce, throwing out of employment her best workmen and leading into +slavery tens of thousands of her staunchest patriots? The horrors of +Louvain and Dinant were compared, with some reason, to the excesses of +the Thirty Years War, but modern history offers no other instance of +forced labour and wholesale deportations. If, fifty years ago, the +conscience of the world revolted against black slavery, what should its +feelings be today when it is confronted with this new and most appalling +form of white slavery? We should in vain ransack the chronicles of +history to find, even in ancient times, crimes similar to this one. For +the Jews were at war with Babylon, the Gauls were at war with Rome. +Belgium did not wage war against Germany. She merely refused to betray +her honour. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Let us watch, then, the closing of the prison gates. Up to the beginning +of October, the Belgians, and specially the people of Brussels, had been +kept in a state of suspense by the three sorties of the Belgian army, +which left the shelter of the Antwerp forts to advance towards Vilvorde +and Louvain, a few miles from the capital. At the beginning of +September, the sound of guns came so close that the people rejoiced +openly, thinking that deliverance was at their gates. To sober their +spirit—or to exasperate their patience?—the Governor General ordered +that a few Belgian prisoners, some of them wounded, with their +quickfiring gun drawn by a dog, should be marched through the crowded +streets. The men were covered with dust, their heads wrapped in +blood-stained bandages, and they kept their eyes on the ground as if +ashamed. Some women sobbed on seeing them, others cursed their guards, +others plundered a flower shop and showered flowers upon them. At last +two stalwart workmen shouldered away the escort, and, helped by the +crowd, which paralysed the movements of the Germans, succeeded in +kidnapping the prisoners, and getting them away to the neighbouring +streets. They could never be discovered, and it was the last display of +the kind which the Governor gave to Brussels. +</p> +<p> +During the siege, people had learnt to recognize the voice of every fort +of Antwerp. They said to each other: "That is Lizele, Wavre Ste. +Catherine, Waelhem." One after the other the Belgian guns were silenced, +first Wavre, then Waelhem ... and the vibrating boom of the German +heavies was heard louder than ever. The listening Bruxellois grew paler, +straining every nerve to catch the voice of Antwerp. It was as if their +own life as a nation was slowly dying away, as if they were mourning +their own agony. But still the valiant spirit of the first days +prevailed. "They will be beaten for all that. What was Antwerp compared +with the Marne? All forts must fall under 'their' artillery. After all, +the nest is empty; the King and the army are safe." +</p> +<p> +Since those days a kind of reckless indifference has seized the +Belgians. If we must lose everything to gain everything, let us lose +it. The sooner the better. It is the spirit of a poor man burning his +furniture in order to shelter his children from cold, or of a Saint +suffering every physical privation in order to gain the Kingdom of +Heaven. It is an uncanny spirit composed of wild energy and bitter-sweet +irony. "First Liège, then Brussels, then Namur, now Antwerp. The King +has gone, the Government has gone. If all Belgium has to go, let it go. +It is the price we have to pay. The victory of our soul shall be all the +greater if our body is shattered and tortured." +</p> +<p> +Henceforth, the voice of Belgium reaches us only from time to time. Its +sound is muffled by the enemy's strangle-hold, which grows tighter and +tighter. Before the fall of Antwerp, the German administration of +General von der Goltz had merely a temporary character. We knew that +most of the high officials were stopping in Brussels on their way to +Paris. On the other hand, any skilful move of the Allies, any successful +sortie from Antwerp, might have jeopardized all the conqueror's plans +and necessitated an immediate retreat. The Yser-Ypres struggle barred +the way to Brussels as well as to Calais. The Germans knew now that they +were safe, at least for a good many months, and began systematically to +"organize the country." All communications with the uninterrupted part +of Belgium were interrupted. It became more and more difficult and +dangerous to cross the Dutch frontier without a special permit. The +economic and moral pressure increased steadily, and the conflict between +conquerors and patriots began, a conflict unrelieved by dramatic +interest or excitement from outside, which carried the country back to +the worst days of Austrian and Spanish domination. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_1"><!-- RULE4 1 --></a> +<h2> + II. +</h2> + +<center> +THE LOWERED FLAG. +</center> +<p> +The contrast which I have endeavoured to indicate, in the first chapter, +between the attitude of the German administration before the fall of +Antwerp and its behaviour afterwards is nowhere so well marked as in the +measures taken for the purpose of repressing all Belgian manifestations +of patriotism. +</p> +<p> +During the two first months of occupation, the Germans made at least a +show of respecting the loyal feelings of the population. In his first +proclamation, dated September 2nd, in which he announced his appointment +as General Governor of Belgium, Baron von der Goltz declared that "he +asked no one to renounce his patriotic feelings." And when, a few days +later, the Governor of Brussels, Baron von Luttwitz, issued a poster +"advising" the citizens to take their flags from their windows, he did +this in conciliatory words, giving the pretext that these manifestations +might provoke reprisals from the German troops passing through the town: +"The Military Governor does not intend in the least to hurt, by such a +measure, the feelings and self-respect of the inhabitants. His only aim +is to protect them against all harm." (September 16th.) Every Belgian +was still wearing the national colours, pictures of the King and Queen +were sold in the streets, and the Brabançonne was hummed, whistled, and +sung all over the country. The people had lost every right but one: they +could still show the enemy, in spite of the declarations of the German +Press, that they were not yet ready to accept his rule. +</p> +<p> +This apparent tolerance is easy to explain. After the massacres of +August, the German authorities were anxious not to exasperate public +opinion, and not to spoil by uselessly vexatious measures the effect +which had been produced. During the Marne and the three sorties of the +Belgian army, they had only a very small number of men at their disposal +to garrison the largest towns. The slightest progress of the Belgian +army might have endangered their line of communications. We know now +that the withdrawal of the seat of the government from Brussels to Liege +was at one moment seriously contemplated, and that the same troops were +made to pass again and again through the streets of the capital in order +to give the illusion that the garrison was stronger than it really was +(<i>Frankfurter Zeitung</i>, August 22nd, 1916). Besides, Germany had not yet +given up all hopes of coming to terms with King Albert, since a third +attempt was to be made at Antwerp to separate the Belgian Government +from the Allies. In these circumstances it seemed wiser to let the +Belgian folk indulge in their harmless manifestations of loyalty, so +long as they did not cause any disturbance and did not complicate the +task of the military. +</p> +<p> +Let us look now at the next phase. As soon as the Belgian army has +achieved its junction with the Allies on the Yser and all communications +are cut between the Government and the people, the Germans cease to +consider Belgium as an occupied territory, and seize upon every pretext +to treat her as a conquered country, which will, sooner or later, become +part of the Empire. They no longer take the trouble to explain or +justify their oppressive measures, or to reconcile them with their +former promises. They simply ignore them. First in Namur (November the +15th, 1914), then in Brussels (June the 30th, 1915), it becomes a crime +to wear the tricolour cockade. The Te Deum, which is celebrated every +year, on November 15th, in honour of King Albert's Saint's day, is +forbidden. From the month of March, 1915, it is practically a forbidden +thing to sing the Brabançonne, even in the schools. All patriotic +manifestations, on the occasion of the King's Birthday (April 8th) and +of the anniversary of Belgian Independence day (July 21st) are severely +prosecuted. +</p> +<p> +In some of the orders issued there is still a weak attempt at +"respecting," in a German way, "the people's patriotic feelings." The +Governor of Namur, for instance, discriminates with the acutest subtlety +between wearing the national colours in private and in public, and the +Brabançonne can for a time be sung, so long as it is not rendered "in a +provoking manner." In fact, the Belgians are free to manifest their +patriotism so long as they are neither seen nor heard. They are +generously allowed to line their cupboards with tricolour paper and to +hum their national tunes in the depth of their cellars. But, in most of +the orders made under Governor von Bissing's rule (his reign began on +December 3rd, 1914), this last pretence of consideration and respect +disappears entirely. "I warn the public," declares the Governor of +Brussels on July the 18th, 1914, "that any demonstration whatsoever is +forbidden on July 21st next." +</p> +<p> +More than that, the German Administration frequently goes out of its way +to hurt the people's feelings. The fact of helping a patriot to join the +Army is not merely punished as a crime against the Germans, it is +delicately called "a crime of treason," and when people are condemned +because they are suspected of belonging to the Belgian intelligence +service, the public posters announcing their condemnation speak of them +as supplying information "to the enemy." +</p> +<p> +The sham tolerance of the first days has given way to a restless +repression, and even, during the last year, to deliberate persecution. +Schools may be inspected at any time by the authorities and every +"anti-German manifestation" (that is to say, any pro-Belgian teaching) +is severely punished. Shops are raided so that every patriotic picture +post-card (especially the portraits of the Royal Family) may be seized, +and even the intimacy of the private home is not respected. To begin +with, the Belgians have been allowed to show their loyalty—with +discretion; next, every patriotic manifestation is excluded from public +life; and last, the Germans, through their spies, penetrate the homes of +every citizen, and endeavour to extirpate by a reign of terror these +same feelings which they so emphatically promised to respect. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +People who are leading a quiet life and who enjoy the blessings of an +autonomous Government will perhaps not appreciate the importance which +the Belgians attach, at the present moment, to these patriotic +manifestations. They may imagine that, so long as national life is +assured and citizens are otherwise left alone by their conquerors, +public affirmation of loyalty to King and country is of secondary +importance. +</p> +<p> +God knows that the economic situation of occupied Belgium is bad enough, +and the endless and tragic lists of condemnations and deportations are +there to prove that her people are living under the most barbarous +regime of modern times. But, even if this was not the case, anybody with +the slightest knowledge of their national character would understand the +extraordinary value which the Belgians attached to their last privilege +and the deep indignation roused by this German betrayal. +</p> +<p> +Von Bissing shrugs his shoulders and calls them "big children." So they +are. And his son, with a scornful smile, declares in the <i>Suddeutsche +Monatschrift</i> (April 15th, 1915) that it is in "the people's blood to +demonstrate and to wear cockades." So it is. The love of processions and +public pageants of all kinds is deeply rooted in Belgian traditions. +But what does it prove? Simply that the people have preserved enough +freshness and joy of life to care for these things, enough courage and +independence to feel most need of them when they are most afflicted. +This is how they think of it: "Our bands used to pass through the +streets, shaking our window-panes with the crashing of their trombones, +our flags used to wave in the breeze—in the happy days of peace. Should +we now remain, silent and withdrawn, in the selfish privacy of our +houses, now that the country needs us most, now that we want, more than +ever, to feel that we are one people and that we will remain independent +and united whatever happens in the future?" Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von +Bissing sneers at the Belgians because on any and every pretext they +display the American colours. If they do, it is because they are not +allowed to display their own, and because they feel somehow that the +best way to show that they have still a flag is to adopt the colours of +the great country which has so generously come to their help. It may +well be, as the Baron informs us, that most of the "small and big +children" who wear the Stars and Stripes do not know a word of English. +What does it mean again? Simply that heart may call to heart and that it +is not necessary to talk in his own language to understand a brother's +mind. It is true that only children—children small and big—know how to +do it. +</p> +<p> +If the Germans had had the least touch of generous feeling for the +unfortunate country upon which they thrust war in spite of the most +solemn treaties, they would not have obliged the Belgian citizens to +lower the flags which they had put up during the defence of Liège, they +would not have torn their tricolour cockades from their buttonholes, +they would not have silenced their national songs, they would not have +added these deep humiliations to the bitter cup of defeat. One wonders +even why they did it if it was not for the mere pleasure which the bully +is supposed to feel when he makes his strength felt by his victim. They +might have gone on gaily plundering the country, shooting patriots, +deporting young men, doing whatever seemed useful in their eyes. But the +petty tyranny of these measures passes understanding. Governor von +Bissing is certainly too clever to believe that the satisfaction of +making a few cowards uneasy by such regulations can at all outweigh the +danger inherent in the resentment and the deep hatred which the bullying +has aroused against Germany. You may take the children's bread, you may +take their freedom, but you might at least leave them a few toys to play +with, and you would be wise to do so. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Such narrow-minded tyranny always defeats its own objects. Burgomaster +Max's proud answer to General von Luttwitz's "advice" to remove the +flags became the password of the patriots. Every Bruxellois henceforth +"waited for the hour of reparation." A great number of women went to +prison rather than remove the emblems of Belgium which they wore. +Stories passed from lip to lip. Their accuracy I would not guarantee, +but they belong to the epic of the war and are true to the spirit of the +people. A young lady, who was jeered at by a German officer because she +was wearing King Albert's portrait, is said to have answered his +"Lackland" with, "I would rather have a King who has lost his country +than an Emperor who has lost his honour." Another lady, sitting in a +tram-car opposite a German officer, was ordered by him to remove her +tricolour rosette. She refused to do so, and, as he threatened her, +defied him to do it himself. The Boche seized the rosette and pulled .. +and pulled .. and pulled. The lady had concealed twenty yards of ribbon +in her corsage. +</p> +<p> +When the tricolour was forbidden altogether, it was replaced by the +ivyleaf, ivy being the emblem of faithfulness; later, the ivyleaf was +followed by a green ribbon, green being the colour of hope. The +Brabançonne being excluded from the street and from the school took +refuge in the Churches, where it is played and often sung by the +congregation at the end of the service. There are many ways of getting +round the law. The Belgians were forbidden to celebrate in any ordinary +way the anniversary of their independence. Thanks to a sort of tacit +arrangement they succeeded in marking the occasion in spite of all +regulations. On July 21st, 1915, the Bruxellois kept the shutters of +their houses and shops closed and went out in the streets dressed in +their best clothes, most of them in mourning. The next year, as the +closing of shops was this time foreseen by the administration, they +remained open. But a great number of tradespeople managed ingeniously to +display the national colours in their windows—by the juxtaposition, for +instance, of yellow lemons, red tomatoes and black grapes. Others +emptied their windows altogether. +</p> +<p> +These jokes may seem childish, at first sight, but when we think that +those who dared perform them paid for it with several months' +imprisonment or several thousand marks, and paid cheerily, we understand +that there is more in them than a schoolboy's pranks. It seems as if the +Belgian spirit would break if it ceased to be able to react. One of the +shop-managers who was most heavily fined on the occasion of our last +"Independence Day" declared that he had not lost his money: "It is +rather expensive, but it is worth it." +</p> +<hr> +<p> +If patriotism has become a religion in Belgium, this religion has found +a priest whose authority is recognised by the last unbeliever. If every +church has become the "<i>Temple de la Patrie</i>," if the Brabançonne +resounds under the Gothic arches of every nave, Cardinal Mercier has +become the good shepherd who has taken charge of the flock during the +King's absence. The great Brotherhood, for which so many Christian souls +are yearning, in which there are no more classes, parties, and sects, +seems well nigh achieved beyond the electrified barbed wire of the +Belgian frontier. Are not all Belgians threatened with the same danger, +are they not close-knit by the same hope, the same love, the same +hatred? +</p> +<p> +When the bells rang from the towers of Brussels Cathedral on July 21st +last, when, in his red robes, Cardinal Mercier blessed the people +assembled to celebrate the day of Belgium's Independence, it seemed that +the soul of the martyred nation hovered in the Church. After the +national anthem, people lifted their eyes towards the great crucifix in +the choir, and could no longer distinguish, through their tears, the +image of the Crucified from that of their bleeding country. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_2"><!-- RULE4 2 --></a> +<h2> + III. +</h2> + +<center> +THE POISONED WELLS. +</center> +<p> +We must never forget, when we speak of the moral resistance of the +Belgian people, that they have been completely isolated from their +friends abroad for more than two years and that meanwhile they have been +exposed to all the systematic and skilful manoeuvres of German +propaganda. Not only are they without news from abroad, but all the news +they receive is calculated to spread discouragement and distrust. +</p> +<p> +How true lovers could resist a long separation and the most wicked +calumnies without losing faith in one another has been the theme of many +a story. From the story-writer's point of view, the true narrative of +the German occupation of Belgium is much more romantic than any romance, +much more wonderful than any poem. The mass is not supposed to show the +same constancy as the individual, and one does not expect from a whole +people the ideal loyalty of Desdemona and Imogen. Besides, we do not +want the reader to imagine that, before the war, the Belgians were +ideally in love with one another. Like the English, the Americans and +the French, we had our differences. It is one of the unavoidable +drawbacks of Democracy that politics should exaggerate the importance of +dissensions. Therefore it is all the more remarkable that the sudden +friendship which sprang up between classes, parties and races in +Belgium, on the eve of August 4th, should so long have defied the +untiring efforts of the enemy and should remain as unshakeable to-day as +it was at the beginning. +</p> +<p> +We do not wonder that the German intellectuals who have undertaken to +break down Belgian unity are at a loss to explain their failure. +Scientifically it defies every explanation. Here was a people +apparently deeply divided against itself, Socialists opposed Liberals, +Liberals opposed Catholics, Flemings opposed Walloons; theoretical +differences degenerated frequently into personal quarrels; political +antagonism was embittered by questions of religion and language. Surely +this was ideal ground in which to sow the seed of discord, when the +Government had been obliged to seek refuge in a foreign country and a +great number of prominent citizens had emigrated abroad. The German +propagandist, who had been able to work wonders in some neutral +countries, must have thought the task almost unworthy of his efforts. +Every one of his theoretical calculations was correct. He only forgot +one small detail which a closer study of history might have taught him. +He forgot that, in face of the common danger, all these differences +would lose their hold on the people's soul, that the former bitterness +of their quarrels was nothing compared with the sacred love of their +country which they shared. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The first action of the German administration after the triumphal entry +into Brussels was to try to isolate the occupied part of the country, in +order to monopolize the news. Rather than submit to a German censor, all +the Belgian papers—with the exception of two small provincial +journals—had ceased to appear. During a fortnight, Brussels remained +without authorized news. From that time, the authorities allowed the +sale of some German and Dutch dailies and of a few newspapers published +in Belgium under German control. The Government itself issued the +<i>Deutsche Soldatenpost</i> and <i>Le Réveil</i> (in French) and a great number +of posters, "<i>Communications officielles du Commandant de l'Armee +allemande</i>," which were supposed to contain the latest war-news. +</p> +<p> +To this imposing array, the patriots could only oppose a few pamphlets +issued by the editor Bryan Hill, soon prohibited, and copies of Belgian, +French and English papers, which were smuggled at great risk, and +consequently were very expensive. Still, before the fall of Antwerp, it +was practically impossible for the Germans to stop private letters and +newspapers passing from the unoccupied to the occupied part of the +country. Besides, they had more important business on hand. Here again, +it was only after the second month of occupation that the pressure +increased. During October and November, several people were condemned to +heavy fines and to periods of imprisonment for circulating written and +even verbal news. The Dutch frontier was closed, wherever no natural +obstacle intervened, by a continuous line of barbed wire and electrified +wire. Passports were only granted to the few people engaged in the work +of relief and to those who could prove that it was essential to the +interests of their business that they should leave the country for a +time. The postal service being reorganized under German control, any +other method of communication was severely prosecuted. At the end of +1914, several messengers lost their lives in attempting to cross the +Dutch frontier. Under such conditions it is easy to understand that, in +spite of the efforts made by the anonymous editors of two or three +prohibited papers, such as <i>La Libre Belgique</i>, the bulk of the +population was practically cut off from the rest of the world and was +compelled to read, if they read at all, the pro-German papers and the +German posters. The only wells left from which the people could drink +were poisoned. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The German Press Bureau in Brussels, openly recognised by the +administration and formerly the headquarters of Baron von Bissing's son, +set to work in three principal directions. It aimed at separating the +Belgians from the Allies, then at separating the people from King +Albert and his Government, and finally at reviving the old language +quarrel between Walloons and Flemings. +</p> +<p> +The campaign against the Allies, though still carried on whenever the +opportunity arises, was specially violent at the beginning, when the +Germans had not yet given up all hope of detaching King Albert from the +Alliance (August-September, 1914). It was perhaps the most dangerous +line of attack because it did not imply any breach of patriotism. On the +contrary it suggested that Belgium had been duped by the Allies, and +especially by England, who had never meant to come to her help and who +had used her as a catspaw, leaving her to bear all the brunt of the +German assault in an unequal and heroic struggle. It was accompanied by +a constant flow of war news exaggerating the German successes and +suggesting that, even if they ever had the intention of delivering +Belgium, the Allies would no longer be in a position to do so. +</p> +<p> +According to the first war-news poster issued in Brussels, a few days +after the enemy had entered the town, the French official papers had +declared that "The French armies, being thrown on the defensive, would +not be able to help Belgium in an offensive movement." I need not recall +how, his name having been used at Liège to bolster up this false report, +M. Max, the burgomaster of Brussels, found an opportunity of +contradicting it publicly and, at the same time, of discrediting all +censored news. +</p> +<p> +The effect was amazing. Henceforth the official posters were not only +regularly regarded as a tissue of lies, but definitely ridiculed. The +people either ignored them or paid them an exaggerated attention. In +some popular quarters, urchins climbed on ladders to read them aloud to +a jeering crowd. The influence of M. Max's attitude was such that, +eighteen months later, several people coming from the capital declared +that, as far as war news was concerned, Brussels was far more +optimistic than London or Paris, every check received by the Allied +armies being systematically ignored and every success exaggerated. +</p> +<p> +When one reads through the series of German "<i>Communications</i>" pasted on +the walls of the capital during the first year of the occupation, one +wonders how they did not succeed in discouraging the population. For, in +spite of some extraordinary blunders—such as the announcement that a +German squadron had captured fifteen English fishing boats (September +8th, 1914), that the Serbs had taken Semlin because they had nothing +more to eat in Serbia (September 13th, 1914), or that the British army +was so badly equipped that the soldiers lacked boot-laces and writing +paper (October 6th, 1914)—the author of these proclamations succeeded +so skilfully in mixing truth and untruth and in drawing the attention of +the public away from any reverse suffered by the Central Empires, that +the effect of the campaign might have been most demoralizing. +</p> +<p> +After this first reverse, the Germans only attacked the Allies in order +to throw on their shoulders the responsibility for the woes which they +themselves were inflicting on their victims. When some English +aeroplanes visited Brussels, on September 26th, 1915, a few people were +killed and many more wounded. The German press declared immediately that +this was due to the want of skill of the airmen, who dropped the bombs +indiscriminately over the town. We possess now material proof that the +people were killed, not by bombs dropped from the air, but by fragments +of shells fired from guns. This can only be explained in one way. The +German gunners must have timed their shells so that they should not +burst in the air, but only when falling on the ground. This method of +propaganda may cost a few lives, but it is certainly clever. It might +well be calculated to stir indignation in the hearts of the people +against the Allies and at the same time to serve as a warning to enemy +headquarters to the effect: "Whenever you send your aeroplanes over +Belgian towns, we are going to make the population pay for it." +</p> +<p> +The same kind of argument is used at the present moment with regard to +the wholesale deportations which are going on in Belgium. To justify his +slave-raids, Governor von Bissing denounces England's blockade. It is +the economic policy of England—not German requisitions—which has +ruined Belgium and caused unemployment: "If there are any objections to +be made about this state of affairs you must address them to England, +who, through her policy of isolation, has rendered the coercive measures +necessary." [<a href="#note-1">1</a>] But the argument is used more for the sake of discussion +than in the real hope of convincing the public. General von Bissing can +have very few illusions left as to the state of mind of the Belgian +population. He knows that every Belgian worker, would answer, with the +members of the Commission Syndicale: "All the Allies have agreed to let +some raw material necessary to our industry enter Belgium, under the +condition, naturally, that no requisitions should be made by the +occupying power, and that a neutral commission should control the +destination of the manufactured articles." [<a href="#note-2">2</a>] Or, more emphatically +still, with Cardinal Mercier: "England generously allows some foodstuffs +to enter Belgium under the control of neutral countries ... She would +certainly allow raw materials to enter the country under the same +control, if Germany would only pledge herself to leave them to us and +not to seize the manufactured products of our industry." +</p> +<p> +Such arguments are extraordinarily characteristic of the German mind, as +it has been developed by the war: "Let Belgium know that she is +suffering for England's sake. Let England know that, as long as she +enforces her blockade, her friends in Belgium will have to pay for it." +It is the same kind of double-edged declaration as that used on the +occasion of the Allied air-raid on Brussels. Literally speaking, it cuts +both ways. The excuse becomes a threat and the untruth savours of +blackmail. Healthy minds work by single or treble propositions. If we +did not remember that our aim is to analyse the beautiful and heroic +side of the occupation of Belgium, rather than to dwell on its most +sinister aspects, we should recognize, in this last manoeuvre, the +lowest example of human brutality and hypocrisy, the double mark of the +German hoof. +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-1"><!-- Note Anchor 1 --></a>[Footnote 1: Answer of Governor von Bissing to Cardinal Mercier's +letter, Oct. 26th, 1916.] +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-2"><!-- Note Anchor 2 --></a>[Footnote 2: Letter of the "<i>Commission Syndicale</i>" to Baron von +Bissing, Nov. 14th, 1916.] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +In spite of the most authentic documents, of the most glaring material +proofs, it might be difficult to realise that the human spirit may fall +so low. It seems as if we were diminishing ourselves when we accuse our +enemies. We have lived so long in the faith that "such things are +impossible" that, now that they happen almost at our door, we should be +inclined to doubt our eyes rather than to doubt the innate goodness of +man. Never did I feel this more strongly than when I saw, for the first +time, a caricature of King Albert reproduced from a German newspaper. +</p> +<p> +Surely if one man, one leader, has come out of this severe trial +unstained, with his virtue untarnished, it is indeed Albert the First, +King of the Belgians. His simple and loyal attitude in face of the +German ultimatum, the indomitable courage which he showed during the +Belgian campaign, his dignity, his reserve, his almost exaggerated +modesty, ought to have won for him, besides the deep admiration of the +Allies and of the neutral world, the respect and esteem even of his +worst enemy. There is a man of few words and noble actions, fulfilling +his pledges to the last article, faithful to his word even in the +presence of death, a leader sharing the work of his soldiers, a King +living the life of a poor man. When in Paris, in London, triumphal +receptions were awaiting them, he and his noble and devoted Queen +remained at their post, on the last stretch of Belgian territory, in the +rough surroundings of army quarters. +</p> +<p> +The whole world has noted this. People who have no sympathy to spare for +the Allies' cause have been obliged to bow before this young hero, more +noble in his defeat than all the conquerors of Europe in their victory. +But the Germans have not felt it. Not only did they try to ridicule King +Albert in their comic papers. Even the son of Governor von Bissing did +not hesitate to fling in his face the generous epithet, "Lackland." [<a href="#note-3">3</a>] +As soon as the last attempt to conciliate the King had failed the German +press in Belgium began a most violent and abusive campaign against him. +The <i>Düsseldorfer General-Anzeiger</i> published a venomous article, in +which he was represented as personally responsible for "the plot of the +Allies against Germany and for the crimes of the franc-tireurs." He was +stigmatised as "the slave of England," and it was asserted that "If he +did not grasp the hand stretched out to him by the Kaiser on August 2nd +and the 9th it is only because he did not dare to do so" (October 10th, +1914). He was said to have "betrayed his army at Antwerp. Had he not +sworn not to leave the town alive?" And <i>Le Réveil</i>, another paper +circulated in Belgium by German propagandists, announced solemnly that, +once on the Yser, the King wanted to sign a separate peace with Germany, +but England had forbidden him to do so. The <i>Hamburger Nachrichten</i>, the +<i>Vossische Zeitung</i> and the <i>Frankfurter Zeitung</i> repeated without +scruple this tissue of gross calumnies. The <i>Deutsche Soldatenpost</i>, +edited specially for the German soldiers in Belgium, went even a step +further and violently reproached the Queen of the Belgians for not +having protested against the cruelties inflicted on German civilians in +Brussels and Antwerp, at the outbreak of the hostilities! +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-3"><!-- Note Anchor 3 --></a>[Footnote 3: <i>Suddeutsche Monatshefte</i>, April 1915.] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Not being able to stir the people against the Allies or against their +own Government, the German Press Bureau attempted to revive the language +quarrel and to provoke internal dissensions. It is interesting to notice +that the new campaign, whose crowning episode was the opening of the +German University at Ghent, in October last, began two months after the +surrender of Brussels and did not develop until the spring of 1915, when +an important minority of Germans began to realise that it would be +impossible to retain Belgium, and when a greater number still only hoped +to keep Antwerp and Flanders, thanks to the "social and linguistic +affinities of Flemings and Germans." +</p> +<p> +That is how Germany, who had never troubled much before about the +Flemish movement and Flemish literature, suddenly discovered a great +affection for her Flemish brothers who had so long been exposed to "the +insults of the Walloons"; how she suddenly espoused their grievances and +put into effect, in spite of their strong protests, some reforms +inscribed on the programme; how she tried by every means at her disposal +to conciliate Flemish sympathies and to stir up antagonism and +jealousies by treating Flemings and Walloons differently, whether +prisoners in Germany or in occupied Belgium. +</p> +<p> +The German train of thought is clear enough: "If we are unable to hold +Belgium, any pro-German demonstrations in the Northern provinces may +suggest the idea that it is the wish of the Flemings to be bound to the +Empire and give a pretext for the annexation of Antwerp and Flanders. If +even that is impossible and if we are obliged to give back his Kingdom +to King Albert, we shall have sown so many germs of discontent in the +country that it will be impossible for the Government to restore Belgium +in her full unity and power. She will never become against us the strong +bulwark of the Allies." +</p> +<p> +All this Walloon-Flemish agitation started by Germany belongs to a vast +plan of mismanagement. The day Germany knew that she would not be able +to keep her conquest she deliberately set herself to ruin Belgium +economically and morally. She succeeded economically, for nobody could +prevent her from requisitioning whatever she wanted. She failed morally +because the people understood her purpose and because the Flemish +leaders proudly refused the German gifts. The reform of Ghent University +was made in spite of them. It was made with the help of a few Germans, +German-Dutch and Belgians without any reputation or following. The +professors have been bought and the students (they only number eighty) +have been mostly recruited among the Flemish prisoners in Germany and +among a few young men threatened with deportation. They are obliged to +wear a special cap and are under the ban of the whole population. No +true "Gantois" passes them in the street without whispering, "<i>Vive +l'Armée</i>." This is the pitiful medley of cranks, traitors and unwilling +students which General von Bissing is pleased to call a "University." +</p> +<p> +In his inaugural speech, the Governor exclaimed, "The God of War, with +his drawn sword, has held the new institution at the font. May the God +of Peace be gracious to her for long years to come." The Germans' lack +of humour surpasses even their ruthlessness. With one hand General von +Bissing was baptizing the baby—rather a difficult operation—with the +other he brandished his fiery sword over the heads of all the true +Flemings who refused to adopt it. Many of them paid for this patriotic +attitude by losing their liberty. With one hand Germany inflicted this +unwelcome gift on the Flemings, with the other she banished M.M. +Pirenne, Frédéricq and Verhaegen from the sacred precincts of Flemish +culture! +</p> +<p> +Most solemnly, on different occasions, all the prominent Flemish leaders +have protested against the German Administration's action. They have +declared that it was illegal and unjust. Governor von Bissing reminds +them that, according to De Raet's words, "Two heroic spirits dominate +the world: The Mind and the Sword." They may possess the first but he +holds the second. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_3"><!-- RULE4 3 --></a> +<h2> + IV. +</h2> + +<center> +THE SACKING OF BELGIUM. +</center> +<p> +There is one idea which dominates the Belgian tragedy: "The body may be +conquered, the soul remains free." These words were uttered for the +first time, I believe, by the Belgian Premier, Baron de Broqueville, in +the solemn sitting of the House, when the German violation of Belgian +neutrality was announced to the representatives of the people. The idea +is supposed to have been expressed by King Albert, in another form, +before the evacuation of Antwerp. It was used to great effect in one of +the most popular cartoons published by <i>Punch</i>, in which the Kaiser says +to the King, with a sneer, "You have lost everything," and the King +replies, "Not my soul." It is so intimately associated with the Belgian +cause that the image of the stricken country is scarcely ever evoked +without an allusion being made to it. +</p> +<p> +We have seen, in the course of the earlier chapters, how Belgium +succeeded in preserving her loyalty and patriotism in spite of the most +ruthless oppression and the most cunning calumnies. We must now look at +the darker side of the picture and see how she has not succeeded in +preserving either her prosperity, or even her supply of daily bread. +</p> +<p> +We shall soon be confronted with the most tragic aspect of her Calvary. +So long as her armies were fighting the invader, so long as her towns +and countryside were ruined by German frightfulness, so long as her +martyrs, men, women and children, were falling side by side in the +market-place before the firing party, so long as every symbol, every +word of patriotism was forbidden her, Belgium could remain vanquished +but unconquered, bleeding but unshakeable. She enjoyed, in the face of +her oppressors, all the privileges of the Christian martyrs of the +first centuries; she could smile on the rack, laugh under the whip and +sing in the flames. She remained free in her prison, free to respect +Justice, in the midst of injustice, to treasure Righteousness, in spite +of falsehood, to worship her Saints, in the face of calumny. She was +still able to resist, to oppose, every day and at every turn, her +patience to the enemy's threats and her cheerfulness to his ominous +scowl. She had a clear conscience and her hands were clean. +</p> +<p> +There is one thing that can be said for the Roman emperors, they seldom +starved their victims to death. Popular imagination revels in their +cruelty, and the <i>Golden Legend</i> displays to us all the grim splendours +of a chamber of horrors. But the worst of all tortures—starvation—is +not often inflicted. The idea is, I suppose, that the conversion must be +sudden and striking. But Belgium's oppressors do not any longer want to +convert her. They have tried and they have failed. They merely want to +take all the food, all the raw materials, all the machines and—last but +not least—all the labour they can out of her. Their fight is not the +fight of one religion against another. It is the fight of material power +against any philosophy, any religion which stands between it and the +things which it covets. The Germans do not sacrifice Belgium to their +gods. Such an ideal course is far from their thoughts. They sacrifice +Belgium to Germany—that is, to themselves. It matters very little +whether a slave is able to speak or to think, as long as he is able to +work. +</p> +<p> +Here again, in spite of the wholesale plundering of the first days of +occupation, and of the enormous fines imposed on towns and provinces, I +do not suppose that the German plan was deliberately to ruin the +country. It might even have been to develop its resources, as long as +there was some hope of annexing it, though this benevolent spirit had +scarcely any time to manifest itself. After the Marne and the Yser, +however, when it became evident that anyhow the whole of Belgium could +never be retained, and when the attitude of the people showed clearly +that they would always remain hostile to their new masters, the +systematic sacking of the country began without any thought for the +consequences. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The best way of coming to some appreciation of the work accomplished +during these two years is to remember that, before the war, Belgium was +the richest country in Europe in proportion to her size. Relatively she +had the greatest commercial activity, the richest agricultural +production, and she was more thickly populated than any other State, +with the exception of Saxony. Nowhere were the imports and exports so +important, in proportion to the number of the population, nowhere did +the average square mile yield such rich crops, nowhere was the railway +system so developed. Pauperism was practically unknown, and, even in the +large towns, the number of people dependent on public charity was +comparatively very small. To this picture of unequalled prosperity +oppose the present situation: Part of the countryside left without +culture for want of manure and horses; scarcely any cattle left in the +fields; commerce paralysed by the stoppage of railway and other +communications; industry at a complete standstill, with 500,000 men +thrown out of work and nearly half of the population which remained in +Belgium (3,500,000) on the verge of starvation and entirely dependent +for their subsistance on the work of the Commission for Relief. +</p> +<p> +It is said that the tree must be judged by its fruit. Such then is the +fruit of the German administration of Belgium. When he arrived in +Brussels, Governor von Bissing declared that he had come to dress +Belgium's wounds. What would he have done if he had meant to aggravate +them? +</p> +<p> +There is an insidious argument which must be met once and for ever. We +have seen how Germany is trying to throw the responsibility for the +misery prevailing in Belgium and for the present deportations on the +English blockade, which paralyses the industry and prevents the +introduction of raw materials. But, if this were the case, the situation +ought not to be worse in Belgium than in Germany. On the contrary, +thanks to the splendid work of the Commission for Relief, she ought to +be far better off. How is it then that—according to General von +Bissing's own declaration made to Mr. Julius Wertheimer, correspondent +of the <i>Vossische Zeitung</i> (September the 1st, 1916)—how is it that +"the average cost of life is much higher in Belgium than in Germany," +and that "a great number of inhabitants (tens of thousands of them) have +not eaten a piece of meat for many weeks?" +</p> +<p> +This inequality between the social conditions in Germany and in Belgium, +in spite of the advantages given to the latter by the introduction of +food through the blockade with England's consent, can easily be +explained: On the one hand, German industry has transformed itself, many +factories which could not continue their ordinary work owing to the +shortage of rawstuffs having been turned into war-factories in which +there is still a great demand for labour. On the other hand, Germany has +not been submitted to the same levies in money, and requisitions in +foodstuffs and material; Germany has not been deprived, from the +beginning, of all her reserve, she has not been depleted of all her +stock. +</p> +<p> +We shall have to deal, in the next chapter, with the first question. Let +us only consider the second here. +</p> +<p> +It is impossible to give more than a superficial glance at the matter. +The particulars at hand are not complete and a full list of German +exactions has not yet been drawn up. Let us, however, try to give an +idea of the disproportion existing between the country's resources and +the demands which were made on her. +</p> +<p> +On December 12th, 1914, a poster announced to the citizens of Brussels +that the nine Belgian provinces would be obliged to pay, every month +during the coming year, a sum of forty million francs, making a total of +about 480 millions (over 19 million pounds). In order to understand the +indignation caused by this announcement it is necessary to remember: +</p> +<p> +1st. That the Belgians were at the time already paying all the ordinary +taxes, to the commune, to the province and to the State, so that this +new contribution constituted a super-tax. +</p> +<p> +2nd. That all the direct taxes paid to the State, in ordinary times, +amount scarcely to 75 millions, that is to say, to a sixth of this +contribution. +</p> +<p> +3rd. And that the new economic conditions imposed by the war had +considerably reduced the income of the most wealthy citizens. +</p> +<p> +As the Germans persist in invoking the text of the Hague Convention of +which they have again and again violated every clause, it may be useful +to point out that, according to the 49th article, the occupying power is +only allowed to raise war contributions "for the need of the army," that +is to say, in order to pay in money the requisitions which he is obliged +to make in order to supply the army of occupation with food, fodder, and +so on. As, most of the time, the Germans only pay for what they +requisition in "<i>bons de guerre</i>" payable after the war, and as, in spite +of their sound appetite, we can scarcely believe that the few thousand +"landsturmers" who are garrisoning Belgium are eating two million +pounds worth a month, the illegal character of the German measure seems +evident. Besides, if any doubt were still possible, we should find it +laid down in the 52nd article that any service required from the +occupying power must be "in proportion to the country's resources." +</p> +<p> +As the announcement had provoked strong protests, Governor von Bissing +announced a few days later that, if this contribution was paid, no +further extraordinary taxes would be required and the requisitions would +henceforth be paid for in money. Needless to say, none of these promises +have been fulfilled, and the contribution of 480 millions was renewed at +the beginning of 1915, and even increased to 600 millions lately, so +that, from that source only, the Germans have raised in Belgium, after +two years of occupation, a sum equal to one-fourth of the total State +debt of the country on the eve of the war. +</p> +<p> +This is only one example among many. The communes did not enjoy better +treatment. The reader will remember that during the period of invasion +the enemy exacted various war-taxes from every town he entered: 20 +millions from Liège, 50 millions from Brussels, 32 millions from Namur, +40 millions from Antwerp, and so on. Since then, he has never lost an +opportunity of inflicting heavy fines even on the smallest villages. If +one inhabitant succeeds in joining the army, if an allied aeroplane +appears on the horizon, if, for some reason or other, the telegraph or +the telephone wires are out of order, a shower of fines falls on the +neighbouring towns and villages. In June last the total amount of these +exactions was estimated, for 1916, at ten millions (£400,000). If we add +to this the fines inflicted constantly, on the slightest pretext, on +private individuals, we shall certainly remain below the mark in stating +that Germany succeeds in getting out of Belgium over twenty million +pounds a year. Twenty million pounds, when the ordinary income of the +State amounts scarcely to seven millions! And I am not taking into +account the money seized in the banks and the recent enforced transfer +to Germany of the 600 millions (£24,000,000) of the National Bank. +</p> +<p> +If we remember that the total value of commercial transactions in +Belgium, before the war, did not exceed ten million francs (400,000 +pounds) per year, we shall realise the absurdity of the German argument +which shifts on to the English blockade the responsibility for Belgium's +ruin. Even a complete stoppage of trade could not have done the country +as much harm as the German exactions in money only. But the conquerors +were not satisfied with fleecing the flock, they succeeded in robbing it +of its food, in taking away its very means of life. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Quite apart from any sentimental or moral reason, the last step was a +grave mistake, even from the German point of view. It would certainly +have paid the Germans better in the end if they had allowed the Allies +to send raw material to feed the Belgian factories, under the control of +neutral powers, and if they had not requisitioned the machines and +paralysed industry by the most absurd restrictions. It would have been a +most useful move from the point of view of propaganda, and, while posing +as Belgium's kind protectors, they might always have reaped the benefit +through fresh taxes and new contributions. If they have killed the goose +rather than gather its golden eggs it is because they could not afford +to wait. It was one of these desperate measures, like the violation of +Belgian neutrality, the ruthless use of Zeppelins and the sinking of the +Lusitania, which did them more harm than good. From the beginning +Germany has fought with a bad conscience, prompted in all her actions +more by the dread of being defeated than by the clear intention of +winning the game. The manifestation of such a spirit ought only to +encourage her enemies; they are the sure signs of a future breakdown. In +the meantime, they must cause infinite torture to the unfortunate +populations which are not yet delivered from her yoke. +</p> +<p> +During the first months of occupation the requisitions extended only to +foodstuffs, cattle, horses, fodder, in short, to objects which could be +used by the army. They were out of all proportion to the resources of +the country (Article 52 of the Hague Convention) and therefore +absolutely illegal, but they could still be considered as military +requisitions. In a most interesting article published in Smoller's +<i>Jahrbuch für Gesetzgebung Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft</i>, Professor +Karl Ballod admits that the requisitions made in Belgium and Northern +France have more than compensated for the harm caused by the Russian +invasion of East Prussia. Not only the army of occupation, but all the +troops concentrated on the northern sectors of the Western front, "three +million men," have been fed by the conquered provinces. Besides this, +Germany took from Belgium, at the beginning of the war, "more than +400,000 tons of meal and at least one million tons of other foodstuffs." +</p> +<p> +With Governor von Bissing's arrival the requisitions extended to +whatever raw material was needed in the Fatherland, and all pretence of +respecting the Hague Convention (Article 49) ceased forthwith: One after +another the stocks of raw cotton, of wool, of nickel, of jute, of +copper, were seized and conveyed to Germany. The administration seized, +in the same way, all the machines which could be employed, beyond the +Rhine, for the manufacture of shells and munitions. I am afraid of +tiring the reader with the long enumeration of these arbitrary decrees, +but in order to give him an idea of what is still going on, at the +present moment, I have gathered here all the measures of the kind taken +by the paternal administration of Baron von Bissing which came to our +knowledge during one month only (October last). I have chosen the period +at random, and it must not be forgotten that, owing to the difficulties +of communication, these particulars are far from complete. They will, +however, give a fair idea of the economic situation of the country after +the second year of occupation: +</p> +<p> +October 5th: The requisitions in cattle have been so frequent in +Flanders <i>that many farmers have not a milch cow left</i>. +</p> +<p> +October 6th: Owing to the lack of motors, bicycles and horses, some +tradespeople in Brussels are using oxen to draw their carts. +</p> +<p> +October 10th: All the chestnut trees around Antwerp have been +requisitioned. Potatoes cannot be conveyed from one place to another +even in small quantities. +</p> +<p> +October 17th: According to a decree dated September 27th, any person +possessing more <i>than 50 kilos of straps or cables</i> must report it under +a penalty of one year's imprisonment or a fine up to 20,000 marks. +</p> +<p> +October 19th: The scarcity of potatoes is increasing, in spite of a good +crop. The peasants were forbidden to pull out their plants before July +the 21st, <i>when the greater part of the crop was commandeered</i>. +</p> +<p> +October 22nd: The boot factories in Brussels are forbidden to work more +than 24 hours per week. +</p> +<p> +October 24th: A decree dated October the 7th adds borax to the list of +sulphurous products which must be declared according to the decree of +September 16th. +</p> +<p> +October 29th: The Germans continue to take away the rails of the light +railways ("vicinaux"). The line from St. Trond to Hanut has been +demolished. A great deal of rolling stock has been commandeered. Owing +to the shortage of lubricating oil <i>it is to be feared that this last +mode of conveyance left to the Belgians will have to be stopped +shortly</i>. +</p> +<p> +October 30th: A decree dated September 30th makes the measures for the +requisition of metals still more severe. All the steel material—<i>in +whatever shape it may be (including tools)</i>—must be declared to the +<i>Abteilung für Handel und Gewerbe</i> in Brussels, under a penalty of five +years of imprisonment (25,000 marks). +</p> +<p> +October 31st: The commune of Anderlecht has voted a credit of 40,000 +francs for the purchase of <i>wooden shoes as the shortage of leather +prevents most of the people from buying boots</i>. +</p> +<p> +November 1st: A decree dated October 14th prepares for the seizure of +all textile materials, ribbons, hosiery, etc. No more than one-tenth of +the stocks can be manufactured, under a penalty of 10,000 marks. A +decree dated October 17th makes the declaration of poplars all over +Belgium compulsory. +</p> +<p> +It was scarcely necessary to underline some passages of this report. +However bad may be the impression it causes, it would be twenty-six +times worse if we had the leisure to follow step by step the progress of +German economic policy in Belgium. It is evident that the German +administration, in spite of its former declarations, is resolved to ruin +Belgian industry and to throw out of work the greatest number of men +possible. All raw material must go to Germany in order to be worked +there. As it has become evident that the Belgian workers will not submit +to war work so long as they remain in their surroundings, they must be +torn away from their country and compelled to follow the materials and +machines over the frontier. Labour has become an inanimated object +necessary to the prosecution of the German war. It is as indispensable +to Germany as cotton, nickel and copper. It will be treated as such. If +the men resist, they will be crushed. If the soul of Belgium will not +yield to persuasion, it will be taken away from her, like her cattle, +her corn, her iron and her steel. And so Belgium will become a weapon in +Germany's hands, a weapon which will strike at Belgium. And the only +thought of the deported worker turning a shell in a German factory will +be, as is suggested by Louis Raemaekers' cartoon, "Perhaps this one will +kill my own son?" +</p> +<h3> + V. +</h3> +<h2> +THE MODERN SLAVE. +</h2> + +<a name="RULE4_35"><!-- RULE4 35 --></a> +<h2> + I. THE CREEPING TIDE. +</h2> + + +<p> +We must now deal with the second factor which makes the conditions worse +in Belgium than in Germany. While German peace-factories, ruined by the +blockade, have been turned into war-factories, the majority of Belgian +industries have remained idle. In spite of the high wages offered by the +Germans—some skilled workmen were offered as much as £2 and £2 10s. per +day—the workers resisted the constant pressure exerted upon them and +preferred to live miserably on half-wages or with the help given them by +the "Comité National" rather than accept any work which might directly +or indirectly help the occupying power. If a few thousands, compelled by +hunger or unable to resist their conquerors' threats, passed the +frontier, all the rest of the working population kept up, under the most +depressing conditions, a great patriotic strike, the "strike of folded +arms." If they could not, as the 20,000 young heroes who crossed the +Dutch frontier, join the Belgian army on the Yser; they could at least +wage war at home and oppose to the enemy the impenetrable rampart of +their naked breasts. It should not be said, when King Albert should +return to Brussels at the head of his troops, that his subjects had not +shared the sufferings of his soldiers. They should also have their +wounds to show, they should also have their dead to honour. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +When, at the beginning of November last, the protests of the Belgian +Government and the "Signal of Distress" of the Belgian bishops made +known the slave raids which had taken place, most of the outside world +was shocked and surprised. It had lived, for months, under the +impression that "things were not so bad" in the conquered provinces. +After the outcry caused by the atrocities of August, 1914, there came a +natural reaction, a sort of anti-climax. Fines, requisitions, petty +persecutions do not strike the imagination in the same way as the +burning of towns and the wholesale massacre of peaceful citizens. It had +become necessary to follow things closely in order to understand that, +instead of suffering less, the Belgian population was suffering more and +more every day. Besides, news was scarce and difficult to check. When +alarming reports came from the Dutch frontier, it was usual to think +that the newspaper correspondents spread them without much +discrimination. +</p> +<p> +But to those who were familiar with the policy pursued by the German +administration since the spring of 1915, the bad news which they +received lately only confirmed the fears which they had entertained for +a long time. As the war went on, it became more and more evident that +Germany, whose man-power was steadily decreasing, would no longer +tolerate the resistance of the Belgian workers, and would even attempt +to enrol in her army of labour all the able-bodied men of the conquered +provinces. The slave-raids coincide with the "levée en masse" in the +Empire and with the organisation of the new "Polish Army": "If every +German is made to fight or to work, ought not every Belgian, every Pole, +to be compelled to do the same? The fact that they should turn their +arms or their tools against their own country is not worthy of +consideration, as it is supposed already to enjoy the blessings of +German rule and has become an integral part of the Fatherland." +</p> +<p> +There is a great deal to be said for the slavery of ancient times. It +was at least free from cunning and hypocrisy. The conqueror ill-treated +the vanquished, but he spared him his calumnies. The only law was the +law of the stronger, but the stronger did not pretend to be also the +better. The tyrant was always right, of course, but he did not pretend +to show that the victim was always wrong. +</p> +<p> +Now the worst aspect of the German policy is that it associates the +subtlest dialectics with the most insane brutality. When the time comes, +they act with the blind fury of the bull, but they have already thought +it all over with the wisdom of the serpent. That is why the popular +appellation of "Huns" is so misleading. It suggests merely the brutality +of primitive men, which is not always so dangerous and so depraved as +the brutality of civilised men. Brutality does not exclude honesty and +pity. Attila listened to the prayers of the Pope and spared Rome. The +Kaiser's lieutenant does not listen to Cardinal Mercier's protests. The +Huns, as most strong men, made a point of keeping their word. The +Germans seem to make a point of breaking theirs. When I compared the +fight of Belgium and Germany to the unequal fight of Jack and the Giant, +of David and Goliath, I was forgetting that David and Jack were cleverer +than their antagonists. Folklore and fairy-tales always equalize the +chances by granting more wit to the small people than to the big ones. +It is a healthy inspiration. But we are confronted to-day with a new +monster, a wise giant, a cunning dragon, a subtle beast. +</p> +<p> +We must therefore not imagine that Governor von Bissing got up one fine +morning, called for pen and ink, like King Cole for his bowl, and wrote +a proclamation to the effect that all Belgians of military age would be +reduced to slavery and obliged, under the penalty of physical torture +and under the whip of German sentries, to dig trenches behind the +Western front or to turn shells in a German factory. Any fool—any +Goliath—might have done that. +</p> +<p> +Every German crime is preceded by a series of false promises and +followed by a series of calumnies. Between such a prelude and such a +finale, you may perform a symphony of frightfulness with Dr. Strauss' +orchestration—it will sound as innocent and artless as the three notes +of a shepherd's pipe. The violation of Belgian neutrality is bad enough, +but if you begin to lull Belgium to slumber by repeating, on every +occasion, that she has nothing to fear, and if you end by declaring to +the civilised world that Belgium was plotting with England and France a +traitorous attack against Germany, then it becomes quite plausible. To +massacre 6,000 civilians and burn 20,000 houses in cold blood looks +rather harsh, but if you begin by giving "a solemn guarantee to the +people that they will not have to suffer from the war" (General von +Emmich's first proclamation) and end by saying that women have emptied +buckets of boiling water on the heads of your soldiers and that children +have put out the eyes of your wounded, it becomes almost a kind +proceeding. In the same way, to seize and deport hundreds of thousands +of men and compel them to work in exile against their country seems the +act of Barbarians, but if you accumulate assurances that "normal +conditions will be maintained" and that nobody need fear deportation, +and if you end by declaring that the Belgian working classes are +exclusively composed of loafers and drunkards, it becomes a measure of +providence and wisdom for which your victims in particular, and the +whole civilised world in general, ought to be deeply grateful. +</p> +<p> +The promise testifies to your good intentions and the calumny explains +how you were regretfully obliged not to fulfill them. The promise keeps +your victims within reach, the calumnies shift to them the +responsibility for your crime. Who doubts that every town visited by a +Zeppelin is fortified, that every ship sunk by a U boat carries troops +or guns? The old Hun killed everything which stood in his way; the +modern Hun does the same and then declares that <i>he</i> is the victim. The +old Hun left the dead bodies of his enemies to the crows; the modern Hun +throws mud at them. The old Hun tried to kill the body; the modern Hun +tries to ruin the soul. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +For this last and most monstrous of all Germany's crimes we have to +register not one promise only, but a series of promises, an accumulation +of solemn pledges. It seemed worth while apparently to keep the Belgian +workmen at home. Let us record them here, in chronological order: +</p> +<p> +1st. September 2nd, 1914. Proclamation of Governor von der Goltz posted +in Brussels: <i>"I ask no one to renounce his patriotic sentiments..."</i> +</p> +<p> +2nd. October 18th, 1914. Letter of Baron von Huene, Military Governor of +Antwerp, to Cardinal Mercier, read in every church of the province in +order to reassure the people after the fall of Antwerp and to stop the +emigration: <i>"Young men need have no fear of being deported to Germany, +either to be enrolled in the army or to be subjected to forced labour."</i> +</p> +<p> +3rd. On the same day, a written declaration of the military authorities +of Antwerp to General von Terwisga, commanding the Dutch army in the +field, declaring without foundation "the rumour that the young men will +be sent to Germany." +</p> +<p> +4th. A few weeks later, this promise was confirmed verbally to Cardinal +Mercier <i>and extended to the other provinces</i> under German rule by +Governor von der Goltz, two aide-de-camps and the Cardinal's private +secretary being present. (See letter from Cardinal Mercier to Baron von +Bissing, October 19th, 1916). +</p> +<p> +5th. November, 1914. Assurances given by the German authorities to the +Dutch Legation in Brussels in order to persuade the refugees to come +back: "<i>Normal conditions will be restored and the refugees will be +allowed to go back to Holland to look after their families</i>." (See also +the letter of the Dutch Consul in Antwerp urging the refugees to come +back to their homes.) +</p> +<p> +6th. July 25th, 1915. Placard of Governor von Bissing posted in +Brussels: "<i>The people shall never be compelled to do anything against +their country</i>." +</p> +<p> +7th. April, 1916: Assurances given to the neutral powers after the Lille +raids that <i>such deportations would not be renewed</i>. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Now, let us confront these texts, not even with the facts which come to +us from the most trustworthy sources, but with the German decrees and +proclamations preparing and ordering the recent deportations. We are not +opposing a Belgian testimony to a German one, neither are we, for the +present, propounding even our own interpretation of what occurred. We +will merely oppose a German document to another German document and let +them settle their differences as best they can. +</p> +<p> +The first trouble began in April and May, 1915, in Luttre, at the +Malines arsenal, and in several other Flemish towns, when the German +authorities exerted every possible pressure to compel the Belgian +workmen to resume work. They were brought, under military escort, to +their workshops, imprisoned, starved, and about two hundred of them were +deported to Germany, where they were submitted to the most cruel +tortures. (See the <i>Nineteenth Report of the Belgian Commission of +Enquiry</i>.) The threats and persecutions are sufficiently established by +three placards issued by the German authorities. +</p> +<p> +The first one, posted on the walls of Pont-à -Celles, near Luttre, says, +among other things: "If the workmen accept the above conditions (that is +to say, resume work with handsome wages) <i>the prisoners will be +released</i>...." The "prisoners" being several hundred workers who had +been imprisoned in their shops and deprived of food. (April, 1915.) +</p> +<p> +The second, <i>signed von Bissing</i> (so that nobody could imagine that +these measures were taken by some too zealous subaltern) and posted in +Malines, on the 30th of May, tells us that "<i>the town of Malines must be +punished as long as the required number of workmen have not resumed +work</i>." These workmen were employed by the Belgian State—which owns the +country's railway—for the repair of the rolling stock. When they had +refused to resume work, at the beginning of the occupation, a few +hundred German workmen had filled their posts. These had been sent back +to their military depots. The patriotic duty of these Belgians was +evident enough: by resuming their work, they released German soldiers +for the front and increased the number of coaches and engines, of which +the enemy was in great need for the transport of troops. If you will +compare this poster with the one printed above and dated July 25th, you +will be confronted with one of the neatest examples of German duplicity. +Other people have broken their promises after making them. It was left +to Governor von Bissing to make them after breaking them. +</p> +<p> +The third document is still more conclusive. On June the 16th the +citizens of Ghent could read on their walls that: "The attitude of +certain factories which refuse <i>to work for the German Army</i> under the +pretext of patriotism proves that a movement is afoot to create +difficulties for the <i>German Army</i>. If such an attitude is maintained I +will hold the communal authorities responsible and the population will +have only itself to blame if the great liberties granted to it until +now are suspended." This clumsy declaration is signed by +Lieutenant-General Graf von Westcarp. And to think that, even now, +Governor von Bissing perseveres in maintaining that no military work has +ever been asked or will ever be asked from the Belgian workers! As the +French proverb says: "On n'est jamais trahi que par les siens." [<a href="#note-4">4</a>] +</p> +<p> +But, like the man who marries his mistress after the birth of the first +child, the Governor General was thinking of "regularising the +situation." He knew that his attitude was illegal. He decided, +therefore, to concoct a few decrees in order to legalize it in the eyes +of the world. He had, you see, to save appearances. You cannot get on +with no law at all. It might shock neutrals. So, if you break all the +articles of the Hague Convention one by one, like so many sticks, the +only thing to do is to manufacture some fresh regulations to replace +them. And everything will again be for the best in the best of worlds. +</p> +<p> +That is where German subtlety comes in. You must not do things rashly, +at once. Like a skilful dramatist, you must prepare the public to take +in a situation. There is a true artistic touch in the way this General +of Cavalry succeeds in gradually legalizing illegality. +</p> +<p> +In a first decree, dated August 10th, 1915, a fortnight after his last +pledge, Governor von Bissing promises from fourteen days' to six months' +imprisonment to anyone dependent on public charity who refuses to +undertake work "without a sufficient reason" and a fine of £500 or a +year's imprisonment to anyone who encourages refusal to work by the +granting of relief. Notice that the accomplice is punished more heavily +than the principal culprit. The idea is clearly to deprive every striker +of the help of his commune and of the "Comité National." However, as it +is still left to Belgian tribunals to decide which reasons are +"sufficient" and which are not, this decree is not very harmful. +</p> +<p> +On May 2nd, 1916, the rising tide creeps nearer to us. The power of +deciding on the matter passes from the Belgian tribunals to the military +authority, and thereupon every striker becomes a culprit. +</p> +<p> +On May 13th, there is a new decree by which "the governors, military +commanders, and chiefs of districts are allowed to order the unemployed +<i>to be conducted by force</i> to the spots where they have to work." This, +no doubt, in order to avoid the crowding of prisons, which would have +necessarily followed the last decree. It only remains to declare that +the workers can be deported to complete the process and to legalise +slavery. +</p> +<p> +This step was taken on October 3rd last, when an order, signed by +Quartier-Meister Sauberzweig and issued by the General Headquarters of +the German Army, was posted in all the communes of Flanders. This order +warned all persons "<i>who are fit to work</i> that they may be compelled to +do so <i>even outside their places of residence,</i>" when "they should be +compelled to have recourse to public help for their own subsistence or +for the subsistence of the persons dependent on them." +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-4"><!-- Note Anchor 4 --></a>[Footnote 4: Another poster dated from Menin (August, 1915) reads as +follows: "From to-day the town is forbidden to give any support whatever +even to the families, wives, or children of workmen who are not employed +<i>regularly on military work</i>.."] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +But there is more to come in the story. Three guarantees were left, +which have been quoted again and again by the German Press and by Baron +von Bissing in his various answers to Cardinal Mercier. It was first +stated that the men seized would not be sent to Germany, then that only +the unemployed were taken, and finally that these would not be used on +military work. These last guarantees have been repeatedly broken. +Again, I will leave the Germans to condemn themselves. +</p> +<p> +In his decree published at Antwerp, on November the 2nd, General von +Huene (the same man who had given Cardinal Mercier his formal written +promise that no deportations should take place) declares that the men +are to be concentrated at the Southern Station, "whence ... they will be +conveyed in groups to <i>workshops in Germany</i>." +</p> +<p> +In a letter sent by General Hurt, Military Governor of Brussels and of +the province of Brabant, to all burgomasters, it is said that "where the +Communes will not furnish the lists (of unemployed) the German +administration will itself designate the men to be deported to Germany. +If then ... errors are committed, the burgomasters will only have +themselves to blame, for <i>the German administration has no time and no +means for making an inquiry concerning the personal status of each +person</i>." +</p> +<p> +Finally, an extraordinary proclamation of the "Major-Commandant +d'Etapes" of Antoing, dated October 20th, announces that "<i>the +population will never be compelled to work under continuous fire,"</i> this +population being composed, according to the same document, of <i>men and +women</i> between 17 and 46 years of age. If they refuse "they will be +placed in a <i>battalion of civil workers, on reduced rations</i>." Here is +the address of one of these militarised civilians dropped from a train +leaving for the Western front and picked up by a friend: X., 3 Comp. +Ziv. Arb. Bat. 27.—Et. Indp.—Armee No. +</p> +<p> +This did not prevent Governor von Bissing from declaring, a week later +(letter to Cardinal Mercier, October 26th), that: "No workman can be +obliged to participate in work connected with the war (<i>entreprises de +guerre</i>)"! [<a href="#note-5">5</a>] +</p> +<p> +The last fatal step has been taken. From decree to decree, from +proclamation to proclamation, the last threads of the curtain of +legality which remained between the victim and the tyrant have been cut +one by one. Between the acts of the German administration in Belgium and +those of the African slave drivers, we are now unable to discover any +difference whatever. The old plague which had been the shame of Europe +for more than two centuries has risen again from its ashes. It appears +before us with all its hideous characteristics. People are torn from +their homes and sent away to foreign lands without any hope of +returning. Any protest is crushed by the application of torture in the +form of starvation, exposure, and their kindred ills ... There is, +however, one new point about the modern slave: his face is as white as +that of his master. +</p> +<p> +The nineteenth century stamped out black slavery. It was left to the +twentieth century to reinstate white slavery. It is the purest glory of +the English-speaking people to have succeeded in eradicating the old +evil. It will be the eternal shame of the German-speaking people to have +replaced it by something worse. Civilisation forbade any man, sixty +years ago, to force another man to work for him. Civilisation to-day +does not forbid a man—a conqueror—to force another man to work against +himself. The old slave only lost his liberty. The new slave must lose +his honour, his dignity, his self-respect. He has only one other +alternative: death. And this, not the glorious death of a martyr which +makes thousands of converts and shines all over the world, not the death +of Nurse Cavell, but the anonymous death of X.Y.Z., the death of +hundreds and hundreds of unknown heroes who will die under the whip or +in the darkness of their cells in the German prison camps. +</p> +<p> +I had almost forgotten a last distinction between the old and the new +forms of slavery: The average slave driver of past days was only a +trader who sold human beings instead of selling oxen or sheep. When his +trade was prohibited, he took heavy risks and ran great danger of losing +his fortune and his life. But the German rulers of Belgium, whether they +be in Brussels or in Berlin, whether we call them von Bissing or +Helfferich, live in the comfort of their homes, surrounded by their +families, and when assailed by protests, can still play hide and seek +around the broken pillars of the Temple of Peace and wave arrogantly, +like so many flags, the torn articles of international law: "I assert," +said Dr. Helfferich in the Reichstag (December 2nd)—"I assert that +setting the Belgian unemployed to work is thoroughly consonant with +international law. We therefore <i>take our stand, formally and in +practice, on international law, making use of our undoubted rights</i>." +</p> +<p> +Let Dr. Helfferich beware. He is not the only judge on international +law. His stand may come crashing down. +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-5"><!-- Note Anchor 5 --></a>[Footnote 5: I should ask the reader to confront this declaration with +the statement made by the Belgian workmen in their appeal to the working +classes of the world. "On the Western Front they force them, by the most +brutal means, <i>to dig trenches</i>, construct aviation grounds...." +</p> +<p> +In his letter sent to the Belgian Ministers to the Vatican and to Spain, +Baron Beyens, the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, says: "The men +are sent to occupied France <i>to construct sets of trenches and a +strategic railway, Lille-Aulnaye-Givet."</i> +</p> +<p> +Among many trustworthy reports, we hear that the 5th +Zivilisten-Bataillon, including some men of Ghent and Alost, has been +forced to work, under threat of death, on the construction of a +strategic railway between Laon and Soissons. Some of the men, exhausted +by the bad treatment inflicted upon them, have been sent back to Belgium +in a critical condition, and have written a full statement relating +their experiences, signed by twenty of them. On the other hand, the +Belgian General Headquarters report that Belgian civilians, obliged to +dig trenches and dug-outs near Becelaere (West Flanders), were exposed +to the fire of the English guns.] +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_4"><!-- RULE4 4 --></a> +<h2> + II. BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON ... +</h2> + +<p> +"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion." +</p> +<p> +What prophetic spirit inspired Cardinal Mercier when he chose this psalm +for the text of his sermon, on the occasion of the second anniversary of +their Independence (July 21st, 1916), which the Belgians celebrated in +exile and captivity? It was in the great Gothic church, in Brussels, +under the arches of Ste. Gudule, at the close of a service for the +soldiers fallen during the war, the very last patriotic ceremony +tolerated by the Germans. Socialists, Liberals, Catholics crowded the +nave, forgetting their old quarrels, united in a common worship, the +worship of their threatened country, of their oppressed liberties. +</p> +<p> +"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" His audience +imagined that the preacher alluded only to a spiritual captivity, that +he meant: "How shall we celebrate our freedom in this German prison?" +And they listened, like the first Christians in the catacombs, dreading +to hear the tramp of the soldiers before the door. The Cardinal pursued +his fearless address: "The psalm ends with curses and maledictions. We +will not utter them against our enemies. We are not of the Old but of +the New Testament. We do not follow the old law: an eye for an eye, a +tooth for a tooth, but the new law of Love and Christian brotherhood. +But we do not forget that even above Love stands Justice. If our brother +sins, how can we pretend to love him if we do not wish that his sins +should be punished...." +</p> +<p> +Such was the tenor of the Cardinal's address, the greatest Christian +address inspired by the war, uttered under the most tragic and moving +circumstances. For the people knew by then the danger of speaking out +their minds in conquered Belgium; they knew that some German spies were +in the church taking note of every word, of every gesture. Still, they +could not restrain their feelings, and, at the close of the sermon, when +the organ struck up the <i>Brabançonne</i>, they cheered and cheered again, +thankful to feel, for an instant, the dull weight of oppression lifted +from their shoulders by the indomitable spirit of their old leader. +</p> +<p> +What strikes us now, when recalling this memorable ceremony, is not so +much the address itself as the choice of its text: "For they that +carried us away captive required of us a song." +</p> +<p> +Many of those who listened to Cardinal Mercier on July 21st, 1916, have +no doubt been "carried away" by now, and they have sung. They have sung +the Brabançonne and the "Lion de Flandres" as a last defiance to their +oppressors whilst those long cattle trains, packed with human cattle, +rolled in wind and rain towards the German frontier. And the echo of +their song still haunts the sleep of every honest man. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +For whatever Germany may do or say, the time is no longer when such +crimes can be left unpunished. Notwithstanding the war and the +triumphant power of the mailed fist, there still exists such a thing as +public conscience and public opinion. Nothing can happen, in any part of +the world, without awakening an echo in the hearts of men who apparently +are not at all concerned in the matter. The Germans are too clever not +to understand this, and the endless trouble which they take in order to +monopolise the news in neutral countries and to encounter every +accusation with some more or less insidious excuse is the best proof of +this. When one of them declared that Raemaekers' cartoons had done more +harm to Germany than an army corps, he knew perfectly well what he was +talking about. Only they rely so blindly on their own intellectual power +and they have such a poor opinion of the brains of other people that +they believe in first doing whatever suits their plans and then justify +their action afterwards. They divide the work between themselves: The +soldier acts, the lawyer and the professor undertakes to explain what he +has done. However black the first may become, there is plenty of +whitewash ready to restore his innocence. +</p> +<p> +If the unexpected resistance of Belgium has infuriated the Germans to +such an extent, it is not only because it wrecked their surprise attack +on France, it is also because, even after the retreat of the army, they +have been confronted by a series of men courageous enough and clever +enough to stand their ground and to come between them and the uneducated +mass of the population. +</p> +<p> +Since, for the sake of propaganda, they wanted to make a show of +respecting international law, they were taken at their word; so that +they were obliged either to give way or to put themselves openly in the +wrong. When they tried to break their promise to the municipality of +Brussels and to annihilate the liberties of the old Belgian communes, +Mr. Max stood in their way, calm and smiling, with no other weapon than +the law which they pretended to respect. Mr. Max was sent to a German +fortress, but Germany had torn up another scrap of paper—and the +civilised world knew it. When they wanted to establish extraordinary +tribunals for matters which belonged only to local tribunals, Mr. +Théodor and all the barristers of the country lodged protest after +protest and fought their case step by step. Mr. Théodor was deported, +but the German administration had blundered again—and the world knew +it. When Baron von Bissing tried to infringe the privileges of the +Church and to cow the Belgian priests into submission by forbidding them +to read to their flock the patriotic letter of Cardinal Mercier, +published on Christmas Day, 1914, he found himself opposed not only by a +far cleverer man than himself, but by all the spiritual influence of one +of the greatest priests in Europe. The letter was read, the Cardinal did +not leave for Germany but for Rome, whence he came back to Malines, and, +if anything, adopted a still firmer tone in his subsequent letters and +speeches. Von Bissing was beaten—and the world knew it. +</p> +<p> +These are only a few striking examples among many. Since August, 1914, +hundreds and hundreds of civilians have been imprisoned or deported; +workmen, because they refused to work for the enemy; lawyers, because +they refused to accept his law; bankers, because they would not let +their money cross the frontier; professors, because they did not consent +to propagate Kultur; journalists, because they objected to print Wolff's +news; tradespeople, because they put their patriotism above their +private interests; priests, because they did not worship the German god; +women, because they did not admire German officers; children, because +they did not play the German games. Meanwhile the firing parties did not +remain idle. The world has heard with horror of the death of Miss +Cavell; it has been shocked by the disproportion between her "crime" and +her punishment, and by the hypocrisy displayed by the German +administration during her trial. But, if England has lost one great +martyr, Belgium has lost hundreds, who perished in the same way, +sometimes for smaller offences, often for no offence at all. For the +German judges are in a hurry, and they have no time to enquire too +closely in such matters. The vengeance of a spy, the slightest suspicion +of a policeman, sometimes even an anonymous letter, are enough to +convince them of the guilt of the accused person. The healthy effect +produced on the population by Dinant and Louvain must not be allowed to +spend itself. Frightfulness must be kept up at any price. The reign of +terror is the condition of the German regime. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +To-day, in this most tragic hour of Belgian history, when so many +leaders, so many patriots, have been imprisoned, deported or shot, after +twenty-nine months of constant threats and persecutions, we might ask +ourselves: Is Belgium at last cowed into submission? +</p> +<p> +Listen, then, to Belgium's voice, not to the voice of the refugees, not +even to the voice of the King and his Government, but to the voice of +these miserable "slaves" whom Germany is trying to starve into +submission. Letters have been dropped from these cattle trucks rolling +towards Germany or towards the French front. They all tell us of the +unshakeable resolution of the men never to sign an agreement to go to +Germany, and never to work for the enemy: "We will never work for the +Germans and never put our name on paper" (<i>onze naam on papier +zetten</i>)—"We will not work for them. Do the same when you are taken." +(<i>Faites de même quand tu dois aller</i>.) Two young men imprisoned in +Ghent write to their father: "They will have to make us fast a long time +before we consent to work for the King of Prussia." Another man who was +stopped when attempting to escape writes: "They tell us here that the +Germans will make us work even if we do not sign an engagement. It would +be abominable. <i>Take heart, the hour of deliverance will strike one day, +after all</i>." Another workman sends the following message to his +employer: "We are here two thousand and three hundred men. They cannot +annihilate us. <i>It is not right that our fate should be better than that +of our brothers who suffer and fight at the front</i>. We cannot make a +step without being threatened by the gun or the bayonet of our jailors. +<i>I am hungry ... but I will not work for them</i>." +</p> +<p> +And as the slave raids reach one province after another from Flanders to +Antwerp, from Hainant to Brabant, as the fatal list of deportees +increases from 20,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, from 100,000 to +200,000, whilst the cries of women and children are heard in the +streets, whilst the modern slaves tramp along the roads carrying a light +bundle of clothes on their shoulders, from everywhere in Belgium the +strongest protests are sent to the Governor General, by the communes +which will not consent to give the names of the unemployed, by the +magistrates who will not see the last guarantees of individual right +trampled upon, by the Socialist syndicates which are defending the right +of the workmen not to work against their own country, by the chiefs of +industry who show clearly that the whole responsibility of the labour +crisis rests on Germany alone, by the bishops of the Church, who refuse +to admit that, after two thousand years of Christian teaching, a +so-called Christian nation should fall so low as to revive, for her own +benefit, the worst custom of Paganism. +</p> +<p> +The energy of these protests is wonderful if one considers the +conditions in which they have been made. The town councillors of Tournai +were asked to draw up a list of unemployed. They refused; as the Germans +insisted, they passed the following resolution: "The municipal council +decide to persevere in their negative attitude.... The city of Tournai +is prepared to submit without resistance to all the exigencies +authorized by the laws and customs of the war. Its sincerity cannot be +doubted, as it has shown perfect composure and has avoided any act of +hostility during a period of over two years ... But, at the same time, +the municipal council could not furnish weapons against their own +children, fully conscious that natural law and international law, which +is derived from it, forbids them to do so." (October 20th, 1916). We +possess also the German answer, signed by Major-General Hopfer. It is a +necessary supplement to von Bissing's unctuous literature. Major-General +Hopfer calls the resolution "an act of arrogance without precedent." +According to him, "the state of affairs, clearly and simply, is this: +the military authority commands, the municipality has to obey. If it +fails to do so it will have to support the heavy consequences." A fine +of 200,000 marks is exacted from the town for its refusal, besides +20,000 marks for every day of delay until the lists are completed. +</p> +<p> +The case of Tournai, like that of Antoing and a good many small towns, +is typical. The officers commanding in these districts either disregard +the "mot d'ordre" given in Brussels or do not think it worth their while +to keep up the sinister comedy played in the large towns. Here "Kultur" +throws off her mask and the brute appears. We know at least where we +stand. The conflict is cleared of all false pretence and paltry excuses. +The councillors of Tournai appeal to some law, divine or human, which +forbids a brother to betray his brother. It is not without relief that +we hear the genuine voice of Major Hopfer declaring that there is no +other law than his good pleasure. That settles everything and puts the +case of Belgium in a nut-shell. Men like him and the commander of the +Antoing district—another Major, by the way—are invaluable. But they +will never become Generals unless they mend their manners. +</p> +<p> +From the perusal of the Belgian protests and of all particulars +received, two things appear clearly: First, in spite of all the official +declarations, whether the raiders are able or not to get hold of the +lists, there is no real discrimination between employed or unemployed. +And, secondly, in many districts, unemployment has been deliberately +created by the authorities in order to justify the deportations. +</p> +<p> +We cannot discover any method in the raids. In some places, all the +able-bodied men from 17 to 50 are taken away; in others the priests, the +town-clerks, the members of the "Comité de Secours," and the teachers +are left at home; in others still a certain selection is made. <i>But +everywhere some men who were actually working at the time or even men +who had never been out of work since the beginning of the German +occupation have been obliged to go with the others</i>. The proportions +vary. In the small town of Gembloux, of a total of 750 inhabitants +deported, <i>there were only two unemployed</i>. At Kersbeek-Miscom out of 94 +deportees only two had been thrown out of work. At Rillaer, the Germans +have taken 25 boys under 18 years of age.[<a href="#note-6">6</a>] In the district of Mons, +from the numbers taken down in fourteen communes, we gather that the +proportion of the unemployed varies between 10 and 15 per cent. of the +total number of deportees.[<a href="#note-7">7</a>] Among the 400 men taken from Arlon +(Luxembourg) were 43 members of the "Comité de Secours" who were working +in connection with the Commission for Relief, so that not only the +people supporting their families are being deported, but even those who +employed themselves in alleviating the sufferings of the whole +population. This practice has been repeated in several other towns, for +instance, in Gembloux and Libramont. +</p> +<p> +Whether the people are ordered to present themselves at the town-hall or +seized in their own homes, whether they are taken forthwith or allowed a +few hours to prepare themselves, whether they are forced to sign an +agreement or not, the same fact is evident: the criterion of employment +is never considered as a sufficient cause for exemption. +</p> +<p> +In certain districts where, in spite of the requisitions, no +unemployment existed, the authorities have manufactured it. Some of the +new coal mines of the Limbourg province have been closed on the eve of +the raids. The case of the Luxembourg province is still more typical. +"We have not to enquire here," declare the senators and deputies of this +province, "if unemployment has been caused in other regions by the +disorganisation of transports, the seizure of raw stuffs and machines, +the constant requisitions, and other measures which were bound to +penalize the national industry. One fact remains incontestable; it is +that, so far as the Luxembourg province is concerned, unemployment has +been non-existent. During the worst periods, we have only had a small +number of unemployed, and thanks to the initiative taken by the 'Comité +de Secours' all, without any exception, have been at work without +interruption." After enumerating a great number of works of public +utility which had been approved by the German authorities, construction +of light railways, drainage of extensive moors, creation of new +plantations, water supplies, etc., ... the report goes on: "And to-day +most of these works, which had been approved and subsidized by the +province and by the State, have been suddenly condemned and +interrupted.... <i>Such official obstacles to the legitimate and useful +activity of our workmen renders still more painful for them, if +possible, the measures taken against them by those who reproach them for +their idleness and who prosecute them to-day under the pretext of an +inaction which they have deliberately created</i>." +</p> +<p> +In the face of such testimony all the German argument crumbles to +pieces. As Monseigneur Mercier puts it decisively: "It is not true that +our workmen have caused any disturbance or even threatened anywhere to +do so. Five million Belgians, hundreds of Americans, never cease to +admire the perfect dignity and patience of our working classes. It is +not true that the workmen, deprived of their work, become a charge on +the occupying power or on public charity under its control. The 'Comité +National,' in whose activity the Germans take no part, is the only +organisation concerned in the matter." But even supposing, for the sake +of argument, that the 43rd article of the Hague Convention should +justify some form of coercion in the matter, the new measures should +only be applied to some works of <i>public utility in Belgium</i>. Far from +encouraging such works, the Germans have stopped them, seized <i>employed +and unemployed</i>, and sent them either to <i>Germany</i> or to some <i>war-work</i> +on the Western front. To put it simply, they wish to avoid public +disturbance where there is no disturbance, to save money which is not +their money, to deport unemployed who are not unemployed, to oblige them +to work against their country instead of for their country, and in +Germany instead of in Belgium. They are doing everything but what they +want to do, they go anywhere but where they are going, and they say +anything but what they are thinking. +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-6"><!-- Note Anchor 6 --></a>[Footnote 6: Letter of Cardinal Mercier to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +29th, 1916.] +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-7"><!-- Note Anchor 7 --></a>[Footnote 7: Reply of the Deputies of Mons to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +27th, 1916.] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The other day I heard two people—two wizened city clerks—discussing +the war in the train. "When and how will the Germans be beaten?" asked +the first. The other shrugged his shoulders and declared solemnly, +while pulling at his pipe: "The Germans? They have been beaten a long +time ago! They were beaten when they set foot for the first time in +Belgium." +</p> +<p> +The remark is not new, and I daresay it was a reminiscence of some +sentence picked up in a newspaper or at a popular meeting. But whoever +uttered it for the first time was right. The case of Belgium has +uplifted the whole moral atmosphere of the struggle. Since the first +guns boomed around Liège and the first civilians were shot at Visé, a +war which might have been represented, to a certain extent, as a +conflict of interests, has become a conflict of principles. In a way, +the Germans were beaten because, from that moment, they had to struggle +against unseen and inflexible forces. Whatever you choose to call +them—democratic instinct, Christian aspiration, or the conscience of +the civilised world—they will do their work relentlessly, every day of +the year, every hour of the day. It is their doing that, in spite of the +immense financial influence and the most active propaganda, Germany has +become unpopular all over the world. Other facts, like the <i>Lusitania</i>, +the trial of Miss Cavell, the work accomplished by Zeppelins, have +contributed to provoke this feeling. But whether we consider the origin +or the last exploits of German policy, whether we think of two years ago +or of to-day, the image of Belgium, of her invasion, of her martyrdom, +of her oppression, of her deportations, dominates the spiritual aspect +of the whole war. +</p> +<p> +When they crossed the Belgian frontier, the Germans walked straight into +a bog, and since then they have been sucked deeper and deeper into the +mud of their own misdeeds and calumnies. They were ankle-deep at Liège, +waist-deep at Louvain, the bog rises even to their lips to-day. In the +desperate efforts which they make to free themselves they inflict fresh +and worse tortures on their victims. It is as if victory could only be +reached through the country's willing sacrifice. But every cry which the +Germans provoke in the Belgian prison is heard throughout the world, +every tear shed there fills their bitter cup, every drop of blood they +shed falls back on their own heads. The world looks on, and its burning +pity, its ardent sympathy, brings warmth and comfort to the Belgian +slave. There is still some light shining through the narrow window of +the cell. And there is not a man worthy of the name who does not feel +more resolute and more confident in final victory when he meets the +haggard look of the martyred country and watches her pale, patient, and +still smiling face pressed against the iron bars. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_5"><!-- RULE4 5 --></a> +<h2> + VI. +</h2> + +<center> +THE OLIVE BRANCH. +</center> +<p> +We may ask ourselves if it was by chance only or through some subtle +calculation that the first slave-raids in Belgium were timed to take +place on the eve of the Christmas season, when the angels proclaimed +"good-will towards men," and when the German diplomats offered us the +olive branch and the dove—peace at their own price. We may perhaps +admit, now that the crisis is over, that for us Belgians at least the +temptation was great, and if our repeated experience of the enemy had +not shown us that he is most dangerous when he dons the humanitarian +garb, we might have been duped by this remarkable piece of +stage-management. There is every reason to believe that the deportations +were part and parcel of the German peace manoeuvre. By increasing a +hundredfold the "horrors of war" Germany provided a powerful argument to +the pacifists all the world over: "Look at these miserable Belgians. +Have they not suffered enough? Is it not time that an end should be put +to their misery? Germany has declared that she is ready to evacuate the +country. She might even give an indemnity. What other satisfaction can +the Allies ask, considering the present situation on both the Eastern +and Western fronts? If England really went to war to deliver Belgium, +let her prove it now by stopping the struggle to spare her innocent +citizens. It is all very well for those who are living comfortably at +home to urge the continuance of the struggle. But can they take the +responsibility of speaking on behalf of the population which has to +submit to the enemy's rule and whose sufferings increase every day? ..." +</p> +<p> +We have all listened to that voice. The Belgians in exile more intensely +perhaps than the other Allies. Belgium had nothing whatever to do with +the origin of the quarrel. She had nothing to gain from its conclusion. +She had been drawn unwillingly into the conflict. She has taken arms +merely to defend her rights and territory. What should her answer be if +Germany offered to restore them? +</p> +<hr> +<p> +At the beginning of August last, a certain number of Socialist leaders, +in occupied Belgium, succeeded in arranging a meeting, in spite of +German regulations, and passed the following resolution, which they sent +to the Minister Vandervelde, in London: "The Belgian working classes are +decided to endure all sufferings rather than to accept a German peace, +which could neither be lasting nor final. The Allies must not think that +they must hasten the conclusion of the struggle for us. We are not +asking for peace, and we take no responsibility for the Socialist +manifestations made in neutral countries on our behalf. <i>We ask those +who want to help us not to let the idea that we long for peace influence +their decisions</i>. We pass this resolution in order to prevent the +disastrous effect, which such an argument might produce." +</p> +<p> +The Belgium people has never departed from this attitude, and it is the +plain duty of all those who are defending them, to conform, in the +spirit and in the letter, to their heroic message. In the "Appeal" of +the Belgian workers to the civilised world, sent during the worst period +of the slave-raids, the idea of a truce is not even entertained. On the +contrary, the workers declare that, "whatever their tortures may be, +they will not have peace without the independence of their country and +the triumph of justice." An eye-witness of the raids was telling me, a +few days ago, that, on some occasions, the men in the slave trains are +able to communicate with the people outside: "They shout, of course, +'Long live Belgium' and 'Long live King Albert,' but the most frequent +cry, in which they seem to put their last ounce of strength, is: 'Do +not sign,' which means: 'Do not sign an engagement to work in Germany, +do not sign a compromise.'" And I have not the slightest doubt that, if +they had heard of the German peace offers, they would still shout, "Do +not sign, do not sign a German peace!" +</p> +<p> +We know what this attitude costs them. We know, from the report of those +few men who have been sent back to Belgium from the Western front and +from the German camps, the tortures to which the modern slaves are being +subjected. These men were so ill, so worn out, that their family +scarcely recognised them, and greeted them with tears, not with +laughter. It was like a procession of ghosts coming back from hell. At +Soltau, the prisoners are given only two pints of acorn soup and a +mouldy piece of bread, every day. They are so famished that they creep +at night to steal the potato parings which their German guards throw on +to—the rubbish heap. They divide them amongst themselves and eat them +raw to appease their hunger. After the first week of this régime, +several men went mad. Others were isolated for a few days and given +excellent food. "Will you sign now? If you do, you shall be kept on the +same diet; if not... you go back to camp?" The great majority refused +... and were sent back. This is not an isolated report. All the accounts +agree, even on the smallest details, and the deportees who have been +able to write to their families tell the same story as those who, being +henceforth useless, have been sent home to die. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +It has always been the German policy to bully and to cajole almost at +the same time. But the image of Germania offering, with her sweetest +humanitarian smile, an olive-branch to the Allies whilst her +executioners are starving thousands of Belgian slaves and clubbing them +with their rifles, will stand in the memory of mankind as the climax of +combined brutality and hypocrisy. +</p> +<p> +Should we wonder if the present has been refused? There is only one +peace which matters, it is the peace of man with his own conscience, the +peace of the soul with its God. We have it already, and even the roar of +the German guns will not disturb it. It hovers over our trenches, over +the sea, even over these terrible German camps where the best blood of a +great people is being sucked by the vampires of War. And those who have +fallen stricken on the battlefields, those who have succumbed to the +slow tortures to which they were subjected, are resting now under its +great wings. Should we dare to disturb their sleep? Should we dare to +stain their glory? +</p> +<p> +It is not for Germany to offer peace. She has lost, it with her honour. +It lies in some pool, at the corner of a wood, where the hooligan waits +in ambush, or on the rubbish heap of the Soltau camp in which men—noble +men—are made to seek their food like pigs. Germany cannot offer what is +not hers to offer. The Allies cannot take what they have already. For +there is only one peace, "the peace that passeth all understanding." +</p> +<p> +As for the German olive branch, how could we accept it? It is no longer +green. There is a drop of blood on every leaf. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +It is perfectly useless to try, as has been done in certain quarters, to +distinguish between Belgium's attitude in the conflict and that of the +Powers who are fighting for the restoration of her integrity. From the +day when England, France and Russia answered King Albert's appeal, the +unflinching policy of Belgium has been to act in perfect harmony with +the Allies. How could it be otherwise? Their cause is her cause. Their +victory will be her victory, and—if we should ever consider the +possibility of defeat—their defeat would be her defeat. The Belgians +who like myself, were in England during these fateful days of August, +1914, when the destiny of Europe hung in the balance, know perfectly +well the decisive influence which the invasion of Belgium had on English +public opinion at that time. Nothing can ever blur the clear outlines of +the events as they passed before us under the implacable rays of that +glorious summer sun. +</p> +<p> +The whole policy of Germany is determined by her first stroke in the +war. That stroke was delivered against a small nation. The whole policy +of England and of the Allies is determined by their first efforts in the +struggle, and these efforts were made to protect a small nation against +Germany's aggression. Never has the choice between right and wrong been +made plainer in the whole history of the world. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_6"><!-- RULE4 6 --></a> +<h2> + Cartoons by Louis Raemaekers +</h2> + +<center> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img02.jpg"><img src="images/img02.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img03.jpg"><img src="images/img03.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img04.jpg"><img src="images/img04.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img05.jpg"><img src="images/img05.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img06.jpg"><img src="images/img06.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img07.jpg"><img src="images/img07.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img08.jpg"><img src="images/img08.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +</center> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12644 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/12644-h/images/img01.jpg b/12644-h/images/img01.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4d00efd --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img01.jpg diff --git a/12644-h/images/img02.jpg b/12644-h/images/img02.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e6eee38 --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img02.jpg diff --git a/12644-h/images/img03.jpg b/12644-h/images/img03.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1bd79ec --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img03.jpg diff --git a/12644-h/images/img04.jpg b/12644-h/images/img04.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..974e1a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img04.jpg diff --git a/12644-h/images/img05.jpg b/12644-h/images/img05.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..198b26a --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img05.jpg diff --git a/12644-h/images/img06.jpg b/12644-h/images/img06.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..14aba15 --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img06.jpg diff --git a/12644-h/images/img07.jpg b/12644-h/images/img07.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..239010d --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img07.jpg diff --git a/12644-h/images/img08.jpg b/12644-h/images/img08.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0dc85ac --- /dev/null +++ b/12644-h/images/img08.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..39bf003 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #12644 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12644) diff --git a/old/12644-8.txt b/old/12644-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..599b2c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2410 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Through the Iron Bars, by Emile Cammaerts, +Illustrated by Louis Raemaekers + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Through the Iron Bars + +Author: Emile Cammaerts + +Release Date: June 17, 2004 [eBook #12644] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: iso-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THE IRON BARS*** + + +E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Brett Koonce, and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 12644-h.htm or 12644-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644/12644-h/12644-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644/12644-h.zip) + + + + + +THROUGH THE IRON BARS + +Two years of German occupation in Belgium + +BY + +EMILE CAMMAERTS + +ILLUSTRATED WITH CARTOONS BY LOUIS RAEMAEKERS + +MCMXVII + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + I. The Prison Gates + + II. The Lowered Flag + +III. The Poisoned Wells + + IV. The Sacking of Belgium + + V. The Modern Slave + 1. The Creeping Tide + 2. "By the Waters of Babylon" + + VI. The Olive Branch + +Through the Iron Bars + + + + +I. + +THE PRISON GATES. + + +The English-speaking public is generally well informed concerning the +part played in the war by the Belgian troops. The resistance of our +small field army at Liège, before Antwerp, and on the Yser has been +praised and is still being praised wherever the tale runs. This is easy +enough to understand. The fact that those 100,000 men should have been +able to hold so long in check the forces of the first military Empire in +Europe, and that a great number of them, helped by new contingents of +recruits and led by their young King, should still be fighting on their +native soil, must appeal strongly to the imagination. + +If it be told how the new Belgian army, reorganised and re-equipped +after the terrible ordeal on the Yser, is at the present moment much +stronger than at the beginning of the war, how it has been able lately +to extend its front in Flanders, and how some of its units have rendered +valuable help to the cause of the Allies in East Africa and even in +Galicia, the story sounds like a fairy tale. There is, in the history of +this unequal struggle, the true ring of legendary heroism; it seems an +echo of the tale of David and Goliath, or of Jack the Giant Killer; it +is full of the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, of independence and +free will over fatalism and brute force, of Right over Might. + +I feel confident that some day a poet will be able to sing this great +epic in verses which shall answer to the swinging rhythm of battle and +roll with the booming of a thousand guns. But, in the meantime, I should +like to say a few words about a much humbler, a much simpler, a much +more familiar subject. It awakes no classical remembrances of Leonidas +or Marathon. My heroes risk their lives, but they are not soldiers, +merely prosaic "bourgeois" and workmen. They have no weapon, they cannot +fight. They have only to remain cheery in adversity and patient in the +face of taunts. They cannot render blow for blow, they have no sword to +flourish against an insolent conqueror. They can only oppose a stout +heart, a loyal spirit, and an ironic smile to the persecutions to which +they are subjected. They can do nothing--they must do nothing--only hope +and wait. But there are as much heroism and beauty in their black +frock-coats and their soiled workmen's smocks as in the gayest and most +glittering uniforms. + +It is the plain matter-of-fact story of Belgian life under German rule. +Many more people will be tempted to praise the glory of our soldiers. +But, if the incidents of conquered Belgium's life are not recorded in +good time, they might escape notice. People might forget that, besides +the 150,000 to 200,000 heroes who are now waging war for Belgium on the +Western front, there are 7,500,000 heroes who are suffering for Belgium +behind the German lines, in the close prison of guarded frontiers, cut +off from the whole world, separated alike from those who are fighting +for their deliverance and from those who have sought refuge abroad. + +These are the people whom America, England, Spain, and many generous +people in other allied and neutral countries have tried to save from +material starvation. If I could only show to my readers how they are +saving themselves from despair, from spiritual starvation, I should be +well repaid for my trouble, for, among all the wonders of this war, +which has displayed mankind as at once so much worse and so much better +than we thought, there is perhaps nothing more surprising than the way +in which the Belgian people have kept their spirits up. + +One can, to a certain extent, understand the bright courage and the grim +humour of the fighting soldier; he has the excitement of battle to +sustain him through danger and suffering. But that an unarmed +population, which, having witnessed the martyrdom of many peaceful +towns, is threatened with utter destruction, which, ruined by war +contributions and requisitions, is on the brink of starvation, which, +persecuted by spies and subjected constantly to the most severe +individual and collective punishments on the slightest pretext, is +obliged to refrain from any manifestation of patriotic sentiments--that +such a population, completely cut off from its Government and from most +of its political leaders, and, moreover, poisoned every day by news +concocted by the enemy, should remain unshakable in its courage and +loyalty and should still be able to laugh at the efforts made by its +masters to bring it into submission, is truly one of the most amazing +spectacles which we have witnessed since the war broke out. General von +Bissing has declared that the Belgians are an enigma to him. No wonder. +They are an enigma to themselves. I am not going to explain the miracle. +I will only attempt to show how inexplicable, how miraculous, it is. + + * * * * * + +The German occupation of Belgium may be roughly divided into two +periods: Before the fall of Antwerp, when the hope of prompt deliverance +was still vivid in every heart, and when the German policy, in spite of +its frightfulness, had not yet assumed its most ruthless and systematic +character; and, after the fall of the great fortress, when the yoke of +the conqueror weighed more heavily on the vanquished shoulders, and when +the Belgian population, grim and resolute, began to struggle to preserve +its honour and loyalty and to resist the ever increasing pressure of the +enemy to bring it into complete submission and to use it as a tool +against its own army and its own King. + +I am only concerned here with the second period. The story of the German +atrocities committed in some parts of the country at the beginning of +the occupation is too well known to require any further comment. Every +honest man, in Allied and neutral countries, has made up his mind on the +subject. No unprejudiced person can hesitate between the evidence +brought forward by the Belgian Commission of Enquiry and the vague +denials, paltry excuses and insolent calumnies opposed to it by the +German Government and the Pro-German Press. Besides, in a way, the +atrocities committed during the last days of August, 1914, ought not to +be considered as the culminating point of Belgium's martyrdom. They +have, of course, appealed to the imagination of the masses, they have +filled the world with horror and indignation, but they did not extend +all over the country, as the present oppression does; they only affected +a few thousand men and women, instead of involving hundreds of +thousands. They were clean wounds wrought by iron and fire, sudden, +brutal blows struck at the heart of the country, wounds and blows from +which it is possible to recover quickly, from which reaction is +possible, which do not affect the soul and honour of a people. The +military executioners of 1914 were compassionate when compared to the +civilian administrators who succeeded them. The pen may be more cruel +than the sword. Considered in the light of the recent deportations, the +first days of frightfulness seem almost merciful. + +Observers have found no words strong enough to praise the attitude of +the Belgian people when victory seemed close at hand, when news was +still allowed to reach them. What should be said now after the +twenty-seven months for which they have been completely isolated from +the rest of the world? The ruthless methods of the German army of +invasion which deliberately massacred 5,000 unarmed civilians and sacked +six or seven towns and many more villages has been vehemently condemned. +What is to be the verdict now that they have succeeded, after two years +of efforts, in sacking the whole country, ruining her industry and +commerce, throwing out of employment her best workmen and leading into +slavery tens of thousands of her staunchest patriots? The horrors of +Louvain and Dinant were compared, with some reason, to the excesses of +the Thirty Years War, but modern history offers no other instance of +forced labour and wholesale deportations. If, fifty years ago, the +conscience of the world revolted against black slavery, what should its +feelings be today when it is confronted with this new and most appalling +form of white slavery? We should in vain ransack the chronicles of +history to find, even in ancient times, crimes similar to this one. For +the Jews were at war with Babylon, the Gauls were at war with Rome. +Belgium did not wage war against Germany. She merely refused to betray +her honour. + + * * * * * + +Let us watch, then, the closing of the prison gates. Up to the beginning +of October, the Belgians, and specially the people of Brussels, had been +kept in a state of suspense by the three sorties of the Belgian army, +which left the shelter of the Antwerp forts to advance towards Vilvorde +and Louvain, a few miles from the capital. At the beginning of +September, the sound of guns came so close that the people rejoiced +openly, thinking that deliverance was at their gates. To sober their +spirit--or to exasperate their patience?--the Governor General ordered +that a few Belgian prisoners, some of them wounded, with their +quickfiring gun drawn by a dog, should be marched through the crowded +streets. The men were covered with dust, their heads wrapped in +blood-stained bandages, and they kept their eyes on the ground as if +ashamed. Some women sobbed on seeing them, others cursed their guards, +others plundered a flower shop and showered flowers upon them. At last +two stalwart workmen shouldered away the escort, and, helped by the +crowd, which paralysed the movements of the Germans, succeeded in +kidnapping the prisoners, and getting them away to the neighbouring +streets. They could never be discovered, and it was the last display of +the kind which the Governor gave to Brussels. + +During the siege, people had learnt to recognize the voice of every fort +of Antwerp. They said to each other: "That is Lizele, Wavre Ste. +Catherine, Waelhem." One after the other the Belgian guns were silenced, +first Wavre, then Waelhem ... and the vibrating boom of the German +heavies was heard louder than ever. The listening Bruxellois grew paler, +straining every nerve to catch the voice of Antwerp. It was as if their +own life as a nation was slowly dying away, as if they were mourning +their own agony. But still the valiant spirit of the first days +prevailed. "They will be beaten for all that. What was Antwerp compared +with the Marne? All forts must fall under 'their' artillery. After all, +the nest is empty; the King and the army are safe." + +Since those days a kind of reckless indifference has seized the +Belgians. If we must lose everything to gain everything, let us lose +it. The sooner the better. It is the spirit of a poor man burning his +furniture in order to shelter his children from cold, or of a Saint +suffering every physical privation in order to gain the Kingdom of +Heaven. It is an uncanny spirit composed of wild energy and bitter-sweet +irony. "First Liège, then Brussels, then Namur, now Antwerp. The King +has gone, the Government has gone. If all Belgium has to go, let it go. +It is the price we have to pay. The victory of our soul shall be all the +greater if our body is shattered and tortured." + +Henceforth, the voice of Belgium reaches us only from time to time. Its +sound is muffled by the enemy's strangle-hold, which grows tighter and +tighter. Before the fall of Antwerp, the German administration of +General von der Goltz had merely a temporary character. We knew that +most of the high officials were stopping in Brussels on their way to +Paris. On the other hand, any skilful move of the Allies, any successful +sortie from Antwerp, might have jeopardized all the conqueror's plans +and necessitated an immediate retreat. The Yser-Ypres struggle barred +the way to Brussels as well as to Calais. The Germans knew now that they +were safe, at least for a good many months, and began systematically to +"organize the country." All communications with the uninterrupted part +of Belgium were interrupted. It became more and more difficult and +dangerous to cross the Dutch frontier without a special permit. The +economic and moral pressure increased steadily, and the conflict between +conquerors and patriots began, a conflict unrelieved by dramatic +interest or excitement from outside, which carried the country back to +the worst days of Austrian and Spanish domination. + + + + +II. + +THE LOWERED FLAG. + + +The contrast which I have endeavoured to indicate, in the first chapter, +between the attitude of the German administration before the fall of +Antwerp and its behaviour afterwards is nowhere so well marked as in the +measures taken for the purpose of repressing all Belgian manifestations +of patriotism. + +During the two first months of occupation, the Germans made at least a +show of respecting the loyal feelings of the population. In his first +proclamation, dated September 2nd, in which he announced his appointment +as General Governor of Belgium, Baron von der Goltz declared that "he +asked no one to renounce his patriotic feelings." And when, a few days +later, the Governor of Brussels, Baron von Luttwitz, issued a poster +"advising" the citizens to take their flags from their windows, he did +this in conciliatory words, giving the pretext that these manifestations +might provoke reprisals from the German troops passing through the town: +"The Military Governor does not intend in the least to hurt, by such a +measure, the feelings and self-respect of the inhabitants. His only aim +is to protect them against all harm." (September 16th.) Every Belgian +was still wearing the national colours, pictures of the King and Queen +were sold in the streets, and the Brabançonne was hummed, whistled, and +sung all over the country. The people had lost every right but one: they +could still show the enemy, in spite of the declarations of the German +Press, that they were not yet ready to accept his rule. + +This apparent tolerance is easy to explain. After the massacres of +August, the German authorities were anxious not to exasperate public +opinion, and not to spoil by uselessly vexatious measures the effect +which had been produced. During the Marne and the three sorties of the +Belgian army, they had only a very small number of men at their disposal +to garrison the largest towns. The slightest progress of the Belgian +army might have endangered their line of communications. We know now +that the withdrawal of the seat of the government from Brussels to Liege +was at one moment seriously contemplated, and that the same troops were +made to pass again and again through the streets of the capital in order +to give the illusion that the garrison was stronger than it really was +(_Frankfurter Zeitung_, August 22nd, 1916). Besides, Germany had not yet +given up all hopes of coming to terms with King Albert, since a third +attempt was to be made at Antwerp to separate the Belgian Government +from the Allies. In these circumstances it seemed wiser to let the +Belgian folk indulge in their harmless manifestations of loyalty, so +long as they did not cause any disturbance and did not complicate the +task of the military. + +Let us look now at the next phase. As soon as the Belgian army has +achieved its junction with the Allies on the Yser and all communications +are cut between the Government and the people, the Germans cease to +consider Belgium as an occupied territory, and seize upon every pretext +to treat her as a conquered country, which will, sooner or later, become +part of the Empire. They no longer take the trouble to explain or +justify their oppressive measures, or to reconcile them with their +former promises. They simply ignore them. First in Namur (November the +15th, 1914), then in Brussels (June the 30th, 1915), it becomes a crime +to wear the tricolour cockade. The Te Deum, which is celebrated every +year, on November 15th, in honour of King Albert's Saint's day, is +forbidden. From the month of March, 1915, it is practically a forbidden +thing to sing the Brabançonne, even in the schools. All patriotic +manifestations, on the occasion of the King's Birthday (April 8th) and +of the anniversary of Belgian Independence day (July 21st) are severely +prosecuted. + +In some of the orders issued there is still a weak attempt at +"respecting," in a German way, "the people's patriotic feelings." The +Governor of Namur, for instance, discriminates with the acutest subtlety +between wearing the national colours in private and in public, and the +Brabançonne can for a time be sung, so long as it is not rendered "in a +provoking manner." In fact, the Belgians are free to manifest their +patriotism so long as they are neither seen nor heard. They are +generously allowed to line their cupboards with tricolour paper and to +hum their national tunes in the depth of their cellars. But, in most of +the orders made under Governor von Bissing's rule (his reign began on +December 3rd, 1914), this last pretence of consideration and respect +disappears entirely. "I warn the public," declares the Governor of +Brussels on July the 18th, 1914, "that any demonstration whatsoever is +forbidden on July 21st next." + +More than that, the German Administration frequently goes out of its way +to hurt the people's feelings. The fact of helping a patriot to join the +Army is not merely punished as a crime against the Germans, it is +delicately called "a crime of treason," and when people are condemned +because they are suspected of belonging to the Belgian intelligence +service, the public posters announcing their condemnation speak of them +as supplying information "to the enemy." + +The sham tolerance of the first days has given way to a restless +repression, and even, during the last year, to deliberate persecution. +Schools may be inspected at any time by the authorities and every +"anti-German manifestation" (that is to say, any pro-Belgian teaching) +is severely punished. Shops are raided so that every patriotic picture +post-card (especially the portraits of the Royal Family) may be seized, +and even the intimacy of the private home is not respected. To begin +with, the Belgians have been allowed to show their loyalty--with +discretion; next, every patriotic manifestation is excluded from public +life; and last, the Germans, through their spies, penetrate the homes of +every citizen, and endeavour to extirpate by a reign of terror these +same feelings which they so emphatically promised to respect. + + * * * * * + +People who are leading a quiet life and who enjoy the blessings of an +autonomous Government will perhaps not appreciate the importance which +the Belgians attach, at the present moment, to these patriotic +manifestations. They may imagine that, so long as national life is +assured and citizens are otherwise left alone by their conquerors, +public affirmation of loyalty to King and country is of secondary +importance. + +God knows that the economic situation of occupied Belgium is bad enough, +and the endless and tragic lists of condemnations and deportations are +there to prove that her people are living under the most barbarous +regime of modern times. But, even if this was not the case, anybody with +the slightest knowledge of their national character would understand the +extraordinary value which the Belgians attached to their last privilege +and the deep indignation roused by this German betrayal. + +Von Bissing shrugs his shoulders and calls them "big children." So they +are. And his son, with a scornful smile, declares in the _Suddeutsche +Monatschrift_ (April 15th, 1915) that it is in "the people's blood to +demonstrate and to wear cockades." So it is. The love of processions and +public pageants of all kinds is deeply rooted in Belgian traditions. +But what does it prove? Simply that the people have preserved enough +freshness and joy of life to care for these things, enough courage and +independence to feel most need of them when they are most afflicted. +This is how they think of it: "Our bands used to pass through the +streets, shaking our window-panes with the crashing of their trombones, +our flags used to wave in the breeze--in the happy days of peace. Should +we now remain, silent and withdrawn, in the selfish privacy of our +houses, now that the country needs us most, now that we want, more than +ever, to feel that we are one people and that we will remain independent +and united whatever happens in the future?" Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von +Bissing sneers at the Belgians because on any and every pretext they +display the American colours. If they do, it is because they are not +allowed to display their own, and because they feel somehow that the +best way to show that they have still a flag is to adopt the colours of +the great country which has so generously come to their help. It may +well be, as the Baron informs us, that most of the "small and big +children" who wear the Stars and Stripes do not know a word of English. +What does it mean again? Simply that heart may call to heart and that it +is not necessary to talk in his own language to understand a brother's +mind. It is true that only children--children small and big--know how to +do it. + +If the Germans had had the least touch of generous feeling for the +unfortunate country upon which they thrust war in spite of the most +solemn treaties, they would not have obliged the Belgian citizens to +lower the flags which they had put up during the defence of Liège, they +would not have torn their tricolour cockades from their buttonholes, +they would not have silenced their national songs, they would not have +added these deep humiliations to the bitter cup of defeat. One wonders +even why they did it if it was not for the mere pleasure which the bully +is supposed to feel when he makes his strength felt by his victim. They +might have gone on gaily plundering the country, shooting patriots, +deporting young men, doing whatever seemed useful in their eyes. But the +petty tyranny of these measures passes understanding. Governor von +Bissing is certainly too clever to believe that the satisfaction of +making a few cowards uneasy by such regulations can at all outweigh the +danger inherent in the resentment and the deep hatred which the bullying +has aroused against Germany. You may take the children's bread, you may +take their freedom, but you might at least leave them a few toys to play +with, and you would be wise to do so. + + * * * * * + +Such narrow-minded tyranny always defeats its own objects. Burgomaster +Max's proud answer to General von Luttwitz's "advice" to remove the +flags became the password of the patriots. Every Bruxellois henceforth +"waited for the hour of reparation." A great number of women went to +prison rather than remove the emblems of Belgium which they wore. +Stories passed from lip to lip. Their accuracy I would not guarantee, +but they belong to the epic of the war and are true to the spirit of the +people. A young lady, who was jeered at by a German officer because she +was wearing King Albert's portrait, is said to have answered his +"Lackland" with, "I would rather have a King who has lost his country +than an Emperor who has lost his honour." Another lady, sitting in a +tram-car opposite a German officer, was ordered by him to remove her +tricolour rosette. She refused to do so, and, as he threatened her, +defied him to do it himself. The Boche seized the rosette and pulled .. +and pulled .. and pulled. The lady had concealed twenty yards of ribbon +in her corsage. + +When the tricolour was forbidden altogether, it was replaced by the +ivyleaf, ivy being the emblem of faithfulness; later, the ivyleaf was +followed by a green ribbon, green being the colour of hope. The +Brabançonne being excluded from the street and from the school took +refuge in the Churches, where it is played and often sung by the +congregation at the end of the service. There are many ways of getting +round the law. The Belgians were forbidden to celebrate in any ordinary +way the anniversary of their independence. Thanks to a sort of tacit +arrangement they succeeded in marking the occasion in spite of all +regulations. On July 21st, 1915, the Bruxellois kept the shutters of +their houses and shops closed and went out in the streets dressed in +their best clothes, most of them in mourning. The next year, as the +closing of shops was this time foreseen by the administration, they +remained open. But a great number of tradespeople managed ingeniously to +display the national colours in their windows--by the juxtaposition, for +instance, of yellow lemons, red tomatoes and black grapes. Others +emptied their windows altogether. + +These jokes may seem childish, at first sight, but when we think that +those who dared perform them paid for it with several months' +imprisonment or several thousand marks, and paid cheerily, we understand +that there is more in them than a schoolboy's pranks. It seems as if the +Belgian spirit would break if it ceased to be able to react. One of the +shop-managers who was most heavily fined on the occasion of our last +"Independence Day" declared that he had not lost his money: "It is +rather expensive, but it is worth it." + + * * * * * + +If patriotism has become a religion in Belgium, this religion has found +a priest whose authority is recognised by the last unbeliever. If every +church has become the "_Temple de la Patrie_," if the Brabançonne +resounds under the Gothic arches of every nave, Cardinal Mercier has +become the good shepherd who has taken charge of the flock during the +King's absence. The great Brotherhood, for which so many Christian souls +are yearning, in which there are no more classes, parties, and sects, +seems well nigh achieved beyond the electrified barbed wire of the +Belgian frontier. Are not all Belgians threatened with the same danger, +are they not close-knit by the same hope, the same love, the same +hatred? + +When the bells rang from the towers of Brussels Cathedral on July 21st +last, when, in his red robes, Cardinal Mercier blessed the people +assembled to celebrate the day of Belgium's Independence, it seemed that +the soul of the martyred nation hovered in the Church. After the +national anthem, people lifted their eyes towards the great crucifix in +the choir, and could no longer distinguish, through their tears, the +image of the Crucified from that of their bleeding country. + + + + +III. + +THE POISONED WELLS. + + +We must never forget, when we speak of the moral resistance of the +Belgian people, that they have been completely isolated from their +friends abroad for more than two years and that meanwhile they have been +exposed to all the systematic and skilful manoeuvres of German +propaganda. Not only are they without news from abroad, but all the news +they receive is calculated to spread discouragement and distrust. + +How true lovers could resist a long separation and the most wicked +calumnies without losing faith in one another has been the theme of many +a story. From the story-writer's point of view, the true narrative of +the German occupation of Belgium is much more romantic than any romance, +much more wonderful than any poem. The mass is not supposed to show the +same constancy as the individual, and one does not expect from a whole +people the ideal loyalty of Desdemona and Imogen. Besides, we do not +want the reader to imagine that, before the war, the Belgians were +ideally in love with one another. Like the English, the Americans and +the French, we had our differences. It is one of the unavoidable +drawbacks of Democracy that politics should exaggerate the importance of +dissensions. Therefore it is all the more remarkable that the sudden +friendship which sprang up between classes, parties and races in +Belgium, on the eve of August 4th, should so long have defied the +untiring efforts of the enemy and should remain as unshakeable to-day as +it was at the beginning. + +We do not wonder that the German intellectuals who have undertaken to +break down Belgian unity are at a loss to explain their failure. +Scientifically it defies every explanation. Here was a people +apparently deeply divided against itself, Socialists opposed Liberals, +Liberals opposed Catholics, Flemings opposed Walloons; theoretical +differences degenerated frequently into personal quarrels; political +antagonism was embittered by questions of religion and language. Surely +this was ideal ground in which to sow the seed of discord, when the +Government had been obliged to seek refuge in a foreign country and a +great number of prominent citizens had emigrated abroad. The German +propagandist, who had been able to work wonders in some neutral +countries, must have thought the task almost unworthy of his efforts. +Every one of his theoretical calculations was correct. He only forgot +one small detail which a closer study of history might have taught him. +He forgot that, in face of the common danger, all these differences +would lose their hold on the people's soul, that the former bitterness +of their quarrels was nothing compared with the sacred love of their +country which they shared. + + * * * * * + +The first action of the German administration after the triumphal entry +into Brussels was to try to isolate the occupied part of the country, in +order to monopolize the news. Rather than submit to a German censor, all +the Belgian papers--with the exception of two small provincial +journals--had ceased to appear. During a fortnight, Brussels remained +without authorized news. From that time, the authorities allowed the +sale of some German and Dutch dailies and of a few newspapers published +in Belgium under German control. The Government itself issued the +_Deutsche Soldatenpost_ and _Le Réveil_ (in French) and a great number +of posters, "_Communications officielles du Commandant de l'Armee +allemande_," which were supposed to contain the latest war-news. + +To this imposing array, the patriots could only oppose a few pamphlets +issued by the editor Bryan Hill, soon prohibited, and copies of Belgian, +French and English papers, which were smuggled at great risk, and +consequently were very expensive. Still, before the fall of Antwerp, it +was practically impossible for the Germans to stop private letters and +newspapers passing from the unoccupied to the occupied part of the +country. Besides, they had more important business on hand. Here again, +it was only after the second month of occupation that the pressure +increased. During October and November, several people were condemned to +heavy fines and to periods of imprisonment for circulating written and +even verbal news. The Dutch frontier was closed, wherever no natural +obstacle intervened, by a continuous line of barbed wire and electrified +wire. Passports were only granted to the few people engaged in the work +of relief and to those who could prove that it was essential to the +interests of their business that they should leave the country for a +time. The postal service being reorganized under German control, any +other method of communication was severely prosecuted. At the end of +1914, several messengers lost their lives in attempting to cross the +Dutch frontier. Under such conditions it is easy to understand that, in +spite of the efforts made by the anonymous editors of two or three +prohibited papers, such as _La Libre Belgique_, the bulk of the +population was practically cut off from the rest of the world and was +compelled to read, if they read at all, the pro-German papers and the +German posters. The only wells left from which the people could drink +were poisoned. + + * * * * * + +The German Press Bureau in Brussels, openly recognised by the +administration and formerly the headquarters of Baron von Bissing's son, +set to work in three principal directions. It aimed at separating the +Belgians from the Allies, then at separating the people from King +Albert and his Government, and finally at reviving the old language +quarrel between Walloons and Flemings. + +The campaign against the Allies, though still carried on whenever the +opportunity arises, was specially violent at the beginning, when the +Germans had not yet given up all hope of detaching King Albert from the +Alliance (August-September, 1914). It was perhaps the most dangerous +line of attack because it did not imply any breach of patriotism. On the +contrary it suggested that Belgium had been duped by the Allies, and +especially by England, who had never meant to come to her help and who +had used her as a catspaw, leaving her to bear all the brunt of the +German assault in an unequal and heroic struggle. It was accompanied by +a constant flow of war news exaggerating the German successes and +suggesting that, even if they ever had the intention of delivering +Belgium, the Allies would no longer be in a position to do so. + +According to the first war-news poster issued in Brussels, a few days +after the enemy had entered the town, the French official papers had +declared that "The French armies, being thrown on the defensive, would +not be able to help Belgium in an offensive movement." I need not recall +how, his name having been used at Liège to bolster up this false report, +M. Max, the burgomaster of Brussels, found an opportunity of +contradicting it publicly and, at the same time, of discrediting all +censored news. + +The effect was amazing. Henceforth the official posters were not only +regularly regarded as a tissue of lies, but definitely ridiculed. The +people either ignored them or paid them an exaggerated attention. In +some popular quarters, urchins climbed on ladders to read them aloud to +a jeering crowd. The influence of M. Max's attitude was such that, +eighteen months later, several people coming from the capital declared +that, as far as war news was concerned, Brussels was far more +optimistic than London or Paris, every check received by the Allied +armies being systematically ignored and every success exaggerated. + +When one reads through the series of German "_Communications_" pasted on +the walls of the capital during the first year of the occupation, one +wonders how they did not succeed in discouraging the population. For, in +spite of some extraordinary blunders--such as the announcement that a +German squadron had captured fifteen English fishing boats (September +8th, 1914), that the Serbs had taken Semlin because they had nothing +more to eat in Serbia (September 13th, 1914), or that the British army +was so badly equipped that the soldiers lacked boot-laces and writing +paper (October 6th, 1914)--the author of these proclamations succeeded +so skilfully in mixing truth and untruth and in drawing the attention of +the public away from any reverse suffered by the Central Empires, that +the effect of the campaign might have been most demoralizing. + +After this first reverse, the Germans only attacked the Allies in order +to throw on their shoulders the responsibility for the woes which they +themselves were inflicting on their victims. When some English +aeroplanes visited Brussels, on September 26th, 1915, a few people were +killed and many more wounded. The German press declared immediately that +this was due to the want of skill of the airmen, who dropped the bombs +indiscriminately over the town. We possess now material proof that the +people were killed, not by bombs dropped from the air, but by fragments +of shells fired from guns. This can only be explained in one way. The +German gunners must have timed their shells so that they should not +burst in the air, but only when falling on the ground. This method of +propaganda may cost a few lives, but it is certainly clever. It might +well be calculated to stir indignation in the hearts of the people +against the Allies and at the same time to serve as a warning to enemy +headquarters to the effect: "Whenever you send your aeroplanes over +Belgian towns, we are going to make the population pay for it." + +The same kind of argument is used at the present moment with regard to +the wholesale deportations which are going on in Belgium. To justify his +slave-raids, Governor von Bissing denounces England's blockade. It is +the economic policy of England--not German requisitions--which has +ruined Belgium and caused unemployment: "If there are any objections to +be made about this state of affairs you must address them to England, +who, through her policy of isolation, has rendered the coercive measures +necessary." [1] But the argument is used more for the sake of discussion +than in the real hope of convincing the public. General von Bissing can +have very few illusions left as to the state of mind of the Belgian +population. He knows that every Belgian worker, would answer, with the +members of the Commission Syndicale: "All the Allies have agreed to let +some raw material necessary to our industry enter Belgium, under the +condition, naturally, that no requisitions should be made by the +occupying power, and that a neutral commission should control the +destination of the manufactured articles." [2] Or, more emphatically +still, with Cardinal Mercier: "England generously allows some foodstuffs +to enter Belgium under the control of neutral countries ... She would +certainly allow raw materials to enter the country under the same +control, if Germany would only pledge herself to leave them to us and +not to seize the manufactured products of our industry." + +Such arguments are extraordinarily characteristic of the German mind, as +it has been developed by the war: "Let Belgium know that she is +suffering for England's sake. Let England know that, as long as she +enforces her blockade, her friends in Belgium will have to pay for it." +It is the same kind of double-edged declaration as that used on the +occasion of the Allied air-raid on Brussels. Literally speaking, it cuts +both ways. The excuse becomes a threat and the untruth savours of +blackmail. Healthy minds work by single or treble propositions. If we +did not remember that our aim is to analyse the beautiful and heroic +side of the occupation of Belgium, rather than to dwell on its most +sinister aspects, we should recognize, in this last manoeuvre, the +lowest example of human brutality and hypocrisy, the double mark of the +German hoof. + +[Footnote 1: Answer of Governor von Bissing to Cardinal Mercier's +letter, Oct. 26th, 1916.] + +[Footnote 2: Letter of the "_Commission Syndicale_" to Baron von +Bissing, Nov. 14th, 1916.] + + * * * * * + +In spite of the most authentic documents, of the most glaring material +proofs, it might be difficult to realise that the human spirit may fall +so low. It seems as if we were diminishing ourselves when we accuse our +enemies. We have lived so long in the faith that "such things are +impossible" that, now that they happen almost at our door, we should be +inclined to doubt our eyes rather than to doubt the innate goodness of +man. Never did I feel this more strongly than when I saw, for the first +time, a caricature of King Albert reproduced from a German newspaper. + +Surely if one man, one leader, has come out of this severe trial +unstained, with his virtue untarnished, it is indeed Albert the First, +King of the Belgians. His simple and loyal attitude in face of the +German ultimatum, the indomitable courage which he showed during the +Belgian campaign, his dignity, his reserve, his almost exaggerated +modesty, ought to have won for him, besides the deep admiration of the +Allies and of the neutral world, the respect and esteem even of his +worst enemy. There is a man of few words and noble actions, fulfilling +his pledges to the last article, faithful to his word even in the +presence of death, a leader sharing the work of his soldiers, a King +living the life of a poor man. When in Paris, in London, triumphal +receptions were awaiting them, he and his noble and devoted Queen +remained at their post, on the last stretch of Belgian territory, in the +rough surroundings of army quarters. + +The whole world has noted this. People who have no sympathy to spare for +the Allies' cause have been obliged to bow before this young hero, more +noble in his defeat than all the conquerors of Europe in their victory. +But the Germans have not felt it. Not only did they try to ridicule King +Albert in their comic papers. Even the son of Governor von Bissing did +not hesitate to fling in his face the generous epithet, "Lackland." [3] +As soon as the last attempt to conciliate the King had failed the German +press in Belgium began a most violent and abusive campaign against him. +The _Düsseldorfer General-Anzeiger_ published a venomous article, in +which he was represented as personally responsible for "the plot of the +Allies against Germany and for the crimes of the franc-tireurs." He was +stigmatised as "the slave of England," and it was asserted that "If he +did not grasp the hand stretched out to him by the Kaiser on August 2nd +and the 9th it is only because he did not dare to do so" (October 10th, +1914). He was said to have "betrayed his army at Antwerp. Had he not +sworn not to leave the town alive?" And _Le Réveil_, another paper +circulated in Belgium by German propagandists, announced solemnly that, +once on the Yser, the King wanted to sign a separate peace with Germany, +but England had forbidden him to do so. The _Hamburger Nachrichten_, the +_Vossische Zeitung_ and the _Frankfurter Zeitung_ repeated without +scruple this tissue of gross calumnies. The _Deutsche Soldatenpost_, +edited specially for the German soldiers in Belgium, went even a step +further and violently reproached the Queen of the Belgians for not +having protested against the cruelties inflicted on German civilians in +Brussels and Antwerp, at the outbreak of the hostilities! + +[Footnote 3: _Suddeutsche Monatshefte_, April 1915.] + + * * * * * + +Not being able to stir the people against the Allies or against their +own Government, the German Press Bureau attempted to revive the language +quarrel and to provoke internal dissensions. It is interesting to notice +that the new campaign, whose crowning episode was the opening of the +German University at Ghent, in October last, began two months after the +surrender of Brussels and did not develop until the spring of 1915, when +an important minority of Germans began to realise that it would be +impossible to retain Belgium, and when a greater number still only hoped +to keep Antwerp and Flanders, thanks to the "social and linguistic +affinities of Flemings and Germans." + +That is how Germany, who had never troubled much before about the +Flemish movement and Flemish literature, suddenly discovered a great +affection for her Flemish brothers who had so long been exposed to "the +insults of the Walloons"; how she suddenly espoused their grievances and +put into effect, in spite of their strong protests, some reforms +inscribed on the programme; how she tried by every means at her disposal +to conciliate Flemish sympathies and to stir up antagonism and +jealousies by treating Flemings and Walloons differently, whether +prisoners in Germany or in occupied Belgium. + +The German train of thought is clear enough: "If we are unable to hold +Belgium, any pro-German demonstrations in the Northern provinces may +suggest the idea that it is the wish of the Flemings to be bound to the +Empire and give a pretext for the annexation of Antwerp and Flanders. If +even that is impossible and if we are obliged to give back his Kingdom +to King Albert, we shall have sown so many germs of discontent in the +country that it will be impossible for the Government to restore Belgium +in her full unity and power. She will never become against us the strong +bulwark of the Allies." + +All this Walloon-Flemish agitation started by Germany belongs to a vast +plan of mismanagement. The day Germany knew that she would not be able +to keep her conquest she deliberately set herself to ruin Belgium +economically and morally. She succeeded economically, for nobody could +prevent her from requisitioning whatever she wanted. She failed morally +because the people understood her purpose and because the Flemish +leaders proudly refused the German gifts. The reform of Ghent University +was made in spite of them. It was made with the help of a few Germans, +German-Dutch and Belgians without any reputation or following. The +professors have been bought and the students (they only number eighty) +have been mostly recruited among the Flemish prisoners in Germany and +among a few young men threatened with deportation. They are obliged to +wear a special cap and are under the ban of the whole population. No +true "Gantois" passes them in the street without whispering, "_Vive +l'Armée_." This is the pitiful medley of cranks, traitors and unwilling +students which General von Bissing is pleased to call a "University." + +In his inaugural speech, the Governor exclaimed, "The God of War, with +his drawn sword, has held the new institution at the font. May the God +of Peace be gracious to her for long years to come." The Germans' lack +of humour surpasses even their ruthlessness. With one hand General von +Bissing was baptizing the baby--rather a difficult operation--with the +other he brandished his fiery sword over the heads of all the true +Flemings who refused to adopt it. Many of them paid for this patriotic +attitude by losing their liberty. With one hand Germany inflicted this +unwelcome gift on the Flemings, with the other she banished M.M. +Pirenne, Frédéricq and Verhaegen from the sacred precincts of Flemish +culture! + +Most solemnly, on different occasions, all the prominent Flemish leaders +have protested against the German Administration's action. They have +declared that it was illegal and unjust. Governor von Bissing reminds +them that, according to De Raet's words, "Two heroic spirits dominate +the world: The Mind and the Sword." They may possess the first but he +holds the second. + + + + +IV. + +THE SACKING OF BELGIUM. + + +There is one idea which dominates the Belgian tragedy: "The body may be +conquered, the soul remains free." These words were uttered for the +first time, I believe, by the Belgian Premier, Baron de Broqueville, in +the solemn sitting of the House, when the German violation of Belgian +neutrality was announced to the representatives of the people. The idea +is supposed to have been expressed by King Albert, in another form, +before the evacuation of Antwerp. It was used to great effect in one of +the most popular cartoons published by _Punch_, in which the Kaiser says +to the King, with a sneer, "You have lost everything," and the King +replies, "Not my soul." It is so intimately associated with the Belgian +cause that the image of the stricken country is scarcely ever evoked +without an allusion being made to it. + +We have seen, in the course of the earlier chapters, how Belgium +succeeded in preserving her loyalty and patriotism in spite of the most +ruthless oppression and the most cunning calumnies. We must now look at +the darker side of the picture and see how she has not succeeded in +preserving either her prosperity, or even her supply of daily bread. + +We shall soon be confronted with the most tragic aspect of her Calvary. +So long as her armies were fighting the invader, so long as her towns +and countryside were ruined by German frightfulness, so long as her +martyrs, men, women and children, were falling side by side in the +market-place before the firing party, so long as every symbol, every +word of patriotism was forbidden her, Belgium could remain vanquished +but unconquered, bleeding but unshakeable. She enjoyed, in the face of +her oppressors, all the privileges of the Christian martyrs of the +first centuries; she could smile on the rack, laugh under the whip and +sing in the flames. She remained free in her prison, free to respect +Justice, in the midst of injustice, to treasure Righteousness, in spite +of falsehood, to worship her Saints, in the face of calumny. She was +still able to resist, to oppose, every day and at every turn, her +patience to the enemy's threats and her cheerfulness to his ominous +scowl. She had a clear conscience and her hands were clean. + +There is one thing that can be said for the Roman emperors, they seldom +starved their victims to death. Popular imagination revels in their +cruelty, and the _Golden Legend_ displays to us all the grim splendours +of a chamber of horrors. But the worst of all tortures--starvation--is +not often inflicted. The idea is, I suppose, that the conversion must be +sudden and striking. But Belgium's oppressors do not any longer want to +convert her. They have tried and they have failed. They merely want to +take all the food, all the raw materials, all the machines and--last but +not least--all the labour they can out of her. Their fight is not the +fight of one religion against another. It is the fight of material power +against any philosophy, any religion which stands between it and the +things which it covets. The Germans do not sacrifice Belgium to their +gods. Such an ideal course is far from their thoughts. They sacrifice +Belgium to Germany--that is, to themselves. It matters very little +whether a slave is able to speak or to think, as long as he is able to +work. + +Here again, in spite of the wholesale plundering of the first days of +occupation, and of the enormous fines imposed on towns and provinces, I +do not suppose that the German plan was deliberately to ruin the +country. It might even have been to develop its resources, as long as +there was some hope of annexing it, though this benevolent spirit had +scarcely any time to manifest itself. After the Marne and the Yser, +however, when it became evident that anyhow the whole of Belgium could +never be retained, and when the attitude of the people showed clearly +that they would always remain hostile to their new masters, the +systematic sacking of the country began without any thought for the +consequences. + + * * * * * + +The best way of coming to some appreciation of the work accomplished +during these two years is to remember that, before the war, Belgium was +the richest country in Europe in proportion to her size. Relatively she +had the greatest commercial activity, the richest agricultural +production, and she was more thickly populated than any other State, +with the exception of Saxony. Nowhere were the imports and exports so +important, in proportion to the number of the population, nowhere did +the average square mile yield such rich crops, nowhere was the railway +system so developed. Pauperism was practically unknown, and, even in the +large towns, the number of people dependent on public charity was +comparatively very small. To this picture of unequalled prosperity +oppose the present situation: Part of the countryside left without +culture for want of manure and horses; scarcely any cattle left in the +fields; commerce paralysed by the stoppage of railway and other +communications; industry at a complete standstill, with 500,000 men +thrown out of work and nearly half of the population which remained in +Belgium (3,500,000) on the verge of starvation and entirely dependent +for their subsistance on the work of the Commission for Relief. + +It is said that the tree must be judged by its fruit. Such then is the +fruit of the German administration of Belgium. When he arrived in +Brussels, Governor von Bissing declared that he had come to dress +Belgium's wounds. What would he have done if he had meant to aggravate +them? + +There is an insidious argument which must be met once and for ever. We +have seen how Germany is trying to throw the responsibility for the +misery prevailing in Belgium and for the present deportations on the +English blockade, which paralyses the industry and prevents the +introduction of raw materials. But, if this were the case, the situation +ought not to be worse in Belgium than in Germany. On the contrary, +thanks to the splendid work of the Commission for Relief, she ought to +be far better off. How is it then that--according to General von +Bissing's own declaration made to Mr. Julius Wertheimer, correspondent +of the _Vossische Zeitung_ (September the 1st, 1916)--how is it that +"the average cost of life is much higher in Belgium than in Germany," +and that "a great number of inhabitants (tens of thousands of them) have +not eaten a piece of meat for many weeks?" + +This inequality between the social conditions in Germany and in Belgium, +in spite of the advantages given to the latter by the introduction of +food through the blockade with England's consent, can easily be +explained: On the one hand, German industry has transformed itself, many +factories which could not continue their ordinary work owing to the +shortage of rawstuffs having been turned into war-factories in which +there is still a great demand for labour. On the other hand, Germany has +not been submitted to the same levies in money, and requisitions in +foodstuffs and material; Germany has not been deprived, from the +beginning, of all her reserve, she has not been depleted of all her +stock. + +We shall have to deal, in the next chapter, with the first question. Let +us only consider the second here. + +It is impossible to give more than a superficial glance at the matter. +The particulars at hand are not complete and a full list of German +exactions has not yet been drawn up. Let us, however, try to give an +idea of the disproportion existing between the country's resources and +the demands which were made on her. + +On December 12th, 1914, a poster announced to the citizens of Brussels +that the nine Belgian provinces would be obliged to pay, every month +during the coming year, a sum of forty million francs, making a total of +about 480 millions (over 19 million pounds). In order to understand the +indignation caused by this announcement it is necessary to remember: + +1st. That the Belgians were at the time already paying all the ordinary +taxes, to the commune, to the province and to the State, so that this +new contribution constituted a super-tax. + +2nd. That all the direct taxes paid to the State, in ordinary times, +amount scarcely to 75 millions, that is to say, to a sixth of this +contribution. + +3rd. And that the new economic conditions imposed by the war had +considerably reduced the income of the most wealthy citizens. + +As the Germans persist in invoking the text of the Hague Convention of +which they have again and again violated every clause, it may be useful +to point out that, according to the 49th article, the occupying power is +only allowed to raise war contributions "for the need of the army," that +is to say, in order to pay in money the requisitions which he is obliged +to make in order to supply the army of occupation with food, fodder, and +so on. As, most of the time, the Germans only pay for what they +requisition in "_bons de guerre_" payable after the war, and as, in spite +of their sound appetite, we can scarcely believe that the few thousand +"landsturmers" who are garrisoning Belgium are eating two million +pounds worth a month, the illegal character of the German measure seems +evident. Besides, if any doubt were still possible, we should find it +laid down in the 52nd article that any service required from the +occupying power must be "in proportion to the country's resources." + +As the announcement had provoked strong protests, Governor von Bissing +announced a few days later that, if this contribution was paid, no +further extraordinary taxes would be required and the requisitions would +henceforth be paid for in money. Needless to say, none of these promises +have been fulfilled, and the contribution of 480 millions was renewed at +the beginning of 1915, and even increased to 600 millions lately, so +that, from that source only, the Germans have raised in Belgium, after +two years of occupation, a sum equal to one-fourth of the total State +debt of the country on the eve of the war. + +This is only one example among many. The communes did not enjoy better +treatment. The reader will remember that during the period of invasion +the enemy exacted various war-taxes from every town he entered: 20 +millions from Liège, 50 millions from Brussels, 32 millions from Namur, +40 millions from Antwerp, and so on. Since then, he has never lost an +opportunity of inflicting heavy fines even on the smallest villages. If +one inhabitant succeeds in joining the army, if an allied aeroplane +appears on the horizon, if, for some reason or other, the telegraph or +the telephone wires are out of order, a shower of fines falls on the +neighbouring towns and villages. In June last the total amount of these +exactions was estimated, for 1916, at ten millions (£400,000). If we add +to this the fines inflicted constantly, on the slightest pretext, on +private individuals, we shall certainly remain below the mark in stating +that Germany succeeds in getting out of Belgium over twenty million +pounds a year. Twenty million pounds, when the ordinary income of the +State amounts scarcely to seven millions! And I am not taking into +account the money seized in the banks and the recent enforced transfer +to Germany of the 600 millions (£24,000,000) of the National Bank. + +If we remember that the total value of commercial transactions in +Belgium, before the war, did not exceed ten million francs (400,000 +pounds) per year, we shall realise the absurdity of the German argument +which shifts on to the English blockade the responsibility for Belgium's +ruin. Even a complete stoppage of trade could not have done the country +as much harm as the German exactions in money only. But the conquerors +were not satisfied with fleecing the flock, they succeeded in robbing it +of its food, in taking away its very means of life. + + * * * * * + +Quite apart from any sentimental or moral reason, the last step was a +grave mistake, even from the German point of view. It would certainly +have paid the Germans better in the end if they had allowed the Allies +to send raw material to feed the Belgian factories, under the control of +neutral powers, and if they had not requisitioned the machines and +paralysed industry by the most absurd restrictions. It would have been a +most useful move from the point of view of propaganda, and, while posing +as Belgium's kind protectors, they might always have reaped the benefit +through fresh taxes and new contributions. If they have killed the goose +rather than gather its golden eggs it is because they could not afford +to wait. It was one of these desperate measures, like the violation of +Belgian neutrality, the ruthless use of Zeppelins and the sinking of the +Lusitania, which did them more harm than good. From the beginning +Germany has fought with a bad conscience, prompted in all her actions +more by the dread of being defeated than by the clear intention of +winning the game. The manifestation of such a spirit ought only to +encourage her enemies; they are the sure signs of a future breakdown. In +the meantime, they must cause infinite torture to the unfortunate +populations which are not yet delivered from her yoke. + +During the first months of occupation the requisitions extended only to +foodstuffs, cattle, horses, fodder, in short, to objects which could be +used by the army. They were out of all proportion to the resources of +the country (Article 52 of the Hague Convention) and therefore +absolutely illegal, but they could still be considered as military +requisitions. In a most interesting article published in Smoller's +_Jahrbuch für Gesetzgebung Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft_, Professor +Karl Ballod admits that the requisitions made in Belgium and Northern +France have more than compensated for the harm caused by the Russian +invasion of East Prussia. Not only the army of occupation, but all the +troops concentrated on the northern sectors of the Western front, "three +million men," have been fed by the conquered provinces. Besides this, +Germany took from Belgium, at the beginning of the war, "more than +400,000 tons of meal and at least one million tons of other foodstuffs." + +With Governor von Bissing's arrival the requisitions extended to +whatever raw material was needed in the Fatherland, and all pretence of +respecting the Hague Convention (Article 49) ceased forthwith: One after +another the stocks of raw cotton, of wool, of nickel, of jute, of +copper, were seized and conveyed to Germany. The administration seized, +in the same way, all the machines which could be employed, beyond the +Rhine, for the manufacture of shells and munitions. I am afraid of +tiring the reader with the long enumeration of these arbitrary decrees, +but in order to give him an idea of what is still going on, at the +present moment, I have gathered here all the measures of the kind taken +by the paternal administration of Baron von Bissing which came to our +knowledge during one month only (October last). I have chosen the period +at random, and it must not be forgotten that, owing to the difficulties +of communication, these particulars are far from complete. They will, +however, give a fair idea of the economic situation of the country after +the second year of occupation: + +October 5th: The requisitions in cattle have been so frequent in +Flanders _that many farmers have not a milch cow left_. + +October 6th: Owing to the lack of motors, bicycles and horses, some +tradespeople in Brussels are using oxen to draw their carts. + +October 10th: All the chestnut trees around Antwerp have been +requisitioned. Potatoes cannot be conveyed from one place to another +even in small quantities. + +October 17th: According to a decree dated September 27th, any person +possessing more _than 50 kilos of straps or cables_ must report it under +a penalty of one year's imprisonment or a fine up to 20,000 marks. + +October 19th: The scarcity of potatoes is increasing, in spite of a good +crop. The peasants were forbidden to pull out their plants before July +the 21st, _when the greater part of the crop was commandeered_. + +October 22nd: The boot factories in Brussels are forbidden to work more +than 24 hours per week. + +October 24th: A decree dated October the 7th adds borax to the list of +sulphurous products which must be declared according to the decree of +September 16th. + +October 29th: The Germans continue to take away the rails of the light +railways ("vicinaux"). The line from St. Trond to Hanut has been +demolished. A great deal of rolling stock has been commandeered. Owing +to the shortage of lubricating oil _it is to be feared that this last +mode of conveyance left to the Belgians will have to be stopped +shortly_. + +October 30th: A decree dated September 30th makes the measures for the +requisition of metals still more severe. All the steel material--_in +whatever shape it may be (including tools)_--must be declared to the +_Abteilung für Handel und Gewerbe_ in Brussels, under a penalty of five +years of imprisonment (25,000 marks). + +October 31st: The commune of Anderlecht has voted a credit of 40,000 +francs for the purchase of _wooden shoes as the shortage of leather +prevents most of the people from buying boots_. + +November 1st: A decree dated October 14th prepares for the seizure of +all textile materials, ribbons, hosiery, etc. No more than one-tenth of +the stocks can be manufactured, under a penalty of 10,000 marks. A +decree dated October 17th makes the declaration of poplars all over +Belgium compulsory. + +It was scarcely necessary to underline some passages of this report. +However bad may be the impression it causes, it would be twenty-six +times worse if we had the leisure to follow step by step the progress of +German economic policy in Belgium. It is evident that the German +administration, in spite of its former declarations, is resolved to ruin +Belgian industry and to throw out of work the greatest number of men +possible. All raw material must go to Germany in order to be worked +there. As it has become evident that the Belgian workers will not submit +to war work so long as they remain in their surroundings, they must be +torn away from their country and compelled to follow the materials and +machines over the frontier. Labour has become an inanimated object +necessary to the prosecution of the German war. It is as indispensable +to Germany as cotton, nickel and copper. It will be treated as such. If +the men resist, they will be crushed. If the soul of Belgium will not +yield to persuasion, it will be taken away from her, like her cattle, +her corn, her iron and her steel. And so Belgium will become a weapon in +Germany's hands, a weapon which will strike at Belgium. And the only +thought of the deported worker turning a shell in a German factory will +be, as is suggested by Louis Raemaekers' cartoon, "Perhaps this one will +kill my own son?" + + + + +V. + +THE MODERN SLAVE. + +I. THE CREEPING TIDE. + + +We must now deal with the second factor which makes the conditions worse +in Belgium than in Germany. While German peace-factories, ruined by the +blockade, have been turned into war-factories, the majority of Belgian +industries have remained idle. In spite of the high wages offered by the +Germans--some skilled workmen were offered as much as £2 and £2 10s. per +day--the workers resisted the constant pressure exerted upon them and +preferred to live miserably on half-wages or with the help given them by +the "Comité National" rather than accept any work which might directly +or indirectly help the occupying power. If a few thousands, compelled by +hunger or unable to resist their conquerors' threats, passed the +frontier, all the rest of the working population kept up, under the most +depressing conditions, a great patriotic strike, the "strike of folded +arms." If they could not, as the 20,000 young heroes who crossed the +Dutch frontier, join the Belgian army on the Yser; they could at least +wage war at home and oppose to the enemy the impenetrable rampart of +their naked breasts. It should not be said, when King Albert should +return to Brussels at the head of his troops, that his subjects had not +shared the sufferings of his soldiers. They should also have their +wounds to show, they should also have their dead to honour. + + * * * * * + +When, at the beginning of November last, the protests of the Belgian +Government and the "Signal of Distress" of the Belgian bishops made +known the slave raids which had taken place, most of the outside world +was shocked and surprised. It had lived, for months, under the +impression that "things were not so bad" in the conquered provinces. +After the outcry caused by the atrocities of August, 1914, there came a +natural reaction, a sort of anti-climax. Fines, requisitions, petty +persecutions do not strike the imagination in the same way as the +burning of towns and the wholesale massacre of peaceful citizens. It had +become necessary to follow things closely in order to understand that, +instead of suffering less, the Belgian population was suffering more and +more every day. Besides, news was scarce and difficult to check. When +alarming reports came from the Dutch frontier, it was usual to think +that the newspaper correspondents spread them without much +discrimination. + +But to those who were familiar with the policy pursued by the German +administration since the spring of 1915, the bad news which they +received lately only confirmed the fears which they had entertained for +a long time. As the war went on, it became more and more evident that +Germany, whose man-power was steadily decreasing, would no longer +tolerate the resistance of the Belgian workers, and would even attempt +to enrol in her army of labour all the able-bodied men of the conquered +provinces. The slave-raids coincide with the "levée en masse" in the +Empire and with the organisation of the new "Polish Army": "If every +German is made to fight or to work, ought not every Belgian, every Pole, +to be compelled to do the same? The fact that they should turn their +arms or their tools against their own country is not worthy of +consideration, as it is supposed already to enjoy the blessings of +German rule and has become an integral part of the Fatherland." + +There is a great deal to be said for the slavery of ancient times. It +was at least free from cunning and hypocrisy. The conqueror ill-treated +the vanquished, but he spared him his calumnies. The only law was the +law of the stronger, but the stronger did not pretend to be also the +better. The tyrant was always right, of course, but he did not pretend +to show that the victim was always wrong. + +Now the worst aspect of the German policy is that it associates the +subtlest dialectics with the most insane brutality. When the time comes, +they act with the blind fury of the bull, but they have already thought +it all over with the wisdom of the serpent. That is why the popular +appellation of "Huns" is so misleading. It suggests merely the brutality +of primitive men, which is not always so dangerous and so depraved as +the brutality of civilised men. Brutality does not exclude honesty and +pity. Attila listened to the prayers of the Pope and spared Rome. The +Kaiser's lieutenant does not listen to Cardinal Mercier's protests. The +Huns, as most strong men, made a point of keeping their word. The +Germans seem to make a point of breaking theirs. When I compared the +fight of Belgium and Germany to the unequal fight of Jack and the Giant, +of David and Goliath, I was forgetting that David and Jack were cleverer +than their antagonists. Folklore and fairy-tales always equalize the +chances by granting more wit to the small people than to the big ones. +It is a healthy inspiration. But we are confronted to-day with a new +monster, a wise giant, a cunning dragon, a subtle beast. + +We must therefore not imagine that Governor von Bissing got up one fine +morning, called for pen and ink, like King Cole for his bowl, and wrote +a proclamation to the effect that all Belgians of military age would be +reduced to slavery and obliged, under the penalty of physical torture +and under the whip of German sentries, to dig trenches behind the +Western front or to turn shells in a German factory. Any fool--any +Goliath--might have done that. + +Every German crime is preceded by a series of false promises and +followed by a series of calumnies. Between such a prelude and such a +finale, you may perform a symphony of frightfulness with Dr. Strauss' +orchestration--it will sound as innocent and artless as the three notes +of a shepherd's pipe. The violation of Belgian neutrality is bad enough, +but if you begin to lull Belgium to slumber by repeating, on every +occasion, that she has nothing to fear, and if you end by declaring to +the civilised world that Belgium was plotting with England and France a +traitorous attack against Germany, then it becomes quite plausible. To +massacre 6,000 civilians and burn 20,000 houses in cold blood looks +rather harsh, but if you begin by giving "a solemn guarantee to the +people that they will not have to suffer from the war" (General von +Emmich's first proclamation) and end by saying that women have emptied +buckets of boiling water on the heads of your soldiers and that children +have put out the eyes of your wounded, it becomes almost a kind +proceeding. In the same way, to seize and deport hundreds of thousands +of men and compel them to work in exile against their country seems the +act of Barbarians, but if you accumulate assurances that "normal +conditions will be maintained" and that nobody need fear deportation, +and if you end by declaring that the Belgian working classes are +exclusively composed of loafers and drunkards, it becomes a measure of +providence and wisdom for which your victims in particular, and the +whole civilised world in general, ought to be deeply grateful. + +The promise testifies to your good intentions and the calumny explains +how you were regretfully obliged not to fulfill them. The promise keeps +your victims within reach, the calumnies shift to them the +responsibility for your crime. Who doubts that every town visited by a +Zeppelin is fortified, that every ship sunk by a U boat carries troops +or guns? The old Hun killed everything which stood in his way; the +modern Hun does the same and then declares that _he_ is the victim. The +old Hun left the dead bodies of his enemies to the crows; the modern Hun +throws mud at them. The old Hun tried to kill the body; the modern Hun +tries to ruin the soul. + + * * * * * + +For this last and most monstrous of all Germany's crimes we have to +register not one promise only, but a series of promises, an accumulation +of solemn pledges. It seemed worth while apparently to keep the Belgian +workmen at home. Let us record them here, in chronological order: + +1st. September 2nd, 1914. Proclamation of Governor von der Goltz posted +in Brussels: _"I ask no one to renounce his patriotic sentiments..."_ + +2nd. October 18th, 1914. Letter of Baron von Huene, Military Governor of +Antwerp, to Cardinal Mercier, read in every church of the province in +order to reassure the people after the fall of Antwerp and to stop the +emigration: _"Young men need have no fear of being deported to Germany, +either to be enrolled in the army or to be subjected to forced labour."_ + +3rd. On the same day, a written declaration of the military authorities +of Antwerp to General von Terwisga, commanding the Dutch army in the +field, declaring without foundation "the rumour that the young men will +be sent to Germany." + +4th. A few weeks later, this promise was confirmed verbally to Cardinal +Mercier _and extended to the other provinces_ under German rule by +Governor von der Goltz, two aide-de-camps and the Cardinal's private +secretary being present. (See letter from Cardinal Mercier to Baron von +Bissing, October 19th, 1916). + +5th. November, 1914. Assurances given by the German authorities to the +Dutch Legation in Brussels in order to persuade the refugees to come +back: "_Normal conditions will be restored and the refugees will be +allowed to go back to Holland to look after their families_." (See also +the letter of the Dutch Consul in Antwerp urging the refugees to come +back to their homes.) + +6th. July 25th, 1915. Placard of Governor von Bissing posted in +Brussels: "_The people shall never be compelled to do anything against +their country_." + +7th. April, 1916: Assurances given to the neutral powers after the Lille +raids that _such deportations would not be renewed_. + + * * * * * + +Now, let us confront these texts, not even with the facts which come to +us from the most trustworthy sources, but with the German decrees and +proclamations preparing and ordering the recent deportations. We are not +opposing a Belgian testimony to a German one, neither are we, for the +present, propounding even our own interpretation of what occurred. We +will merely oppose a German document to another German document and let +them settle their differences as best they can. + +The first trouble began in April and May, 1915, in Luttre, at the +Malines arsenal, and in several other Flemish towns, when the German +authorities exerted every possible pressure to compel the Belgian +workmen to resume work. They were brought, under military escort, to +their workshops, imprisoned, starved, and about two hundred of them were +deported to Germany, where they were submitted to the most cruel +tortures. (See the _Nineteenth Report of the Belgian Commission of +Enquiry_.) The threats and persecutions are sufficiently established by +three placards issued by the German authorities. + +The first one, posted on the walls of Pont-à-Celles, near Luttre, says, +among other things: "If the workmen accept the above conditions (that is +to say, resume work with handsome wages) _the prisoners will be +released_...." The "prisoners" being several hundred workers who had +been imprisoned in their shops and deprived of food. (April, 1915.) + +The second, _signed von Bissing_ (so that nobody could imagine that +these measures were taken by some too zealous subaltern) and posted in +Malines, on the 30th of May, tells us that "_the town of Malines must be +punished as long as the required number of workmen have not resumed +work_." These workmen were employed by the Belgian State--which owns the +country's railway--for the repair of the rolling stock. When they had +refused to resume work, at the beginning of the occupation, a few +hundred German workmen had filled their posts. These had been sent back +to their military depots. The patriotic duty of these Belgians was +evident enough: by resuming their work, they released German soldiers +for the front and increased the number of coaches and engines, of which +the enemy was in great need for the transport of troops. If you will +compare this poster with the one printed above and dated July 25th, you +will be confronted with one of the neatest examples of German duplicity. +Other people have broken their promises after making them. It was left +to Governor von Bissing to make them after breaking them. + +The third document is still more conclusive. On June the 16th the +citizens of Ghent could read on their walls that: "The attitude of +certain factories which refuse _to work for the German Army_ under the +pretext of patriotism proves that a movement is afoot to create +difficulties for the _German Army_. If such an attitude is maintained I +will hold the communal authorities responsible and the population will +have only itself to blame if the great liberties granted to it until +now are suspended." This clumsy declaration is signed by +Lieutenant-General Graf von Westcarp. And to think that, even now, +Governor von Bissing perseveres in maintaining that no military work has +ever been asked or will ever be asked from the Belgian workers! As the +French proverb says: "On n'est jamais trahi que par les siens." [4] + +But, like the man who marries his mistress after the birth of the first +child, the Governor General was thinking of "regularising the +situation." He knew that his attitude was illegal. He decided, +therefore, to concoct a few decrees in order to legalize it in the eyes +of the world. He had, you see, to save appearances. You cannot get on +with no law at all. It might shock neutrals. So, if you break all the +articles of the Hague Convention one by one, like so many sticks, the +only thing to do is to manufacture some fresh regulations to replace +them. And everything will again be for the best in the best of worlds. + +That is where German subtlety comes in. You must not do things rashly, +at once. Like a skilful dramatist, you must prepare the public to take +in a situation. There is a true artistic touch in the way this General +of Cavalry succeeds in gradually legalizing illegality. + +In a first decree, dated August 10th, 1915, a fortnight after his last +pledge, Governor von Bissing promises from fourteen days' to six months' +imprisonment to anyone dependent on public charity who refuses to +undertake work "without a sufficient reason" and a fine of £500 or a +year's imprisonment to anyone who encourages refusal to work by the +granting of relief. Notice that the accomplice is punished more heavily +than the principal culprit. The idea is clearly to deprive every striker +of the help of his commune and of the "Comité National." However, as it +is still left to Belgian tribunals to decide which reasons are +"sufficient" and which are not, this decree is not very harmful. + +On May 2nd, 1916, the rising tide creeps nearer to us. The power of +deciding on the matter passes from the Belgian tribunals to the military +authority, and thereupon every striker becomes a culprit. + +On May 13th, there is a new decree by which "the governors, military +commanders, and chiefs of districts are allowed to order the unemployed +_to be conducted by force_ to the spots where they have to work." This, +no doubt, in order to avoid the crowding of prisons, which would have +necessarily followed the last decree. It only remains to declare that +the workers can be deported to complete the process and to legalise +slavery. + +This step was taken on October 3rd last, when an order, signed by +Quartier-Meister Sauberzweig and issued by the General Headquarters of +the German Army, was posted in all the communes of Flanders. This order +warned all persons "_who are fit to work_ that they may be compelled to +do so _even outside their places of residence,_" when "they should be +compelled to have recourse to public help for their own subsistence or +for the subsistence of the persons dependent on them." + +[Footnote 4: Another poster dated from Menin (August, 1915) reads as +follows: "From to-day the town is forbidden to give any support whatever +even to the families, wives, or children of workmen who are not employed +_regularly on military work_.."] + + * * * * * + +But there is more to come in the story. Three guarantees were left, +which have been quoted again and again by the German Press and by Baron +von Bissing in his various answers to Cardinal Mercier. It was first +stated that the men seized would not be sent to Germany, then that only +the unemployed were taken, and finally that these would not be used on +military work. These last guarantees have been repeatedly broken. +Again, I will leave the Germans to condemn themselves. + +In his decree published at Antwerp, on November the 2nd, General von +Huene (the same man who had given Cardinal Mercier his formal written +promise that no deportations should take place) declares that the men +are to be concentrated at the Southern Station, "whence ... they will be +conveyed in groups to _workshops in Germany_." + +In a letter sent by General Hurt, Military Governor of Brussels and of +the province of Brabant, to all burgomasters, it is said that "where the +Communes will not furnish the lists (of unemployed) the German +administration will itself designate the men to be deported to Germany. +If then ... errors are committed, the burgomasters will only have +themselves to blame, for _the German administration has no time and no +means for making an inquiry concerning the personal status of each +person_." + +Finally, an extraordinary proclamation of the "Major-Commandant +d'Etapes" of Antoing, dated October 20th, announces that "_the +population will never be compelled to work under continuous fire,"_ this +population being composed, according to the same document, of _men and +women_ between 17 and 46 years of age. If they refuse "they will be +placed in a _battalion of civil workers, on reduced rations_." Here is +the address of one of these militarised civilians dropped from a train +leaving for the Western front and picked up by a friend: X., 3 Comp. +Ziv. Arb. Bat. 27.--Et. Indp.--Armee No. + +This did not prevent Governor von Bissing from declaring, a week later +(letter to Cardinal Mercier, October 26th), that: "No workman can be +obliged to participate in work connected with the war (_entreprises de +guerre_)"! [5] + +The last fatal step has been taken. From decree to decree, from +proclamation to proclamation, the last threads of the curtain of +legality which remained between the victim and the tyrant have been cut +one by one. Between the acts of the German administration in Belgium and +those of the African slave drivers, we are now unable to discover any +difference whatever. The old plague which had been the shame of Europe +for more than two centuries has risen again from its ashes. It appears +before us with all its hideous characteristics. People are torn from +their homes and sent away to foreign lands without any hope of +returning. Any protest is crushed by the application of torture in the +form of starvation, exposure, and their kindred ills ... There is, +however, one new point about the modern slave: his face is as white as +that of his master. + +The nineteenth century stamped out black slavery. It was left to the +twentieth century to reinstate white slavery. It is the purest glory of +the English-speaking people to have succeeded in eradicating the old +evil. It will be the eternal shame of the German-speaking people to have +replaced it by something worse. Civilisation forbade any man, sixty +years ago, to force another man to work for him. Civilisation to-day +does not forbid a man--a conqueror--to force another man to work against +himself. The old slave only lost his liberty. The new slave must lose +his honour, his dignity, his self-respect. He has only one other +alternative: death. And this, not the glorious death of a martyr which +makes thousands of converts and shines all over the world, not the death +of Nurse Cavell, but the anonymous death of X.Y.Z., the death of +hundreds and hundreds of unknown heroes who will die under the whip or +in the darkness of their cells in the German prison camps. + +I had almost forgotten a last distinction between the old and the new +forms of slavery: The average slave driver of past days was only a +trader who sold human beings instead of selling oxen or sheep. When his +trade was prohibited, he took heavy risks and ran great danger of losing +his fortune and his life. But the German rulers of Belgium, whether they +be in Brussels or in Berlin, whether we call them von Bissing or +Helfferich, live in the comfort of their homes, surrounded by their +families, and when assailed by protests, can still play hide and seek +around the broken pillars of the Temple of Peace and wave arrogantly, +like so many flags, the torn articles of international law: "I assert," +said Dr. Helfferich in the Reichstag (December 2nd)--"I assert that +setting the Belgian unemployed to work is thoroughly consonant with +international law. We therefore _take our stand, formally and in +practice, on international law, making use of our undoubted rights_." + +Let Dr. Helfferich beware. He is not the only judge on international +law. His stand may come crashing down. + + +[Footnote 5: I should ask the reader to confront this declaration with +the statement made by the Belgian workmen in their appeal to the working +classes of the world. "On the Western Front they force them, by the most +brutal means, _to dig trenches_, construct aviation grounds...." + +In his letter sent to the Belgian Ministers to the Vatican and to Spain, +Baron Beyens, the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, says: "The men +are sent to occupied France _to construct sets of trenches and a +strategic railway, Lille-Aulnaye-Givet."_ + +Among many trustworthy reports, we hear that the 5th +Zivilisten-Bataillon, including some men of Ghent and Alost, has been +forced to work, under threat of death, on the construction of a +strategic railway between Laon and Soissons. Some of the men, exhausted +by the bad treatment inflicted upon them, have been sent back to Belgium +in a critical condition, and have written a full statement relating +their experiences, signed by twenty of them. On the other hand, the +Belgian General Headquarters report that Belgian civilians, obliged to +dig trenches and dug-outs near Becelaere (West Flanders), were exposed +to the fire of the English guns.] + + + + +II. BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON ... + + +"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion." + +What prophetic spirit inspired Cardinal Mercier when he chose this psalm +for the text of his sermon, on the occasion of the second anniversary of +their Independence (July 21st, 1916), which the Belgians celebrated in +exile and captivity? It was in the great Gothic church, in Brussels, +under the arches of Ste. Gudule, at the close of a service for the +soldiers fallen during the war, the very last patriotic ceremony +tolerated by the Germans. Socialists, Liberals, Catholics crowded the +nave, forgetting their old quarrels, united in a common worship, the +worship of their threatened country, of their oppressed liberties. + +"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" His audience +imagined that the preacher alluded only to a spiritual captivity, that +he meant: "How shall we celebrate our freedom in this German prison?" +And they listened, like the first Christians in the catacombs, dreading +to hear the tramp of the soldiers before the door. The Cardinal pursued +his fearless address: "The psalm ends with curses and maledictions. We +will not utter them against our enemies. We are not of the Old but of +the New Testament. We do not follow the old law: an eye for an eye, a +tooth for a tooth, but the new law of Love and Christian brotherhood. +But we do not forget that even above Love stands Justice. If our brother +sins, how can we pretend to love him if we do not wish that his sins +should be punished...." + +Such was the tenor of the Cardinal's address, the greatest Christian +address inspired by the war, uttered under the most tragic and moving +circumstances. For the people knew by then the danger of speaking out +their minds in conquered Belgium; they knew that some German spies were +in the church taking note of every word, of every gesture. Still, they +could not restrain their feelings, and, at the close of the sermon, when +the organ struck up the _Brabançonne_, they cheered and cheered again, +thankful to feel, for an instant, the dull weight of oppression lifted +from their shoulders by the indomitable spirit of their old leader. + +What strikes us now, when recalling this memorable ceremony, is not so +much the address itself as the choice of its text: "For they that +carried us away captive required of us a song." + +Many of those who listened to Cardinal Mercier on July 21st, 1916, have +no doubt been "carried away" by now, and they have sung. They have sung +the Brabançonne and the "Lion de Flandres" as a last defiance to their +oppressors whilst those long cattle trains, packed with human cattle, +rolled in wind and rain towards the German frontier. And the echo of +their song still haunts the sleep of every honest man. + + * * * * * + +For whatever Germany may do or say, the time is no longer when such +crimes can be left unpunished. Notwithstanding the war and the +triumphant power of the mailed fist, there still exists such a thing as +public conscience and public opinion. Nothing can happen, in any part of +the world, without awakening an echo in the hearts of men who apparently +are not at all concerned in the matter. The Germans are too clever not +to understand this, and the endless trouble which they take in order to +monopolise the news in neutral countries and to encounter every +accusation with some more or less insidious excuse is the best proof of +this. When one of them declared that Raemaekers' cartoons had done more +harm to Germany than an army corps, he knew perfectly well what he was +talking about. Only they rely so blindly on their own intellectual power +and they have such a poor opinion of the brains of other people that +they believe in first doing whatever suits their plans and then justify +their action afterwards. They divide the work between themselves: The +soldier acts, the lawyer and the professor undertakes to explain what he +has done. However black the first may become, there is plenty of +whitewash ready to restore his innocence. + +If the unexpected resistance of Belgium has infuriated the Germans to +such an extent, it is not only because it wrecked their surprise attack +on France, it is also because, even after the retreat of the army, they +have been confronted by a series of men courageous enough and clever +enough to stand their ground and to come between them and the uneducated +mass of the population. + +Since, for the sake of propaganda, they wanted to make a show of +respecting international law, they were taken at their word; so that +they were obliged either to give way or to put themselves openly in the +wrong. When they tried to break their promise to the municipality of +Brussels and to annihilate the liberties of the old Belgian communes, +Mr. Max stood in their way, calm and smiling, with no other weapon than +the law which they pretended to respect. Mr. Max was sent to a German +fortress, but Germany had torn up another scrap of paper--and the +civilised world knew it. When they wanted to establish extraordinary +tribunals for matters which belonged only to local tribunals, Mr. +Théodor and all the barristers of the country lodged protest after +protest and fought their case step by step. Mr. Théodor was deported, +but the German administration had blundered again--and the world knew +it. When Baron von Bissing tried to infringe the privileges of the +Church and to cow the Belgian priests into submission by forbidding them +to read to their flock the patriotic letter of Cardinal Mercier, +published on Christmas Day, 1914, he found himself opposed not only by a +far cleverer man than himself, but by all the spiritual influence of one +of the greatest priests in Europe. The letter was read, the Cardinal did +not leave for Germany but for Rome, whence he came back to Malines, and, +if anything, adopted a still firmer tone in his subsequent letters and +speeches. Von Bissing was beaten--and the world knew it. + +These are only a few striking examples among many. Since August, 1914, +hundreds and hundreds of civilians have been imprisoned or deported; +workmen, because they refused to work for the enemy; lawyers, because +they refused to accept his law; bankers, because they would not let +their money cross the frontier; professors, because they did not consent +to propagate Kultur; journalists, because they objected to print Wolff's +news; tradespeople, because they put their patriotism above their +private interests; priests, because they did not worship the German god; +women, because they did not admire German officers; children, because +they did not play the German games. Meanwhile the firing parties did not +remain idle. The world has heard with horror of the death of Miss +Cavell; it has been shocked by the disproportion between her "crime" and +her punishment, and by the hypocrisy displayed by the German +administration during her trial. But, if England has lost one great +martyr, Belgium has lost hundreds, who perished in the same way, +sometimes for smaller offences, often for no offence at all. For the +German judges are in a hurry, and they have no time to enquire too +closely in such matters. The vengeance of a spy, the slightest suspicion +of a policeman, sometimes even an anonymous letter, are enough to +convince them of the guilt of the accused person. The healthy effect +produced on the population by Dinant and Louvain must not be allowed to +spend itself. Frightfulness must be kept up at any price. The reign of +terror is the condition of the German regime. + + * * * * * + +To-day, in this most tragic hour of Belgian history, when so many +leaders, so many patriots, have been imprisoned, deported or shot, after +twenty-nine months of constant threats and persecutions, we might ask +ourselves: Is Belgium at last cowed into submission? + +Listen, then, to Belgium's voice, not to the voice of the refugees, not +even to the voice of the King and his Government, but to the voice of +these miserable "slaves" whom Germany is trying to starve into +submission. Letters have been dropped from these cattle trucks rolling +towards Germany or towards the French front. They all tell us of the +unshakeable resolution of the men never to sign an agreement to go to +Germany, and never to work for the enemy: "We will never work for the +Germans and never put our name on paper" (_onze naam on papier +zetten_)--"We will not work for them. Do the same when you are taken." +(_Faites de même quand tu dois aller_.) Two young men imprisoned in +Ghent write to their father: "They will have to make us fast a long time +before we consent to work for the King of Prussia." Another man who was +stopped when attempting to escape writes: "They tell us here that the +Germans will make us work even if we do not sign an engagement. It would +be abominable. _Take heart, the hour of deliverance will strike one day, +after all_." Another workman sends the following message to his +employer: "We are here two thousand and three hundred men. They cannot +annihilate us. _It is not right that our fate should be better than that +of our brothers who suffer and fight at the front_. We cannot make a +step without being threatened by the gun or the bayonet of our jailors. +_I am hungry ... but I will not work for them_." + +And as the slave raids reach one province after another from Flanders to +Antwerp, from Hainant to Brabant, as the fatal list of deportees +increases from 20,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, from 100,000 to +200,000, whilst the cries of women and children are heard in the +streets, whilst the modern slaves tramp along the roads carrying a light +bundle of clothes on their shoulders, from everywhere in Belgium the +strongest protests are sent to the Governor General, by the communes +which will not consent to give the names of the unemployed, by the +magistrates who will not see the last guarantees of individual right +trampled upon, by the Socialist syndicates which are defending the right +of the workmen not to work against their own country, by the chiefs of +industry who show clearly that the whole responsibility of the labour +crisis rests on Germany alone, by the bishops of the Church, who refuse +to admit that, after two thousand years of Christian teaching, a +so-called Christian nation should fall so low as to revive, for her own +benefit, the worst custom of Paganism. + +The energy of these protests is wonderful if one considers the +conditions in which they have been made. The town councillors of Tournai +were asked to draw up a list of unemployed. They refused; as the Germans +insisted, they passed the following resolution: "The municipal council +decide to persevere in their negative attitude.... The city of Tournai +is prepared to submit without resistance to all the exigencies +authorized by the laws and customs of the war. Its sincerity cannot be +doubted, as it has shown perfect composure and has avoided any act of +hostility during a period of over two years ... But, at the same time, +the municipal council could not furnish weapons against their own +children, fully conscious that natural law and international law, which +is derived from it, forbids them to do so." (October 20th, 1916). We +possess also the German answer, signed by Major-General Hopfer. It is a +necessary supplement to von Bissing's unctuous literature. Major-General +Hopfer calls the resolution "an act of arrogance without precedent." +According to him, "the state of affairs, clearly and simply, is this: +the military authority commands, the municipality has to obey. If it +fails to do so it will have to support the heavy consequences." A fine +of 200,000 marks is exacted from the town for its refusal, besides +20,000 marks for every day of delay until the lists are completed. + +The case of Tournai, like that of Antoing and a good many small towns, +is typical. The officers commanding in these districts either disregard +the "mot d'ordre" given in Brussels or do not think it worth their while +to keep up the sinister comedy played in the large towns. Here "Kultur" +throws off her mask and the brute appears. We know at least where we +stand. The conflict is cleared of all false pretence and paltry excuses. +The councillors of Tournai appeal to some law, divine or human, which +forbids a brother to betray his brother. It is not without relief that +we hear the genuine voice of Major Hopfer declaring that there is no +other law than his good pleasure. That settles everything and puts the +case of Belgium in a nut-shell. Men like him and the commander of the +Antoing district--another Major, by the way--are invaluable. But they +will never become Generals unless they mend their manners. + +From the perusal of the Belgian protests and of all particulars +received, two things appear clearly: First, in spite of all the official +declarations, whether the raiders are able or not to get hold of the +lists, there is no real discrimination between employed or unemployed. +And, secondly, in many districts, unemployment has been deliberately +created by the authorities in order to justify the deportations. + +We cannot discover any method in the raids. In some places, all the +able-bodied men from 17 to 50 are taken away; in others the priests, the +town-clerks, the members of the "Comité de Secours," and the teachers +are left at home; in others still a certain selection is made. _But +everywhere some men who were actually working at the time or even men +who had never been out of work since the beginning of the German +occupation have been obliged to go with the others_. The proportions +vary. In the small town of Gembloux, of a total of 750 inhabitants +deported, _there were only two unemployed_. At Kersbeek-Miscom out of 94 +deportees only two had been thrown out of work. At Rillaer, the Germans +have taken 25 boys under 18 years of age.[6] In the district of Mons, +from the numbers taken down in fourteen communes, we gather that the +proportion of the unemployed varies between 10 and 15 per cent. of the +total number of deportees.[7] Among the 400 men taken from Arlon +(Luxembourg) were 43 members of the "Comité de Secours" who were working +in connection with the Commission for Relief, so that not only the +people supporting their families are being deported, but even those who +employed themselves in alleviating the sufferings of the whole +population. This practice has been repeated in several other towns, for +instance, in Gembloux and Libramont. + +Whether the people are ordered to present themselves at the town-hall or +seized in their own homes, whether they are taken forthwith or allowed a +few hours to prepare themselves, whether they are forced to sign an +agreement or not, the same fact is evident: the criterion of employment +is never considered as a sufficient cause for exemption. + +In certain districts where, in spite of the requisitions, no +unemployment existed, the authorities have manufactured it. Some of the +new coal mines of the Limbourg province have been closed on the eve of +the raids. The case of the Luxembourg province is still more typical. +"We have not to enquire here," declare the senators and deputies of this +province, "if unemployment has been caused in other regions by the +disorganisation of transports, the seizure of raw stuffs and machines, +the constant requisitions, and other measures which were bound to +penalize the national industry. One fact remains incontestable; it is +that, so far as the Luxembourg province is concerned, unemployment has +been non-existent. During the worst periods, we have only had a small +number of unemployed, and thanks to the initiative taken by the 'Comité +de Secours' all, without any exception, have been at work without +interruption." After enumerating a great number of works of public +utility which had been approved by the German authorities, construction +of light railways, drainage of extensive moors, creation of new +plantations, water supplies, etc., ... the report goes on: "And to-day +most of these works, which had been approved and subsidized by the +province and by the State, have been suddenly condemned and +interrupted.... _Such official obstacles to the legitimate and useful +activity of our workmen renders still more painful for them, if +possible, the measures taken against them by those who reproach them for +their idleness and who prosecute them to-day under the pretext of an +inaction which they have deliberately created_." + +In the face of such testimony all the German argument crumbles to +pieces. As Monseigneur Mercier puts it decisively: "It is not true that +our workmen have caused any disturbance or even threatened anywhere to +do so. Five million Belgians, hundreds of Americans, never cease to +admire the perfect dignity and patience of our working classes. It is +not true that the workmen, deprived of their work, become a charge on +the occupying power or on public charity under its control. The 'Comité +National,' in whose activity the Germans take no part, is the only +organisation concerned in the matter." But even supposing, for the sake +of argument, that the 43rd article of the Hague Convention should +justify some form of coercion in the matter, the new measures should +only be applied to some works of _public utility in Belgium_. Far from +encouraging such works, the Germans have stopped them, seized _employed +and unemployed_, and sent them either to _Germany_ or to some _war-work_ +on the Western front. To put it simply, they wish to avoid public +disturbance where there is no disturbance, to save money which is not +their money, to deport unemployed who are not unemployed, to oblige them +to work against their country instead of for their country, and in +Germany instead of in Belgium. They are doing everything but what they +want to do, they go anywhere but where they are going, and they say +anything but what they are thinking. + +[Footnote 6: Letter of Cardinal Mercier to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +29th, 1916.] + +[Footnote 7: Reply of the Deputies of Mons to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +27th, 1916.] + + * * * * * + +The other day I heard two people--two wizened city clerks--discussing +the war in the train. "When and how will the Germans be beaten?" asked +the first. The other shrugged his shoulders and declared solemnly, +while pulling at his pipe: "The Germans? They have been beaten a long +time ago! They were beaten when they set foot for the first time in +Belgium." + +The remark is not new, and I daresay it was a reminiscence of some +sentence picked up in a newspaper or at a popular meeting. But whoever +uttered it for the first time was right. The case of Belgium has +uplifted the whole moral atmosphere of the struggle. Since the first +guns boomed around Liège and the first civilians were shot at Visé, a +war which might have been represented, to a certain extent, as a +conflict of interests, has become a conflict of principles. In a way, +the Germans were beaten because, from that moment, they had to struggle +against unseen and inflexible forces. Whatever you choose to call +them--democratic instinct, Christian aspiration, or the conscience of +the civilised world--they will do their work relentlessly, every day of +the year, every hour of the day. It is their doing that, in spite of the +immense financial influence and the most active propaganda, Germany has +become unpopular all over the world. Other facts, like the _Lusitania_, +the trial of Miss Cavell, the work accomplished by Zeppelins, have +contributed to provoke this feeling. But whether we consider the origin +or the last exploits of German policy, whether we think of two years ago +or of to-day, the image of Belgium, of her invasion, of her martyrdom, +of her oppression, of her deportations, dominates the spiritual aspect +of the whole war. + +When they crossed the Belgian frontier, the Germans walked straight into +a bog, and since then they have been sucked deeper and deeper into the +mud of their own misdeeds and calumnies. They were ankle-deep at Liège, +waist-deep at Louvain, the bog rises even to their lips to-day. In the +desperate efforts which they make to free themselves they inflict fresh +and worse tortures on their victims. It is as if victory could only be +reached through the country's willing sacrifice. But every cry which the +Germans provoke in the Belgian prison is heard throughout the world, +every tear shed there fills their bitter cup, every drop of blood they +shed falls back on their own heads. The world looks on, and its burning +pity, its ardent sympathy, brings warmth and comfort to the Belgian +slave. There is still some light shining through the narrow window of +the cell. And there is not a man worthy of the name who does not feel +more resolute and more confident in final victory when he meets the +haggard look of the martyred country and watches her pale, patient, and +still smiling face pressed against the iron bars. + + + + +VI. + +THE OLIVE BRANCH. + + +We may ask ourselves if it was by chance only or through some subtle +calculation that the first slave-raids in Belgium were timed to take +place on the eve of the Christmas season, when the angels proclaimed +"good-will towards men," and when the German diplomats offered us the +olive branch and the dove--peace at their own price. We may perhaps +admit, now that the crisis is over, that for us Belgians at least the +temptation was great, and if our repeated experience of the enemy had +not shown us that he is most dangerous when he dons the humanitarian +garb, we might have been duped by this remarkable piece of +stage-management. There is every reason to believe that the deportations +were part and parcel of the German peace manoeuvre. By increasing a +hundredfold the "horrors of war" Germany provided a powerful argument to +the pacifists all the world over: "Look at these miserable Belgians. +Have they not suffered enough? Is it not time that an end should be put +to their misery? Germany has declared that she is ready to evacuate the +country. She might even give an indemnity. What other satisfaction can +the Allies ask, considering the present situation on both the Eastern +and Western fronts? If England really went to war to deliver Belgium, +let her prove it now by stopping the struggle to spare her innocent +citizens. It is all very well for those who are living comfortably at +home to urge the continuance of the struggle. But can they take the +responsibility of speaking on behalf of the population which has to +submit to the enemy's rule and whose sufferings increase every day? ..." + +We have all listened to that voice. The Belgians in exile more intensely +perhaps than the other Allies. Belgium had nothing whatever to do with +the origin of the quarrel. She had nothing to gain from its conclusion. +She had been drawn unwillingly into the conflict. She has taken arms +merely to defend her rights and territory. What should her answer be if +Germany offered to restore them? + + * * * * * + +At the beginning of August last, a certain number of Socialist leaders, +in occupied Belgium, succeeded in arranging a meeting, in spite of +German regulations, and passed the following resolution, which they sent +to the Minister Vandervelde, in London: "The Belgian working classes are +decided to endure all sufferings rather than to accept a German peace, +which could neither be lasting nor final. The Allies must not think that +they must hasten the conclusion of the struggle for us. We are not +asking for peace, and we take no responsibility for the Socialist +manifestations made in neutral countries on our behalf. _We ask those +who want to help us not to let the idea that we long for peace influence +their decisions_. We pass this resolution in order to prevent the +disastrous effect, which such an argument might produce." + +The Belgium people has never departed from this attitude, and it is the +plain duty of all those who are defending them, to conform, in the +spirit and in the letter, to their heroic message. In the "Appeal" of +the Belgian workers to the civilised world, sent during the worst period +of the slave-raids, the idea of a truce is not even entertained. On the +contrary, the workers declare that, "whatever their tortures may be, +they will not have peace without the independence of their country and +the triumph of justice." An eye-witness of the raids was telling me, a +few days ago, that, on some occasions, the men in the slave trains are +able to communicate with the people outside: "They shout, of course, +'Long live Belgium' and 'Long live King Albert,' but the most frequent +cry, in which they seem to put their last ounce of strength, is: 'Do +not sign,' which means: 'Do not sign an engagement to work in Germany, +do not sign a compromise.'" And I have not the slightest doubt that, if +they had heard of the German peace offers, they would still shout, "Do +not sign, do not sign a German peace!" + +We know what this attitude costs them. We know, from the report of those +few men who have been sent back to Belgium from the Western front and +from the German camps, the tortures to which the modern slaves are being +subjected. These men were so ill, so worn out, that their family +scarcely recognised them, and greeted them with tears, not with +laughter. It was like a procession of ghosts coming back from hell. At +Soltau, the prisoners are given only two pints of acorn soup and a +mouldy piece of bread, every day. They are so famished that they creep +at night to steal the potato parings which their German guards throw on +to--the rubbish heap. They divide them amongst themselves and eat them +raw to appease their hunger. After the first week of this régime, +several men went mad. Others were isolated for a few days and given +excellent food. "Will you sign now? If you do, you shall be kept on the +same diet; if not... you go back to camp?" The great majority refused +... and were sent back. This is not an isolated report. All the accounts +agree, even on the smallest details, and the deportees who have been +able to write to their families tell the same story as those who, being +henceforth useless, have been sent home to die. + + * * * * * + +It has always been the German policy to bully and to cajole almost at +the same time. But the image of Germania offering, with her sweetest +humanitarian smile, an olive-branch to the Allies whilst her +executioners are starving thousands of Belgian slaves and clubbing them +with their rifles, will stand in the memory of mankind as the climax of +combined brutality and hypocrisy. + +Should we wonder if the present has been refused? There is only one +peace which matters, it is the peace of man with his own conscience, the +peace of the soul with its God. We have it already, and even the roar of +the German guns will not disturb it. It hovers over our trenches, over +the sea, even over these terrible German camps where the best blood of a +great people is being sucked by the vampires of War. And those who have +fallen stricken on the battlefields, those who have succumbed to the +slow tortures to which they were subjected, are resting now under its +great wings. Should we dare to disturb their sleep? Should we dare to +stain their glory? + +It is not for Germany to offer peace. She has lost, it with her honour. +It lies in some pool, at the corner of a wood, where the hooligan waits +in ambush, or on the rubbish heap of the Soltau camp in which men--noble +men--are made to seek their food like pigs. Germany cannot offer what is +not hers to offer. The Allies cannot take what they have already. For +there is only one peace, "the peace that passeth all understanding." + +As for the German olive branch, how could we accept it? It is no longer +green. There is a drop of blood on every leaf. + + * * * * * + +It is perfectly useless to try, as has been done in certain quarters, to +distinguish between Belgium's attitude in the conflict and that of the +Powers who are fighting for the restoration of her integrity. From the +day when England, France and Russia answered King Albert's appeal, the +unflinching policy of Belgium has been to act in perfect harmony with +the Allies. How could it be otherwise? Their cause is her cause. Their +victory will be her victory, and--if we should ever consider the +possibility of defeat--their defeat would be her defeat. The Belgians +who like myself, were in England during these fateful days of August, +1914, when the destiny of Europe hung in the balance, know perfectly +well the decisive influence which the invasion of Belgium had on English +public opinion at that time. Nothing can ever blur the clear outlines of +the events as they passed before us under the implacable rays of that +glorious summer sun. + +The whole policy of Germany is determined by her first stroke in the +war. That stroke was delivered against a small nation. The whole policy +of England and of the Allies is determined by their first efforts in the +struggle, and these efforts were made to protect a small nation against +Germany's aggression. Never has the choice between right and wrong been +made plainer in the whole history of the world. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THE IRON BARS*** + + +******* This file should be named 12644-8.txt or 12644-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/12644-8.zip b/old/12644-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..aef6a74 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-8.zip diff --git a/old/12644-h.zip b/old/12644-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4a78c31 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h.zip diff --git a/old/12644-h/12644-h.htm b/old/12644-h/12644-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9fcd55f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/12644-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2674 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Through the Iron Bars, by Emile Cammaerts</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + P { text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 12pt; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + .ctr {text-align: center;} + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + PRE { font-family: Courier, monospaced; } + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre.pg {font-size: 9pt;} + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Through the Iron Bars, by Emile Cammaerts, +Illustrated by Louis Raemaekers</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Through the Iron Bars</p> +<p>Author: Emile Cammaerts</p> +<p>Release Date: June 17, 2004 [eBook #12644]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: iso-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THE IRON BARS***</p> +<br> +<br> +<center><h3>E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Brett Koonce,<br> + and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders<br> + <br> + HTML version by Brett Koonce</h3></center> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<center> +<a href="images/img01.jpg"><img src="images/img01.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +</center> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1>THROUGH THE IRON BARS</h1> +<h4>Two years of German occupation in Belgium</h4> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>EMILE CAMMAERTS</h2> +<h3>ILLUSTRATED WITH CARTOONS BY<br> + + LOUIS RAEMAEKERS</h3> +<h4>MCMXVII</h4> + +<p> </p> + +<hr> +<p> </p> +<a name="TOC"><!-- TOC --></a> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<p><a href="#RULE4_0">I. The Prison Gates</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_1">II. The Lowered Flag</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_2">III. The Poisoned Wells</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_3">IV. The Sacking of Belgium</a></p> + +<p><a href="#RULE4_35">V. The Modern Slave (1. The Creeping Tide)</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_4">V. The Modern Slave (2. "By the Waters of Babylon")</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_5"> VI. The Olive Branch</a></p> +<p><a href="#RULE4_6"> Addendum: Cartoons by Louis Raemaekers</a></p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr> + + +<a name="RULE4_0"><!-- RULE4 0 --></a> +<h2> + I. +</h2> + +<center> +THE PRISON GATES. +</center> +<p> +The English-speaking public is generally well informed concerning the +part played in the war by the Belgian troops. The resistance of our +small field army at Liège, before Antwerp, and on the Yser has been +praised and is still being praised wherever the tale runs. This is easy +enough to understand. The fact that those 100,000 men should have been +able to hold so long in check the forces of the first military Empire in +Europe, and that a great number of them, helped by new contingents of +recruits and led by their young King, should still be fighting on their +native soil, must appeal strongly to the imagination. +</p> +<p> +If it be told how the new Belgian army, reorganised and re-equipped +after the terrible ordeal on the Yser, is at the present moment much +stronger than at the beginning of the war, how it has been able lately +to extend its front in Flanders, and how some of its units have rendered +valuable help to the cause of the Allies in East Africa and even in +Galicia, the story sounds like a fairy tale. There is, in the history of +this unequal struggle, the true ring of legendary heroism; it seems an +echo of the tale of David and Goliath, or of Jack the Giant Killer; it +is full of the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, of independence and +free will over fatalism and brute force, of Right over Might. +</p> +<p> +I feel confident that some day a poet will be able to sing this great +epic in verses which shall answer to the swinging rhythm of battle and +roll with the booming of a thousand guns. But, in the meantime, I should +like to say a few words about a much humbler, a much simpler, a much +more familiar subject. It awakes no classical remembrances of Leonidas +or Marathon. My heroes risk their lives, but they are not soldiers, +merely prosaic "bourgeois" and workmen. They have no weapon, they cannot +fight. They have only to remain cheery in adversity and patient in the +face of taunts. They cannot render blow for blow, they have no sword to +flourish against an insolent conqueror. They can only oppose a stout +heart, a loyal spirit, and an ironic smile to the persecutions to which +they are subjected. They can do nothing—they must do nothing—only hope +and wait. But there are as much heroism and beauty in their black +frock-coats and their soiled workmen's smocks as in the gayest and most +glittering uniforms. +</p> +<p> +It is the plain matter-of-fact story of Belgian life under German rule. +Many more people will be tempted to praise the glory of our soldiers. +But, if the incidents of conquered Belgium's life are not recorded in +good time, they might escape notice. People might forget that, besides +the 150,000 to 200,000 heroes who are now waging war for Belgium on the +Western front, there are 7,500,000 heroes who are suffering for Belgium +behind the German lines, in the close prison of guarded frontiers, cut +off from the whole world, separated alike from those who are fighting +for their deliverance and from those who have sought refuge abroad. +</p> +<p> +These are the people whom America, England, Spain, and many generous +people in other allied and neutral countries have tried to save from +material starvation. If I could only show to my readers how they are +saving themselves from despair, from spiritual starvation, I should be +well repaid for my trouble, for, among all the wonders of this war, +which has displayed mankind as at once so much worse and so much better +than we thought, there is perhaps nothing more surprising than the way +in which the Belgian people have kept their spirits up. +</p> +<p> +One can, to a certain extent, understand the bright courage and the grim +humour of the fighting soldier; he has the excitement of battle to +sustain him through danger and suffering. But that an unarmed +population, which, having witnessed the martyrdom of many peaceful +towns, is threatened with utter destruction, which, ruined by war +contributions and requisitions, is on the brink of starvation, which, +persecuted by spies and subjected constantly to the most severe +individual and collective punishments on the slightest pretext, is +obliged to refrain from any manifestation of patriotic sentiments—that +such a population, completely cut off from its Government and from most +of its political leaders, and, moreover, poisoned every day by news +concocted by the enemy, should remain unshakable in its courage and +loyalty and should still be able to laugh at the efforts made by its +masters to bring it into submission, is truly one of the most amazing +spectacles which we have witnessed since the war broke out. General von +Bissing has declared that the Belgians are an enigma to him. No wonder. +They are an enigma to themselves. I am not going to explain the miracle. +I will only attempt to show how inexplicable, how miraculous, it is. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The German occupation of Belgium may be roughly divided into two +periods: Before the fall of Antwerp, when the hope of prompt deliverance +was still vivid in every heart, and when the German policy, in spite of +its frightfulness, had not yet assumed its most ruthless and systematic +character; and, after the fall of the great fortress, when the yoke of +the conqueror weighed more heavily on the vanquished shoulders, and when +the Belgian population, grim and resolute, began to struggle to preserve +its honour and loyalty and to resist the ever increasing pressure of the +enemy to bring it into complete submission and to use it as a tool +against its own army and its own King. +</p> +<p> +I am only concerned here with the second period. The story of the German +atrocities committed in some parts of the country at the beginning of +the occupation is too well known to require any further comment. Every +honest man, in Allied and neutral countries, has made up his mind on the +subject. No unprejudiced person can hesitate between the evidence +brought forward by the Belgian Commission of Enquiry and the vague +denials, paltry excuses and insolent calumnies opposed to it by the +German Government and the Pro-German Press. Besides, in a way, the +atrocities committed during the last days of August, 1914, ought not to +be considered as the culminating point of Belgium's martyrdom. They +have, of course, appealed to the imagination of the masses, they have +filled the world with horror and indignation, but they did not extend +all over the country, as the present oppression does; they only affected +a few thousand men and women, instead of involving hundreds of +thousands. They were clean wounds wrought by iron and fire, sudden, +brutal blows struck at the heart of the country, wounds and blows from +which it is possible to recover quickly, from which reaction is +possible, which do not affect the soul and honour of a people. The +military executioners of 1914 were compassionate when compared to the +civilian administrators who succeeded them. The pen may be more cruel +than the sword. Considered in the light of the recent deportations, the +first days of frightfulness seem almost merciful. +</p> +<p> +Observers have found no words strong enough to praise the attitude of +the Belgian people when victory seemed close at hand, when news was +still allowed to reach them. What should be said now after the +twenty-seven months for which they have been completely isolated from +the rest of the world? The ruthless methods of the German army of +invasion which deliberately massacred 5,000 unarmed civilians and sacked +six or seven towns and many more villages has been vehemently condemned. +What is to be the verdict now that they have succeeded, after two years +of efforts, in sacking the whole country, ruining her industry and +commerce, throwing out of employment her best workmen and leading into +slavery tens of thousands of her staunchest patriots? The horrors of +Louvain and Dinant were compared, with some reason, to the excesses of +the Thirty Years War, but modern history offers no other instance of +forced labour and wholesale deportations. If, fifty years ago, the +conscience of the world revolted against black slavery, what should its +feelings be today when it is confronted with this new and most appalling +form of white slavery? We should in vain ransack the chronicles of +history to find, even in ancient times, crimes similar to this one. For +the Jews were at war with Babylon, the Gauls were at war with Rome. +Belgium did not wage war against Germany. She merely refused to betray +her honour. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Let us watch, then, the closing of the prison gates. Up to the beginning +of October, the Belgians, and specially the people of Brussels, had been +kept in a state of suspense by the three sorties of the Belgian army, +which left the shelter of the Antwerp forts to advance towards Vilvorde +and Louvain, a few miles from the capital. At the beginning of +September, the sound of guns came so close that the people rejoiced +openly, thinking that deliverance was at their gates. To sober their +spirit—or to exasperate their patience?—the Governor General ordered +that a few Belgian prisoners, some of them wounded, with their +quickfiring gun drawn by a dog, should be marched through the crowded +streets. The men were covered with dust, their heads wrapped in +blood-stained bandages, and they kept their eyes on the ground as if +ashamed. Some women sobbed on seeing them, others cursed their guards, +others plundered a flower shop and showered flowers upon them. At last +two stalwart workmen shouldered away the escort, and, helped by the +crowd, which paralysed the movements of the Germans, succeeded in +kidnapping the prisoners, and getting them away to the neighbouring +streets. They could never be discovered, and it was the last display of +the kind which the Governor gave to Brussels. +</p> +<p> +During the siege, people had learnt to recognize the voice of every fort +of Antwerp. They said to each other: "That is Lizele, Wavre Ste. +Catherine, Waelhem." One after the other the Belgian guns were silenced, +first Wavre, then Waelhem ... and the vibrating boom of the German +heavies was heard louder than ever. The listening Bruxellois grew paler, +straining every nerve to catch the voice of Antwerp. It was as if their +own life as a nation was slowly dying away, as if they were mourning +their own agony. But still the valiant spirit of the first days +prevailed. "They will be beaten for all that. What was Antwerp compared +with the Marne? All forts must fall under 'their' artillery. After all, +the nest is empty; the King and the army are safe." +</p> +<p> +Since those days a kind of reckless indifference has seized the +Belgians. If we must lose everything to gain everything, let us lose +it. The sooner the better. It is the spirit of a poor man burning his +furniture in order to shelter his children from cold, or of a Saint +suffering every physical privation in order to gain the Kingdom of +Heaven. It is an uncanny spirit composed of wild energy and bitter-sweet +irony. "First Liège, then Brussels, then Namur, now Antwerp. The King +has gone, the Government has gone. If all Belgium has to go, let it go. +It is the price we have to pay. The victory of our soul shall be all the +greater if our body is shattered and tortured." +</p> +<p> +Henceforth, the voice of Belgium reaches us only from time to time. Its +sound is muffled by the enemy's strangle-hold, which grows tighter and +tighter. Before the fall of Antwerp, the German administration of +General von der Goltz had merely a temporary character. We knew that +most of the high officials were stopping in Brussels on their way to +Paris. On the other hand, any skilful move of the Allies, any successful +sortie from Antwerp, might have jeopardized all the conqueror's plans +and necessitated an immediate retreat. The Yser-Ypres struggle barred +the way to Brussels as well as to Calais. The Germans knew now that they +were safe, at least for a good many months, and began systematically to +"organize the country." All communications with the uninterrupted part +of Belgium were interrupted. It became more and more difficult and +dangerous to cross the Dutch frontier without a special permit. The +economic and moral pressure increased steadily, and the conflict between +conquerors and patriots began, a conflict unrelieved by dramatic +interest or excitement from outside, which carried the country back to +the worst days of Austrian and Spanish domination. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_1"><!-- RULE4 1 --></a> +<h2> + II. +</h2> + +<center> +THE LOWERED FLAG. +</center> +<p> +The contrast which I have endeavoured to indicate, in the first chapter, +between the attitude of the German administration before the fall of +Antwerp and its behaviour afterwards is nowhere so well marked as in the +measures taken for the purpose of repressing all Belgian manifestations +of patriotism. +</p> +<p> +During the two first months of occupation, the Germans made at least a +show of respecting the loyal feelings of the population. In his first +proclamation, dated September 2nd, in which he announced his appointment +as General Governor of Belgium, Baron von der Goltz declared that "he +asked no one to renounce his patriotic feelings." And when, a few days +later, the Governor of Brussels, Baron von Luttwitz, issued a poster +"advising" the citizens to take their flags from their windows, he did +this in conciliatory words, giving the pretext that these manifestations +might provoke reprisals from the German troops passing through the town: +"The Military Governor does not intend in the least to hurt, by such a +measure, the feelings and self-respect of the inhabitants. His only aim +is to protect them against all harm." (September 16th.) Every Belgian +was still wearing the national colours, pictures of the King and Queen +were sold in the streets, and the Brabançonne was hummed, whistled, and +sung all over the country. The people had lost every right but one: they +could still show the enemy, in spite of the declarations of the German +Press, that they were not yet ready to accept his rule. +</p> +<p> +This apparent tolerance is easy to explain. After the massacres of +August, the German authorities were anxious not to exasperate public +opinion, and not to spoil by uselessly vexatious measures the effect +which had been produced. During the Marne and the three sorties of the +Belgian army, they had only a very small number of men at their disposal +to garrison the largest towns. The slightest progress of the Belgian +army might have endangered their line of communications. We know now +that the withdrawal of the seat of the government from Brussels to Liege +was at one moment seriously contemplated, and that the same troops were +made to pass again and again through the streets of the capital in order +to give the illusion that the garrison was stronger than it really was +(<i>Frankfurter Zeitung</i>, August 22nd, 1916). Besides, Germany had not yet +given up all hopes of coming to terms with King Albert, since a third +attempt was to be made at Antwerp to separate the Belgian Government +from the Allies. In these circumstances it seemed wiser to let the +Belgian folk indulge in their harmless manifestations of loyalty, so +long as they did not cause any disturbance and did not complicate the +task of the military. +</p> +<p> +Let us look now at the next phase. As soon as the Belgian army has +achieved its junction with the Allies on the Yser and all communications +are cut between the Government and the people, the Germans cease to +consider Belgium as an occupied territory, and seize upon every pretext +to treat her as a conquered country, which will, sooner or later, become +part of the Empire. They no longer take the trouble to explain or +justify their oppressive measures, or to reconcile them with their +former promises. They simply ignore them. First in Namur (November the +15th, 1914), then in Brussels (June the 30th, 1915), it becomes a crime +to wear the tricolour cockade. The Te Deum, which is celebrated every +year, on November 15th, in honour of King Albert's Saint's day, is +forbidden. From the month of March, 1915, it is practically a forbidden +thing to sing the Brabançonne, even in the schools. All patriotic +manifestations, on the occasion of the King's Birthday (April 8th) and +of the anniversary of Belgian Independence day (July 21st) are severely +prosecuted. +</p> +<p> +In some of the orders issued there is still a weak attempt at +"respecting," in a German way, "the people's patriotic feelings." The +Governor of Namur, for instance, discriminates with the acutest subtlety +between wearing the national colours in private and in public, and the +Brabançonne can for a time be sung, so long as it is not rendered "in a +provoking manner." In fact, the Belgians are free to manifest their +patriotism so long as they are neither seen nor heard. They are +generously allowed to line their cupboards with tricolour paper and to +hum their national tunes in the depth of their cellars. But, in most of +the orders made under Governor von Bissing's rule (his reign began on +December 3rd, 1914), this last pretence of consideration and respect +disappears entirely. "I warn the public," declares the Governor of +Brussels on July the 18th, 1914, "that any demonstration whatsoever is +forbidden on July 21st next." +</p> +<p> +More than that, the German Administration frequently goes out of its way +to hurt the people's feelings. The fact of helping a patriot to join the +Army is not merely punished as a crime against the Germans, it is +delicately called "a crime of treason," and when people are condemned +because they are suspected of belonging to the Belgian intelligence +service, the public posters announcing their condemnation speak of them +as supplying information "to the enemy." +</p> +<p> +The sham tolerance of the first days has given way to a restless +repression, and even, during the last year, to deliberate persecution. +Schools may be inspected at any time by the authorities and every +"anti-German manifestation" (that is to say, any pro-Belgian teaching) +is severely punished. Shops are raided so that every patriotic picture +post-card (especially the portraits of the Royal Family) may be seized, +and even the intimacy of the private home is not respected. To begin +with, the Belgians have been allowed to show their loyalty—with +discretion; next, every patriotic manifestation is excluded from public +life; and last, the Germans, through their spies, penetrate the homes of +every citizen, and endeavour to extirpate by a reign of terror these +same feelings which they so emphatically promised to respect. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +People who are leading a quiet life and who enjoy the blessings of an +autonomous Government will perhaps not appreciate the importance which +the Belgians attach, at the present moment, to these patriotic +manifestations. They may imagine that, so long as national life is +assured and citizens are otherwise left alone by their conquerors, +public affirmation of loyalty to King and country is of secondary +importance. +</p> +<p> +God knows that the economic situation of occupied Belgium is bad enough, +and the endless and tragic lists of condemnations and deportations are +there to prove that her people are living under the most barbarous +regime of modern times. But, even if this was not the case, anybody with +the slightest knowledge of their national character would understand the +extraordinary value which the Belgians attached to their last privilege +and the deep indignation roused by this German betrayal. +</p> +<p> +Von Bissing shrugs his shoulders and calls them "big children." So they +are. And his son, with a scornful smile, declares in the <i>Suddeutsche +Monatschrift</i> (April 15th, 1915) that it is in "the people's blood to +demonstrate and to wear cockades." So it is. The love of processions and +public pageants of all kinds is deeply rooted in Belgian traditions. +But what does it prove? Simply that the people have preserved enough +freshness and joy of life to care for these things, enough courage and +independence to feel most need of them when they are most afflicted. +This is how they think of it: "Our bands used to pass through the +streets, shaking our window-panes with the crashing of their trombones, +our flags used to wave in the breeze—in the happy days of peace. Should +we now remain, silent and withdrawn, in the selfish privacy of our +houses, now that the country needs us most, now that we want, more than +ever, to feel that we are one people and that we will remain independent +and united whatever happens in the future?" Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von +Bissing sneers at the Belgians because on any and every pretext they +display the American colours. If they do, it is because they are not +allowed to display their own, and because they feel somehow that the +best way to show that they have still a flag is to adopt the colours of +the great country which has so generously come to their help. It may +well be, as the Baron informs us, that most of the "small and big +children" who wear the Stars and Stripes do not know a word of English. +What does it mean again? Simply that heart may call to heart and that it +is not necessary to talk in his own language to understand a brother's +mind. It is true that only children—children small and big—know how to +do it. +</p> +<p> +If the Germans had had the least touch of generous feeling for the +unfortunate country upon which they thrust war in spite of the most +solemn treaties, they would not have obliged the Belgian citizens to +lower the flags which they had put up during the defence of Liège, they +would not have torn their tricolour cockades from their buttonholes, +they would not have silenced their national songs, they would not have +added these deep humiliations to the bitter cup of defeat. One wonders +even why they did it if it was not for the mere pleasure which the bully +is supposed to feel when he makes his strength felt by his victim. They +might have gone on gaily plundering the country, shooting patriots, +deporting young men, doing whatever seemed useful in their eyes. But the +petty tyranny of these measures passes understanding. Governor von +Bissing is certainly too clever to believe that the satisfaction of +making a few cowards uneasy by such regulations can at all outweigh the +danger inherent in the resentment and the deep hatred which the bullying +has aroused against Germany. You may take the children's bread, you may +take their freedom, but you might at least leave them a few toys to play +with, and you would be wise to do so. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Such narrow-minded tyranny always defeats its own objects. Burgomaster +Max's proud answer to General von Luttwitz's "advice" to remove the +flags became the password of the patriots. Every Bruxellois henceforth +"waited for the hour of reparation." A great number of women went to +prison rather than remove the emblems of Belgium which they wore. +Stories passed from lip to lip. Their accuracy I would not guarantee, +but they belong to the epic of the war and are true to the spirit of the +people. A young lady, who was jeered at by a German officer because she +was wearing King Albert's portrait, is said to have answered his +"Lackland" with, "I would rather have a King who has lost his country +than an Emperor who has lost his honour." Another lady, sitting in a +tram-car opposite a German officer, was ordered by him to remove her +tricolour rosette. She refused to do so, and, as he threatened her, +defied him to do it himself. The Boche seized the rosette and pulled .. +and pulled .. and pulled. The lady had concealed twenty yards of ribbon +in her corsage. +</p> +<p> +When the tricolour was forbidden altogether, it was replaced by the +ivyleaf, ivy being the emblem of faithfulness; later, the ivyleaf was +followed by a green ribbon, green being the colour of hope. The +Brabançonne being excluded from the street and from the school took +refuge in the Churches, where it is played and often sung by the +congregation at the end of the service. There are many ways of getting +round the law. The Belgians were forbidden to celebrate in any ordinary +way the anniversary of their independence. Thanks to a sort of tacit +arrangement they succeeded in marking the occasion in spite of all +regulations. On July 21st, 1915, the Bruxellois kept the shutters of +their houses and shops closed and went out in the streets dressed in +their best clothes, most of them in mourning. The next year, as the +closing of shops was this time foreseen by the administration, they +remained open. But a great number of tradespeople managed ingeniously to +display the national colours in their windows—by the juxtaposition, for +instance, of yellow lemons, red tomatoes and black grapes. Others +emptied their windows altogether. +</p> +<p> +These jokes may seem childish, at first sight, but when we think that +those who dared perform them paid for it with several months' +imprisonment or several thousand marks, and paid cheerily, we understand +that there is more in them than a schoolboy's pranks. It seems as if the +Belgian spirit would break if it ceased to be able to react. One of the +shop-managers who was most heavily fined on the occasion of our last +"Independence Day" declared that he had not lost his money: "It is +rather expensive, but it is worth it." +</p> +<hr> +<p> +If patriotism has become a religion in Belgium, this religion has found +a priest whose authority is recognised by the last unbeliever. If every +church has become the "<i>Temple de la Patrie</i>," if the Brabançonne +resounds under the Gothic arches of every nave, Cardinal Mercier has +become the good shepherd who has taken charge of the flock during the +King's absence. The great Brotherhood, for which so many Christian souls +are yearning, in which there are no more classes, parties, and sects, +seems well nigh achieved beyond the electrified barbed wire of the +Belgian frontier. Are not all Belgians threatened with the same danger, +are they not close-knit by the same hope, the same love, the same +hatred? +</p> +<p> +When the bells rang from the towers of Brussels Cathedral on July 21st +last, when, in his red robes, Cardinal Mercier blessed the people +assembled to celebrate the day of Belgium's Independence, it seemed that +the soul of the martyred nation hovered in the Church. After the +national anthem, people lifted their eyes towards the great crucifix in +the choir, and could no longer distinguish, through their tears, the +image of the Crucified from that of their bleeding country. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_2"><!-- RULE4 2 --></a> +<h2> + III. +</h2> + +<center> +THE POISONED WELLS. +</center> +<p> +We must never forget, when we speak of the moral resistance of the +Belgian people, that they have been completely isolated from their +friends abroad for more than two years and that meanwhile they have been +exposed to all the systematic and skilful manoeuvres of German +propaganda. Not only are they without news from abroad, but all the news +they receive is calculated to spread discouragement and distrust. +</p> +<p> +How true lovers could resist a long separation and the most wicked +calumnies without losing faith in one another has been the theme of many +a story. From the story-writer's point of view, the true narrative of +the German occupation of Belgium is much more romantic than any romance, +much more wonderful than any poem. The mass is not supposed to show the +same constancy as the individual, and one does not expect from a whole +people the ideal loyalty of Desdemona and Imogen. Besides, we do not +want the reader to imagine that, before the war, the Belgians were +ideally in love with one another. Like the English, the Americans and +the French, we had our differences. It is one of the unavoidable +drawbacks of Democracy that politics should exaggerate the importance of +dissensions. Therefore it is all the more remarkable that the sudden +friendship which sprang up between classes, parties and races in +Belgium, on the eve of August 4th, should so long have defied the +untiring efforts of the enemy and should remain as unshakeable to-day as +it was at the beginning. +</p> +<p> +We do not wonder that the German intellectuals who have undertaken to +break down Belgian unity are at a loss to explain their failure. +Scientifically it defies every explanation. Here was a people +apparently deeply divided against itself, Socialists opposed Liberals, +Liberals opposed Catholics, Flemings opposed Walloons; theoretical +differences degenerated frequently into personal quarrels; political +antagonism was embittered by questions of religion and language. Surely +this was ideal ground in which to sow the seed of discord, when the +Government had been obliged to seek refuge in a foreign country and a +great number of prominent citizens had emigrated abroad. The German +propagandist, who had been able to work wonders in some neutral +countries, must have thought the task almost unworthy of his efforts. +Every one of his theoretical calculations was correct. He only forgot +one small detail which a closer study of history might have taught him. +He forgot that, in face of the common danger, all these differences +would lose their hold on the people's soul, that the former bitterness +of their quarrels was nothing compared with the sacred love of their +country which they shared. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The first action of the German administration after the triumphal entry +into Brussels was to try to isolate the occupied part of the country, in +order to monopolize the news. Rather than submit to a German censor, all +the Belgian papers—with the exception of two small provincial +journals—had ceased to appear. During a fortnight, Brussels remained +without authorized news. From that time, the authorities allowed the +sale of some German and Dutch dailies and of a few newspapers published +in Belgium under German control. The Government itself issued the +<i>Deutsche Soldatenpost</i> and <i>Le Réveil</i> (in French) and a great number +of posters, "<i>Communications officielles du Commandant de l'Armee +allemande</i>," which were supposed to contain the latest war-news. +</p> +<p> +To this imposing array, the patriots could only oppose a few pamphlets +issued by the editor Bryan Hill, soon prohibited, and copies of Belgian, +French and English papers, which were smuggled at great risk, and +consequently were very expensive. Still, before the fall of Antwerp, it +was practically impossible for the Germans to stop private letters and +newspapers passing from the unoccupied to the occupied part of the +country. Besides, they had more important business on hand. Here again, +it was only after the second month of occupation that the pressure +increased. During October and November, several people were condemned to +heavy fines and to periods of imprisonment for circulating written and +even verbal news. The Dutch frontier was closed, wherever no natural +obstacle intervened, by a continuous line of barbed wire and electrified +wire. Passports were only granted to the few people engaged in the work +of relief and to those who could prove that it was essential to the +interests of their business that they should leave the country for a +time. The postal service being reorganized under German control, any +other method of communication was severely prosecuted. At the end of +1914, several messengers lost their lives in attempting to cross the +Dutch frontier. Under such conditions it is easy to understand that, in +spite of the efforts made by the anonymous editors of two or three +prohibited papers, such as <i>La Libre Belgique</i>, the bulk of the +population was practically cut off from the rest of the world and was +compelled to read, if they read at all, the pro-German papers and the +German posters. The only wells left from which the people could drink +were poisoned. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The German Press Bureau in Brussels, openly recognised by the +administration and formerly the headquarters of Baron von Bissing's son, +set to work in three principal directions. It aimed at separating the +Belgians from the Allies, then at separating the people from King +Albert and his Government, and finally at reviving the old language +quarrel between Walloons and Flemings. +</p> +<p> +The campaign against the Allies, though still carried on whenever the +opportunity arises, was specially violent at the beginning, when the +Germans had not yet given up all hope of detaching King Albert from the +Alliance (August-September, 1914). It was perhaps the most dangerous +line of attack because it did not imply any breach of patriotism. On the +contrary it suggested that Belgium had been duped by the Allies, and +especially by England, who had never meant to come to her help and who +had used her as a catspaw, leaving her to bear all the brunt of the +German assault in an unequal and heroic struggle. It was accompanied by +a constant flow of war news exaggerating the German successes and +suggesting that, even if they ever had the intention of delivering +Belgium, the Allies would no longer be in a position to do so. +</p> +<p> +According to the first war-news poster issued in Brussels, a few days +after the enemy had entered the town, the French official papers had +declared that "The French armies, being thrown on the defensive, would +not be able to help Belgium in an offensive movement." I need not recall +how, his name having been used at Liège to bolster up this false report, +M. Max, the burgomaster of Brussels, found an opportunity of +contradicting it publicly and, at the same time, of discrediting all +censored news. +</p> +<p> +The effect was amazing. Henceforth the official posters were not only +regularly regarded as a tissue of lies, but definitely ridiculed. The +people either ignored them or paid them an exaggerated attention. In +some popular quarters, urchins climbed on ladders to read them aloud to +a jeering crowd. The influence of M. Max's attitude was such that, +eighteen months later, several people coming from the capital declared +that, as far as war news was concerned, Brussels was far more +optimistic than London or Paris, every check received by the Allied +armies being systematically ignored and every success exaggerated. +</p> +<p> +When one reads through the series of German "<i>Communications</i>" pasted on +the walls of the capital during the first year of the occupation, one +wonders how they did not succeed in discouraging the population. For, in +spite of some extraordinary blunders—such as the announcement that a +German squadron had captured fifteen English fishing boats (September +8th, 1914), that the Serbs had taken Semlin because they had nothing +more to eat in Serbia (September 13th, 1914), or that the British army +was so badly equipped that the soldiers lacked boot-laces and writing +paper (October 6th, 1914)—the author of these proclamations succeeded +so skilfully in mixing truth and untruth and in drawing the attention of +the public away from any reverse suffered by the Central Empires, that +the effect of the campaign might have been most demoralizing. +</p> +<p> +After this first reverse, the Germans only attacked the Allies in order +to throw on their shoulders the responsibility for the woes which they +themselves were inflicting on their victims. When some English +aeroplanes visited Brussels, on September 26th, 1915, a few people were +killed and many more wounded. The German press declared immediately that +this was due to the want of skill of the airmen, who dropped the bombs +indiscriminately over the town. We possess now material proof that the +people were killed, not by bombs dropped from the air, but by fragments +of shells fired from guns. This can only be explained in one way. The +German gunners must have timed their shells so that they should not +burst in the air, but only when falling on the ground. This method of +propaganda may cost a few lives, but it is certainly clever. It might +well be calculated to stir indignation in the hearts of the people +against the Allies and at the same time to serve as a warning to enemy +headquarters to the effect: "Whenever you send your aeroplanes over +Belgian towns, we are going to make the population pay for it." +</p> +<p> +The same kind of argument is used at the present moment with regard to +the wholesale deportations which are going on in Belgium. To justify his +slave-raids, Governor von Bissing denounces England's blockade. It is +the economic policy of England—not German requisitions—which has +ruined Belgium and caused unemployment: "If there are any objections to +be made about this state of affairs you must address them to England, +who, through her policy of isolation, has rendered the coercive measures +necessary." [<a href="#note-1">1</a>] But the argument is used more for the sake of discussion +than in the real hope of convincing the public. General von Bissing can +have very few illusions left as to the state of mind of the Belgian +population. He knows that every Belgian worker, would answer, with the +members of the Commission Syndicale: "All the Allies have agreed to let +some raw material necessary to our industry enter Belgium, under the +condition, naturally, that no requisitions should be made by the +occupying power, and that a neutral commission should control the +destination of the manufactured articles." [<a href="#note-2">2</a>] Or, more emphatically +still, with Cardinal Mercier: "England generously allows some foodstuffs +to enter Belgium under the control of neutral countries ... She would +certainly allow raw materials to enter the country under the same +control, if Germany would only pledge herself to leave them to us and +not to seize the manufactured products of our industry." +</p> +<p> +Such arguments are extraordinarily characteristic of the German mind, as +it has been developed by the war: "Let Belgium know that she is +suffering for England's sake. Let England know that, as long as she +enforces her blockade, her friends in Belgium will have to pay for it." +It is the same kind of double-edged declaration as that used on the +occasion of the Allied air-raid on Brussels. Literally speaking, it cuts +both ways. The excuse becomes a threat and the untruth savours of +blackmail. Healthy minds work by single or treble propositions. If we +did not remember that our aim is to analyse the beautiful and heroic +side of the occupation of Belgium, rather than to dwell on its most +sinister aspects, we should recognize, in this last manoeuvre, the +lowest example of human brutality and hypocrisy, the double mark of the +German hoof. +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-1"><!-- Note Anchor 1 --></a>[Footnote 1: Answer of Governor von Bissing to Cardinal Mercier's +letter, Oct. 26th, 1916.] +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-2"><!-- Note Anchor 2 --></a>[Footnote 2: Letter of the "<i>Commission Syndicale</i>" to Baron von +Bissing, Nov. 14th, 1916.] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +In spite of the most authentic documents, of the most glaring material +proofs, it might be difficult to realise that the human spirit may fall +so low. It seems as if we were diminishing ourselves when we accuse our +enemies. We have lived so long in the faith that "such things are +impossible" that, now that they happen almost at our door, we should be +inclined to doubt our eyes rather than to doubt the innate goodness of +man. Never did I feel this more strongly than when I saw, for the first +time, a caricature of King Albert reproduced from a German newspaper. +</p> +<p> +Surely if one man, one leader, has come out of this severe trial +unstained, with his virtue untarnished, it is indeed Albert the First, +King of the Belgians. His simple and loyal attitude in face of the +German ultimatum, the indomitable courage which he showed during the +Belgian campaign, his dignity, his reserve, his almost exaggerated +modesty, ought to have won for him, besides the deep admiration of the +Allies and of the neutral world, the respect and esteem even of his +worst enemy. There is a man of few words and noble actions, fulfilling +his pledges to the last article, faithful to his word even in the +presence of death, a leader sharing the work of his soldiers, a King +living the life of a poor man. When in Paris, in London, triumphal +receptions were awaiting them, he and his noble and devoted Queen +remained at their post, on the last stretch of Belgian territory, in the +rough surroundings of army quarters. +</p> +<p> +The whole world has noted this. People who have no sympathy to spare for +the Allies' cause have been obliged to bow before this young hero, more +noble in his defeat than all the conquerors of Europe in their victory. +But the Germans have not felt it. Not only did they try to ridicule King +Albert in their comic papers. Even the son of Governor von Bissing did +not hesitate to fling in his face the generous epithet, "Lackland." [<a href="#note-3">3</a>] +As soon as the last attempt to conciliate the King had failed the German +press in Belgium began a most violent and abusive campaign against him. +The <i>Düsseldorfer General-Anzeiger</i> published a venomous article, in +which he was represented as personally responsible for "the plot of the +Allies against Germany and for the crimes of the franc-tireurs." He was +stigmatised as "the slave of England," and it was asserted that "If he +did not grasp the hand stretched out to him by the Kaiser on August 2nd +and the 9th it is only because he did not dare to do so" (October 10th, +1914). He was said to have "betrayed his army at Antwerp. Had he not +sworn not to leave the town alive?" And <i>Le Réveil</i>, another paper +circulated in Belgium by German propagandists, announced solemnly that, +once on the Yser, the King wanted to sign a separate peace with Germany, +but England had forbidden him to do so. The <i>Hamburger Nachrichten</i>, the +<i>Vossische Zeitung</i> and the <i>Frankfurter Zeitung</i> repeated without +scruple this tissue of gross calumnies. The <i>Deutsche Soldatenpost</i>, +edited specially for the German soldiers in Belgium, went even a step +further and violently reproached the Queen of the Belgians for not +having protested against the cruelties inflicted on German civilians in +Brussels and Antwerp, at the outbreak of the hostilities! +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-3"><!-- Note Anchor 3 --></a>[Footnote 3: <i>Suddeutsche Monatshefte</i>, April 1915.] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Not being able to stir the people against the Allies or against their +own Government, the German Press Bureau attempted to revive the language +quarrel and to provoke internal dissensions. It is interesting to notice +that the new campaign, whose crowning episode was the opening of the +German University at Ghent, in October last, began two months after the +surrender of Brussels and did not develop until the spring of 1915, when +an important minority of Germans began to realise that it would be +impossible to retain Belgium, and when a greater number still only hoped +to keep Antwerp and Flanders, thanks to the "social and linguistic +affinities of Flemings and Germans." +</p> +<p> +That is how Germany, who had never troubled much before about the +Flemish movement and Flemish literature, suddenly discovered a great +affection for her Flemish brothers who had so long been exposed to "the +insults of the Walloons"; how she suddenly espoused their grievances and +put into effect, in spite of their strong protests, some reforms +inscribed on the programme; how she tried by every means at her disposal +to conciliate Flemish sympathies and to stir up antagonism and +jealousies by treating Flemings and Walloons differently, whether +prisoners in Germany or in occupied Belgium. +</p> +<p> +The German train of thought is clear enough: "If we are unable to hold +Belgium, any pro-German demonstrations in the Northern provinces may +suggest the idea that it is the wish of the Flemings to be bound to the +Empire and give a pretext for the annexation of Antwerp and Flanders. If +even that is impossible and if we are obliged to give back his Kingdom +to King Albert, we shall have sown so many germs of discontent in the +country that it will be impossible for the Government to restore Belgium +in her full unity and power. She will never become against us the strong +bulwark of the Allies." +</p> +<p> +All this Walloon-Flemish agitation started by Germany belongs to a vast +plan of mismanagement. The day Germany knew that she would not be able +to keep her conquest she deliberately set herself to ruin Belgium +economically and morally. She succeeded economically, for nobody could +prevent her from requisitioning whatever she wanted. She failed morally +because the people understood her purpose and because the Flemish +leaders proudly refused the German gifts. The reform of Ghent University +was made in spite of them. It was made with the help of a few Germans, +German-Dutch and Belgians without any reputation or following. The +professors have been bought and the students (they only number eighty) +have been mostly recruited among the Flemish prisoners in Germany and +among a few young men threatened with deportation. They are obliged to +wear a special cap and are under the ban of the whole population. No +true "Gantois" passes them in the street without whispering, "<i>Vive +l'Armée</i>." This is the pitiful medley of cranks, traitors and unwilling +students which General von Bissing is pleased to call a "University." +</p> +<p> +In his inaugural speech, the Governor exclaimed, "The God of War, with +his drawn sword, has held the new institution at the font. May the God +of Peace be gracious to her for long years to come." The Germans' lack +of humour surpasses even their ruthlessness. With one hand General von +Bissing was baptizing the baby—rather a difficult operation—with the +other he brandished his fiery sword over the heads of all the true +Flemings who refused to adopt it. Many of them paid for this patriotic +attitude by losing their liberty. With one hand Germany inflicted this +unwelcome gift on the Flemings, with the other she banished M.M. +Pirenne, Frédéricq and Verhaegen from the sacred precincts of Flemish +culture! +</p> +<p> +Most solemnly, on different occasions, all the prominent Flemish leaders +have protested against the German Administration's action. They have +declared that it was illegal and unjust. Governor von Bissing reminds +them that, according to De Raet's words, "Two heroic spirits dominate +the world: The Mind and the Sword." They may possess the first but he +holds the second. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_3"><!-- RULE4 3 --></a> +<h2> + IV. +</h2> + +<center> +THE SACKING OF BELGIUM. +</center> +<p> +There is one idea which dominates the Belgian tragedy: "The body may be +conquered, the soul remains free." These words were uttered for the +first time, I believe, by the Belgian Premier, Baron de Broqueville, in +the solemn sitting of the House, when the German violation of Belgian +neutrality was announced to the representatives of the people. The idea +is supposed to have been expressed by King Albert, in another form, +before the evacuation of Antwerp. It was used to great effect in one of +the most popular cartoons published by <i>Punch</i>, in which the Kaiser says +to the King, with a sneer, "You have lost everything," and the King +replies, "Not my soul." It is so intimately associated with the Belgian +cause that the image of the stricken country is scarcely ever evoked +without an allusion being made to it. +</p> +<p> +We have seen, in the course of the earlier chapters, how Belgium +succeeded in preserving her loyalty and patriotism in spite of the most +ruthless oppression and the most cunning calumnies. We must now look at +the darker side of the picture and see how she has not succeeded in +preserving either her prosperity, or even her supply of daily bread. +</p> +<p> +We shall soon be confronted with the most tragic aspect of her Calvary. +So long as her armies were fighting the invader, so long as her towns +and countryside were ruined by German frightfulness, so long as her +martyrs, men, women and children, were falling side by side in the +market-place before the firing party, so long as every symbol, every +word of patriotism was forbidden her, Belgium could remain vanquished +but unconquered, bleeding but unshakeable. She enjoyed, in the face of +her oppressors, all the privileges of the Christian martyrs of the +first centuries; she could smile on the rack, laugh under the whip and +sing in the flames. She remained free in her prison, free to respect +Justice, in the midst of injustice, to treasure Righteousness, in spite +of falsehood, to worship her Saints, in the face of calumny. She was +still able to resist, to oppose, every day and at every turn, her +patience to the enemy's threats and her cheerfulness to his ominous +scowl. She had a clear conscience and her hands were clean. +</p> +<p> +There is one thing that can be said for the Roman emperors, they seldom +starved their victims to death. Popular imagination revels in their +cruelty, and the <i>Golden Legend</i> displays to us all the grim splendours +of a chamber of horrors. But the worst of all tortures—starvation—is +not often inflicted. The idea is, I suppose, that the conversion must be +sudden and striking. But Belgium's oppressors do not any longer want to +convert her. They have tried and they have failed. They merely want to +take all the food, all the raw materials, all the machines and—last but +not least—all the labour they can out of her. Their fight is not the +fight of one religion against another. It is the fight of material power +against any philosophy, any religion which stands between it and the +things which it covets. The Germans do not sacrifice Belgium to their +gods. Such an ideal course is far from their thoughts. They sacrifice +Belgium to Germany—that is, to themselves. It matters very little +whether a slave is able to speak or to think, as long as he is able to +work. +</p> +<p> +Here again, in spite of the wholesale plundering of the first days of +occupation, and of the enormous fines imposed on towns and provinces, I +do not suppose that the German plan was deliberately to ruin the +country. It might even have been to develop its resources, as long as +there was some hope of annexing it, though this benevolent spirit had +scarcely any time to manifest itself. After the Marne and the Yser, +however, when it became evident that anyhow the whole of Belgium could +never be retained, and when the attitude of the people showed clearly +that they would always remain hostile to their new masters, the +systematic sacking of the country began without any thought for the +consequences. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The best way of coming to some appreciation of the work accomplished +during these two years is to remember that, before the war, Belgium was +the richest country in Europe in proportion to her size. Relatively she +had the greatest commercial activity, the richest agricultural +production, and she was more thickly populated than any other State, +with the exception of Saxony. Nowhere were the imports and exports so +important, in proportion to the number of the population, nowhere did +the average square mile yield such rich crops, nowhere was the railway +system so developed. Pauperism was practically unknown, and, even in the +large towns, the number of people dependent on public charity was +comparatively very small. To this picture of unequalled prosperity +oppose the present situation: Part of the countryside left without +culture for want of manure and horses; scarcely any cattle left in the +fields; commerce paralysed by the stoppage of railway and other +communications; industry at a complete standstill, with 500,000 men +thrown out of work and nearly half of the population which remained in +Belgium (3,500,000) on the verge of starvation and entirely dependent +for their subsistance on the work of the Commission for Relief. +</p> +<p> +It is said that the tree must be judged by its fruit. Such then is the +fruit of the German administration of Belgium. When he arrived in +Brussels, Governor von Bissing declared that he had come to dress +Belgium's wounds. What would he have done if he had meant to aggravate +them? +</p> +<p> +There is an insidious argument which must be met once and for ever. We +have seen how Germany is trying to throw the responsibility for the +misery prevailing in Belgium and for the present deportations on the +English blockade, which paralyses the industry and prevents the +introduction of raw materials. But, if this were the case, the situation +ought not to be worse in Belgium than in Germany. On the contrary, +thanks to the splendid work of the Commission for Relief, she ought to +be far better off. How is it then that—according to General von +Bissing's own declaration made to Mr. Julius Wertheimer, correspondent +of the <i>Vossische Zeitung</i> (September the 1st, 1916)—how is it that +"the average cost of life is much higher in Belgium than in Germany," +and that "a great number of inhabitants (tens of thousands of them) have +not eaten a piece of meat for many weeks?" +</p> +<p> +This inequality between the social conditions in Germany and in Belgium, +in spite of the advantages given to the latter by the introduction of +food through the blockade with England's consent, can easily be +explained: On the one hand, German industry has transformed itself, many +factories which could not continue their ordinary work owing to the +shortage of rawstuffs having been turned into war-factories in which +there is still a great demand for labour. On the other hand, Germany has +not been submitted to the same levies in money, and requisitions in +foodstuffs and material; Germany has not been deprived, from the +beginning, of all her reserve, she has not been depleted of all her +stock. +</p> +<p> +We shall have to deal, in the next chapter, with the first question. Let +us only consider the second here. +</p> +<p> +It is impossible to give more than a superficial glance at the matter. +The particulars at hand are not complete and a full list of German +exactions has not yet been drawn up. Let us, however, try to give an +idea of the disproportion existing between the country's resources and +the demands which were made on her. +</p> +<p> +On December 12th, 1914, a poster announced to the citizens of Brussels +that the nine Belgian provinces would be obliged to pay, every month +during the coming year, a sum of forty million francs, making a total of +about 480 millions (over 19 million pounds). In order to understand the +indignation caused by this announcement it is necessary to remember: +</p> +<p> +1st. That the Belgians were at the time already paying all the ordinary +taxes, to the commune, to the province and to the State, so that this +new contribution constituted a super-tax. +</p> +<p> +2nd. That all the direct taxes paid to the State, in ordinary times, +amount scarcely to 75 millions, that is to say, to a sixth of this +contribution. +</p> +<p> +3rd. And that the new economic conditions imposed by the war had +considerably reduced the income of the most wealthy citizens. +</p> +<p> +As the Germans persist in invoking the text of the Hague Convention of +which they have again and again violated every clause, it may be useful +to point out that, according to the 49th article, the occupying power is +only allowed to raise war contributions "for the need of the army," that +is to say, in order to pay in money the requisitions which he is obliged +to make in order to supply the army of occupation with food, fodder, and +so on. As, most of the time, the Germans only pay for what they +requisition in "<i>bons de guerre</i>" payable after the war, and as, in spite +of their sound appetite, we can scarcely believe that the few thousand +"landsturmers" who are garrisoning Belgium are eating two million +pounds worth a month, the illegal character of the German measure seems +evident. Besides, if any doubt were still possible, we should find it +laid down in the 52nd article that any service required from the +occupying power must be "in proportion to the country's resources." +</p> +<p> +As the announcement had provoked strong protests, Governor von Bissing +announced a few days later that, if this contribution was paid, no +further extraordinary taxes would be required and the requisitions would +henceforth be paid for in money. Needless to say, none of these promises +have been fulfilled, and the contribution of 480 millions was renewed at +the beginning of 1915, and even increased to 600 millions lately, so +that, from that source only, the Germans have raised in Belgium, after +two years of occupation, a sum equal to one-fourth of the total State +debt of the country on the eve of the war. +</p> +<p> +This is only one example among many. The communes did not enjoy better +treatment. The reader will remember that during the period of invasion +the enemy exacted various war-taxes from every town he entered: 20 +millions from Liège, 50 millions from Brussels, 32 millions from Namur, +40 millions from Antwerp, and so on. Since then, he has never lost an +opportunity of inflicting heavy fines even on the smallest villages. If +one inhabitant succeeds in joining the army, if an allied aeroplane +appears on the horizon, if, for some reason or other, the telegraph or +the telephone wires are out of order, a shower of fines falls on the +neighbouring towns and villages. In June last the total amount of these +exactions was estimated, for 1916, at ten millions (£400,000). If we add +to this the fines inflicted constantly, on the slightest pretext, on +private individuals, we shall certainly remain below the mark in stating +that Germany succeeds in getting out of Belgium over twenty million +pounds a year. Twenty million pounds, when the ordinary income of the +State amounts scarcely to seven millions! And I am not taking into +account the money seized in the banks and the recent enforced transfer +to Germany of the 600 millions (£24,000,000) of the National Bank. +</p> +<p> +If we remember that the total value of commercial transactions in +Belgium, before the war, did not exceed ten million francs (400,000 +pounds) per year, we shall realise the absurdity of the German argument +which shifts on to the English blockade the responsibility for Belgium's +ruin. Even a complete stoppage of trade could not have done the country +as much harm as the German exactions in money only. But the conquerors +were not satisfied with fleecing the flock, they succeeded in robbing it +of its food, in taking away its very means of life. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Quite apart from any sentimental or moral reason, the last step was a +grave mistake, even from the German point of view. It would certainly +have paid the Germans better in the end if they had allowed the Allies +to send raw material to feed the Belgian factories, under the control of +neutral powers, and if they had not requisitioned the machines and +paralysed industry by the most absurd restrictions. It would have been a +most useful move from the point of view of propaganda, and, while posing +as Belgium's kind protectors, they might always have reaped the benefit +through fresh taxes and new contributions. If they have killed the goose +rather than gather its golden eggs it is because they could not afford +to wait. It was one of these desperate measures, like the violation of +Belgian neutrality, the ruthless use of Zeppelins and the sinking of the +Lusitania, which did them more harm than good. From the beginning +Germany has fought with a bad conscience, prompted in all her actions +more by the dread of being defeated than by the clear intention of +winning the game. The manifestation of such a spirit ought only to +encourage her enemies; they are the sure signs of a future breakdown. In +the meantime, they must cause infinite torture to the unfortunate +populations which are not yet delivered from her yoke. +</p> +<p> +During the first months of occupation the requisitions extended only to +foodstuffs, cattle, horses, fodder, in short, to objects which could be +used by the army. They were out of all proportion to the resources of +the country (Article 52 of the Hague Convention) and therefore +absolutely illegal, but they could still be considered as military +requisitions. In a most interesting article published in Smoller's +<i>Jahrbuch für Gesetzgebung Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft</i>, Professor +Karl Ballod admits that the requisitions made in Belgium and Northern +France have more than compensated for the harm caused by the Russian +invasion of East Prussia. Not only the army of occupation, but all the +troops concentrated on the northern sectors of the Western front, "three +million men," have been fed by the conquered provinces. Besides this, +Germany took from Belgium, at the beginning of the war, "more than +400,000 tons of meal and at least one million tons of other foodstuffs." +</p> +<p> +With Governor von Bissing's arrival the requisitions extended to +whatever raw material was needed in the Fatherland, and all pretence of +respecting the Hague Convention (Article 49) ceased forthwith: One after +another the stocks of raw cotton, of wool, of nickel, of jute, of +copper, were seized and conveyed to Germany. The administration seized, +in the same way, all the machines which could be employed, beyond the +Rhine, for the manufacture of shells and munitions. I am afraid of +tiring the reader with the long enumeration of these arbitrary decrees, +but in order to give him an idea of what is still going on, at the +present moment, I have gathered here all the measures of the kind taken +by the paternal administration of Baron von Bissing which came to our +knowledge during one month only (October last). I have chosen the period +at random, and it must not be forgotten that, owing to the difficulties +of communication, these particulars are far from complete. They will, +however, give a fair idea of the economic situation of the country after +the second year of occupation: +</p> +<p> +October 5th: The requisitions in cattle have been so frequent in +Flanders <i>that many farmers have not a milch cow left</i>. +</p> +<p> +October 6th: Owing to the lack of motors, bicycles and horses, some +tradespeople in Brussels are using oxen to draw their carts. +</p> +<p> +October 10th: All the chestnut trees around Antwerp have been +requisitioned. Potatoes cannot be conveyed from one place to another +even in small quantities. +</p> +<p> +October 17th: According to a decree dated September 27th, any person +possessing more <i>than 50 kilos of straps or cables</i> must report it under +a penalty of one year's imprisonment or a fine up to 20,000 marks. +</p> +<p> +October 19th: The scarcity of potatoes is increasing, in spite of a good +crop. The peasants were forbidden to pull out their plants before July +the 21st, <i>when the greater part of the crop was commandeered</i>. +</p> +<p> +October 22nd: The boot factories in Brussels are forbidden to work more +than 24 hours per week. +</p> +<p> +October 24th: A decree dated October the 7th adds borax to the list of +sulphurous products which must be declared according to the decree of +September 16th. +</p> +<p> +October 29th: The Germans continue to take away the rails of the light +railways ("vicinaux"). The line from St. Trond to Hanut has been +demolished. A great deal of rolling stock has been commandeered. Owing +to the shortage of lubricating oil <i>it is to be feared that this last +mode of conveyance left to the Belgians will have to be stopped +shortly</i>. +</p> +<p> +October 30th: A decree dated September 30th makes the measures for the +requisition of metals still more severe. All the steel material—<i>in +whatever shape it may be (including tools)</i>—must be declared to the +<i>Abteilung für Handel und Gewerbe</i> in Brussels, under a penalty of five +years of imprisonment (25,000 marks). +</p> +<p> +October 31st: The commune of Anderlecht has voted a credit of 40,000 +francs for the purchase of <i>wooden shoes as the shortage of leather +prevents most of the people from buying boots</i>. +</p> +<p> +November 1st: A decree dated October 14th prepares for the seizure of +all textile materials, ribbons, hosiery, etc. No more than one-tenth of +the stocks can be manufactured, under a penalty of 10,000 marks. A +decree dated October 17th makes the declaration of poplars all over +Belgium compulsory. +</p> +<p> +It was scarcely necessary to underline some passages of this report. +However bad may be the impression it causes, it would be twenty-six +times worse if we had the leisure to follow step by step the progress of +German economic policy in Belgium. It is evident that the German +administration, in spite of its former declarations, is resolved to ruin +Belgian industry and to throw out of work the greatest number of men +possible. All raw material must go to Germany in order to be worked +there. As it has become evident that the Belgian workers will not submit +to war work so long as they remain in their surroundings, they must be +torn away from their country and compelled to follow the materials and +machines over the frontier. Labour has become an inanimated object +necessary to the prosecution of the German war. It is as indispensable +to Germany as cotton, nickel and copper. It will be treated as such. If +the men resist, they will be crushed. If the soul of Belgium will not +yield to persuasion, it will be taken away from her, like her cattle, +her corn, her iron and her steel. And so Belgium will become a weapon in +Germany's hands, a weapon which will strike at Belgium. And the only +thought of the deported worker turning a shell in a German factory will +be, as is suggested by Louis Raemaekers' cartoon, "Perhaps this one will +kill my own son?" +</p> +<h3> + V. +</h3> +<h2> +THE MODERN SLAVE. +</h2> + +<a name="RULE4_35"><!-- RULE4 35 --></a> +<h2> + I. THE CREEPING TIDE. +</h2> + + +<p> +We must now deal with the second factor which makes the conditions worse +in Belgium than in Germany. While German peace-factories, ruined by the +blockade, have been turned into war-factories, the majority of Belgian +industries have remained idle. In spite of the high wages offered by the +Germans—some skilled workmen were offered as much as £2 and £2 10s. per +day—the workers resisted the constant pressure exerted upon them and +preferred to live miserably on half-wages or with the help given them by +the "Comité National" rather than accept any work which might directly +or indirectly help the occupying power. If a few thousands, compelled by +hunger or unable to resist their conquerors' threats, passed the +frontier, all the rest of the working population kept up, under the most +depressing conditions, a great patriotic strike, the "strike of folded +arms." If they could not, as the 20,000 young heroes who crossed the +Dutch frontier, join the Belgian army on the Yser; they could at least +wage war at home and oppose to the enemy the impenetrable rampart of +their naked breasts. It should not be said, when King Albert should +return to Brussels at the head of his troops, that his subjects had not +shared the sufferings of his soldiers. They should also have their +wounds to show, they should also have their dead to honour. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +When, at the beginning of November last, the protests of the Belgian +Government and the "Signal of Distress" of the Belgian bishops made +known the slave raids which had taken place, most of the outside world +was shocked and surprised. It had lived, for months, under the +impression that "things were not so bad" in the conquered provinces. +After the outcry caused by the atrocities of August, 1914, there came a +natural reaction, a sort of anti-climax. Fines, requisitions, petty +persecutions do not strike the imagination in the same way as the +burning of towns and the wholesale massacre of peaceful citizens. It had +become necessary to follow things closely in order to understand that, +instead of suffering less, the Belgian population was suffering more and +more every day. Besides, news was scarce and difficult to check. When +alarming reports came from the Dutch frontier, it was usual to think +that the newspaper correspondents spread them without much +discrimination. +</p> +<p> +But to those who were familiar with the policy pursued by the German +administration since the spring of 1915, the bad news which they +received lately only confirmed the fears which they had entertained for +a long time. As the war went on, it became more and more evident that +Germany, whose man-power was steadily decreasing, would no longer +tolerate the resistance of the Belgian workers, and would even attempt +to enrol in her army of labour all the able-bodied men of the conquered +provinces. The slave-raids coincide with the "levée en masse" in the +Empire and with the organisation of the new "Polish Army": "If every +German is made to fight or to work, ought not every Belgian, every Pole, +to be compelled to do the same? The fact that they should turn their +arms or their tools against their own country is not worthy of +consideration, as it is supposed already to enjoy the blessings of +German rule and has become an integral part of the Fatherland." +</p> +<p> +There is a great deal to be said for the slavery of ancient times. It +was at least free from cunning and hypocrisy. The conqueror ill-treated +the vanquished, but he spared him his calumnies. The only law was the +law of the stronger, but the stronger did not pretend to be also the +better. The tyrant was always right, of course, but he did not pretend +to show that the victim was always wrong. +</p> +<p> +Now the worst aspect of the German policy is that it associates the +subtlest dialectics with the most insane brutality. When the time comes, +they act with the blind fury of the bull, but they have already thought +it all over with the wisdom of the serpent. That is why the popular +appellation of "Huns" is so misleading. It suggests merely the brutality +of primitive men, which is not always so dangerous and so depraved as +the brutality of civilised men. Brutality does not exclude honesty and +pity. Attila listened to the prayers of the Pope and spared Rome. The +Kaiser's lieutenant does not listen to Cardinal Mercier's protests. The +Huns, as most strong men, made a point of keeping their word. The +Germans seem to make a point of breaking theirs. When I compared the +fight of Belgium and Germany to the unequal fight of Jack and the Giant, +of David and Goliath, I was forgetting that David and Jack were cleverer +than their antagonists. Folklore and fairy-tales always equalize the +chances by granting more wit to the small people than to the big ones. +It is a healthy inspiration. But we are confronted to-day with a new +monster, a wise giant, a cunning dragon, a subtle beast. +</p> +<p> +We must therefore not imagine that Governor von Bissing got up one fine +morning, called for pen and ink, like King Cole for his bowl, and wrote +a proclamation to the effect that all Belgians of military age would be +reduced to slavery and obliged, under the penalty of physical torture +and under the whip of German sentries, to dig trenches behind the +Western front or to turn shells in a German factory. Any fool—any +Goliath—might have done that. +</p> +<p> +Every German crime is preceded by a series of false promises and +followed by a series of calumnies. Between such a prelude and such a +finale, you may perform a symphony of frightfulness with Dr. Strauss' +orchestration—it will sound as innocent and artless as the three notes +of a shepherd's pipe. The violation of Belgian neutrality is bad enough, +but if you begin to lull Belgium to slumber by repeating, on every +occasion, that she has nothing to fear, and if you end by declaring to +the civilised world that Belgium was plotting with England and France a +traitorous attack against Germany, then it becomes quite plausible. To +massacre 6,000 civilians and burn 20,000 houses in cold blood looks +rather harsh, but if you begin by giving "a solemn guarantee to the +people that they will not have to suffer from the war" (General von +Emmich's first proclamation) and end by saying that women have emptied +buckets of boiling water on the heads of your soldiers and that children +have put out the eyes of your wounded, it becomes almost a kind +proceeding. In the same way, to seize and deport hundreds of thousands +of men and compel them to work in exile against their country seems the +act of Barbarians, but if you accumulate assurances that "normal +conditions will be maintained" and that nobody need fear deportation, +and if you end by declaring that the Belgian working classes are +exclusively composed of loafers and drunkards, it becomes a measure of +providence and wisdom for which your victims in particular, and the +whole civilised world in general, ought to be deeply grateful. +</p> +<p> +The promise testifies to your good intentions and the calumny explains +how you were regretfully obliged not to fulfill them. The promise keeps +your victims within reach, the calumnies shift to them the +responsibility for your crime. Who doubts that every town visited by a +Zeppelin is fortified, that every ship sunk by a U boat carries troops +or guns? The old Hun killed everything which stood in his way; the +modern Hun does the same and then declares that <i>he</i> is the victim. The +old Hun left the dead bodies of his enemies to the crows; the modern Hun +throws mud at them. The old Hun tried to kill the body; the modern Hun +tries to ruin the soul. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +For this last and most monstrous of all Germany's crimes we have to +register not one promise only, but a series of promises, an accumulation +of solemn pledges. It seemed worth while apparently to keep the Belgian +workmen at home. Let us record them here, in chronological order: +</p> +<p> +1st. September 2nd, 1914. Proclamation of Governor von der Goltz posted +in Brussels: <i>"I ask no one to renounce his patriotic sentiments..."</i> +</p> +<p> +2nd. October 18th, 1914. Letter of Baron von Huene, Military Governor of +Antwerp, to Cardinal Mercier, read in every church of the province in +order to reassure the people after the fall of Antwerp and to stop the +emigration: <i>"Young men need have no fear of being deported to Germany, +either to be enrolled in the army or to be subjected to forced labour."</i> +</p> +<p> +3rd. On the same day, a written declaration of the military authorities +of Antwerp to General von Terwisga, commanding the Dutch army in the +field, declaring without foundation "the rumour that the young men will +be sent to Germany." +</p> +<p> +4th. A few weeks later, this promise was confirmed verbally to Cardinal +Mercier <i>and extended to the other provinces</i> under German rule by +Governor von der Goltz, two aide-de-camps and the Cardinal's private +secretary being present. (See letter from Cardinal Mercier to Baron von +Bissing, October 19th, 1916). +</p> +<p> +5th. November, 1914. Assurances given by the German authorities to the +Dutch Legation in Brussels in order to persuade the refugees to come +back: "<i>Normal conditions will be restored and the refugees will be +allowed to go back to Holland to look after their families</i>." (See also +the letter of the Dutch Consul in Antwerp urging the refugees to come +back to their homes.) +</p> +<p> +6th. July 25th, 1915. Placard of Governor von Bissing posted in +Brussels: "<i>The people shall never be compelled to do anything against +their country</i>." +</p> +<p> +7th. April, 1916: Assurances given to the neutral powers after the Lille +raids that <i>such deportations would not be renewed</i>. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +Now, let us confront these texts, not even with the facts which come to +us from the most trustworthy sources, but with the German decrees and +proclamations preparing and ordering the recent deportations. We are not +opposing a Belgian testimony to a German one, neither are we, for the +present, propounding even our own interpretation of what occurred. We +will merely oppose a German document to another German document and let +them settle their differences as best they can. +</p> +<p> +The first trouble began in April and May, 1915, in Luttre, at the +Malines arsenal, and in several other Flemish towns, when the German +authorities exerted every possible pressure to compel the Belgian +workmen to resume work. They were brought, under military escort, to +their workshops, imprisoned, starved, and about two hundred of them were +deported to Germany, where they were submitted to the most cruel +tortures. (See the <i>Nineteenth Report of the Belgian Commission of +Enquiry</i>.) The threats and persecutions are sufficiently established by +three placards issued by the German authorities. +</p> +<p> +The first one, posted on the walls of Pont-à-Celles, near Luttre, says, +among other things: "If the workmen accept the above conditions (that is +to say, resume work with handsome wages) <i>the prisoners will be +released</i>...." The "prisoners" being several hundred workers who had +been imprisoned in their shops and deprived of food. (April, 1915.) +</p> +<p> +The second, <i>signed von Bissing</i> (so that nobody could imagine that +these measures were taken by some too zealous subaltern) and posted in +Malines, on the 30th of May, tells us that "<i>the town of Malines must be +punished as long as the required number of workmen have not resumed +work</i>." These workmen were employed by the Belgian State—which owns the +country's railway—for the repair of the rolling stock. When they had +refused to resume work, at the beginning of the occupation, a few +hundred German workmen had filled their posts. These had been sent back +to their military depots. The patriotic duty of these Belgians was +evident enough: by resuming their work, they released German soldiers +for the front and increased the number of coaches and engines, of which +the enemy was in great need for the transport of troops. If you will +compare this poster with the one printed above and dated July 25th, you +will be confronted with one of the neatest examples of German duplicity. +Other people have broken their promises after making them. It was left +to Governor von Bissing to make them after breaking them. +</p> +<p> +The third document is still more conclusive. On June the 16th the +citizens of Ghent could read on their walls that: "The attitude of +certain factories which refuse <i>to work for the German Army</i> under the +pretext of patriotism proves that a movement is afoot to create +difficulties for the <i>German Army</i>. If such an attitude is maintained I +will hold the communal authorities responsible and the population will +have only itself to blame if the great liberties granted to it until +now are suspended." This clumsy declaration is signed by +Lieutenant-General Graf von Westcarp. And to think that, even now, +Governor von Bissing perseveres in maintaining that no military work has +ever been asked or will ever be asked from the Belgian workers! As the +French proverb says: "On n'est jamais trahi que par les siens." [<a href="#note-4">4</a>] +</p> +<p> +But, like the man who marries his mistress after the birth of the first +child, the Governor General was thinking of "regularising the +situation." He knew that his attitude was illegal. He decided, +therefore, to concoct a few decrees in order to legalize it in the eyes +of the world. He had, you see, to save appearances. You cannot get on +with no law at all. It might shock neutrals. So, if you break all the +articles of the Hague Convention one by one, like so many sticks, the +only thing to do is to manufacture some fresh regulations to replace +them. And everything will again be for the best in the best of worlds. +</p> +<p> +That is where German subtlety comes in. You must not do things rashly, +at once. Like a skilful dramatist, you must prepare the public to take +in a situation. There is a true artistic touch in the way this General +of Cavalry succeeds in gradually legalizing illegality. +</p> +<p> +In a first decree, dated August 10th, 1915, a fortnight after his last +pledge, Governor von Bissing promises from fourteen days' to six months' +imprisonment to anyone dependent on public charity who refuses to +undertake work "without a sufficient reason" and a fine of £500 or a +year's imprisonment to anyone who encourages refusal to work by the +granting of relief. Notice that the accomplice is punished more heavily +than the principal culprit. The idea is clearly to deprive every striker +of the help of his commune and of the "Comité National." However, as it +is still left to Belgian tribunals to decide which reasons are +"sufficient" and which are not, this decree is not very harmful. +</p> +<p> +On May 2nd, 1916, the rising tide creeps nearer to us. The power of +deciding on the matter passes from the Belgian tribunals to the military +authority, and thereupon every striker becomes a culprit. +</p> +<p> +On May 13th, there is a new decree by which "the governors, military +commanders, and chiefs of districts are allowed to order the unemployed +<i>to be conducted by force</i> to the spots where they have to work." This, +no doubt, in order to avoid the crowding of prisons, which would have +necessarily followed the last decree. It only remains to declare that +the workers can be deported to complete the process and to legalise +slavery. +</p> +<p> +This step was taken on October 3rd last, when an order, signed by +Quartier-Meister Sauberzweig and issued by the General Headquarters of +the German Army, was posted in all the communes of Flanders. This order +warned all persons "<i>who are fit to work</i> that they may be compelled to +do so <i>even outside their places of residence,</i>" when "they should be +compelled to have recourse to public help for their own subsistence or +for the subsistence of the persons dependent on them." +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-4"><!-- Note Anchor 4 --></a>[Footnote 4: Another poster dated from Menin (August, 1915) reads as +follows: "From to-day the town is forbidden to give any support whatever +even to the families, wives, or children of workmen who are not employed +<i>regularly on military work</i>.."] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +But there is more to come in the story. Three guarantees were left, +which have been quoted again and again by the German Press and by Baron +von Bissing in his various answers to Cardinal Mercier. It was first +stated that the men seized would not be sent to Germany, then that only +the unemployed were taken, and finally that these would not be used on +military work. These last guarantees have been repeatedly broken. +Again, I will leave the Germans to condemn themselves. +</p> +<p> +In his decree published at Antwerp, on November the 2nd, General von +Huene (the same man who had given Cardinal Mercier his formal written +promise that no deportations should take place) declares that the men +are to be concentrated at the Southern Station, "whence ... they will be +conveyed in groups to <i>workshops in Germany</i>." +</p> +<p> +In a letter sent by General Hurt, Military Governor of Brussels and of +the province of Brabant, to all burgomasters, it is said that "where the +Communes will not furnish the lists (of unemployed) the German +administration will itself designate the men to be deported to Germany. +If then ... errors are committed, the burgomasters will only have +themselves to blame, for <i>the German administration has no time and no +means for making an inquiry concerning the personal status of each +person</i>." +</p> +<p> +Finally, an extraordinary proclamation of the "Major-Commandant +d'Etapes" of Antoing, dated October 20th, announces that "<i>the +population will never be compelled to work under continuous fire,"</i> this +population being composed, according to the same document, of <i>men and +women</i> between 17 and 46 years of age. If they refuse "they will be +placed in a <i>battalion of civil workers, on reduced rations</i>." Here is +the address of one of these militarised civilians dropped from a train +leaving for the Western front and picked up by a friend: X., 3 Comp. +Ziv. Arb. Bat. 27.—Et. Indp.—Armee No. +</p> +<p> +This did not prevent Governor von Bissing from declaring, a week later +(letter to Cardinal Mercier, October 26th), that: "No workman can be +obliged to participate in work connected with the war (<i>entreprises de +guerre</i>)"! [<a href="#note-5">5</a>] +</p> +<p> +The last fatal step has been taken. From decree to decree, from +proclamation to proclamation, the last threads of the curtain of +legality which remained between the victim and the tyrant have been cut +one by one. Between the acts of the German administration in Belgium and +those of the African slave drivers, we are now unable to discover any +difference whatever. The old plague which had been the shame of Europe +for more than two centuries has risen again from its ashes. It appears +before us with all its hideous characteristics. People are torn from +their homes and sent away to foreign lands without any hope of +returning. Any protest is crushed by the application of torture in the +form of starvation, exposure, and their kindred ills ... There is, +however, one new point about the modern slave: his face is as white as +that of his master. +</p> +<p> +The nineteenth century stamped out black slavery. It was left to the +twentieth century to reinstate white slavery. It is the purest glory of +the English-speaking people to have succeeded in eradicating the old +evil. It will be the eternal shame of the German-speaking people to have +replaced it by something worse. Civilisation forbade any man, sixty +years ago, to force another man to work for him. Civilisation to-day +does not forbid a man—a conqueror—to force another man to work against +himself. The old slave only lost his liberty. The new slave must lose +his honour, his dignity, his self-respect. He has only one other +alternative: death. And this, not the glorious death of a martyr which +makes thousands of converts and shines all over the world, not the death +of Nurse Cavell, but the anonymous death of X.Y.Z., the death of +hundreds and hundreds of unknown heroes who will die under the whip or +in the darkness of their cells in the German prison camps. +</p> +<p> +I had almost forgotten a last distinction between the old and the new +forms of slavery: The average slave driver of past days was only a +trader who sold human beings instead of selling oxen or sheep. When his +trade was prohibited, he took heavy risks and ran great danger of losing +his fortune and his life. But the German rulers of Belgium, whether they +be in Brussels or in Berlin, whether we call them von Bissing or +Helfferich, live in the comfort of their homes, surrounded by their +families, and when assailed by protests, can still play hide and seek +around the broken pillars of the Temple of Peace and wave arrogantly, +like so many flags, the torn articles of international law: "I assert," +said Dr. Helfferich in the Reichstag (December 2nd)—"I assert that +setting the Belgian unemployed to work is thoroughly consonant with +international law. We therefore <i>take our stand, formally and in +practice, on international law, making use of our undoubted rights</i>." +</p> +<p> +Let Dr. Helfferich beware. He is not the only judge on international +law. His stand may come crashing down. +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-5"><!-- Note Anchor 5 --></a>[Footnote 5: I should ask the reader to confront this declaration with +the statement made by the Belgian workmen in their appeal to the working +classes of the world. "On the Western Front they force them, by the most +brutal means, <i>to dig trenches</i>, construct aviation grounds...." +</p> +<p> +In his letter sent to the Belgian Ministers to the Vatican and to Spain, +Baron Beyens, the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, says: "The men +are sent to occupied France <i>to construct sets of trenches and a +strategic railway, Lille-Aulnaye-Givet."</i> +</p> +<p> +Among many trustworthy reports, we hear that the 5th +Zivilisten-Bataillon, including some men of Ghent and Alost, has been +forced to work, under threat of death, on the construction of a +strategic railway between Laon and Soissons. Some of the men, exhausted +by the bad treatment inflicted upon them, have been sent back to Belgium +in a critical condition, and have written a full statement relating +their experiences, signed by twenty of them. On the other hand, the +Belgian General Headquarters report that Belgian civilians, obliged to +dig trenches and dug-outs near Becelaere (West Flanders), were exposed +to the fire of the English guns.] +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_4"><!-- RULE4 4 --></a> +<h2> + II. BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON ... +</h2> + +<p> +"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion." +</p> +<p> +What prophetic spirit inspired Cardinal Mercier when he chose this psalm +for the text of his sermon, on the occasion of the second anniversary of +their Independence (July 21st, 1916), which the Belgians celebrated in +exile and captivity? It was in the great Gothic church, in Brussels, +under the arches of Ste. Gudule, at the close of a service for the +soldiers fallen during the war, the very last patriotic ceremony +tolerated by the Germans. Socialists, Liberals, Catholics crowded the +nave, forgetting their old quarrels, united in a common worship, the +worship of their threatened country, of their oppressed liberties. +</p> +<p> +"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" His audience +imagined that the preacher alluded only to a spiritual captivity, that +he meant: "How shall we celebrate our freedom in this German prison?" +And they listened, like the first Christians in the catacombs, dreading +to hear the tramp of the soldiers before the door. The Cardinal pursued +his fearless address: "The psalm ends with curses and maledictions. We +will not utter them against our enemies. We are not of the Old but of +the New Testament. We do not follow the old law: an eye for an eye, a +tooth for a tooth, but the new law of Love and Christian brotherhood. +But we do not forget that even above Love stands Justice. If our brother +sins, how can we pretend to love him if we do not wish that his sins +should be punished...." +</p> +<p> +Such was the tenor of the Cardinal's address, the greatest Christian +address inspired by the war, uttered under the most tragic and moving +circumstances. For the people knew by then the danger of speaking out +their minds in conquered Belgium; they knew that some German spies were +in the church taking note of every word, of every gesture. Still, they +could not restrain their feelings, and, at the close of the sermon, when +the organ struck up the <i>Brabançonne</i>, they cheered and cheered again, +thankful to feel, for an instant, the dull weight of oppression lifted +from their shoulders by the indomitable spirit of their old leader. +</p> +<p> +What strikes us now, when recalling this memorable ceremony, is not so +much the address itself as the choice of its text: "For they that +carried us away captive required of us a song." +</p> +<p> +Many of those who listened to Cardinal Mercier on July 21st, 1916, have +no doubt been "carried away" by now, and they have sung. They have sung +the Brabançonne and the "Lion de Flandres" as a last defiance to their +oppressors whilst those long cattle trains, packed with human cattle, +rolled in wind and rain towards the German frontier. And the echo of +their song still haunts the sleep of every honest man. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +For whatever Germany may do or say, the time is no longer when such +crimes can be left unpunished. Notwithstanding the war and the +triumphant power of the mailed fist, there still exists such a thing as +public conscience and public opinion. Nothing can happen, in any part of +the world, without awakening an echo in the hearts of men who apparently +are not at all concerned in the matter. The Germans are too clever not +to understand this, and the endless trouble which they take in order to +monopolise the news in neutral countries and to encounter every +accusation with some more or less insidious excuse is the best proof of +this. When one of them declared that Raemaekers' cartoons had done more +harm to Germany than an army corps, he knew perfectly well what he was +talking about. Only they rely so blindly on their own intellectual power +and they have such a poor opinion of the brains of other people that +they believe in first doing whatever suits their plans and then justify +their action afterwards. They divide the work between themselves: The +soldier acts, the lawyer and the professor undertakes to explain what he +has done. However black the first may become, there is plenty of +whitewash ready to restore his innocence. +</p> +<p> +If the unexpected resistance of Belgium has infuriated the Germans to +such an extent, it is not only because it wrecked their surprise attack +on France, it is also because, even after the retreat of the army, they +have been confronted by a series of men courageous enough and clever +enough to stand their ground and to come between them and the uneducated +mass of the population. +</p> +<p> +Since, for the sake of propaganda, they wanted to make a show of +respecting international law, they were taken at their word; so that +they were obliged either to give way or to put themselves openly in the +wrong. When they tried to break their promise to the municipality of +Brussels and to annihilate the liberties of the old Belgian communes, +Mr. Max stood in their way, calm and smiling, with no other weapon than +the law which they pretended to respect. Mr. Max was sent to a German +fortress, but Germany had torn up another scrap of paper—and the +civilised world knew it. When they wanted to establish extraordinary +tribunals for matters which belonged only to local tribunals, Mr. +Théodor and all the barristers of the country lodged protest after +protest and fought their case step by step. Mr. Théodor was deported, +but the German administration had blundered again—and the world knew +it. When Baron von Bissing tried to infringe the privileges of the +Church and to cow the Belgian priests into submission by forbidding them +to read to their flock the patriotic letter of Cardinal Mercier, +published on Christmas Day, 1914, he found himself opposed not only by a +far cleverer man than himself, but by all the spiritual influence of one +of the greatest priests in Europe. The letter was read, the Cardinal did +not leave for Germany but for Rome, whence he came back to Malines, and, +if anything, adopted a still firmer tone in his subsequent letters and +speeches. Von Bissing was beaten—and the world knew it. +</p> +<p> +These are only a few striking examples among many. Since August, 1914, +hundreds and hundreds of civilians have been imprisoned or deported; +workmen, because they refused to work for the enemy; lawyers, because +they refused to accept his law; bankers, because they would not let +their money cross the frontier; professors, because they did not consent +to propagate Kultur; journalists, because they objected to print Wolff's +news; tradespeople, because they put their patriotism above their +private interests; priests, because they did not worship the German god; +women, because they did not admire German officers; children, because +they did not play the German games. Meanwhile the firing parties did not +remain idle. The world has heard with horror of the death of Miss +Cavell; it has been shocked by the disproportion between her "crime" and +her punishment, and by the hypocrisy displayed by the German +administration during her trial. But, if England has lost one great +martyr, Belgium has lost hundreds, who perished in the same way, +sometimes for smaller offences, often for no offence at all. For the +German judges are in a hurry, and they have no time to enquire too +closely in such matters. The vengeance of a spy, the slightest suspicion +of a policeman, sometimes even an anonymous letter, are enough to +convince them of the guilt of the accused person. The healthy effect +produced on the population by Dinant and Louvain must not be allowed to +spend itself. Frightfulness must be kept up at any price. The reign of +terror is the condition of the German regime. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +To-day, in this most tragic hour of Belgian history, when so many +leaders, so many patriots, have been imprisoned, deported or shot, after +twenty-nine months of constant threats and persecutions, we might ask +ourselves: Is Belgium at last cowed into submission? +</p> +<p> +Listen, then, to Belgium's voice, not to the voice of the refugees, not +even to the voice of the King and his Government, but to the voice of +these miserable "slaves" whom Germany is trying to starve into +submission. Letters have been dropped from these cattle trucks rolling +towards Germany or towards the French front. They all tell us of the +unshakeable resolution of the men never to sign an agreement to go to +Germany, and never to work for the enemy: "We will never work for the +Germans and never put our name on paper" (<i>onze naam on papier +zetten</i>)—"We will not work for them. Do the same when you are taken." +(<i>Faites de même quand tu dois aller</i>.) Two young men imprisoned in +Ghent write to their father: "They will have to make us fast a long time +before we consent to work for the King of Prussia." Another man who was +stopped when attempting to escape writes: "They tell us here that the +Germans will make us work even if we do not sign an engagement. It would +be abominable. <i>Take heart, the hour of deliverance will strike one day, +after all</i>." Another workman sends the following message to his +employer: "We are here two thousand and three hundred men. They cannot +annihilate us. <i>It is not right that our fate should be better than that +of our brothers who suffer and fight at the front</i>. We cannot make a +step without being threatened by the gun or the bayonet of our jailors. +<i>I am hungry ... but I will not work for them</i>." +</p> +<p> +And as the slave raids reach one province after another from Flanders to +Antwerp, from Hainant to Brabant, as the fatal list of deportees +increases from 20,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, from 100,000 to +200,000, whilst the cries of women and children are heard in the +streets, whilst the modern slaves tramp along the roads carrying a light +bundle of clothes on their shoulders, from everywhere in Belgium the +strongest protests are sent to the Governor General, by the communes +which will not consent to give the names of the unemployed, by the +magistrates who will not see the last guarantees of individual right +trampled upon, by the Socialist syndicates which are defending the right +of the workmen not to work against their own country, by the chiefs of +industry who show clearly that the whole responsibility of the labour +crisis rests on Germany alone, by the bishops of the Church, who refuse +to admit that, after two thousand years of Christian teaching, a +so-called Christian nation should fall so low as to revive, for her own +benefit, the worst custom of Paganism. +</p> +<p> +The energy of these protests is wonderful if one considers the +conditions in which they have been made. The town councillors of Tournai +were asked to draw up a list of unemployed. They refused; as the Germans +insisted, they passed the following resolution: "The municipal council +decide to persevere in their negative attitude.... The city of Tournai +is prepared to submit without resistance to all the exigencies +authorized by the laws and customs of the war. Its sincerity cannot be +doubted, as it has shown perfect composure and has avoided any act of +hostility during a period of over two years ... But, at the same time, +the municipal council could not furnish weapons against their own +children, fully conscious that natural law and international law, which +is derived from it, forbids them to do so." (October 20th, 1916). We +possess also the German answer, signed by Major-General Hopfer. It is a +necessary supplement to von Bissing's unctuous literature. Major-General +Hopfer calls the resolution "an act of arrogance without precedent." +According to him, "the state of affairs, clearly and simply, is this: +the military authority commands, the municipality has to obey. If it +fails to do so it will have to support the heavy consequences." A fine +of 200,000 marks is exacted from the town for its refusal, besides +20,000 marks for every day of delay until the lists are completed. +</p> +<p> +The case of Tournai, like that of Antoing and a good many small towns, +is typical. The officers commanding in these districts either disregard +the "mot d'ordre" given in Brussels or do not think it worth their while +to keep up the sinister comedy played in the large towns. Here "Kultur" +throws off her mask and the brute appears. We know at least where we +stand. The conflict is cleared of all false pretence and paltry excuses. +The councillors of Tournai appeal to some law, divine or human, which +forbids a brother to betray his brother. It is not without relief that +we hear the genuine voice of Major Hopfer declaring that there is no +other law than his good pleasure. That settles everything and puts the +case of Belgium in a nut-shell. Men like him and the commander of the +Antoing district—another Major, by the way—are invaluable. But they +will never become Generals unless they mend their manners. +</p> +<p> +From the perusal of the Belgian protests and of all particulars +received, two things appear clearly: First, in spite of all the official +declarations, whether the raiders are able or not to get hold of the +lists, there is no real discrimination between employed or unemployed. +And, secondly, in many districts, unemployment has been deliberately +created by the authorities in order to justify the deportations. +</p> +<p> +We cannot discover any method in the raids. In some places, all the +able-bodied men from 17 to 50 are taken away; in others the priests, the +town-clerks, the members of the "Comité de Secours," and the teachers +are left at home; in others still a certain selection is made. <i>But +everywhere some men who were actually working at the time or even men +who had never been out of work since the beginning of the German +occupation have been obliged to go with the others</i>. The proportions +vary. In the small town of Gembloux, of a total of 750 inhabitants +deported, <i>there were only two unemployed</i>. At Kersbeek-Miscom out of 94 +deportees only two had been thrown out of work. At Rillaer, the Germans +have taken 25 boys under 18 years of age.[<a href="#note-6">6</a>] In the district of Mons, +from the numbers taken down in fourteen communes, we gather that the +proportion of the unemployed varies between 10 and 15 per cent. of the +total number of deportees.[<a href="#note-7">7</a>] Among the 400 men taken from Arlon +(Luxembourg) were 43 members of the "Comité de Secours" who were working +in connection with the Commission for Relief, so that not only the +people supporting their families are being deported, but even those who +employed themselves in alleviating the sufferings of the whole +population. This practice has been repeated in several other towns, for +instance, in Gembloux and Libramont. +</p> +<p> +Whether the people are ordered to present themselves at the town-hall or +seized in their own homes, whether they are taken forthwith or allowed a +few hours to prepare themselves, whether they are forced to sign an +agreement or not, the same fact is evident: the criterion of employment +is never considered as a sufficient cause for exemption. +</p> +<p> +In certain districts where, in spite of the requisitions, no +unemployment existed, the authorities have manufactured it. Some of the +new coal mines of the Limbourg province have been closed on the eve of +the raids. The case of the Luxembourg province is still more typical. +"We have not to enquire here," declare the senators and deputies of this +province, "if unemployment has been caused in other regions by the +disorganisation of transports, the seizure of raw stuffs and machines, +the constant requisitions, and other measures which were bound to +penalize the national industry. One fact remains incontestable; it is +that, so far as the Luxembourg province is concerned, unemployment has +been non-existent. During the worst periods, we have only had a small +number of unemployed, and thanks to the initiative taken by the 'Comité +de Secours' all, without any exception, have been at work without +interruption." After enumerating a great number of works of public +utility which had been approved by the German authorities, construction +of light railways, drainage of extensive moors, creation of new +plantations, water supplies, etc., ... the report goes on: "And to-day +most of these works, which had been approved and subsidized by the +province and by the State, have been suddenly condemned and +interrupted.... <i>Such official obstacles to the legitimate and useful +activity of our workmen renders still more painful for them, if +possible, the measures taken against them by those who reproach them for +their idleness and who prosecute them to-day under the pretext of an +inaction which they have deliberately created</i>." +</p> +<p> +In the face of such testimony all the German argument crumbles to +pieces. As Monseigneur Mercier puts it decisively: "It is not true that +our workmen have caused any disturbance or even threatened anywhere to +do so. Five million Belgians, hundreds of Americans, never cease to +admire the perfect dignity and patience of our working classes. It is +not true that the workmen, deprived of their work, become a charge on +the occupying power or on public charity under its control. The 'Comité +National,' in whose activity the Germans take no part, is the only +organisation concerned in the matter." But even supposing, for the sake +of argument, that the 43rd article of the Hague Convention should +justify some form of coercion in the matter, the new measures should +only be applied to some works of <i>public utility in Belgium</i>. Far from +encouraging such works, the Germans have stopped them, seized <i>employed +and unemployed</i>, and sent them either to <i>Germany</i> or to some <i>war-work</i> +on the Western front. To put it simply, they wish to avoid public +disturbance where there is no disturbance, to save money which is not +their money, to deport unemployed who are not unemployed, to oblige them +to work against their country instead of for their country, and in +Germany instead of in Belgium. They are doing everything but what they +want to do, they go anywhere but where they are going, and they say +anything but what they are thinking. +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-6"><!-- Note Anchor 6 --></a>[Footnote 6: Letter of Cardinal Mercier to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +29th, 1916.] +</p> +<p> +<a name="note-7"><!-- Note Anchor 7 --></a>[Footnote 7: Reply of the Deputies of Mons to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +27th, 1916.] +</p> +<hr> +<p> +The other day I heard two people—two wizened city clerks—discussing +the war in the train. "When and how will the Germans be beaten?" asked +the first. The other shrugged his shoulders and declared solemnly, +while pulling at his pipe: "The Germans? They have been beaten a long +time ago! They were beaten when they set foot for the first time in +Belgium." +</p> +<p> +The remark is not new, and I daresay it was a reminiscence of some +sentence picked up in a newspaper or at a popular meeting. But whoever +uttered it for the first time was right. The case of Belgium has +uplifted the whole moral atmosphere of the struggle. Since the first +guns boomed around Liège and the first civilians were shot at Visé, a +war which might have been represented, to a certain extent, as a +conflict of interests, has become a conflict of principles. In a way, +the Germans were beaten because, from that moment, they had to struggle +against unseen and inflexible forces. Whatever you choose to call +them—democratic instinct, Christian aspiration, or the conscience of +the civilised world—they will do their work relentlessly, every day of +the year, every hour of the day. It is their doing that, in spite of the +immense financial influence and the most active propaganda, Germany has +become unpopular all over the world. Other facts, like the <i>Lusitania</i>, +the trial of Miss Cavell, the work accomplished by Zeppelins, have +contributed to provoke this feeling. But whether we consider the origin +or the last exploits of German policy, whether we think of two years ago +or of to-day, the image of Belgium, of her invasion, of her martyrdom, +of her oppression, of her deportations, dominates the spiritual aspect +of the whole war. +</p> +<p> +When they crossed the Belgian frontier, the Germans walked straight into +a bog, and since then they have been sucked deeper and deeper into the +mud of their own misdeeds and calumnies. They were ankle-deep at Liège, +waist-deep at Louvain, the bog rises even to their lips to-day. In the +desperate efforts which they make to free themselves they inflict fresh +and worse tortures on their victims. It is as if victory could only be +reached through the country's willing sacrifice. But every cry which the +Germans provoke in the Belgian prison is heard throughout the world, +every tear shed there fills their bitter cup, every drop of blood they +shed falls back on their own heads. The world looks on, and its burning +pity, its ardent sympathy, brings warmth and comfort to the Belgian +slave. There is still some light shining through the narrow window of +the cell. And there is not a man worthy of the name who does not feel +more resolute and more confident in final victory when he meets the +haggard look of the martyred country and watches her pale, patient, and +still smiling face pressed against the iron bars. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_5"><!-- RULE4 5 --></a> +<h2> + VI. +</h2> + +<center> +THE OLIVE BRANCH. +</center> +<p> +We may ask ourselves if it was by chance only or through some subtle +calculation that the first slave-raids in Belgium were timed to take +place on the eve of the Christmas season, when the angels proclaimed +"good-will towards men," and when the German diplomats offered us the +olive branch and the dove—peace at their own price. We may perhaps +admit, now that the crisis is over, that for us Belgians at least the +temptation was great, and if our repeated experience of the enemy had +not shown us that he is most dangerous when he dons the humanitarian +garb, we might have been duped by this remarkable piece of +stage-management. There is every reason to believe that the deportations +were part and parcel of the German peace manoeuvre. By increasing a +hundredfold the "horrors of war" Germany provided a powerful argument to +the pacifists all the world over: "Look at these miserable Belgians. +Have they not suffered enough? Is it not time that an end should be put +to their misery? Germany has declared that she is ready to evacuate the +country. She might even give an indemnity. What other satisfaction can +the Allies ask, considering the present situation on both the Eastern +and Western fronts? If England really went to war to deliver Belgium, +let her prove it now by stopping the struggle to spare her innocent +citizens. It is all very well for those who are living comfortably at +home to urge the continuance of the struggle. But can they take the +responsibility of speaking on behalf of the population which has to +submit to the enemy's rule and whose sufferings increase every day? ..." +</p> +<p> +We have all listened to that voice. The Belgians in exile more intensely +perhaps than the other Allies. Belgium had nothing whatever to do with +the origin of the quarrel. She had nothing to gain from its conclusion. +She had been drawn unwillingly into the conflict. She has taken arms +merely to defend her rights and territory. What should her answer be if +Germany offered to restore them? +</p> +<hr> +<p> +At the beginning of August last, a certain number of Socialist leaders, +in occupied Belgium, succeeded in arranging a meeting, in spite of +German regulations, and passed the following resolution, which they sent +to the Minister Vandervelde, in London: "The Belgian working classes are +decided to endure all sufferings rather than to accept a German peace, +which could neither be lasting nor final. The Allies must not think that +they must hasten the conclusion of the struggle for us. We are not +asking for peace, and we take no responsibility for the Socialist +manifestations made in neutral countries on our behalf. <i>We ask those +who want to help us not to let the idea that we long for peace influence +their decisions</i>. We pass this resolution in order to prevent the +disastrous effect, which such an argument might produce." +</p> +<p> +The Belgium people has never departed from this attitude, and it is the +plain duty of all those who are defending them, to conform, in the +spirit and in the letter, to their heroic message. In the "Appeal" of +the Belgian workers to the civilised world, sent during the worst period +of the slave-raids, the idea of a truce is not even entertained. On the +contrary, the workers declare that, "whatever their tortures may be, +they will not have peace without the independence of their country and +the triumph of justice." An eye-witness of the raids was telling me, a +few days ago, that, on some occasions, the men in the slave trains are +able to communicate with the people outside: "They shout, of course, +'Long live Belgium' and 'Long live King Albert,' but the most frequent +cry, in which they seem to put their last ounce of strength, is: 'Do +not sign,' which means: 'Do not sign an engagement to work in Germany, +do not sign a compromise.'" And I have not the slightest doubt that, if +they had heard of the German peace offers, they would still shout, "Do +not sign, do not sign a German peace!" +</p> +<p> +We know what this attitude costs them. We know, from the report of those +few men who have been sent back to Belgium from the Western front and +from the German camps, the tortures to which the modern slaves are being +subjected. These men were so ill, so worn out, that their family +scarcely recognised them, and greeted them with tears, not with +laughter. It was like a procession of ghosts coming back from hell. At +Soltau, the prisoners are given only two pints of acorn soup and a +mouldy piece of bread, every day. They are so famished that they creep +at night to steal the potato parings which their German guards throw on +to—the rubbish heap. They divide them amongst themselves and eat them +raw to appease their hunger. After the first week of this régime, +several men went mad. Others were isolated for a few days and given +excellent food. "Will you sign now? If you do, you shall be kept on the +same diet; if not... you go back to camp?" The great majority refused +... and were sent back. This is not an isolated report. All the accounts +agree, even on the smallest details, and the deportees who have been +able to write to their families tell the same story as those who, being +henceforth useless, have been sent home to die. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +It has always been the German policy to bully and to cajole almost at +the same time. But the image of Germania offering, with her sweetest +humanitarian smile, an olive-branch to the Allies whilst her +executioners are starving thousands of Belgian slaves and clubbing them +with their rifles, will stand in the memory of mankind as the climax of +combined brutality and hypocrisy. +</p> +<p> +Should we wonder if the present has been refused? There is only one +peace which matters, it is the peace of man with his own conscience, the +peace of the soul with its God. We have it already, and even the roar of +the German guns will not disturb it. It hovers over our trenches, over +the sea, even over these terrible German camps where the best blood of a +great people is being sucked by the vampires of War. And those who have +fallen stricken on the battlefields, those who have succumbed to the +slow tortures to which they were subjected, are resting now under its +great wings. Should we dare to disturb their sleep? Should we dare to +stain their glory? +</p> +<p> +It is not for Germany to offer peace. She has lost, it with her honour. +It lies in some pool, at the corner of a wood, where the hooligan waits +in ambush, or on the rubbish heap of the Soltau camp in which men—noble +men—are made to seek their food like pigs. Germany cannot offer what is +not hers to offer. The Allies cannot take what they have already. For +there is only one peace, "the peace that passeth all understanding." +</p> +<p> +As for the German olive branch, how could we accept it? It is no longer +green. There is a drop of blood on every leaf. +</p> +<hr> +<p> +It is perfectly useless to try, as has been done in certain quarters, to +distinguish between Belgium's attitude in the conflict and that of the +Powers who are fighting for the restoration of her integrity. From the +day when England, France and Russia answered King Albert's appeal, the +unflinching policy of Belgium has been to act in perfect harmony with +the Allies. How could it be otherwise? Their cause is her cause. Their +victory will be her victory, and—if we should ever consider the +possibility of defeat—their defeat would be her defeat. The Belgians +who like myself, were in England during these fateful days of August, +1914, when the destiny of Europe hung in the balance, know perfectly +well the decisive influence which the invasion of Belgium had on English +public opinion at that time. Nothing can ever blur the clear outlines of +the events as they passed before us under the implacable rays of that +glorious summer sun. +</p> +<p> +The whole policy of Germany is determined by her first stroke in the +war. That stroke was delivered against a small nation. The whole policy +of England and of the Allies is determined by their first efforts in the +struggle, and these efforts were made to protect a small nation against +Germany's aggression. Never has the choice between right and wrong been +made plainer in the whole history of the world. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_6"><!-- RULE4 6 --></a> +<h2> + Cartoons by Louis Raemaekers +</h2> + +<center> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img02.jpg"><img src="images/img02.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img03.jpg"><img src="images/img03.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img04.jpg"><img src="images/img04.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img05.jpg"><img src="images/img05.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img06.jpg"><img src="images/img06.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img07.jpg"><img src="images/img07.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +<hr> + +<a href="images/img08.jpg"><img src="images/img08.jpg" class="center" +alt="" width="50%"></a> +</center> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THE IRON BARS***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 12644-h.txt or 12644-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution.</p> + + + +<pre> +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +<a href="https://gutenberg.org/license">https://gutenberg.org/license)</a>. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">https://www.gutenberg.org</a> + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +<a href="https://gutenberg.org/etext06/">https://gutenberg.org/etext06</a> + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL">https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img01.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img01.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4d00efd --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img01.jpg diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img02.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img02.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e6eee38 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img02.jpg diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img03.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img03.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1bd79ec --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img03.jpg diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img04.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img04.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..974e1a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img04.jpg diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img05.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img05.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..198b26a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img05.jpg diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img06.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img06.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..14aba15 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img06.jpg diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img07.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img07.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..239010d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img07.jpg diff --git a/old/12644-h/images/img08.jpg b/old/12644-h/images/img08.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0dc85ac --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644-h/images/img08.jpg diff --git a/old/12644.txt b/old/12644.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1be7aa1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2410 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Through the Iron Bars, by Emile Cammaerts, +Illustrated by Louis Raemaekers + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Through the Iron Bars + +Author: Emile Cammaerts + +Release Date: June 17, 2004 [eBook #12644] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THE IRON BARS*** + + +E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Brett Koonce, and Project Gutenberg +Distributed Proofreaders + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 12644-h.htm or 12644-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644/12644-h/12644-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644/12644-h.zip) + + + + + +THROUGH THE IRON BARS + +Two years of German occupation in Belgium + +BY + +EMILE CAMMAERTS + +ILLUSTRATED WITH CARTOONS BY LOUIS RAEMAEKERS + +MCMXVII + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + I. The Prison Gates + + II. The Lowered Flag + +III. The Poisoned Wells + + IV. The Sacking of Belgium + + V. The Modern Slave + 1. The Creeping Tide + 2. "By the Waters of Babylon" + + VI. The Olive Branch + +Through the Iron Bars + + + + +I. + +THE PRISON GATES. + + +The English-speaking public is generally well informed concerning the +part played in the war by the Belgian troops. The resistance of our +small field army at Liege, before Antwerp, and on the Yser has been +praised and is still being praised wherever the tale runs. This is easy +enough to understand. The fact that those 100,000 men should have been +able to hold so long in check the forces of the first military Empire in +Europe, and that a great number of them, helped by new contingents of +recruits and led by their young King, should still be fighting on their +native soil, must appeal strongly to the imagination. + +If it be told how the new Belgian army, reorganised and re-equipped +after the terrible ordeal on the Yser, is at the present moment much +stronger than at the beginning of the war, how it has been able lately +to extend its front in Flanders, and how some of its units have rendered +valuable help to the cause of the Allies in East Africa and even in +Galicia, the story sounds like a fairy tale. There is, in the history of +this unequal struggle, the true ring of legendary heroism; it seems an +echo of the tale of David and Goliath, or of Jack the Giant Killer; it +is full of the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, of independence and +free will over fatalism and brute force, of Right over Might. + +I feel confident that some day a poet will be able to sing this great +epic in verses which shall answer to the swinging rhythm of battle and +roll with the booming of a thousand guns. But, in the meantime, I should +like to say a few words about a much humbler, a much simpler, a much +more familiar subject. It awakes no classical remembrances of Leonidas +or Marathon. My heroes risk their lives, but they are not soldiers, +merely prosaic "bourgeois" and workmen. They have no weapon, they cannot +fight. They have only to remain cheery in adversity and patient in the +face of taunts. They cannot render blow for blow, they have no sword to +flourish against an insolent conqueror. They can only oppose a stout +heart, a loyal spirit, and an ironic smile to the persecutions to which +they are subjected. They can do nothing--they must do nothing--only hope +and wait. But there are as much heroism and beauty in their black +frock-coats and their soiled workmen's smocks as in the gayest and most +glittering uniforms. + +It is the plain matter-of-fact story of Belgian life under German rule. +Many more people will be tempted to praise the glory of our soldiers. +But, if the incidents of conquered Belgium's life are not recorded in +good time, they might escape notice. People might forget that, besides +the 150,000 to 200,000 heroes who are now waging war for Belgium on the +Western front, there are 7,500,000 heroes who are suffering for Belgium +behind the German lines, in the close prison of guarded frontiers, cut +off from the whole world, separated alike from those who are fighting +for their deliverance and from those who have sought refuge abroad. + +These are the people whom America, England, Spain, and many generous +people in other allied and neutral countries have tried to save from +material starvation. If I could only show to my readers how they are +saving themselves from despair, from spiritual starvation, I should be +well repaid for my trouble, for, among all the wonders of this war, +which has displayed mankind as at once so much worse and so much better +than we thought, there is perhaps nothing more surprising than the way +in which the Belgian people have kept their spirits up. + +One can, to a certain extent, understand the bright courage and the grim +humour of the fighting soldier; he has the excitement of battle to +sustain him through danger and suffering. But that an unarmed +population, which, having witnessed the martyrdom of many peaceful +towns, is threatened with utter destruction, which, ruined by war +contributions and requisitions, is on the brink of starvation, which, +persecuted by spies and subjected constantly to the most severe +individual and collective punishments on the slightest pretext, is +obliged to refrain from any manifestation of patriotic sentiments--that +such a population, completely cut off from its Government and from most +of its political leaders, and, moreover, poisoned every day by news +concocted by the enemy, should remain unshakable in its courage and +loyalty and should still be able to laugh at the efforts made by its +masters to bring it into submission, is truly one of the most amazing +spectacles which we have witnessed since the war broke out. General von +Bissing has declared that the Belgians are an enigma to him. No wonder. +They are an enigma to themselves. I am not going to explain the miracle. +I will only attempt to show how inexplicable, how miraculous, it is. + + * * * * * + +The German occupation of Belgium may be roughly divided into two +periods: Before the fall of Antwerp, when the hope of prompt deliverance +was still vivid in every heart, and when the German policy, in spite of +its frightfulness, had not yet assumed its most ruthless and systematic +character; and, after the fall of the great fortress, when the yoke of +the conqueror weighed more heavily on the vanquished shoulders, and when +the Belgian population, grim and resolute, began to struggle to preserve +its honour and loyalty and to resist the ever increasing pressure of the +enemy to bring it into complete submission and to use it as a tool +against its own army and its own King. + +I am only concerned here with the second period. The story of the German +atrocities committed in some parts of the country at the beginning of +the occupation is too well known to require any further comment. Every +honest man, in Allied and neutral countries, has made up his mind on the +subject. No unprejudiced person can hesitate between the evidence +brought forward by the Belgian Commission of Enquiry and the vague +denials, paltry excuses and insolent calumnies opposed to it by the +German Government and the Pro-German Press. Besides, in a way, the +atrocities committed during the last days of August, 1914, ought not to +be considered as the culminating point of Belgium's martyrdom. They +have, of course, appealed to the imagination of the masses, they have +filled the world with horror and indignation, but they did not extend +all over the country, as the present oppression does; they only affected +a few thousand men and women, instead of involving hundreds of +thousands. They were clean wounds wrought by iron and fire, sudden, +brutal blows struck at the heart of the country, wounds and blows from +which it is possible to recover quickly, from which reaction is +possible, which do not affect the soul and honour of a people. The +military executioners of 1914 were compassionate when compared to the +civilian administrators who succeeded them. The pen may be more cruel +than the sword. Considered in the light of the recent deportations, the +first days of frightfulness seem almost merciful. + +Observers have found no words strong enough to praise the attitude of +the Belgian people when victory seemed close at hand, when news was +still allowed to reach them. What should be said now after the +twenty-seven months for which they have been completely isolated from +the rest of the world? The ruthless methods of the German army of +invasion which deliberately massacred 5,000 unarmed civilians and sacked +six or seven towns and many more villages has been vehemently condemned. +What is to be the verdict now that they have succeeded, after two years +of efforts, in sacking the whole country, ruining her industry and +commerce, throwing out of employment her best workmen and leading into +slavery tens of thousands of her staunchest patriots? The horrors of +Louvain and Dinant were compared, with some reason, to the excesses of +the Thirty Years War, but modern history offers no other instance of +forced labour and wholesale deportations. If, fifty years ago, the +conscience of the world revolted against black slavery, what should its +feelings be today when it is confronted with this new and most appalling +form of white slavery? We should in vain ransack the chronicles of +history to find, even in ancient times, crimes similar to this one. For +the Jews were at war with Babylon, the Gauls were at war with Rome. +Belgium did not wage war against Germany. She merely refused to betray +her honour. + + * * * * * + +Let us watch, then, the closing of the prison gates. Up to the beginning +of October, the Belgians, and specially the people of Brussels, had been +kept in a state of suspense by the three sorties of the Belgian army, +which left the shelter of the Antwerp forts to advance towards Vilvorde +and Louvain, a few miles from the capital. At the beginning of +September, the sound of guns came so close that the people rejoiced +openly, thinking that deliverance was at their gates. To sober their +spirit--or to exasperate their patience?--the Governor General ordered +that a few Belgian prisoners, some of them wounded, with their +quickfiring gun drawn by a dog, should be marched through the crowded +streets. The men were covered with dust, their heads wrapped in +blood-stained bandages, and they kept their eyes on the ground as if +ashamed. Some women sobbed on seeing them, others cursed their guards, +others plundered a flower shop and showered flowers upon them. At last +two stalwart workmen shouldered away the escort, and, helped by the +crowd, which paralysed the movements of the Germans, succeeded in +kidnapping the prisoners, and getting them away to the neighbouring +streets. They could never be discovered, and it was the last display of +the kind which the Governor gave to Brussels. + +During the siege, people had learnt to recognize the voice of every fort +of Antwerp. They said to each other: "That is Lizele, Wavre Ste. +Catherine, Waelhem." One after the other the Belgian guns were silenced, +first Wavre, then Waelhem ... and the vibrating boom of the German +heavies was heard louder than ever. The listening Bruxellois grew paler, +straining every nerve to catch the voice of Antwerp. It was as if their +own life as a nation was slowly dying away, as if they were mourning +their own agony. But still the valiant spirit of the first days +prevailed. "They will be beaten for all that. What was Antwerp compared +with the Marne? All forts must fall under 'their' artillery. After all, +the nest is empty; the King and the army are safe." + +Since those days a kind of reckless indifference has seized the +Belgians. If we must lose everything to gain everything, let us lose +it. The sooner the better. It is the spirit of a poor man burning his +furniture in order to shelter his children from cold, or of a Saint +suffering every physical privation in order to gain the Kingdom of +Heaven. It is an uncanny spirit composed of wild energy and bitter-sweet +irony. "First Liege, then Brussels, then Namur, now Antwerp. The King +has gone, the Government has gone. If all Belgium has to go, let it go. +It is the price we have to pay. The victory of our soul shall be all the +greater if our body is shattered and tortured." + +Henceforth, the voice of Belgium reaches us only from time to time. Its +sound is muffled by the enemy's strangle-hold, which grows tighter and +tighter. Before the fall of Antwerp, the German administration of +General von der Goltz had merely a temporary character. We knew that +most of the high officials were stopping in Brussels on their way to +Paris. On the other hand, any skilful move of the Allies, any successful +sortie from Antwerp, might have jeopardized all the conqueror's plans +and necessitated an immediate retreat. The Yser-Ypres struggle barred +the way to Brussels as well as to Calais. The Germans knew now that they +were safe, at least for a good many months, and began systematically to +"organize the country." All communications with the uninterrupted part +of Belgium were interrupted. It became more and more difficult and +dangerous to cross the Dutch frontier without a special permit. The +economic and moral pressure increased steadily, and the conflict between +conquerors and patriots began, a conflict unrelieved by dramatic +interest or excitement from outside, which carried the country back to +the worst days of Austrian and Spanish domination. + + + + +II. + +THE LOWERED FLAG. + + +The contrast which I have endeavoured to indicate, in the first chapter, +between the attitude of the German administration before the fall of +Antwerp and its behaviour afterwards is nowhere so well marked as in the +measures taken for the purpose of repressing all Belgian manifestations +of patriotism. + +During the two first months of occupation, the Germans made at least a +show of respecting the loyal feelings of the population. In his first +proclamation, dated September 2nd, in which he announced his appointment +as General Governor of Belgium, Baron von der Goltz declared that "he +asked no one to renounce his patriotic feelings." And when, a few days +later, the Governor of Brussels, Baron von Luttwitz, issued a poster +"advising" the citizens to take their flags from their windows, he did +this in conciliatory words, giving the pretext that these manifestations +might provoke reprisals from the German troops passing through the town: +"The Military Governor does not intend in the least to hurt, by such a +measure, the feelings and self-respect of the inhabitants. His only aim +is to protect them against all harm." (September 16th.) Every Belgian +was still wearing the national colours, pictures of the King and Queen +were sold in the streets, and the Brabanconne was hummed, whistled, and +sung all over the country. The people had lost every right but one: they +could still show the enemy, in spite of the declarations of the German +Press, that they were not yet ready to accept his rule. + +This apparent tolerance is easy to explain. After the massacres of +August, the German authorities were anxious not to exasperate public +opinion, and not to spoil by uselessly vexatious measures the effect +which had been produced. During the Marne and the three sorties of the +Belgian army, they had only a very small number of men at their disposal +to garrison the largest towns. The slightest progress of the Belgian +army might have endangered their line of communications. We know now +that the withdrawal of the seat of the government from Brussels to Liege +was at one moment seriously contemplated, and that the same troops were +made to pass again and again through the streets of the capital in order +to give the illusion that the garrison was stronger than it really was +(_Frankfurter Zeitung_, August 22nd, 1916). Besides, Germany had not yet +given up all hopes of coming to terms with King Albert, since a third +attempt was to be made at Antwerp to separate the Belgian Government +from the Allies. In these circumstances it seemed wiser to let the +Belgian folk indulge in their harmless manifestations of loyalty, so +long as they did not cause any disturbance and did not complicate the +task of the military. + +Let us look now at the next phase. As soon as the Belgian army has +achieved its junction with the Allies on the Yser and all communications +are cut between the Government and the people, the Germans cease to +consider Belgium as an occupied territory, and seize upon every pretext +to treat her as a conquered country, which will, sooner or later, become +part of the Empire. They no longer take the trouble to explain or +justify their oppressive measures, or to reconcile them with their +former promises. They simply ignore them. First in Namur (November the +15th, 1914), then in Brussels (June the 30th, 1915), it becomes a crime +to wear the tricolour cockade. The Te Deum, which is celebrated every +year, on November 15th, in honour of King Albert's Saint's day, is +forbidden. From the month of March, 1915, it is practically a forbidden +thing to sing the Brabanconne, even in the schools. All patriotic +manifestations, on the occasion of the King's Birthday (April 8th) and +of the anniversary of Belgian Independence day (July 21st) are severely +prosecuted. + +In some of the orders issued there is still a weak attempt at +"respecting," in a German way, "the people's patriotic feelings." The +Governor of Namur, for instance, discriminates with the acutest subtlety +between wearing the national colours in private and in public, and the +Brabanconne can for a time be sung, so long as it is not rendered "in a +provoking manner." In fact, the Belgians are free to manifest their +patriotism so long as they are neither seen nor heard. They are +generously allowed to line their cupboards with tricolour paper and to +hum their national tunes in the depth of their cellars. But, in most of +the orders made under Governor von Bissing's rule (his reign began on +December 3rd, 1914), this last pretence of consideration and respect +disappears entirely. "I warn the public," declares the Governor of +Brussels on July the 18th, 1914, "that any demonstration whatsoever is +forbidden on July 21st next." + +More than that, the German Administration frequently goes out of its way +to hurt the people's feelings. The fact of helping a patriot to join the +Army is not merely punished as a crime against the Germans, it is +delicately called "a crime of treason," and when people are condemned +because they are suspected of belonging to the Belgian intelligence +service, the public posters announcing their condemnation speak of them +as supplying information "to the enemy." + +The sham tolerance of the first days has given way to a restless +repression, and even, during the last year, to deliberate persecution. +Schools may be inspected at any time by the authorities and every +"anti-German manifestation" (that is to say, any pro-Belgian teaching) +is severely punished. Shops are raided so that every patriotic picture +post-card (especially the portraits of the Royal Family) may be seized, +and even the intimacy of the private home is not respected. To begin +with, the Belgians have been allowed to show their loyalty--with +discretion; next, every patriotic manifestation is excluded from public +life; and last, the Germans, through their spies, penetrate the homes of +every citizen, and endeavour to extirpate by a reign of terror these +same feelings which they so emphatically promised to respect. + + * * * * * + +People who are leading a quiet life and who enjoy the blessings of an +autonomous Government will perhaps not appreciate the importance which +the Belgians attach, at the present moment, to these patriotic +manifestations. They may imagine that, so long as national life is +assured and citizens are otherwise left alone by their conquerors, +public affirmation of loyalty to King and country is of secondary +importance. + +God knows that the economic situation of occupied Belgium is bad enough, +and the endless and tragic lists of condemnations and deportations are +there to prove that her people are living under the most barbarous +regime of modern times. But, even if this was not the case, anybody with +the slightest knowledge of their national character would understand the +extraordinary value which the Belgians attached to their last privilege +and the deep indignation roused by this German betrayal. + +Von Bissing shrugs his shoulders and calls them "big children." So they +are. And his son, with a scornful smile, declares in the _Suddeutsche +Monatschrift_ (April 15th, 1915) that it is in "the people's blood to +demonstrate and to wear cockades." So it is. The love of processions and +public pageants of all kinds is deeply rooted in Belgian traditions. +But what does it prove? Simply that the people have preserved enough +freshness and joy of life to care for these things, enough courage and +independence to feel most need of them when they are most afflicted. +This is how they think of it: "Our bands used to pass through the +streets, shaking our window-panes with the crashing of their trombones, +our flags used to wave in the breeze--in the happy days of peace. Should +we now remain, silent and withdrawn, in the selfish privacy of our +houses, now that the country needs us most, now that we want, more than +ever, to feel that we are one people and that we will remain independent +and united whatever happens in the future?" Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von +Bissing sneers at the Belgians because on any and every pretext they +display the American colours. If they do, it is because they are not +allowed to display their own, and because they feel somehow that the +best way to show that they have still a flag is to adopt the colours of +the great country which has so generously come to their help. It may +well be, as the Baron informs us, that most of the "small and big +children" who wear the Stars and Stripes do not know a word of English. +What does it mean again? Simply that heart may call to heart and that it +is not necessary to talk in his own language to understand a brother's +mind. It is true that only children--children small and big--know how to +do it. + +If the Germans had had the least touch of generous feeling for the +unfortunate country upon which they thrust war in spite of the most +solemn treaties, they would not have obliged the Belgian citizens to +lower the flags which they had put up during the defence of Liege, they +would not have torn their tricolour cockades from their buttonholes, +they would not have silenced their national songs, they would not have +added these deep humiliations to the bitter cup of defeat. One wonders +even why they did it if it was not for the mere pleasure which the bully +is supposed to feel when he makes his strength felt by his victim. They +might have gone on gaily plundering the country, shooting patriots, +deporting young men, doing whatever seemed useful in their eyes. But the +petty tyranny of these measures passes understanding. Governor von +Bissing is certainly too clever to believe that the satisfaction of +making a few cowards uneasy by such regulations can at all outweigh the +danger inherent in the resentment and the deep hatred which the bullying +has aroused against Germany. You may take the children's bread, you may +take their freedom, but you might at least leave them a few toys to play +with, and you would be wise to do so. + + * * * * * + +Such narrow-minded tyranny always defeats its own objects. Burgomaster +Max's proud answer to General von Luttwitz's "advice" to remove the +flags became the password of the patriots. Every Bruxellois henceforth +"waited for the hour of reparation." A great number of women went to +prison rather than remove the emblems of Belgium which they wore. +Stories passed from lip to lip. Their accuracy I would not guarantee, +but they belong to the epic of the war and are true to the spirit of the +people. A young lady, who was jeered at by a German officer because she +was wearing King Albert's portrait, is said to have answered his +"Lackland" with, "I would rather have a King who has lost his country +than an Emperor who has lost his honour." Another lady, sitting in a +tram-car opposite a German officer, was ordered by him to remove her +tricolour rosette. She refused to do so, and, as he threatened her, +defied him to do it himself. The Boche seized the rosette and pulled .. +and pulled .. and pulled. The lady had concealed twenty yards of ribbon +in her corsage. + +When the tricolour was forbidden altogether, it was replaced by the +ivyleaf, ivy being the emblem of faithfulness; later, the ivyleaf was +followed by a green ribbon, green being the colour of hope. The +Brabanconne being excluded from the street and from the school took +refuge in the Churches, where it is played and often sung by the +congregation at the end of the service. There are many ways of getting +round the law. The Belgians were forbidden to celebrate in any ordinary +way the anniversary of their independence. Thanks to a sort of tacit +arrangement they succeeded in marking the occasion in spite of all +regulations. On July 21st, 1915, the Bruxellois kept the shutters of +their houses and shops closed and went out in the streets dressed in +their best clothes, most of them in mourning. The next year, as the +closing of shops was this time foreseen by the administration, they +remained open. But a great number of tradespeople managed ingeniously to +display the national colours in their windows--by the juxtaposition, for +instance, of yellow lemons, red tomatoes and black grapes. Others +emptied their windows altogether. + +These jokes may seem childish, at first sight, but when we think that +those who dared perform them paid for it with several months' +imprisonment or several thousand marks, and paid cheerily, we understand +that there is more in them than a schoolboy's pranks. It seems as if the +Belgian spirit would break if it ceased to be able to react. One of the +shop-managers who was most heavily fined on the occasion of our last +"Independence Day" declared that he had not lost his money: "It is +rather expensive, but it is worth it." + + * * * * * + +If patriotism has become a religion in Belgium, this religion has found +a priest whose authority is recognised by the last unbeliever. If every +church has become the "_Temple de la Patrie_," if the Brabanconne +resounds under the Gothic arches of every nave, Cardinal Mercier has +become the good shepherd who has taken charge of the flock during the +King's absence. The great Brotherhood, for which so many Christian souls +are yearning, in which there are no more classes, parties, and sects, +seems well nigh achieved beyond the electrified barbed wire of the +Belgian frontier. Are not all Belgians threatened with the same danger, +are they not close-knit by the same hope, the same love, the same +hatred? + +When the bells rang from the towers of Brussels Cathedral on July 21st +last, when, in his red robes, Cardinal Mercier blessed the people +assembled to celebrate the day of Belgium's Independence, it seemed that +the soul of the martyred nation hovered in the Church. After the +national anthem, people lifted their eyes towards the great crucifix in +the choir, and could no longer distinguish, through their tears, the +image of the Crucified from that of their bleeding country. + + + + +III. + +THE POISONED WELLS. + + +We must never forget, when we speak of the moral resistance of the +Belgian people, that they have been completely isolated from their +friends abroad for more than two years and that meanwhile they have been +exposed to all the systematic and skilful manoeuvres of German +propaganda. Not only are they without news from abroad, but all the news +they receive is calculated to spread discouragement and distrust. + +How true lovers could resist a long separation and the most wicked +calumnies without losing faith in one another has been the theme of many +a story. From the story-writer's point of view, the true narrative of +the German occupation of Belgium is much more romantic than any romance, +much more wonderful than any poem. The mass is not supposed to show the +same constancy as the individual, and one does not expect from a whole +people the ideal loyalty of Desdemona and Imogen. Besides, we do not +want the reader to imagine that, before the war, the Belgians were +ideally in love with one another. Like the English, the Americans and +the French, we had our differences. It is one of the unavoidable +drawbacks of Democracy that politics should exaggerate the importance of +dissensions. Therefore it is all the more remarkable that the sudden +friendship which sprang up between classes, parties and races in +Belgium, on the eve of August 4th, should so long have defied the +untiring efforts of the enemy and should remain as unshakeable to-day as +it was at the beginning. + +We do not wonder that the German intellectuals who have undertaken to +break down Belgian unity are at a loss to explain their failure. +Scientifically it defies every explanation. Here was a people +apparently deeply divided against itself, Socialists opposed Liberals, +Liberals opposed Catholics, Flemings opposed Walloons; theoretical +differences degenerated frequently into personal quarrels; political +antagonism was embittered by questions of religion and language. Surely +this was ideal ground in which to sow the seed of discord, when the +Government had been obliged to seek refuge in a foreign country and a +great number of prominent citizens had emigrated abroad. The German +propagandist, who had been able to work wonders in some neutral +countries, must have thought the task almost unworthy of his efforts. +Every one of his theoretical calculations was correct. He only forgot +one small detail which a closer study of history might have taught him. +He forgot that, in face of the common danger, all these differences +would lose their hold on the people's soul, that the former bitterness +of their quarrels was nothing compared with the sacred love of their +country which they shared. + + * * * * * + +The first action of the German administration after the triumphal entry +into Brussels was to try to isolate the occupied part of the country, in +order to monopolize the news. Rather than submit to a German censor, all +the Belgian papers--with the exception of two small provincial +journals--had ceased to appear. During a fortnight, Brussels remained +without authorized news. From that time, the authorities allowed the +sale of some German and Dutch dailies and of a few newspapers published +in Belgium under German control. The Government itself issued the +_Deutsche Soldatenpost_ and _Le Reveil_ (in French) and a great number +of posters, "_Communications officielles du Commandant de l'Armee +allemande_," which were supposed to contain the latest war-news. + +To this imposing array, the patriots could only oppose a few pamphlets +issued by the editor Bryan Hill, soon prohibited, and copies of Belgian, +French and English papers, which were smuggled at great risk, and +consequently were very expensive. Still, before the fall of Antwerp, it +was practically impossible for the Germans to stop private letters and +newspapers passing from the unoccupied to the occupied part of the +country. Besides, they had more important business on hand. Here again, +it was only after the second month of occupation that the pressure +increased. During October and November, several people were condemned to +heavy fines and to periods of imprisonment for circulating written and +even verbal news. The Dutch frontier was closed, wherever no natural +obstacle intervened, by a continuous line of barbed wire and electrified +wire. Passports were only granted to the few people engaged in the work +of relief and to those who could prove that it was essential to the +interests of their business that they should leave the country for a +time. The postal service being reorganized under German control, any +other method of communication was severely prosecuted. At the end of +1914, several messengers lost their lives in attempting to cross the +Dutch frontier. Under such conditions it is easy to understand that, in +spite of the efforts made by the anonymous editors of two or three +prohibited papers, such as _La Libre Belgique_, the bulk of the +population was practically cut off from the rest of the world and was +compelled to read, if they read at all, the pro-German papers and the +German posters. The only wells left from which the people could drink +were poisoned. + + * * * * * + +The German Press Bureau in Brussels, openly recognised by the +administration and formerly the headquarters of Baron von Bissing's son, +set to work in three principal directions. It aimed at separating the +Belgians from the Allies, then at separating the people from King +Albert and his Government, and finally at reviving the old language +quarrel between Walloons and Flemings. + +The campaign against the Allies, though still carried on whenever the +opportunity arises, was specially violent at the beginning, when the +Germans had not yet given up all hope of detaching King Albert from the +Alliance (August-September, 1914). It was perhaps the most dangerous +line of attack because it did not imply any breach of patriotism. On the +contrary it suggested that Belgium had been duped by the Allies, and +especially by England, who had never meant to come to her help and who +had used her as a catspaw, leaving her to bear all the brunt of the +German assault in an unequal and heroic struggle. It was accompanied by +a constant flow of war news exaggerating the German successes and +suggesting that, even if they ever had the intention of delivering +Belgium, the Allies would no longer be in a position to do so. + +According to the first war-news poster issued in Brussels, a few days +after the enemy had entered the town, the French official papers had +declared that "The French armies, being thrown on the defensive, would +not be able to help Belgium in an offensive movement." I need not recall +how, his name having been used at Liege to bolster up this false report, +M. Max, the burgomaster of Brussels, found an opportunity of +contradicting it publicly and, at the same time, of discrediting all +censored news. + +The effect was amazing. Henceforth the official posters were not only +regularly regarded as a tissue of lies, but definitely ridiculed. The +people either ignored them or paid them an exaggerated attention. In +some popular quarters, urchins climbed on ladders to read them aloud to +a jeering crowd. The influence of M. Max's attitude was such that, +eighteen months later, several people coming from the capital declared +that, as far as war news was concerned, Brussels was far more +optimistic than London or Paris, every check received by the Allied +armies being systematically ignored and every success exaggerated. + +When one reads through the series of German "_Communications_" pasted on +the walls of the capital during the first year of the occupation, one +wonders how they did not succeed in discouraging the population. For, in +spite of some extraordinary blunders--such as the announcement that a +German squadron had captured fifteen English fishing boats (September +8th, 1914), that the Serbs had taken Semlin because they had nothing +more to eat in Serbia (September 13th, 1914), or that the British army +was so badly equipped that the soldiers lacked boot-laces and writing +paper (October 6th, 1914)--the author of these proclamations succeeded +so skilfully in mixing truth and untruth and in drawing the attention of +the public away from any reverse suffered by the Central Empires, that +the effect of the campaign might have been most demoralizing. + +After this first reverse, the Germans only attacked the Allies in order +to throw on their shoulders the responsibility for the woes which they +themselves were inflicting on their victims. When some English +aeroplanes visited Brussels, on September 26th, 1915, a few people were +killed and many more wounded. The German press declared immediately that +this was due to the want of skill of the airmen, who dropped the bombs +indiscriminately over the town. We possess now material proof that the +people were killed, not by bombs dropped from the air, but by fragments +of shells fired from guns. This can only be explained in one way. The +German gunners must have timed their shells so that they should not +burst in the air, but only when falling on the ground. This method of +propaganda may cost a few lives, but it is certainly clever. It might +well be calculated to stir indignation in the hearts of the people +against the Allies and at the same time to serve as a warning to enemy +headquarters to the effect: "Whenever you send your aeroplanes over +Belgian towns, we are going to make the population pay for it." + +The same kind of argument is used at the present moment with regard to +the wholesale deportations which are going on in Belgium. To justify his +slave-raids, Governor von Bissing denounces England's blockade. It is +the economic policy of England--not German requisitions--which has +ruined Belgium and caused unemployment: "If there are any objections to +be made about this state of affairs you must address them to England, +who, through her policy of isolation, has rendered the coercive measures +necessary." [1] But the argument is used more for the sake of discussion +than in the real hope of convincing the public. General von Bissing can +have very few illusions left as to the state of mind of the Belgian +population. He knows that every Belgian worker, would answer, with the +members of the Commission Syndicale: "All the Allies have agreed to let +some raw material necessary to our industry enter Belgium, under the +condition, naturally, that no requisitions should be made by the +occupying power, and that a neutral commission should control the +destination of the manufactured articles." [2] Or, more emphatically +still, with Cardinal Mercier: "England generously allows some foodstuffs +to enter Belgium under the control of neutral countries ... She would +certainly allow raw materials to enter the country under the same +control, if Germany would only pledge herself to leave them to us and +not to seize the manufactured products of our industry." + +Such arguments are extraordinarily characteristic of the German mind, as +it has been developed by the war: "Let Belgium know that she is +suffering for England's sake. Let England know that, as long as she +enforces her blockade, her friends in Belgium will have to pay for it." +It is the same kind of double-edged declaration as that used on the +occasion of the Allied air-raid on Brussels. Literally speaking, it cuts +both ways. The excuse becomes a threat and the untruth savours of +blackmail. Healthy minds work by single or treble propositions. If we +did not remember that our aim is to analyse the beautiful and heroic +side of the occupation of Belgium, rather than to dwell on its most +sinister aspects, we should recognize, in this last manoeuvre, the +lowest example of human brutality and hypocrisy, the double mark of the +German hoof. + +[Footnote 1: Answer of Governor von Bissing to Cardinal Mercier's +letter, Oct. 26th, 1916.] + +[Footnote 2: Letter of the "_Commission Syndicale_" to Baron von +Bissing, Nov. 14th, 1916.] + + * * * * * + +In spite of the most authentic documents, of the most glaring material +proofs, it might be difficult to realise that the human spirit may fall +so low. It seems as if we were diminishing ourselves when we accuse our +enemies. We have lived so long in the faith that "such things are +impossible" that, now that they happen almost at our door, we should be +inclined to doubt our eyes rather than to doubt the innate goodness of +man. Never did I feel this more strongly than when I saw, for the first +time, a caricature of King Albert reproduced from a German newspaper. + +Surely if one man, one leader, has come out of this severe trial +unstained, with his virtue untarnished, it is indeed Albert the First, +King of the Belgians. His simple and loyal attitude in face of the +German ultimatum, the indomitable courage which he showed during the +Belgian campaign, his dignity, his reserve, his almost exaggerated +modesty, ought to have won for him, besides the deep admiration of the +Allies and of the neutral world, the respect and esteem even of his +worst enemy. There is a man of few words and noble actions, fulfilling +his pledges to the last article, faithful to his word even in the +presence of death, a leader sharing the work of his soldiers, a King +living the life of a poor man. When in Paris, in London, triumphal +receptions were awaiting them, he and his noble and devoted Queen +remained at their post, on the last stretch of Belgian territory, in the +rough surroundings of army quarters. + +The whole world has noted this. People who have no sympathy to spare for +the Allies' cause have been obliged to bow before this young hero, more +noble in his defeat than all the conquerors of Europe in their victory. +But the Germans have not felt it. Not only did they try to ridicule King +Albert in their comic papers. Even the son of Governor von Bissing did +not hesitate to fling in his face the generous epithet, "Lackland." [3] +As soon as the last attempt to conciliate the King had failed the German +press in Belgium began a most violent and abusive campaign against him. +The _Duesseldorfer General-Anzeiger_ published a venomous article, in +which he was represented as personally responsible for "the plot of the +Allies against Germany and for the crimes of the franc-tireurs." He was +stigmatised as "the slave of England," and it was asserted that "If he +did not grasp the hand stretched out to him by the Kaiser on August 2nd +and the 9th it is only because he did not dare to do so" (October 10th, +1914). He was said to have "betrayed his army at Antwerp. Had he not +sworn not to leave the town alive?" And _Le Reveil_, another paper +circulated in Belgium by German propagandists, announced solemnly that, +once on the Yser, the King wanted to sign a separate peace with Germany, +but England had forbidden him to do so. The _Hamburger Nachrichten_, the +_Vossische Zeitung_ and the _Frankfurter Zeitung_ repeated without +scruple this tissue of gross calumnies. The _Deutsche Soldatenpost_, +edited specially for the German soldiers in Belgium, went even a step +further and violently reproached the Queen of the Belgians for not +having protested against the cruelties inflicted on German civilians in +Brussels and Antwerp, at the outbreak of the hostilities! + +[Footnote 3: _Suddeutsche Monatshefte_, April 1915.] + + * * * * * + +Not being able to stir the people against the Allies or against their +own Government, the German Press Bureau attempted to revive the language +quarrel and to provoke internal dissensions. It is interesting to notice +that the new campaign, whose crowning episode was the opening of the +German University at Ghent, in October last, began two months after the +surrender of Brussels and did not develop until the spring of 1915, when +an important minority of Germans began to realise that it would be +impossible to retain Belgium, and when a greater number still only hoped +to keep Antwerp and Flanders, thanks to the "social and linguistic +affinities of Flemings and Germans." + +That is how Germany, who had never troubled much before about the +Flemish movement and Flemish literature, suddenly discovered a great +affection for her Flemish brothers who had so long been exposed to "the +insults of the Walloons"; how she suddenly espoused their grievances and +put into effect, in spite of their strong protests, some reforms +inscribed on the programme; how she tried by every means at her disposal +to conciliate Flemish sympathies and to stir up antagonism and +jealousies by treating Flemings and Walloons differently, whether +prisoners in Germany or in occupied Belgium. + +The German train of thought is clear enough: "If we are unable to hold +Belgium, any pro-German demonstrations in the Northern provinces may +suggest the idea that it is the wish of the Flemings to be bound to the +Empire and give a pretext for the annexation of Antwerp and Flanders. If +even that is impossible and if we are obliged to give back his Kingdom +to King Albert, we shall have sown so many germs of discontent in the +country that it will be impossible for the Government to restore Belgium +in her full unity and power. She will never become against us the strong +bulwark of the Allies." + +All this Walloon-Flemish agitation started by Germany belongs to a vast +plan of mismanagement. The day Germany knew that she would not be able +to keep her conquest she deliberately set herself to ruin Belgium +economically and morally. She succeeded economically, for nobody could +prevent her from requisitioning whatever she wanted. She failed morally +because the people understood her purpose and because the Flemish +leaders proudly refused the German gifts. The reform of Ghent University +was made in spite of them. It was made with the help of a few Germans, +German-Dutch and Belgians without any reputation or following. The +professors have been bought and the students (they only number eighty) +have been mostly recruited among the Flemish prisoners in Germany and +among a few young men threatened with deportation. They are obliged to +wear a special cap and are under the ban of the whole population. No +true "Gantois" passes them in the street without whispering, "_Vive +l'Armee_." This is the pitiful medley of cranks, traitors and unwilling +students which General von Bissing is pleased to call a "University." + +In his inaugural speech, the Governor exclaimed, "The God of War, with +his drawn sword, has held the new institution at the font. May the God +of Peace be gracious to her for long years to come." The Germans' lack +of humour surpasses even their ruthlessness. With one hand General von +Bissing was baptizing the baby--rather a difficult operation--with the +other he brandished his fiery sword over the heads of all the true +Flemings who refused to adopt it. Many of them paid for this patriotic +attitude by losing their liberty. With one hand Germany inflicted this +unwelcome gift on the Flemings, with the other she banished M.M. +Pirenne, Fredericq and Verhaegen from the sacred precincts of Flemish +culture! + +Most solemnly, on different occasions, all the prominent Flemish leaders +have protested against the German Administration's action. They have +declared that it was illegal and unjust. Governor von Bissing reminds +them that, according to De Raet's words, "Two heroic spirits dominate +the world: The Mind and the Sword." They may possess the first but he +holds the second. + + + + +IV. + +THE SACKING OF BELGIUM. + + +There is one idea which dominates the Belgian tragedy: "The body may be +conquered, the soul remains free." These words were uttered for the +first time, I believe, by the Belgian Premier, Baron de Broqueville, in +the solemn sitting of the House, when the German violation of Belgian +neutrality was announced to the representatives of the people. The idea +is supposed to have been expressed by King Albert, in another form, +before the evacuation of Antwerp. It was used to great effect in one of +the most popular cartoons published by _Punch_, in which the Kaiser says +to the King, with a sneer, "You have lost everything," and the King +replies, "Not my soul." It is so intimately associated with the Belgian +cause that the image of the stricken country is scarcely ever evoked +without an allusion being made to it. + +We have seen, in the course of the earlier chapters, how Belgium +succeeded in preserving her loyalty and patriotism in spite of the most +ruthless oppression and the most cunning calumnies. We must now look at +the darker side of the picture and see how she has not succeeded in +preserving either her prosperity, or even her supply of daily bread. + +We shall soon be confronted with the most tragic aspect of her Calvary. +So long as her armies were fighting the invader, so long as her towns +and countryside were ruined by German frightfulness, so long as her +martyrs, men, women and children, were falling side by side in the +market-place before the firing party, so long as every symbol, every +word of patriotism was forbidden her, Belgium could remain vanquished +but unconquered, bleeding but unshakeable. She enjoyed, in the face of +her oppressors, all the privileges of the Christian martyrs of the +first centuries; she could smile on the rack, laugh under the whip and +sing in the flames. She remained free in her prison, free to respect +Justice, in the midst of injustice, to treasure Righteousness, in spite +of falsehood, to worship her Saints, in the face of calumny. She was +still able to resist, to oppose, every day and at every turn, her +patience to the enemy's threats and her cheerfulness to his ominous +scowl. She had a clear conscience and her hands were clean. + +There is one thing that can be said for the Roman emperors, they seldom +starved their victims to death. Popular imagination revels in their +cruelty, and the _Golden Legend_ displays to us all the grim splendours +of a chamber of horrors. But the worst of all tortures--starvation--is +not often inflicted. The idea is, I suppose, that the conversion must be +sudden and striking. But Belgium's oppressors do not any longer want to +convert her. They have tried and they have failed. They merely want to +take all the food, all the raw materials, all the machines and--last but +not least--all the labour they can out of her. Their fight is not the +fight of one religion against another. It is the fight of material power +against any philosophy, any religion which stands between it and the +things which it covets. The Germans do not sacrifice Belgium to their +gods. Such an ideal course is far from their thoughts. They sacrifice +Belgium to Germany--that is, to themselves. It matters very little +whether a slave is able to speak or to think, as long as he is able to +work. + +Here again, in spite of the wholesale plundering of the first days of +occupation, and of the enormous fines imposed on towns and provinces, I +do not suppose that the German plan was deliberately to ruin the +country. It might even have been to develop its resources, as long as +there was some hope of annexing it, though this benevolent spirit had +scarcely any time to manifest itself. After the Marne and the Yser, +however, when it became evident that anyhow the whole of Belgium could +never be retained, and when the attitude of the people showed clearly +that they would always remain hostile to their new masters, the +systematic sacking of the country began without any thought for the +consequences. + + * * * * * + +The best way of coming to some appreciation of the work accomplished +during these two years is to remember that, before the war, Belgium was +the richest country in Europe in proportion to her size. Relatively she +had the greatest commercial activity, the richest agricultural +production, and she was more thickly populated than any other State, +with the exception of Saxony. Nowhere were the imports and exports so +important, in proportion to the number of the population, nowhere did +the average square mile yield such rich crops, nowhere was the railway +system so developed. Pauperism was practically unknown, and, even in the +large towns, the number of people dependent on public charity was +comparatively very small. To this picture of unequalled prosperity +oppose the present situation: Part of the countryside left without +culture for want of manure and horses; scarcely any cattle left in the +fields; commerce paralysed by the stoppage of railway and other +communications; industry at a complete standstill, with 500,000 men +thrown out of work and nearly half of the population which remained in +Belgium (3,500,000) on the verge of starvation and entirely dependent +for their subsistance on the work of the Commission for Relief. + +It is said that the tree must be judged by its fruit. Such then is the +fruit of the German administration of Belgium. When he arrived in +Brussels, Governor von Bissing declared that he had come to dress +Belgium's wounds. What would he have done if he had meant to aggravate +them? + +There is an insidious argument which must be met once and for ever. We +have seen how Germany is trying to throw the responsibility for the +misery prevailing in Belgium and for the present deportations on the +English blockade, which paralyses the industry and prevents the +introduction of raw materials. But, if this were the case, the situation +ought not to be worse in Belgium than in Germany. On the contrary, +thanks to the splendid work of the Commission for Relief, she ought to +be far better off. How is it then that--according to General von +Bissing's own declaration made to Mr. Julius Wertheimer, correspondent +of the _Vossische Zeitung_ (September the 1st, 1916)--how is it that +"the average cost of life is much higher in Belgium than in Germany," +and that "a great number of inhabitants (tens of thousands of them) have +not eaten a piece of meat for many weeks?" + +This inequality between the social conditions in Germany and in Belgium, +in spite of the advantages given to the latter by the introduction of +food through the blockade with England's consent, can easily be +explained: On the one hand, German industry has transformed itself, many +factories which could not continue their ordinary work owing to the +shortage of rawstuffs having been turned into war-factories in which +there is still a great demand for labour. On the other hand, Germany has +not been submitted to the same levies in money, and requisitions in +foodstuffs and material; Germany has not been deprived, from the +beginning, of all her reserve, she has not been depleted of all her +stock. + +We shall have to deal, in the next chapter, with the first question. Let +us only consider the second here. + +It is impossible to give more than a superficial glance at the matter. +The particulars at hand are not complete and a full list of German +exactions has not yet been drawn up. Let us, however, try to give an +idea of the disproportion existing between the country's resources and +the demands which were made on her. + +On December 12th, 1914, a poster announced to the citizens of Brussels +that the nine Belgian provinces would be obliged to pay, every month +during the coming year, a sum of forty million francs, making a total of +about 480 millions (over 19 million pounds). In order to understand the +indignation caused by this announcement it is necessary to remember: + +1st. That the Belgians were at the time already paying all the ordinary +taxes, to the commune, to the province and to the State, so that this +new contribution constituted a super-tax. + +2nd. That all the direct taxes paid to the State, in ordinary times, +amount scarcely to 75 millions, that is to say, to a sixth of this +contribution. + +3rd. And that the new economic conditions imposed by the war had +considerably reduced the income of the most wealthy citizens. + +As the Germans persist in invoking the text of the Hague Convention of +which they have again and again violated every clause, it may be useful +to point out that, according to the 49th article, the occupying power is +only allowed to raise war contributions "for the need of the army," that +is to say, in order to pay in money the requisitions which he is obliged +to make in order to supply the army of occupation with food, fodder, and +so on. As, most of the time, the Germans only pay for what they +requisition in "_bons de guerre_" payable after the war, and as, in spite +of their sound appetite, we can scarcely believe that the few thousand +"landsturmers" who are garrisoning Belgium are eating two million +pounds worth a month, the illegal character of the German measure seems +evident. Besides, if any doubt were still possible, we should find it +laid down in the 52nd article that any service required from the +occupying power must be "in proportion to the country's resources." + +As the announcement had provoked strong protests, Governor von Bissing +announced a few days later that, if this contribution was paid, no +further extraordinary taxes would be required and the requisitions would +henceforth be paid for in money. Needless to say, none of these promises +have been fulfilled, and the contribution of 480 millions was renewed at +the beginning of 1915, and even increased to 600 millions lately, so +that, from that source only, the Germans have raised in Belgium, after +two years of occupation, a sum equal to one-fourth of the total State +debt of the country on the eve of the war. + +This is only one example among many. The communes did not enjoy better +treatment. The reader will remember that during the period of invasion +the enemy exacted various war-taxes from every town he entered: 20 +millions from Liege, 50 millions from Brussels, 32 millions from Namur, +40 millions from Antwerp, and so on. Since then, he has never lost an +opportunity of inflicting heavy fines even on the smallest villages. If +one inhabitant succeeds in joining the army, if an allied aeroplane +appears on the horizon, if, for some reason or other, the telegraph or +the telephone wires are out of order, a shower of fines falls on the +neighbouring towns and villages. In June last the total amount of these +exactions was estimated, for 1916, at ten millions (L400,000). If we add +to this the fines inflicted constantly, on the slightest pretext, on +private individuals, we shall certainly remain below the mark in stating +that Germany succeeds in getting out of Belgium over twenty million +pounds a year. Twenty million pounds, when the ordinary income of the +State amounts scarcely to seven millions! And I am not taking into +account the money seized in the banks and the recent enforced transfer +to Germany of the 600 millions (L24,000,000) of the National Bank. + +If we remember that the total value of commercial transactions in +Belgium, before the war, did not exceed ten million francs (400,000 +pounds) per year, we shall realise the absurdity of the German argument +which shifts on to the English blockade the responsibility for Belgium's +ruin. Even a complete stoppage of trade could not have done the country +as much harm as the German exactions in money only. But the conquerors +were not satisfied with fleecing the flock, they succeeded in robbing it +of its food, in taking away its very means of life. + + * * * * * + +Quite apart from any sentimental or moral reason, the last step was a +grave mistake, even from the German point of view. It would certainly +have paid the Germans better in the end if they had allowed the Allies +to send raw material to feed the Belgian factories, under the control of +neutral powers, and if they had not requisitioned the machines and +paralysed industry by the most absurd restrictions. It would have been a +most useful move from the point of view of propaganda, and, while posing +as Belgium's kind protectors, they might always have reaped the benefit +through fresh taxes and new contributions. If they have killed the goose +rather than gather its golden eggs it is because they could not afford +to wait. It was one of these desperate measures, like the violation of +Belgian neutrality, the ruthless use of Zeppelins and the sinking of the +Lusitania, which did them more harm than good. From the beginning +Germany has fought with a bad conscience, prompted in all her actions +more by the dread of being defeated than by the clear intention of +winning the game. The manifestation of such a spirit ought only to +encourage her enemies; they are the sure signs of a future breakdown. In +the meantime, they must cause infinite torture to the unfortunate +populations which are not yet delivered from her yoke. + +During the first months of occupation the requisitions extended only to +foodstuffs, cattle, horses, fodder, in short, to objects which could be +used by the army. They were out of all proportion to the resources of +the country (Article 52 of the Hague Convention) and therefore +absolutely illegal, but they could still be considered as military +requisitions. In a most interesting article published in Smoller's +_Jahrbuch fuer Gesetzgebung Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft_, Professor +Karl Ballod admits that the requisitions made in Belgium and Northern +France have more than compensated for the harm caused by the Russian +invasion of East Prussia. Not only the army of occupation, but all the +troops concentrated on the northern sectors of the Western front, "three +million men," have been fed by the conquered provinces. Besides this, +Germany took from Belgium, at the beginning of the war, "more than +400,000 tons of meal and at least one million tons of other foodstuffs." + +With Governor von Bissing's arrival the requisitions extended to +whatever raw material was needed in the Fatherland, and all pretence of +respecting the Hague Convention (Article 49) ceased forthwith: One after +another the stocks of raw cotton, of wool, of nickel, of jute, of +copper, were seized and conveyed to Germany. The administration seized, +in the same way, all the machines which could be employed, beyond the +Rhine, for the manufacture of shells and munitions. I am afraid of +tiring the reader with the long enumeration of these arbitrary decrees, +but in order to give him an idea of what is still going on, at the +present moment, I have gathered here all the measures of the kind taken +by the paternal administration of Baron von Bissing which came to our +knowledge during one month only (October last). I have chosen the period +at random, and it must not be forgotten that, owing to the difficulties +of communication, these particulars are far from complete. They will, +however, give a fair idea of the economic situation of the country after +the second year of occupation: + +October 5th: The requisitions in cattle have been so frequent in +Flanders _that many farmers have not a milch cow left_. + +October 6th: Owing to the lack of motors, bicycles and horses, some +tradespeople in Brussels are using oxen to draw their carts. + +October 10th: All the chestnut trees around Antwerp have been +requisitioned. Potatoes cannot be conveyed from one place to another +even in small quantities. + +October 17th: According to a decree dated September 27th, any person +possessing more _than 50 kilos of straps or cables_ must report it under +a penalty of one year's imprisonment or a fine up to 20,000 marks. + +October 19th: The scarcity of potatoes is increasing, in spite of a good +crop. The peasants were forbidden to pull out their plants before July +the 21st, _when the greater part of the crop was commandeered_. + +October 22nd: The boot factories in Brussels are forbidden to work more +than 24 hours per week. + +October 24th: A decree dated October the 7th adds borax to the list of +sulphurous products which must be declared according to the decree of +September 16th. + +October 29th: The Germans continue to take away the rails of the light +railways ("vicinaux"). The line from St. Trond to Hanut has been +demolished. A great deal of rolling stock has been commandeered. Owing +to the shortage of lubricating oil _it is to be feared that this last +mode of conveyance left to the Belgians will have to be stopped +shortly_. + +October 30th: A decree dated September 30th makes the measures for the +requisition of metals still more severe. All the steel material--_in +whatever shape it may be (including tools)_--must be declared to the +_Abteilung fuer Handel und Gewerbe_ in Brussels, under a penalty of five +years of imprisonment (25,000 marks). + +October 31st: The commune of Anderlecht has voted a credit of 40,000 +francs for the purchase of _wooden shoes as the shortage of leather +prevents most of the people from buying boots_. + +November 1st: A decree dated October 14th prepares for the seizure of +all textile materials, ribbons, hosiery, etc. No more than one-tenth of +the stocks can be manufactured, under a penalty of 10,000 marks. A +decree dated October 17th makes the declaration of poplars all over +Belgium compulsory. + +It was scarcely necessary to underline some passages of this report. +However bad may be the impression it causes, it would be twenty-six +times worse if we had the leisure to follow step by step the progress of +German economic policy in Belgium. It is evident that the German +administration, in spite of its former declarations, is resolved to ruin +Belgian industry and to throw out of work the greatest number of men +possible. All raw material must go to Germany in order to be worked +there. As it has become evident that the Belgian workers will not submit +to war work so long as they remain in their surroundings, they must be +torn away from their country and compelled to follow the materials and +machines over the frontier. Labour has become an inanimated object +necessary to the prosecution of the German war. It is as indispensable +to Germany as cotton, nickel and copper. It will be treated as such. If +the men resist, they will be crushed. If the soul of Belgium will not +yield to persuasion, it will be taken away from her, like her cattle, +her corn, her iron and her steel. And so Belgium will become a weapon in +Germany's hands, a weapon which will strike at Belgium. And the only +thought of the deported worker turning a shell in a German factory will +be, as is suggested by Louis Raemaekers' cartoon, "Perhaps this one will +kill my own son?" + + + + +V. + +THE MODERN SLAVE. + +I. THE CREEPING TIDE. + + +We must now deal with the second factor which makes the conditions worse +in Belgium than in Germany. While German peace-factories, ruined by the +blockade, have been turned into war-factories, the majority of Belgian +industries have remained idle. In spite of the high wages offered by the +Germans--some skilled workmen were offered as much as L2 and L2 10s. per +day--the workers resisted the constant pressure exerted upon them and +preferred to live miserably on half-wages or with the help given them by +the "Comite National" rather than accept any work which might directly +or indirectly help the occupying power. If a few thousands, compelled by +hunger or unable to resist their conquerors' threats, passed the +frontier, all the rest of the working population kept up, under the most +depressing conditions, a great patriotic strike, the "strike of folded +arms." If they could not, as the 20,000 young heroes who crossed the +Dutch frontier, join the Belgian army on the Yser; they could at least +wage war at home and oppose to the enemy the impenetrable rampart of +their naked breasts. It should not be said, when King Albert should +return to Brussels at the head of his troops, that his subjects had not +shared the sufferings of his soldiers. They should also have their +wounds to show, they should also have their dead to honour. + + * * * * * + +When, at the beginning of November last, the protests of the Belgian +Government and the "Signal of Distress" of the Belgian bishops made +known the slave raids which had taken place, most of the outside world +was shocked and surprised. It had lived, for months, under the +impression that "things were not so bad" in the conquered provinces. +After the outcry caused by the atrocities of August, 1914, there came a +natural reaction, a sort of anti-climax. Fines, requisitions, petty +persecutions do not strike the imagination in the same way as the +burning of towns and the wholesale massacre of peaceful citizens. It had +become necessary to follow things closely in order to understand that, +instead of suffering less, the Belgian population was suffering more and +more every day. Besides, news was scarce and difficult to check. When +alarming reports came from the Dutch frontier, it was usual to think +that the newspaper correspondents spread them without much +discrimination. + +But to those who were familiar with the policy pursued by the German +administration since the spring of 1915, the bad news which they +received lately only confirmed the fears which they had entertained for +a long time. As the war went on, it became more and more evident that +Germany, whose man-power was steadily decreasing, would no longer +tolerate the resistance of the Belgian workers, and would even attempt +to enrol in her army of labour all the able-bodied men of the conquered +provinces. The slave-raids coincide with the "levee en masse" in the +Empire and with the organisation of the new "Polish Army": "If every +German is made to fight or to work, ought not every Belgian, every Pole, +to be compelled to do the same? The fact that they should turn their +arms or their tools against their own country is not worthy of +consideration, as it is supposed already to enjoy the blessings of +German rule and has become an integral part of the Fatherland." + +There is a great deal to be said for the slavery of ancient times. It +was at least free from cunning and hypocrisy. The conqueror ill-treated +the vanquished, but he spared him his calumnies. The only law was the +law of the stronger, but the stronger did not pretend to be also the +better. The tyrant was always right, of course, but he did not pretend +to show that the victim was always wrong. + +Now the worst aspect of the German policy is that it associates the +subtlest dialectics with the most insane brutality. When the time comes, +they act with the blind fury of the bull, but they have already thought +it all over with the wisdom of the serpent. That is why the popular +appellation of "Huns" is so misleading. It suggests merely the brutality +of primitive men, which is not always so dangerous and so depraved as +the brutality of civilised men. Brutality does not exclude honesty and +pity. Attila listened to the prayers of the Pope and spared Rome. The +Kaiser's lieutenant does not listen to Cardinal Mercier's protests. The +Huns, as most strong men, made a point of keeping their word. The +Germans seem to make a point of breaking theirs. When I compared the +fight of Belgium and Germany to the unequal fight of Jack and the Giant, +of David and Goliath, I was forgetting that David and Jack were cleverer +than their antagonists. Folklore and fairy-tales always equalize the +chances by granting more wit to the small people than to the big ones. +It is a healthy inspiration. But we are confronted to-day with a new +monster, a wise giant, a cunning dragon, a subtle beast. + +We must therefore not imagine that Governor von Bissing got up one fine +morning, called for pen and ink, like King Cole for his bowl, and wrote +a proclamation to the effect that all Belgians of military age would be +reduced to slavery and obliged, under the penalty of physical torture +and under the whip of German sentries, to dig trenches behind the +Western front or to turn shells in a German factory. Any fool--any +Goliath--might have done that. + +Every German crime is preceded by a series of false promises and +followed by a series of calumnies. Between such a prelude and such a +finale, you may perform a symphony of frightfulness with Dr. Strauss' +orchestration--it will sound as innocent and artless as the three notes +of a shepherd's pipe. The violation of Belgian neutrality is bad enough, +but if you begin to lull Belgium to slumber by repeating, on every +occasion, that she has nothing to fear, and if you end by declaring to +the civilised world that Belgium was plotting with England and France a +traitorous attack against Germany, then it becomes quite plausible. To +massacre 6,000 civilians and burn 20,000 houses in cold blood looks +rather harsh, but if you begin by giving "a solemn guarantee to the +people that they will not have to suffer from the war" (General von +Emmich's first proclamation) and end by saying that women have emptied +buckets of boiling water on the heads of your soldiers and that children +have put out the eyes of your wounded, it becomes almost a kind +proceeding. In the same way, to seize and deport hundreds of thousands +of men and compel them to work in exile against their country seems the +act of Barbarians, but if you accumulate assurances that "normal +conditions will be maintained" and that nobody need fear deportation, +and if you end by declaring that the Belgian working classes are +exclusively composed of loafers and drunkards, it becomes a measure of +providence and wisdom for which your victims in particular, and the +whole civilised world in general, ought to be deeply grateful. + +The promise testifies to your good intentions and the calumny explains +how you were regretfully obliged not to fulfill them. The promise keeps +your victims within reach, the calumnies shift to them the +responsibility for your crime. Who doubts that every town visited by a +Zeppelin is fortified, that every ship sunk by a U boat carries troops +or guns? The old Hun killed everything which stood in his way; the +modern Hun does the same and then declares that _he_ is the victim. The +old Hun left the dead bodies of his enemies to the crows; the modern Hun +throws mud at them. The old Hun tried to kill the body; the modern Hun +tries to ruin the soul. + + * * * * * + +For this last and most monstrous of all Germany's crimes we have to +register not one promise only, but a series of promises, an accumulation +of solemn pledges. It seemed worth while apparently to keep the Belgian +workmen at home. Let us record them here, in chronological order: + +1st. September 2nd, 1914. Proclamation of Governor von der Goltz posted +in Brussels: _"I ask no one to renounce his patriotic sentiments..."_ + +2nd. October 18th, 1914. Letter of Baron von Huene, Military Governor of +Antwerp, to Cardinal Mercier, read in every church of the province in +order to reassure the people after the fall of Antwerp and to stop the +emigration: _"Young men need have no fear of being deported to Germany, +either to be enrolled in the army or to be subjected to forced labour."_ + +3rd. On the same day, a written declaration of the military authorities +of Antwerp to General von Terwisga, commanding the Dutch army in the +field, declaring without foundation "the rumour that the young men will +be sent to Germany." + +4th. A few weeks later, this promise was confirmed verbally to Cardinal +Mercier _and extended to the other provinces_ under German rule by +Governor von der Goltz, two aide-de-camps and the Cardinal's private +secretary being present. (See letter from Cardinal Mercier to Baron von +Bissing, October 19th, 1916). + +5th. November, 1914. Assurances given by the German authorities to the +Dutch Legation in Brussels in order to persuade the refugees to come +back: "_Normal conditions will be restored and the refugees will be +allowed to go back to Holland to look after their families_." (See also +the letter of the Dutch Consul in Antwerp urging the refugees to come +back to their homes.) + +6th. July 25th, 1915. Placard of Governor von Bissing posted in +Brussels: "_The people shall never be compelled to do anything against +their country_." + +7th. April, 1916: Assurances given to the neutral powers after the Lille +raids that _such deportations would not be renewed_. + + * * * * * + +Now, let us confront these texts, not even with the facts which come to +us from the most trustworthy sources, but with the German decrees and +proclamations preparing and ordering the recent deportations. We are not +opposing a Belgian testimony to a German one, neither are we, for the +present, propounding even our own interpretation of what occurred. We +will merely oppose a German document to another German document and let +them settle their differences as best they can. + +The first trouble began in April and May, 1915, in Luttre, at the +Malines arsenal, and in several other Flemish towns, when the German +authorities exerted every possible pressure to compel the Belgian +workmen to resume work. They were brought, under military escort, to +their workshops, imprisoned, starved, and about two hundred of them were +deported to Germany, where they were submitted to the most cruel +tortures. (See the _Nineteenth Report of the Belgian Commission of +Enquiry_.) The threats and persecutions are sufficiently established by +three placards issued by the German authorities. + +The first one, posted on the walls of Pont-a-Celles, near Luttre, says, +among other things: "If the workmen accept the above conditions (that is +to say, resume work with handsome wages) _the prisoners will be +released_...." The "prisoners" being several hundred workers who had +been imprisoned in their shops and deprived of food. (April, 1915.) + +The second, _signed von Bissing_ (so that nobody could imagine that +these measures were taken by some too zealous subaltern) and posted in +Malines, on the 30th of May, tells us that "_the town of Malines must be +punished as long as the required number of workmen have not resumed +work_." These workmen were employed by the Belgian State--which owns the +country's railway--for the repair of the rolling stock. When they had +refused to resume work, at the beginning of the occupation, a few +hundred German workmen had filled their posts. These had been sent back +to their military depots. The patriotic duty of these Belgians was +evident enough: by resuming their work, they released German soldiers +for the front and increased the number of coaches and engines, of which +the enemy was in great need for the transport of troops. If you will +compare this poster with the one printed above and dated July 25th, you +will be confronted with one of the neatest examples of German duplicity. +Other people have broken their promises after making them. It was left +to Governor von Bissing to make them after breaking them. + +The third document is still more conclusive. On June the 16th the +citizens of Ghent could read on their walls that: "The attitude of +certain factories which refuse _to work for the German Army_ under the +pretext of patriotism proves that a movement is afoot to create +difficulties for the _German Army_. If such an attitude is maintained I +will hold the communal authorities responsible and the population will +have only itself to blame if the great liberties granted to it until +now are suspended." This clumsy declaration is signed by +Lieutenant-General Graf von Westcarp. And to think that, even now, +Governor von Bissing perseveres in maintaining that no military work has +ever been asked or will ever be asked from the Belgian workers! As the +French proverb says: "On n'est jamais trahi que par les siens." [4] + +But, like the man who marries his mistress after the birth of the first +child, the Governor General was thinking of "regularising the +situation." He knew that his attitude was illegal. He decided, +therefore, to concoct a few decrees in order to legalize it in the eyes +of the world. He had, you see, to save appearances. You cannot get on +with no law at all. It might shock neutrals. So, if you break all the +articles of the Hague Convention one by one, like so many sticks, the +only thing to do is to manufacture some fresh regulations to replace +them. And everything will again be for the best in the best of worlds. + +That is where German subtlety comes in. You must not do things rashly, +at once. Like a skilful dramatist, you must prepare the public to take +in a situation. There is a true artistic touch in the way this General +of Cavalry succeeds in gradually legalizing illegality. + +In a first decree, dated August 10th, 1915, a fortnight after his last +pledge, Governor von Bissing promises from fourteen days' to six months' +imprisonment to anyone dependent on public charity who refuses to +undertake work "without a sufficient reason" and a fine of L500 or a +year's imprisonment to anyone who encourages refusal to work by the +granting of relief. Notice that the accomplice is punished more heavily +than the principal culprit. The idea is clearly to deprive every striker +of the help of his commune and of the "Comite National." However, as it +is still left to Belgian tribunals to decide which reasons are +"sufficient" and which are not, this decree is not very harmful. + +On May 2nd, 1916, the rising tide creeps nearer to us. The power of +deciding on the matter passes from the Belgian tribunals to the military +authority, and thereupon every striker becomes a culprit. + +On May 13th, there is a new decree by which "the governors, military +commanders, and chiefs of districts are allowed to order the unemployed +_to be conducted by force_ to the spots where they have to work." This, +no doubt, in order to avoid the crowding of prisons, which would have +necessarily followed the last decree. It only remains to declare that +the workers can be deported to complete the process and to legalise +slavery. + +This step was taken on October 3rd last, when an order, signed by +Quartier-Meister Sauberzweig and issued by the General Headquarters of +the German Army, was posted in all the communes of Flanders. This order +warned all persons "_who are fit to work_ that they may be compelled to +do so _even outside their places of residence,_" when "they should be +compelled to have recourse to public help for their own subsistence or +for the subsistence of the persons dependent on them." + +[Footnote 4: Another poster dated from Menin (August, 1915) reads as +follows: "From to-day the town is forbidden to give any support whatever +even to the families, wives, or children of workmen who are not employed +_regularly on military work_.."] + + * * * * * + +But there is more to come in the story. Three guarantees were left, +which have been quoted again and again by the German Press and by Baron +von Bissing in his various answers to Cardinal Mercier. It was first +stated that the men seized would not be sent to Germany, then that only +the unemployed were taken, and finally that these would not be used on +military work. These last guarantees have been repeatedly broken. +Again, I will leave the Germans to condemn themselves. + +In his decree published at Antwerp, on November the 2nd, General von +Huene (the same man who had given Cardinal Mercier his formal written +promise that no deportations should take place) declares that the men +are to be concentrated at the Southern Station, "whence ... they will be +conveyed in groups to _workshops in Germany_." + +In a letter sent by General Hurt, Military Governor of Brussels and of +the province of Brabant, to all burgomasters, it is said that "where the +Communes will not furnish the lists (of unemployed) the German +administration will itself designate the men to be deported to Germany. +If then ... errors are committed, the burgomasters will only have +themselves to blame, for _the German administration has no time and no +means for making an inquiry concerning the personal status of each +person_." + +Finally, an extraordinary proclamation of the "Major-Commandant +d'Etapes" of Antoing, dated October 20th, announces that "_the +population will never be compelled to work under continuous fire,"_ this +population being composed, according to the same document, of _men and +women_ between 17 and 46 years of age. If they refuse "they will be +placed in a _battalion of civil workers, on reduced rations_." Here is +the address of one of these militarised civilians dropped from a train +leaving for the Western front and picked up by a friend: X., 3 Comp. +Ziv. Arb. Bat. 27.--Et. Indp.--Armee No. + +This did not prevent Governor von Bissing from declaring, a week later +(letter to Cardinal Mercier, October 26th), that: "No workman can be +obliged to participate in work connected with the war (_entreprises de +guerre_)"! [5] + +The last fatal step has been taken. From decree to decree, from +proclamation to proclamation, the last threads of the curtain of +legality which remained between the victim and the tyrant have been cut +one by one. Between the acts of the German administration in Belgium and +those of the African slave drivers, we are now unable to discover any +difference whatever. The old plague which had been the shame of Europe +for more than two centuries has risen again from its ashes. It appears +before us with all its hideous characteristics. People are torn from +their homes and sent away to foreign lands without any hope of +returning. Any protest is crushed by the application of torture in the +form of starvation, exposure, and their kindred ills ... There is, +however, one new point about the modern slave: his face is as white as +that of his master. + +The nineteenth century stamped out black slavery. It was left to the +twentieth century to reinstate white slavery. It is the purest glory of +the English-speaking people to have succeeded in eradicating the old +evil. It will be the eternal shame of the German-speaking people to have +replaced it by something worse. Civilisation forbade any man, sixty +years ago, to force another man to work for him. Civilisation to-day +does not forbid a man--a conqueror--to force another man to work against +himself. The old slave only lost his liberty. The new slave must lose +his honour, his dignity, his self-respect. He has only one other +alternative: death. And this, not the glorious death of a martyr which +makes thousands of converts and shines all over the world, not the death +of Nurse Cavell, but the anonymous death of X.Y.Z., the death of +hundreds and hundreds of unknown heroes who will die under the whip or +in the darkness of their cells in the German prison camps. + +I had almost forgotten a last distinction between the old and the new +forms of slavery: The average slave driver of past days was only a +trader who sold human beings instead of selling oxen or sheep. When his +trade was prohibited, he took heavy risks and ran great danger of losing +his fortune and his life. But the German rulers of Belgium, whether they +be in Brussels or in Berlin, whether we call them von Bissing or +Helfferich, live in the comfort of their homes, surrounded by their +families, and when assailed by protests, can still play hide and seek +around the broken pillars of the Temple of Peace and wave arrogantly, +like so many flags, the torn articles of international law: "I assert," +said Dr. Helfferich in the Reichstag (December 2nd)--"I assert that +setting the Belgian unemployed to work is thoroughly consonant with +international law. We therefore _take our stand, formally and in +practice, on international law, making use of our undoubted rights_." + +Let Dr. Helfferich beware. He is not the only judge on international +law. His stand may come crashing down. + + +[Footnote 5: I should ask the reader to confront this declaration with +the statement made by the Belgian workmen in their appeal to the working +classes of the world. "On the Western Front they force them, by the most +brutal means, _to dig trenches_, construct aviation grounds...." + +In his letter sent to the Belgian Ministers to the Vatican and to Spain, +Baron Beyens, the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, says: "The men +are sent to occupied France _to construct sets of trenches and a +strategic railway, Lille-Aulnaye-Givet."_ + +Among many trustworthy reports, we hear that the 5th +Zivilisten-Bataillon, including some men of Ghent and Alost, has been +forced to work, under threat of death, on the construction of a +strategic railway between Laon and Soissons. Some of the men, exhausted +by the bad treatment inflicted upon them, have been sent back to Belgium +in a critical condition, and have written a full statement relating +their experiences, signed by twenty of them. On the other hand, the +Belgian General Headquarters report that Belgian civilians, obliged to +dig trenches and dug-outs near Becelaere (West Flanders), were exposed +to the fire of the English guns.] + + + + +II. BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON ... + + +"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion." + +What prophetic spirit inspired Cardinal Mercier when he chose this psalm +for the text of his sermon, on the occasion of the second anniversary of +their Independence (July 21st, 1916), which the Belgians celebrated in +exile and captivity? It was in the great Gothic church, in Brussels, +under the arches of Ste. Gudule, at the close of a service for the +soldiers fallen during the war, the very last patriotic ceremony +tolerated by the Germans. Socialists, Liberals, Catholics crowded the +nave, forgetting their old quarrels, united in a common worship, the +worship of their threatened country, of their oppressed liberties. + +"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" His audience +imagined that the preacher alluded only to a spiritual captivity, that +he meant: "How shall we celebrate our freedom in this German prison?" +And they listened, like the first Christians in the catacombs, dreading +to hear the tramp of the soldiers before the door. The Cardinal pursued +his fearless address: "The psalm ends with curses and maledictions. We +will not utter them against our enemies. We are not of the Old but of +the New Testament. We do not follow the old law: an eye for an eye, a +tooth for a tooth, but the new law of Love and Christian brotherhood. +But we do not forget that even above Love stands Justice. If our brother +sins, how can we pretend to love him if we do not wish that his sins +should be punished...." + +Such was the tenor of the Cardinal's address, the greatest Christian +address inspired by the war, uttered under the most tragic and moving +circumstances. For the people knew by then the danger of speaking out +their minds in conquered Belgium; they knew that some German spies were +in the church taking note of every word, of every gesture. Still, they +could not restrain their feelings, and, at the close of the sermon, when +the organ struck up the _Brabanconne_, they cheered and cheered again, +thankful to feel, for an instant, the dull weight of oppression lifted +from their shoulders by the indomitable spirit of their old leader. + +What strikes us now, when recalling this memorable ceremony, is not so +much the address itself as the choice of its text: "For they that +carried us away captive required of us a song." + +Many of those who listened to Cardinal Mercier on July 21st, 1916, have +no doubt been "carried away" by now, and they have sung. They have sung +the Brabanconne and the "Lion de Flandres" as a last defiance to their +oppressors whilst those long cattle trains, packed with human cattle, +rolled in wind and rain towards the German frontier. And the echo of +their song still haunts the sleep of every honest man. + + * * * * * + +For whatever Germany may do or say, the time is no longer when such +crimes can be left unpunished. Notwithstanding the war and the +triumphant power of the mailed fist, there still exists such a thing as +public conscience and public opinion. Nothing can happen, in any part of +the world, without awakening an echo in the hearts of men who apparently +are not at all concerned in the matter. The Germans are too clever not +to understand this, and the endless trouble which they take in order to +monopolise the news in neutral countries and to encounter every +accusation with some more or less insidious excuse is the best proof of +this. When one of them declared that Raemaekers' cartoons had done more +harm to Germany than an army corps, he knew perfectly well what he was +talking about. Only they rely so blindly on their own intellectual power +and they have such a poor opinion of the brains of other people that +they believe in first doing whatever suits their plans and then justify +their action afterwards. They divide the work between themselves: The +soldier acts, the lawyer and the professor undertakes to explain what he +has done. However black the first may become, there is plenty of +whitewash ready to restore his innocence. + +If the unexpected resistance of Belgium has infuriated the Germans to +such an extent, it is not only because it wrecked their surprise attack +on France, it is also because, even after the retreat of the army, they +have been confronted by a series of men courageous enough and clever +enough to stand their ground and to come between them and the uneducated +mass of the population. + +Since, for the sake of propaganda, they wanted to make a show of +respecting international law, they were taken at their word; so that +they were obliged either to give way or to put themselves openly in the +wrong. When they tried to break their promise to the municipality of +Brussels and to annihilate the liberties of the old Belgian communes, +Mr. Max stood in their way, calm and smiling, with no other weapon than +the law which they pretended to respect. Mr. Max was sent to a German +fortress, but Germany had torn up another scrap of paper--and the +civilised world knew it. When they wanted to establish extraordinary +tribunals for matters which belonged only to local tribunals, Mr. +Theodor and all the barristers of the country lodged protest after +protest and fought their case step by step. Mr. Theodor was deported, +but the German administration had blundered again--and the world knew +it. When Baron von Bissing tried to infringe the privileges of the +Church and to cow the Belgian priests into submission by forbidding them +to read to their flock the patriotic letter of Cardinal Mercier, +published on Christmas Day, 1914, he found himself opposed not only by a +far cleverer man than himself, but by all the spiritual influence of one +of the greatest priests in Europe. The letter was read, the Cardinal did +not leave for Germany but for Rome, whence he came back to Malines, and, +if anything, adopted a still firmer tone in his subsequent letters and +speeches. Von Bissing was beaten--and the world knew it. + +These are only a few striking examples among many. Since August, 1914, +hundreds and hundreds of civilians have been imprisoned or deported; +workmen, because they refused to work for the enemy; lawyers, because +they refused to accept his law; bankers, because they would not let +their money cross the frontier; professors, because they did not consent +to propagate Kultur; journalists, because they objected to print Wolff's +news; tradespeople, because they put their patriotism above their +private interests; priests, because they did not worship the German god; +women, because they did not admire German officers; children, because +they did not play the German games. Meanwhile the firing parties did not +remain idle. The world has heard with horror of the death of Miss +Cavell; it has been shocked by the disproportion between her "crime" and +her punishment, and by the hypocrisy displayed by the German +administration during her trial. But, if England has lost one great +martyr, Belgium has lost hundreds, who perished in the same way, +sometimes for smaller offences, often for no offence at all. For the +German judges are in a hurry, and they have no time to enquire too +closely in such matters. The vengeance of a spy, the slightest suspicion +of a policeman, sometimes even an anonymous letter, are enough to +convince them of the guilt of the accused person. The healthy effect +produced on the population by Dinant and Louvain must not be allowed to +spend itself. Frightfulness must be kept up at any price. The reign of +terror is the condition of the German regime. + + * * * * * + +To-day, in this most tragic hour of Belgian history, when so many +leaders, so many patriots, have been imprisoned, deported or shot, after +twenty-nine months of constant threats and persecutions, we might ask +ourselves: Is Belgium at last cowed into submission? + +Listen, then, to Belgium's voice, not to the voice of the refugees, not +even to the voice of the King and his Government, but to the voice of +these miserable "slaves" whom Germany is trying to starve into +submission. Letters have been dropped from these cattle trucks rolling +towards Germany or towards the French front. They all tell us of the +unshakeable resolution of the men never to sign an agreement to go to +Germany, and never to work for the enemy: "We will never work for the +Germans and never put our name on paper" (_onze naam on papier +zetten_)--"We will not work for them. Do the same when you are taken." +(_Faites de meme quand tu dois aller_.) Two young men imprisoned in +Ghent write to their father: "They will have to make us fast a long time +before we consent to work for the King of Prussia." Another man who was +stopped when attempting to escape writes: "They tell us here that the +Germans will make us work even if we do not sign an engagement. It would +be abominable. _Take heart, the hour of deliverance will strike one day, +after all_." Another workman sends the following message to his +employer: "We are here two thousand and three hundred men. They cannot +annihilate us. _It is not right that our fate should be better than that +of our brothers who suffer and fight at the front_. We cannot make a +step without being threatened by the gun or the bayonet of our jailors. +_I am hungry ... but I will not work for them_." + +And as the slave raids reach one province after another from Flanders to +Antwerp, from Hainant to Brabant, as the fatal list of deportees +increases from 20,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, from 100,000 to +200,000, whilst the cries of women and children are heard in the +streets, whilst the modern slaves tramp along the roads carrying a light +bundle of clothes on their shoulders, from everywhere in Belgium the +strongest protests are sent to the Governor General, by the communes +which will not consent to give the names of the unemployed, by the +magistrates who will not see the last guarantees of individual right +trampled upon, by the Socialist syndicates which are defending the right +of the workmen not to work against their own country, by the chiefs of +industry who show clearly that the whole responsibility of the labour +crisis rests on Germany alone, by the bishops of the Church, who refuse +to admit that, after two thousand years of Christian teaching, a +so-called Christian nation should fall so low as to revive, for her own +benefit, the worst custom of Paganism. + +The energy of these protests is wonderful if one considers the +conditions in which they have been made. The town councillors of Tournai +were asked to draw up a list of unemployed. They refused; as the Germans +insisted, they passed the following resolution: "The municipal council +decide to persevere in their negative attitude.... The city of Tournai +is prepared to submit without resistance to all the exigencies +authorized by the laws and customs of the war. Its sincerity cannot be +doubted, as it has shown perfect composure and has avoided any act of +hostility during a period of over two years ... But, at the same time, +the municipal council could not furnish weapons against their own +children, fully conscious that natural law and international law, which +is derived from it, forbids them to do so." (October 20th, 1916). We +possess also the German answer, signed by Major-General Hopfer. It is a +necessary supplement to von Bissing's unctuous literature. Major-General +Hopfer calls the resolution "an act of arrogance without precedent." +According to him, "the state of affairs, clearly and simply, is this: +the military authority commands, the municipality has to obey. If it +fails to do so it will have to support the heavy consequences." A fine +of 200,000 marks is exacted from the town for its refusal, besides +20,000 marks for every day of delay until the lists are completed. + +The case of Tournai, like that of Antoing and a good many small towns, +is typical. The officers commanding in these districts either disregard +the "mot d'ordre" given in Brussels or do not think it worth their while +to keep up the sinister comedy played in the large towns. Here "Kultur" +throws off her mask and the brute appears. We know at least where we +stand. The conflict is cleared of all false pretence and paltry excuses. +The councillors of Tournai appeal to some law, divine or human, which +forbids a brother to betray his brother. It is not without relief that +we hear the genuine voice of Major Hopfer declaring that there is no +other law than his good pleasure. That settles everything and puts the +case of Belgium in a nut-shell. Men like him and the commander of the +Antoing district--another Major, by the way--are invaluable. But they +will never become Generals unless they mend their manners. + +From the perusal of the Belgian protests and of all particulars +received, two things appear clearly: First, in spite of all the official +declarations, whether the raiders are able or not to get hold of the +lists, there is no real discrimination between employed or unemployed. +And, secondly, in many districts, unemployment has been deliberately +created by the authorities in order to justify the deportations. + +We cannot discover any method in the raids. In some places, all the +able-bodied men from 17 to 50 are taken away; in others the priests, the +town-clerks, the members of the "Comite de Secours," and the teachers +are left at home; in others still a certain selection is made. _But +everywhere some men who were actually working at the time or even men +who had never been out of work since the beginning of the German +occupation have been obliged to go with the others_. The proportions +vary. In the small town of Gembloux, of a total of 750 inhabitants +deported, _there were only two unemployed_. At Kersbeek-Miscom out of 94 +deportees only two had been thrown out of work. At Rillaer, the Germans +have taken 25 boys under 18 years of age.[6] In the district of Mons, +from the numbers taken down in fourteen communes, we gather that the +proportion of the unemployed varies between 10 and 15 per cent. of the +total number of deportees.[7] Among the 400 men taken from Arlon +(Luxembourg) were 43 members of the "Comite de Secours" who were working +in connection with the Commission for Relief, so that not only the +people supporting their families are being deported, but even those who +employed themselves in alleviating the sufferings of the whole +population. This practice has been repeated in several other towns, for +instance, in Gembloux and Libramont. + +Whether the people are ordered to present themselves at the town-hall or +seized in their own homes, whether they are taken forthwith or allowed a +few hours to prepare themselves, whether they are forced to sign an +agreement or not, the same fact is evident: the criterion of employment +is never considered as a sufficient cause for exemption. + +In certain districts where, in spite of the requisitions, no +unemployment existed, the authorities have manufactured it. Some of the +new coal mines of the Limbourg province have been closed on the eve of +the raids. The case of the Luxembourg province is still more typical. +"We have not to enquire here," declare the senators and deputies of this +province, "if unemployment has been caused in other regions by the +disorganisation of transports, the seizure of raw stuffs and machines, +the constant requisitions, and other measures which were bound to +penalize the national industry. One fact remains incontestable; it is +that, so far as the Luxembourg province is concerned, unemployment has +been non-existent. During the worst periods, we have only had a small +number of unemployed, and thanks to the initiative taken by the 'Comite +de Secours' all, without any exception, have been at work without +interruption." After enumerating a great number of works of public +utility which had been approved by the German authorities, construction +of light railways, drainage of extensive moors, creation of new +plantations, water supplies, etc., ... the report goes on: "And to-day +most of these works, which had been approved and subsidized by the +province and by the State, have been suddenly condemned and +interrupted.... _Such official obstacles to the legitimate and useful +activity of our workmen renders still more painful for them, if +possible, the measures taken against them by those who reproach them for +their idleness and who prosecute them to-day under the pretext of an +inaction which they have deliberately created_." + +In the face of such testimony all the German argument crumbles to +pieces. As Monseigneur Mercier puts it decisively: "It is not true that +our workmen have caused any disturbance or even threatened anywhere to +do so. Five million Belgians, hundreds of Americans, never cease to +admire the perfect dignity and patience of our working classes. It is +not true that the workmen, deprived of their work, become a charge on +the occupying power or on public charity under its control. The 'Comite +National,' in whose activity the Germans take no part, is the only +organisation concerned in the matter." But even supposing, for the sake +of argument, that the 43rd article of the Hague Convention should +justify some form of coercion in the matter, the new measures should +only be applied to some works of _public utility in Belgium_. Far from +encouraging such works, the Germans have stopped them, seized _employed +and unemployed_, and sent them either to _Germany_ or to some _war-work_ +on the Western front. To put it simply, they wish to avoid public +disturbance where there is no disturbance, to save money which is not +their money, to deport unemployed who are not unemployed, to oblige them +to work against their country instead of for their country, and in +Germany instead of in Belgium. They are doing everything but what they +want to do, they go anywhere but where they are going, and they say +anything but what they are thinking. + +[Footnote 6: Letter of Cardinal Mercier to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +29th, 1916.] + +[Footnote 7: Reply of the Deputies of Mons to Governor von Bissing, Nov. +27th, 1916.] + + * * * * * + +The other day I heard two people--two wizened city clerks--discussing +the war in the train. "When and how will the Germans be beaten?" asked +the first. The other shrugged his shoulders and declared solemnly, +while pulling at his pipe: "The Germans? They have been beaten a long +time ago! They were beaten when they set foot for the first time in +Belgium." + +The remark is not new, and I daresay it was a reminiscence of some +sentence picked up in a newspaper or at a popular meeting. But whoever +uttered it for the first time was right. The case of Belgium has +uplifted the whole moral atmosphere of the struggle. Since the first +guns boomed around Liege and the first civilians were shot at Vise, a +war which might have been represented, to a certain extent, as a +conflict of interests, has become a conflict of principles. In a way, +the Germans were beaten because, from that moment, they had to struggle +against unseen and inflexible forces. Whatever you choose to call +them--democratic instinct, Christian aspiration, or the conscience of +the civilised world--they will do their work relentlessly, every day of +the year, every hour of the day. It is their doing that, in spite of the +immense financial influence and the most active propaganda, Germany has +become unpopular all over the world. Other facts, like the _Lusitania_, +the trial of Miss Cavell, the work accomplished by Zeppelins, have +contributed to provoke this feeling. But whether we consider the origin +or the last exploits of German policy, whether we think of two years ago +or of to-day, the image of Belgium, of her invasion, of her martyrdom, +of her oppression, of her deportations, dominates the spiritual aspect +of the whole war. + +When they crossed the Belgian frontier, the Germans walked straight into +a bog, and since then they have been sucked deeper and deeper into the +mud of their own misdeeds and calumnies. They were ankle-deep at Liege, +waist-deep at Louvain, the bog rises even to their lips to-day. In the +desperate efforts which they make to free themselves they inflict fresh +and worse tortures on their victims. It is as if victory could only be +reached through the country's willing sacrifice. But every cry which the +Germans provoke in the Belgian prison is heard throughout the world, +every tear shed there fills their bitter cup, every drop of blood they +shed falls back on their own heads. The world looks on, and its burning +pity, its ardent sympathy, brings warmth and comfort to the Belgian +slave. There is still some light shining through the narrow window of +the cell. And there is not a man worthy of the name who does not feel +more resolute and more confident in final victory when he meets the +haggard look of the martyred country and watches her pale, patient, and +still smiling face pressed against the iron bars. + + + + +VI. + +THE OLIVE BRANCH. + + +We may ask ourselves if it was by chance only or through some subtle +calculation that the first slave-raids in Belgium were timed to take +place on the eve of the Christmas season, when the angels proclaimed +"good-will towards men," and when the German diplomats offered us the +olive branch and the dove--peace at their own price. We may perhaps +admit, now that the crisis is over, that for us Belgians at least the +temptation was great, and if our repeated experience of the enemy had +not shown us that he is most dangerous when he dons the humanitarian +garb, we might have been duped by this remarkable piece of +stage-management. There is every reason to believe that the deportations +were part and parcel of the German peace manoeuvre. By increasing a +hundredfold the "horrors of war" Germany provided a powerful argument to +the pacifists all the world over: "Look at these miserable Belgians. +Have they not suffered enough? Is it not time that an end should be put +to their misery? Germany has declared that she is ready to evacuate the +country. She might even give an indemnity. What other satisfaction can +the Allies ask, considering the present situation on both the Eastern +and Western fronts? If England really went to war to deliver Belgium, +let her prove it now by stopping the struggle to spare her innocent +citizens. It is all very well for those who are living comfortably at +home to urge the continuance of the struggle. But can they take the +responsibility of speaking on behalf of the population which has to +submit to the enemy's rule and whose sufferings increase every day? ..." + +We have all listened to that voice. The Belgians in exile more intensely +perhaps than the other Allies. Belgium had nothing whatever to do with +the origin of the quarrel. She had nothing to gain from its conclusion. +She had been drawn unwillingly into the conflict. She has taken arms +merely to defend her rights and territory. What should her answer be if +Germany offered to restore them? + + * * * * * + +At the beginning of August last, a certain number of Socialist leaders, +in occupied Belgium, succeeded in arranging a meeting, in spite of +German regulations, and passed the following resolution, which they sent +to the Minister Vandervelde, in London: "The Belgian working classes are +decided to endure all sufferings rather than to accept a German peace, +which could neither be lasting nor final. The Allies must not think that +they must hasten the conclusion of the struggle for us. We are not +asking for peace, and we take no responsibility for the Socialist +manifestations made in neutral countries on our behalf. _We ask those +who want to help us not to let the idea that we long for peace influence +their decisions_. We pass this resolution in order to prevent the +disastrous effect, which such an argument might produce." + +The Belgium people has never departed from this attitude, and it is the +plain duty of all those who are defending them, to conform, in the +spirit and in the letter, to their heroic message. In the "Appeal" of +the Belgian workers to the civilised world, sent during the worst period +of the slave-raids, the idea of a truce is not even entertained. On the +contrary, the workers declare that, "whatever their tortures may be, +they will not have peace without the independence of their country and +the triumph of justice." An eye-witness of the raids was telling me, a +few days ago, that, on some occasions, the men in the slave trains are +able to communicate with the people outside: "They shout, of course, +'Long live Belgium' and 'Long live King Albert,' but the most frequent +cry, in which they seem to put their last ounce of strength, is: 'Do +not sign,' which means: 'Do not sign an engagement to work in Germany, +do not sign a compromise.'" And I have not the slightest doubt that, if +they had heard of the German peace offers, they would still shout, "Do +not sign, do not sign a German peace!" + +We know what this attitude costs them. We know, from the report of those +few men who have been sent back to Belgium from the Western front and +from the German camps, the tortures to which the modern slaves are being +subjected. These men were so ill, so worn out, that their family +scarcely recognised them, and greeted them with tears, not with +laughter. It was like a procession of ghosts coming back from hell. At +Soltau, the prisoners are given only two pints of acorn soup and a +mouldy piece of bread, every day. They are so famished that they creep +at night to steal the potato parings which their German guards throw on +to--the rubbish heap. They divide them amongst themselves and eat them +raw to appease their hunger. After the first week of this regime, +several men went mad. Others were isolated for a few days and given +excellent food. "Will you sign now? If you do, you shall be kept on the +same diet; if not... you go back to camp?" The great majority refused +... and were sent back. This is not an isolated report. All the accounts +agree, even on the smallest details, and the deportees who have been +able to write to their families tell the same story as those who, being +henceforth useless, have been sent home to die. + + * * * * * + +It has always been the German policy to bully and to cajole almost at +the same time. But the image of Germania offering, with her sweetest +humanitarian smile, an olive-branch to the Allies whilst her +executioners are starving thousands of Belgian slaves and clubbing them +with their rifles, will stand in the memory of mankind as the climax of +combined brutality and hypocrisy. + +Should we wonder if the present has been refused? There is only one +peace which matters, it is the peace of man with his own conscience, the +peace of the soul with its God. We have it already, and even the roar of +the German guns will not disturb it. It hovers over our trenches, over +the sea, even over these terrible German camps where the best blood of a +great people is being sucked by the vampires of War. And those who have +fallen stricken on the battlefields, those who have succumbed to the +slow tortures to which they were subjected, are resting now under its +great wings. Should we dare to disturb their sleep? Should we dare to +stain their glory? + +It is not for Germany to offer peace. She has lost, it with her honour. +It lies in some pool, at the corner of a wood, where the hooligan waits +in ambush, or on the rubbish heap of the Soltau camp in which men--noble +men--are made to seek their food like pigs. Germany cannot offer what is +not hers to offer. The Allies cannot take what they have already. For +there is only one peace, "the peace that passeth all understanding." + +As for the German olive branch, how could we accept it? It is no longer +green. There is a drop of blood on every leaf. + + * * * * * + +It is perfectly useless to try, as has been done in certain quarters, to +distinguish between Belgium's attitude in the conflict and that of the +Powers who are fighting for the restoration of her integrity. From the +day when England, France and Russia answered King Albert's appeal, the +unflinching policy of Belgium has been to act in perfect harmony with +the Allies. How could it be otherwise? Their cause is her cause. Their +victory will be her victory, and--if we should ever consider the +possibility of defeat--their defeat would be her defeat. The Belgians +who like myself, were in England during these fateful days of August, +1914, when the destiny of Europe hung in the balance, know perfectly +well the decisive influence which the invasion of Belgium had on English +public opinion at that time. Nothing can ever blur the clear outlines of +the events as they passed before us under the implacable rays of that +glorious summer sun. + +The whole policy of Germany is determined by her first stroke in the +war. That stroke was delivered against a small nation. The whole policy +of England and of the Allies is determined by their first efforts in the +struggle, and these efforts were made to protect a small nation against +Germany's aggression. Never has the choice between right and wrong been +made plainer in the whole history of the world. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH THE IRON BARS*** + + +******* This file should be named 12644.txt or 12644.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/6/4/12644 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/12644.zip b/old/12644.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9eabc31 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12644.zip |
