Chapter III: The German Mind, Self-Depicted (4)

These letters are written in German. For that matter, it has become a rule with our enemies to write only in their own tongue, and often even in German characters. Better still: at Liége and Namur (_L'Ami de l'Ordre_, 31st August, 1914) they required the Belgians also to write in German. Yet another way of respecting our patriotism!

_The Belgian Army is our Enemy!_

Far from making an effort to respect our feelings, one would even imagine that they must make it a point of honour (German honour) to wound our loyalty. Thus, when they punish any one for rendering service to the Belgians, instead of expressing the matter simply, as we have done, they announce that the Belgian is convicted of relations with the enemy. They are speaking of their enemies. But "the enemy" implies that the Belgian Government or the Belgian army is the enemy of the Belgian people.

Better still: they inform us, by means of placards, that to aid the Belgian army is "treason." The Belgian becomes a traitor by rendering a service to his country! What a singular conception of honour!

WARNING.

The military tribunals have lately been compelled to condemn to
hard labour for attempted treason a large number of Belgians, who
had assisted their compatriots subject to military service in their
attempt to join the enemy army.

I again warn [the public] against committing such crimes against
the German troops, in view of the severe penalties which they will
incur.

THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL IN BELGIUM,
GENERAL VON BISSING,
_Colonel-General_.

BRUSSELS, _3rd March, 1915_.

_The "Brabançonne" Prohibited._

At Namur the _Brabançonne_ was declared seditious on the 23rd March, 1915. But a month later the execution of the _first four verses_ was declared to be permissible. What did the Germans mean by that? Let us remember that none of the known versions of our national song (the two versions of Jenneval and that of Rogier) consists of more than four verses. Which, then, are those that our persecutors forbid? In their rage for prohibition they have prohibited something that does not exist!--unless they were speaking of the verse invented by _La Libre Belgique_, and published in its tenth issue. It would be amusing if the German authorities had fallen into a snare set by a prohibited newspaper!

In Brussels the Germans had not dared openly to interdict the _Brabançonne_, as they did another national anthem which had, so to speak, the freedom of the city of Brussels: we mean the _Marseillaise_ (placard of the 27th March, 1915). Never did one hear the _Marseillaise_ so often as after the Germans forbade us to sing or play it; only it was now whistled. So, as might have been expected, whistling the _Marseillaise_ was made a crime. As for the _Brabançonne_, it was prohibited in an underhand sort of way. It used to be sung every day in a school in Brussels; but two German soldiers of the Landsturm, who were guarding a neighbouring railway, heard it, and felt offended. Hence a letter to the communal authorities, demanding that the national anthem should be sung or played with more discretion. It is now seldom played save in the churches: at High Mass on Sunday and the funeral services for soldiers.

_The National Anniversary of July 21st._

In July 1915 the people of Brussels hit on a new method of celebrating the national anniversary of the 21st July. Since our tyrants would obviously forbid us to fly our flag at half-mast, in token of our being for the time in mourning for our country, a number of shopkeepers announced, by means of a small printed notice, that "the shop would be closed on Wednesday, the 21st July." The Germans were displeased; moreover, they issued a decree forbidding all demonstrations.

21ST JULY.

_Order of the Governor of Brussels dated 18th July, 1915._

I warn the public that on the 21st July, 1915, demonstrations of
all kinds are expressly and severely prohibited.

Meetings, processions, and the decoration of public and private
buildings also come under the application of the above prohibition.

Offenders will be punished by a term of imprisonment not exceeding
three months and a fine which may amount to as much as 10,000
marks, or by one of these penalties to the exclusion of the other.

They also announced, by means of the newspapers in their pay, _Le Bruxellois_ and _La Belgique_, that the closing of the shops might be regarded as a demonstration. Their pains were wasted. On the morning of the 21st the shops and cafés remained closed; in private houses the shutters were not opened. In all Brussels only a few taverns were open--taverns frequented by the Germans, which a Belgian would never compromise himself by entering. All that day it was a comforting and impressive spectacle to see the crowd, in its Sunday clothes, grave and deeply affected, with never one uplifted voice, passing along the streets of closed houses. Never had the like been seen in Brussels. No one would have dared to hope for such unanimity of feeling after eleven months of occupation. The Germans were raging. They brought out troops, who, with bayonet and cannon, occupied the principal public squares; they ran an armoured motor-car up and down the most frequented streets; they dragged artillery along the avenues surrounding the city. But they did not succeed in fomenting the slightest disturbance; the Brussels public was too firmly determined to preserve its dignity and its tranquillity.

In all the churches the _Te Deum_ was replaced by a High Mass, followed by the playing of the _Brabançonne_; the latter was sung in chorus by the congregation, who were moved to tears.

The comic note was struck by the Germans. Suddenly, in the afternoon, motor-cars began to hustle the crowds that had gathered; they bore red placards, which were immediately pasted up, announcing that the cafés, cinema-halls, etc., were to be closed at 8 p.m. Now all these establishments had been closed since the morning. The Germans must have lost their heads to make so grotesque an exhibition of themselves.

As a sort of reprisal, the authorities suspended the two newspapers which had not appeared on the 21st July: _Le Quotidien_ and _L'Écho de la Presse_. Immediately _La Belgique_, which had appeared, suspended itself, in order to produce a belief that it was not German! As for the _Bruxellois_, it said not a word of the striking demonstration of the 21st.

In other Belgian towns the shops were closed. In Antwerp more than the shops were closed; the bureau of German passports, in the Place Verte, announced, by means of two written notices, in German and Flemish, that it was closed for the 21st July. The Germans were trying to repeat the trick of the ivy-leaf. In vain, however, since the 21st was to occur only once!

At Gand the Germans forbade the closing of the shops. And the latter were all open. But in many windows one saw, instead of the usual display of goods, a group of articles which comprised a bucket of water, a scrubbing-brush, and a chamois leather, with an inscription: "Cleaning To-day."

_The Anniversary of the 4th August._

We must suppose that the unanimity with which the houses of Brussels were kept shut up touched the Germans in a sore place, for they prohibited the repetition of their manifestation on the 4th August, the anniversary of their entrance into Belgium.

NOTICE.

I warn the population of the Brussels district that on the 4th
August any demonstration, including the decoration of houses by
means of flags and the wearing of emblems as a demonstration is
strictly prohibited.

All gatherings will be dispersed regardless by the armed forces.

Also I order that on the 4th August all the shops, as well
as cafés, restaurants, taverns, theatres, cinemas, and other
establishments of the same kind shall be closed after 8 o'clock in
the evening (German time). After 9 o'clock in the evening (German
time) only persons having a special written authorization emanating
from a German authority may remain in or enter the streets.

Persons contravening these orders will be punished by a maximum
imprisonment of five years and a fine which may amount to 10,000
marks, or one of these penalties to the exclusion of the other.

The shops and establishments beforementioned which, as a
demonstration, shall close during the day of the 4th August will
remain closed for a considerable period of time.

THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT,
VON KRAEWEL.

_1st August, 1915._

The placard announcing these prohibitions forbade us to deck our houses with flags! Flags, good God! Who then would have dreamed of flying flags in commemoration of the rupture of an international pact! At the most the people of Brussels had intended to wear in the buttonhole a little "scrap of paper." But the wearing of emblems was forbidden.

What the Germans did not think of forbidding was the little demonstration of sympathy which they received on the evening of the 4th. In conformity with the order, all doors were closed at 20 hours (9 o'clock German time). But in several of the popular quarters of Brussels the inhabitants were no sooner indoors than the upper windows were thrown open, and a deafening concert issued forth, in which phonographs, alarm clocks, and saucepan-lids were predominant. The patrols demanded the closing of the windows; but the people climbed on the roofs to continue their _charivari_ there. The military commandant was not pleased. It took him only five days to think of an appropriate punishment.

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION.

M. Maurice Lemonnier, acting burgomaster of the City of Brussels,
has just had posted the following communication:--

"_To the Inhabitants of the Rue de l'Escalier and the Rue du Dam_:

"I place before you the translation of an extract from a letter
which I have just received from the German authorities.

"I call your attention to the penalties announced against those
who shall contravene the measures ordained by the German Military
Government."

BRUSSELS, _9th August, 1915_.

_At the Sheriff's College, Brussels._

... Even if I am willing to recognize that the Administration
of the City endeavoured, by means of its organs, to obtain the
application of the prescribed measures on the 4th of this month,
there yet remains the fact that in two streets isolated individuals
were guilty, in a demonstrative manner, of gross misconduct toward
the German patrols.

It is to be regretted that it has not been possible to discover the
persons individually guilty; consequently nothing is left me to do
but to take measures against the streets in which the offences were
committed.

Consequently I order the following as regards the two streets, Rue
de l'Escalier and Rue du Dam:

From Monday, the 9th of this month, and for the space of fourteen
days, that is to say, until the 23rd of this month inclusively:

A. All business houses and cafés will be closed after 7 o'clock in
the evening (German time).

B. After 9 o'clock in the evening (German time) no one must be
found out of doors, in the street. After that time all windows
giving on the street must be closed.

It is incumbent on the city to communicate the foregoing to the
inhabitants of these streets, to apply the aforementioned measures,
and to exercise a strict supervision in order that they may be
observed.

Also I beg you to see that these streets are sufficiently lighted,
until 11 o'clock at night (German time).

Moreover, I shall have these streets inspected by German patrols.
If on this occasion fresh offences are committed against the German
patrols, these latter will make use of their weapons.

With my utmost consideration (Avec haute considération distingué),

(_Signed_) VON KRAEWEL,
_Governor of Brussels_.

Our tyrants appeared greatly to fear popular demonstrations. The people of Liége had planned to honour, on the 6th August, in the cemetery, the soldiers who died for their country during the defence of the city in August 1914. Immediately the Germans made public their restrictive measures.

CITY OF LIÉGE.

_To the Population._

Colonel von Soden, Commandant of the Fortress of Liége, has just
addressed to me the following letter (in translation):--

"In the course of the morning of Friday, the 6th August,
commemorative ceremonies will take place at the tombs of the
soldiers killed in combat.

"I beg you to bring the foregoing to the notice of the population.

"I particularly insist that, during the visit to the tombs, or in
case of participation in the military ceremonies, no demonstrative
manifestation of any kind must occur."

LIÉGE, _the 2nd August, 1915_.

THE BURGOMASTER,
G. KLEYER.

(_Posted at Liége._)

The people of Liége retorted by putting their shops in mourning, and on the 6th August it was an impressive spectacle to see the shop-windows throughout the centre of Liége hung with deep violet.

_School Inspection by the Germans._

In the schools the children were for a long time able to sing _La Brabançonne_ on the sly; but this was not to last. The German authorities passed a decree against Germanophobe demonstrations in the schools.

ORDER.

_Article First._

The members of the teaching staff, school managers and inspectors,
who, during the occupation, tolerate, favour, provoke, or organize
Germanophobe manifestations or secret practices will be punished by
imprisonment for a maximum term of one year.

_Article Second._

The German authorities have the right to enter all classes and
rooms of all schools existing in Belgium, and to supervise the
teaching and all the manifestations of school life with a view to
preventing secret practices and intrigues directed against Germany.

_Article Third._

Whosoever shall seek to oppose or prevent verifications and
inquiries relating to infractions mentioned in Article 1, or the
measures of supervision ordained by Article 2, is liable to a fine
of 10 to 1,500 marks or to a maximum imprisonment of six months.

_Article Fourth._

The infractions provided against in Articles 1 and 3 shall be tried
by the military courts.

BRUSSELS, _26th June, 1915_.

DER GENERAL GOUVERNEUR IN BELGIËN,
FREIHERR VON BISSING,
_Generaloberst_.

Our children will have to unlearn the national anthem, which, in the present circumstances, is evidently Germanophobe; and the teachers of history, too, must keep a watch upon their words. During the French lesson there must be no more recitations of Andrieux' _Le Meunier de Sans-Souci_. It may even be necessary to make deletions in the Latin classics; for one can see the military tribunals inflicting severe penalties on Tacitus, for even in his days _Gallos certare pro libertate, Batavos, pro gloria, Germanos ad prædam_ (The Gauls fight for liberty, the Batavians for glory, the Germans for pillage). Another Latin author who would certainly be proscribed is Velleius Paterculus; he states in his Roman History: _At illi_ (_Germani_), _quod nisi expertus vix credat, in summa feritate versutissimi natumque mendacio genus_ (The Germans ally an extreme ferocity to the greatest knavery; they are a race born to lie; and one must have mingled with them to believe this). Velleius Paterculus was a good observer.

* * * * *

The morality--or immorality--of this long series of broken engagements, which might be indefinitely prolonged, has had the result that no one can any longer put his trust in Germany. None the less does Germany continue to make promises, and is even annoyed and irritated when one doubts her word. Thus the Chancellor said, in a speech delivered to the Reichstag on the 23rd May, 1915, at the time of the negotiations with Italy:--

"Germany had given her word that the concessions offered [by Germany] should be actually accorded [by Austria][43]; consequently there could no longer be any reason for distrust." Italy, strong in the experience acquired by Belgium, decided, on the other hand, that there was reason for distrust from the moment Germany pledged her word; and accordingly she broke off negotiations in order to declare war.

C.--Incitements to Disunion.

_Divide et impera_ ("Divide in order to rule") is a maxim which has largely inspired the Germans in their relations with the Belgians. They therefore do their utmost to divide the nation from its King, to excite the Belgians one against another, and finally to kindle discord between our Allies and ourselves.

We have just seen by what unjustifiable methods, after promising to respect our patriotism, they proceeded systematically (as they do all things) to thwart our sentiments of fidelity to our King and our nationality. Not content with opposing--sometimes openly, sometimes with hypocrisy--all our loyalist manifestations, they endeavour to embroil us with our Sovereigns.

_Incitements to Disloyalty._

While they accuse the Belgian nation of having sold itself to the Triple Entente, they hold the King personally responsible for this "conspiracy." Having become the "valet" or the "slave" of England, the Sovereign could not accept the friendly hand which the Kaiser tendered him on two occasions--the 2nd and the 9th of August, 1914.

At Antwerp the Germans alone appear to have heard the absurd declaration, that he vowed to "die in the city with his last soldiers." Then he betrays his army and "takes to flight, amid the maledictions of his subjects," deserting them for those that seduced him.

Then we have him on the Yser, the melancholy king "abandoned by God." He would ask nothing better than to conclude peace. But England holds him still in her toils, and prevents him from accomplishing this wise project. It is _Le Réveil_, that peculiarly truthful newspaper of Düsseldorf, which reveals this sinister exploit of Albion. The _Hamburger Nachrichten_ receives the same report from Brussels.

KING ALBERT WISHES TO MAKE PEACE.

HAMBURG, _14th November, 1914_.

From Brussels the _Hamburger Nachrichten_ hears from a very
reliable source that the report is confirmed which states that
serious differences exist between Belgium and England--that is,
that all personal relations are interrupted between King Albert and
the British Staff.

The King desires an understanding with Germany, which Great Britain
is endeavouring by all means to prevent.

(_Vossische Zeitung_, 15th November, 1914.)

The propagandist pamphlet _Lüttich_ is less severe to our Sovereign, since it invokes, as an extenuating circumstance, his "blindness, which verges on stupidity." Incommensurable pride or imbecility--such are the characteristics of King Albert! Do these paladins of tact and delicacy show any greater respect for our Queen? Be sure they do not! An article on King Albert and the Triple Entente, in the _Deutsche Soldatenpost_ of the 10th October, 1914, a newspaper intended both for the troops and the Belgian public, states: "From the outset the Queen was initiated into the King's plans. She has not uttered a single word of reproach for the horrible brutalities of which the principal victims were innocent young German girls in Brussels and Antwerp."

Well, we know that none of these "proofs" have shaken our fidelity. Despite all prohibitions, despite all the fines imposed, thousands of copies of the portraits of the King in the midst of his troops, and of the Queen, our dear little Queen, tending the wounded, are sold every day of the year. The patriotism of the Belgians is certainly incurable!

_The Walloons incited against the Flemings._

So the Germans sought a new device. As they could not cause disunion between the people and the Sovereign, they tried to sow dissension between the citizens themselves, by envenoming the problem of language and reviving political rancour.

At first they exploited, in the most virulent manner, the Flemish-Walloon conflict. As in all countries in which several tongues are spoken, there is naturally in Belgium a struggle between the Flemings, who speak a Germanic language, and occupy the northern portion of the country, and the Walloons, who speak a Latin tongue, and occupy the southern provinces. But this conflict, however lively it may have been, has never touched the foundations of our national conscience, and we have always felt ourselves Belgians before everything.

At the outset, confesses Herr Kurd von Strantz, the Germans did not realize what profit they might derive from the antagonism of races in Belgium: an antagonism which they believed to be profound, but which was only skin-deep. Since the month of August, however, they have been trying to make up for lost time; they no longer lose a single occasion to excite the Flemings against the Walloons, and in particular they seek to make the latter believe that the Flemings already entertain feelings of sympathy towards their executioners.

Only two months after the occupation of the capital the Germans, organizing their conquest, attempted to win over the Flemings by feigning to espouse their grievances and by exploiting their racial relationship, in order to divide them from their Walloon fellow-citizens. Suddenly, in the official communiqués, Flemish took the place until then occupied by French, and the German newspapers began to display a touching sympathy for their "Flemish brothers," and for their country and their art. We did not even need to read the article published by the _Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant_ on the 11th December (which was seen by M. Paul Hymans), in order to divine, at the root of these sudden and simultaneous manifestations, the orders issued by the German official circles.

For it was not thus during the first weeks of the occupation. Then correspondence was permissible only in French and German: Flemish was not tolerated. The official notices were printed in French and German only. Then, on the 25th August, the Government placards appeared in German, French, and Flemish. Finally, on the 1st October, Flemish had the advantage of French. Although from the standpoint of Belgian law the latter measure was legal in the Brussels district, the by-law ordering the cinema-houses to publish their programmes in Flemish as well as French was not so; very often the manager is innocent of Flemish, and the Flemish programme is spelt in the most fantastic manner. Absolutely illegal, too, is the by-law compelling shopkeepers in Bruges and Ostend to replace their French shop-signs by signs written in Flemish. Still more galling was the outcome of a certain trial at Tongres. Some young men, Flemings and Walloons, were accused of the same offence. They were inscribed on separate lists, according to their origin. The Walloons were condemned to severer penalties than those inflicted on the Flemings. One sees the double object here: to mollify the Flemings and to make the Walloons suspicious of them. We may compare this with the fact that the majority of the Flemish civil prisoners have been repatriated, while the Walloons are still in Germany.

However, the daily task of insinuation and persuasion is undertaken by the German press. In the first place it lays stress on the great affinity of character, historical past, origin, and language between the Germans and the Flemings (_Düss. Gen. Anz._, 4th December, 1914). The Germans must humour the Flemings and make friends with them. One reason why it would not do to treat Belgium more harshly (as had been demanded) is that there is a racial relationship between a portion of the population and that of Germany. There is no Belgian people (_Voss. Zeit._, 1st March, 1915). Much is made of the distant echoes of the linguistic quarrel (_Voss. Zeit._, 1st March, 1915; _K.Z._, 18th March, 1915; _Frankf. Zeit._, 24th March, 1915; Osswald, _Zur Belgischen Frage_).--The ill-feeling of the Flemings toward the "purely Walloon" Belgian Government must be fomented (_Frankf. Zeit._, 24th March, 1915), and also their dislike of the Belgian press printed in the French tongue, both Government and press having been long ago won over to France and the hatred of Germany (_K.Z._, 15th November, 1915). _La Croix Rouge_ is published in three languages, Flemish preceding even German, and the French occupying only the extreme right of the sheet; each number contains only one _feuilleton_, and that is a novel in Flemish. A little Flemish conversation manual--_Vlamischer Sprachführer_--is published in Düsseldorf for the use of Germans, and of soldiers in particular. In order to compromise the Flemish, the Germans pretend that well-known Flemings are already working hand-in-hand with the German administration. It is even stated that a pro-German group of young Flemings exists (_K.Z._, 18th March, 1915). In verse translations, the _Dietsch_ or _duitsch_ of the Flemish poets is rendered by "German," whereas these words signify simply the Flemish or Dutch language (_Lüttich_, p. 127; _Köln. Volksz._, 25th January, 1915). Herr Karl Lamprecht, the well-known historian, who knew that his translation was dishonest, was one of those who translated _dietsch_ by "German" (_Die Woche_, No. 12, 1915). Better still, in the same article Herr Lamprecht feigns to believe that by the expression _Noord en Zuid_ Emmanuel Hiel intended to denote the Germans and the Flemings; whereas he is speaking--and no confusion is possible--of the Dutch (Noord-Nederlanders), and the Flemings (Zuid-Nederlanders).

A short story by M. Maurice Sabbe was published in the _Berliner Tageblatt_ on the 25th December, 1914, with an introduction which was peculiarly compromising to the author's patriotic sentiments. His extremely plain reply was as follows:--

HOW FRÄULEIN DÄMCHEN WAS BURIED.

(_Reproduction prohibited._)

By MAURICE SABBE,

Professor of Germanic Languages at the Malines Athenæum.

(The sketch was preceded by a brief introduction, which we quote.)

The sketch we publish here deserves particular attention. Maurice
Sabbe is a scholar and a Flemish writer of repute, who, during the
bombardment of Malines, fled into Holland. Sabbe knows Germany,
thanks to a long residence at Weimar, and the military situation
has not succeeded in destroying his feeling, which is exempt from
prejudice, for Germany and Germanism. He expresses his opinion with
sympathy in the lectures which he is delivering in Holland, and,
in the same spirit, he has addressed, through his translator, to
a German journal, the _Berliner Tageblatt_, this short story of
life in Malines, which describes an episode of the war: the first
contribution which, coming from Belgium and written by a Belgian
during the war, has been destined to find publication in Germany.

THE EDITOR.
(_Berliner Tageblatt_, 25th December, 1914.)

BUSSUM, _28th December, 1914_.

SIR,

I beg your hospitality for the following lines:--

In the November number (1914) of the review _Onze Eeuw_ I published
a literary version of an episode of the bombardment of Malines.
A Dutch writer, M. E. Meier, requested my permission for the
publication of a translation of this sketch in a German newspaper.
I granted it him without hesitation and even with a certain
pleasure. My narrative emphasized the kindness and magnanimity of
my countrymen towards their enemies, and, at a moment when the
German press was accusing every Belgian of being a franc-tireur,
I thought myself fortunate to be able to place a contrary example
beneath the eyes of the German public.

I left the choice of newspaper to my translator, and the
translation appeared in the Christmas number of the _Berliner
Tageblatt_.

But here the plot thickens. Unknown to me, the editors of the
_Berliner Tageblatt_ prefaced my story with a notice highly
compromising to me. It asserts, in short, that I have German
sympathies which the war has not succeeded in shaking, that I am
giving lectures in Holland in order to express these feelings, and
that I wrote my short story especially to be published in Germany!

The last assertion is already contradicted by the fact that the
sketch in question is a translation of the text which appeared in
a French review two months ago. As for my sentiments, they are
what they have always been, those of a Belgian unshakably attached
to his unhappy country and his noble King. These, and no others,
are the feelings I have expressed in my lectures in Holland. My
numerous auditors can testify to this.

You will give me a sensible pleasure, sir, by inserting this
letter, thus assisting me to avoid any misunderstanding.

Accept, etc.,
MAURICE SABBE.

This is only a detail in the conflict we are sustaining against invading Germany, but it is a very instructive detail, because it shows that before accepting any assertion on the part of our oppressors we must always ask ourselves how much of it is a lie. The same question arises _à propos_ of a letter written by a Fleming living at Liége and speaking "in the name of the Flemish population of Liége," which aspires to live under the German domination. By the singularities of his syntax and his orthography this Fleming from Liége can only be of German origin (_Düss. Gen. Anz._, 11th February, 1915).

Once there was even a kind word spoken for the Walloons, vindicating the dignity of their dialects, which are by no means dependent on the French. (It is true this bold assertion comes from Herr Kurd von Strantz.)

_Inciting the People against the Belgian Government._

On the other hand, they hope to detach the Belgian people from its Government. Especially during the siege of Antwerp did they heap effort on effort of this kind. It was then greatly to their interest to send as many troops as possible to the Western front (so says Lieutenant-General Imhoff, in his introduction to Delbrück's _Der Deutsche Krieg in Feldpostbriefen_, pp. 11 to 13). Now hundreds of thousands of their men were delayed in Belgium by the siege of Antwerp. At all costs these had to be liberated in order to lengthen the battle-front towards the north-west and the sea. Towards the middle of September they did not hesitate for the third time to make peace proposals to the Government--proposals which were rejected with disdain, as were the previous ones (pp. 50-1). After this repeated diplomatic failure they attempted trickery, a speciality in which they shine to more advantage. As they could not succeed in directly influencing the leaders of Belgian politics, they endeavoured to act on them indirectly through the people. A newspaper was established, _L'Écho de Bruxelles_, "for the general welfare," to which a certain "Aristide" contributed. He professed to be an occasional correspondent, although his articles were really the pretext for issuing the paper.

In the first number he published a detestable letter in which he called upon the Belgian Government at all costs to make peace with Germany. This proceeding was so improper that the _N.R.C._ even, while reprinting the letter, could not refrain from criticizing it harshly. In No. 4, which appeared on the 4th October, 1914, and which was entirely devoted to an attempt to cause mental anxiety in the people of Brussels, he condemned as unpatriotic "the man who does not rise up to cry to the people of Antwerp that they must cease from this sanguinary, disastrous, and useless struggle for a cause which is not ours." The same accusation was made against "those divisional Generals whom the laurels of General Leman will not allow to sleep." "The laurels of General Leman, great God!" he adds, and thereupon he moves heaven and earth to prove the notorious insufficiency of the valiant defender of Liége. No, he says, "the true and only heroes of this melancholy war in Belgium are those who ... have proposed to treat with Germany. These, Ministers and generals, have given proof of courage and wisdom, exposing themselves to the vengeance of a mob over-excited by a system of lies and delusions.... And the public will kick out these French journalists and these hawkers of French journals who for years have whispered hatred of neighbour against neighbour, the latter being the best customer Belgium possessed." We have cited only the more scandalous portions of this article, ignoring the merely ignoble passages.

While "Aristide" was endeavouring to influence the civil population, aeroplanes were distributing to the Belgian troops in Antwerp circulars, printed in French, and in another language which had a certain resemblance to Flemish; and these strange handbills informed the Belgian soldiers that they had been deceived by their officers and by the authorities; that the Belgian army was fighting for the British and the Russians, etc.

DECLARATION.

BRUSSELS, _1st October, 1914_.

BELGIAN SOLDIERS,

Your blood and your whole salvation, you are not giving them at
all to your beloved country; you are only serving the interest
of Russia, a country which desires only to increase its already
enormous power, and, above all, the interest of England, whose
perfidious avarice has given birth to this cruel and unheard-of
war. From the commencement your newspapers, paid from French and
English sources, have never ceased to deceive you, telling you
nothing but lies as to the causes of the war and the battles which
have followed, and this is still done every day. Consider one of
your army orders which affords fresh proof of this. This is what it
contains:

"You have been told that your comrades who are prisoners in Germany
have been forced to march against Russia beside our soldiers." Yet
your common sense must tell you that this would be a measure quite
impossible to execute. When the day comes when your comrades who
are prisoners return from our country and tell you with how much
benevolence they have been treated, their words will make you blush
for what your newspapers, and your officers, have dared to tell
you, in order to deceive you in so incredible a manner. Every day
of resistance makes you sustain irreparable losses, while with the
capitulation of Antwerp you will be free from all anxiety. Belgian
soldiers, you have fought enough for the interests of the princes
of Russia, for those of the capitalists of perfidious Albion. Your
situation is one to despair of. Germany, who is fighting only for
her life, has destroyed two Russian armies. To-day no Russian is to
be found in our country. In France our troops are about to overcome
the last resistance. If you wish to rejoin your wives and children,
if you wish to return to your work, in a word, if you wish for
peace, put an end to this useless struggle, which is ending only
in your ruin. Then you will quickly enjoy all the benefits of a
favourable and perfect peace.

VON BESELER,
_Commander-in-Chief of the Besieging Army_.

When examples of this circular were brought to us in Brabant, we at first thought it was a hoax. But we had to submit to the evidence; the idea of this proclamation had really been conceived and executed by the Germans.

After the fall of Antwerp the campaign continued. Was it not necessary to prevent the Belgians from going to join the Allies in the direction of Flanders? With this end in view, the Germans attempted to throw suspicion on the conduct of the Belgian military authorities at the time of the taking of Antwerp. It was again the _Écho de Bruxelles_ which was entrusted with the publication of the first false news. Shortly after the accomplishment of this pleasant task, the _Écho de Bruxelles_ disappeared for ever: doubtless it was no longer required.

As for the defamatory libels which were uttered in November and December, in order to incriminate the conduct of the civil authorities of Antwerp, it is not yet known by whom they were instigated, worded, and distributed; but we have a reasonable conviction that the Germans were not unaware of them. In any case they did what they could to profit by this disagreement, and they also did their best--in vain--to revive the question when the Belgians, by common accord, had settled their differences.

But the Germans had not yet given up the idea of fomenting conflicts among us. In an article entitled _Belgische Umstimmigkeiten_ (Change of Temper in Belgium) the _Kölnische Zeitung_ of the 22nd November, 1914 (2nd morning edition) referred to a telegram from Berlin which stated that news received from Breda (according to the _Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger_) asserted that seven Belgian officers had deserted and had there been interned. To verify this was very difficult, the more so as in November 1914 no postal or telegraphic communication was permitted between Belgium and Holland. The rest of the article informed us that on the 5th November--a fortnight before their desertion--these officers had received from King Albert the Cross of the Order of Leopold: they had thus waited to desert until they had been made the object of special distinction, which is at least peculiar. And then, setting out from the Yser, they crossed the German lines to be interned at Breda, in Northern Brabant. Strange! strange! And all this in order to inform us that these officers, disheartened by the servile and treacherous attitude of the King, refused again to send their men into battle, for the sake of the English.

_Inciting the Belgians against the English._

It will be remarked that the English always receive a good share of the venomous slime which the Germans, as M. Spitteler says, spit upon the King, the Government, and the Belgian authorities. "England--there is the enemy!" says the _Hassgesang Gegen England_--i.e. _Song of Hatred of England_, the work of Herr Ernst Lissauer.

_We love but with a single love,
We hate but with a single hate;
We have one foe, and one alone--
England!_

It would be tedious to mention all the innumerable articles intended to arouse in us a hatred of England. We may mention the opinion of Dr. Hedin, reproduced on the placard of the 9th November, 1914; the proclamation of Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, inserted, for our edification, in _Le Réveil_ (29th October), as well as the declaration imputed to the Flemish "poet" Cyrid Buysse (placard of 12th December, 1914). But these lovers of truth forgot to announce, a few days later, that M. Buysse denied the truth of the German declaration. A mere instance of forgetfulness, no doubt, unless the Amsterdam-Copenhagen-Berlin-Brussels route, which was covered by the so-called declaration, had suddenly grown too long for truth to travel by.

D.--A Few Details of the Administration of Belgium.

The preceding chapter has informed us how the Germans bore themselves towards the inhabitants of the territory occupied in conformity with--or rather in contravention of--Articles 42-56 of the Hague Convention. Treachery and untruthfulness are the chief weapons employed by our enemies. We need not return to the subject. We desire now merely to refer to some details relating to the administration. Details, we said; and in truth we shall consider neither the financial administration of the country, nor its judicial administration, nor its political administration, nor any of the other great cog-wheels essential to the life of a nation. We shall confine ourselves to very simple facts which any one can remark and understand.

(_a_) _Present Prosperity in Belgium._

There is nothing of which the Germans are more proud than their talent--real or illusory--for organization. Accordingly they professed their intention of re-establishing the normal state of affairs in Belgium, in spite of the war, and they are always informing the whole world that everything has resumed its regular course in our country.

_Assertions of the German Authorities._

Even in his inaugural proclamation (2nd September, 1914), von der Goltz took the trouble of informing us that work was to be resumed. But the Germans had placed such impediments in the way of inter-urban relations that all activities were necessarily suspended. In October he accorded "facilities of communication," as we were informed by the announcement of the 15th, which meant that "circulation" was no longer absolutely prohibited, and that he who had the means to obtain a passport, and could spend a day or two in procuring it, would thereafter be authorized to travel from Louvain to Malines, or from Namur to Liége. As these measures, though so full of solicitude for the general welfare, did not produce all the results that were expected of them, the communal authorities were advised to refuse relief to the unemployed (6th November, 1914). Nothing came of that advice!

To the numerous obstacles already mentioned we must add one other: the railway-workers and the artisans employed in many of the foundries and workshops of Belgium were perfectly well aware that their labours would principally benefit the Germans, so that by returning to their workshops they would be committing an unpatriotic action. To overcome this passive resistance the Germans multiplied their proclamations in the industrial centres. It was wasted effort.

In the meantime the Governor-General, in the vain hope of galvanizing the labour organizations, sent to Germany for well-known Socialists, who, under the pretext of having a chat with the leaders of the trades unions, were really to inculcate the idea that it was their duty to urge a resumption of work. The visits of the German Socialists have been described by M. Dewinne, of Brussels, a militant worker, in the Parisian journal _L'Humanité_.

Infatuated as the Germans might be, they could hardly delude themselves as to the failure of their attempts at subornation. This did not prevent Baron von Bissing from issuing declarations dealing with the situation which were truly touching in their sincerity.

NEWS PUBLISHED BY THE GERMAN GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

NORMAL SITUATION IN BELGIUM.

VIENNA, _19th December_.--The Sofia correspondent of the _Neue
Freie Presse_ has had an interview with Field-Marshal von der
Goltz, who declared: "The situation in Belgium is entirely normal.
The Belgian population is acquiring the conviction that the Germans
are anything but cruel."

THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT IN BELGIUM.

BERLIN, _15th December_.--To the correspondent of the _Hamburger
Korrespondent_, the new Governor-General in Belgium, General
Baron von Bissing, has made the following declarations: I wish to
maintain order and tranquillity in this country, which has become
the base of operations for our troops. Our army must know that
order prevails behind it, so that it may always give its attention
freely only to what lies before it. I hope also that I shall
succeed, hand in hand with the civil administration, in doing a
great deal for the economic situation. When the Emperor appointed
me Governor-General he charged me, with particular insistence, to
do everything to assist the weak in Belgium, and to encourage them.

THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT IN BELGIUM.

_The Parasitical Exploitation of Belgium admitted by Germany._

But, you may ask, had not Germany other than military reasons for wishing to revive the economic life of Belgium? A semi-official article in the _Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung_, which was brought to our cognizance by the _Düsseldorfer General-Anzeiger_ of the 30th December, 1914, informs us upon this point. The article emanates from Governmental circles in Brussels, probably from the immediate _entourage_ of the Governor-General. Its object is to reply to the complaints formulated in Germany, according to which the authorities deal too gently with the Belgians. Instead of trying to revive Belgian industry, it would be better, say the critics, to crush it completely, in order to suppress future competition: on the other hand, it is claimed that the contribution of 480 million frs. is insufficient to reduce us to impotence, and that we ought to have been more severely "squeezed." The German Government in Belgium defends itself briskly against the reproach of sentimentality; it asserts that it has never allowed itself to be guided by an exaggerated mildness (and we are ready to declare that on this point at least its assertions maybe credited!). It would surely not be very intelligent, it protests, to strangle outright a country so ill-directed. Would it not be preferable to exploit Belgium scientifically, so as to make her yield as much as possible? The argument amounts to this: do not let us kill the goose that lays the golden eggs; but of course it is understood, although one need not express it explicitly, that when it is no longer in condition to lay, we shall not hesitate to cut its throat.

_The Tenfold Tax on Absentees._

Many Belgians have left the country. That is easily understood. Those who were present at the massacres of Visé, Louvain, Dinant, Termonde ... hastened, in their terror, to abandon those haunts of horror. Those who lived in the towns left intact, such as Brussels and Gand, but who heard people talk of the massacres and the burnings, had also only one idea: to fly before the arrival of the Germans. Even those Belgians who did not leave at the outset eventually grew weary of the insupportable vexations inflicted on us by the authorities. Others took flight because they knew themselves to be threatened with imprisonment. Moreover, many of those who had means had prudently retired to foreign countries, to the great fury of the Germans; there was no way of getting at these "bad patriots," as it seems a German-Swiss journal called them (_K.Z._, 11th February, 1915); no way of forcing them to pay war-taxes. Moreover, it was these _émigrés_ who should have kept alive the industries _de luxe_; finally, they were conspiring together abroad, and rendering services to the Belgian Government at Havre. If only they could be forced to return! Our enemies accepted with enthusiasm an unlucky proposal--made by certain communal administrations and immediately withdrawn by them--that the absent persons should be subjected to a special tax, equal to ten times the personal tax. The communal councils which conceived the idea of this tax immediately realized its illegality, but Baron von Bissing seized the occasion which this afforded him of persecuting the _émigrés_. He published, on the 16th January, a special decree on the subject of the "additional extraordinary tax upon absentees" (_Belg. All._). It may be remarked that the tax touches only those who possess a certain competence.

Here are two facts which show how far life was normal in Belgium in the spring of 1915, and how far the Belgian workers were delighted to place themselves at the service of Germany.

_Railway Traffic in Belgium._

(_a_) An article in the _Düsseldorfer General-Anzeiger_ of the 19th April, 1915 (morning), asserts that the traffic on the Belgian railways is beginning to revive; indeed, says the writer, there are thirty-eight trains daily leaving the Gare du Nord in Brussels. He exaggerates slightly. Six weeks later, when traffic had become more active, a table, dated the 30th May, 1915, which appeared in the "Belgian" newspaper _L'Information_, gave the movements of trains in the Gare du Nord and Gare du Midi of Brussels for the month of June. We find that only thirty-four departures are given for the two stations. Thirty-four trains in June 1915--and in June 1914 there were 292. Compare the figures.

_Trouble with the Artisans of Luttre._

(_b_) The insufficiency of the number of trains is in reality one of the things that most embarrasses the German authorities (see _Frank. Zeit._, 16th January, 1915, first morning edition). In and about the railway workshops, for example, on the sidings at Luttre, there are hundreds of locomotives out of repair and waiting for attention. But the workers employed in these shops do not intend to work for the Germans. In vain do the latter protest that engines repaired by the Belgians shall be employed only for Belgian traffic. What guarantee have they that the locomotives will not serve to transport German troops, or munitions intended to kill our brothers? Is it not a matter of public notoriety that a contract is merely a scrap of paper?

To enable the workers to resist the solicitations of the Germans the necessary relief has been distributed for the maintenance of their families. The Germans know very well that it is this money which prevents them from subduing the workers to their will. They therefore proceed with the utmost severity against the persons whose duty it is to distribute the relief. Early in April 1915 they imprisoned thirty of the notables of Luttre, Nivelles, and the neighbourhood, whom they accused of assisting the working staff of the Luttre workshops. A German official declared that the prisoners had been arrested neither by the civil authority nor the military, and that they would not proceed to trial. At the same time the administrations of the communes neighbouring upon Luttre were forced to display a proclamation requiring the men to resume work. Among the promises made to those who should resume work was one that the prisoners should be liberated. So thirty notables were thrown into prison, and kept there, in order to force Belgian artisans to work for the Germans! When it was found that in spite of everything the men would not return to the shops, the prisoners were sentenced to undergo various punishments, the maximum term of imprisonment being three months. As for the recalcitrant workers, many were sent to Germany, where they were treated in the most inhuman fashion.

_Traffic Suppressed at Malines._

At the construction shops of Malines the Germans went a different way to work. There again workers were needed to repair railway material. Three hundred were called for. As they did not present themselves their addresses were obtained, and one fine morning soldiers called at their houses and _manu militari_ led them to the shops. But there the men folded their arms and persisted in doing nothing. The Germans had to let them go.

How to obtain their submission? The Germans threatened to suppress all traffic in Malines. A singular fashion of punishing workless men who refuse to betray their country, especially after declaring that the only "guilty" persons were those who had organized the collective refusal to work! (_La Belgique_, 9th June, 1915). But, in accordance with the juridical principle that "the innocent must suffer with the guilty," our enemies punished the market-gardeners of the Malines district and prevented them from sending their cabbages and rhubarb and peas and asparagus to market.

After the lapse of some days the Governor-General removed the prohibition. But he did not wish it to seem that he had repented of his decision, however unreasonable the latter might be, so to keep himself in countenance he posted up a statement that a sufficient number of workers had resumed work (placard of 10th June, 1915). However, the Baron von Bissing cannot have been ignorant of the fact that none of the strikers of the Malines workshops had returned; the only workers whom the Germans had been able to recruit were some unemployed persons from Lierre, Boom, and Duffel, who had never set foot in the shops before. As they could not be employed in the manufacture of railway material, they were made to dig trenches in the direction of Wavre-Ste Catherine and Duffel.

The workers whom the soldiers led to the shops by force related that their escort begged them not to resume work, because they would then be obliged to leave Malines and to go to the Yser, a prospect which inspired them with the keenest terror.

(_b_) _The Germans' Talent for Organization._

"The industrial and commercial prosperity" which Belgium is at present enjoying is, of course, due to the Germans' incontestable spirit of organization. "This sense of discipline and order, which the foreigner calls militarism" (_Voss. Zeit._, 12th February, 1915, morning), has enabled the officers of the reserve to accomplish such wonderful things that Herr Oswald F. Schütte, correspondent of the _Chicago Daily News_ (see _K.Z._, 6th May, 1915, first morning edition) can scarcely find the words to describe them. "We understand," adds the same journalist, "that the Government at Havre does not look with a favourable eye upon the success with which the German administration has once more made life worth living in Belgium."

They are certainly something to be wondered at, the officers who are administering our country. Would you have proof? The Belgian officials of the Bridges and Highways Department refused to obey the Germans, so that the latter appointed their engineer officers to direct the work of repairing roads. But the work was naturally carried out by Belgian contractors. On macadamized roads the breaking of stones, which formerly cost from 18 to 22 centimes per square metre (about 2d. per square yard), now costs 60 to 65 centimes. Good business, you will say, for the contractors and their men. But no!--the difference goes into the pockets of the officers.

_Conflict between Authorities._

This method of procedure naturally results in conflicts between the various administrations. We have already related (p. 157) that the city of Brussels was condemned to pay a fine of half a million francs because the civilians and the soldiers were in disagreement. Muddles of this kind testify to something quite different from a brilliant talent for organization, which the Germans would have us believe is the distinguishing mark of their administration.

_Suppression of the Bureau of Free Assessment._

In order to give the impression that they alone are capable of re-starting the economic machine in Belgium, the Germans begin by dislocating the existing machinery. Thus, a group of advocates and surveyors created a bureau for the gratuitous assessment of the damage caused by the war to real estate. This body was working to the general satisfaction, when suddenly, in March 1915, the Germans decided to take its place. Now observe their methods. The applicant who wishes the damage suffered by his property to be estimated has to begin by paying a provisional deposit, after which he finds that the costs of the assessment have to be paid out of his own pocket. What this really comes to is this: the Germans, having burned a house and reduced its owner to poverty, demand that the latter shall pay in advance for the evaluation of the damage done.

_The Belgian Red Cross Committee Suppressed._