The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-11-10
BY JACQUES oBELs.


London, Oct. 22.-German vigilance
and exactions press overheard on
correspondents, and 1t is impossible
by ordinary means to get anything
out OF Antwerp except by messenger
since the invading force has fastened
It's settled rule upon the town. One
exception | might make. News sub
edited by the German military gov
ernor would stand a good show Of
seeing the light in foreign countries.
l do no. wish to imply that Teutonic
military supervision of dispatches al
ways surpasses In severity that of
the other warning nations; | have lit
tie doubt that, generally speaking, the
British censor is the most liberal in
Europe. Therefore, l have come to
London partly to get off this cable dis
patch and partly because London is a
convenient halfway point on my way
back to the Belgian front. Briefly, |
wish to discuss the alleged atrocities
whether supposedly committed against
Germans or by Germans.
On the Road to Holland.
Getting out Of Antwerp under the
rule of the kaiser is much easier than
getting in, as the barriers erected out
side the city gates and the sentries
turn one back. For special exit a
pass from the military government is
necessary and the obtaining of this
pass makes necessary the fatiguing
search, rOSS-examinatiOn and sus-
pense with which all who attempt to
move about in the war zone are pain
fully familiar l ran the gauntlet all
right and eventually found myself on
the road to Holland, that road which
has been redeemed by the bleeding
feet of disinherited men and women.
striving to save their children and
some pathetic remnant of their house
hold necessities
Dismount the Belgian Guns.
When | left Antwerp the outer forts
were scenes of great activity. Ger
man soldiers were dismounting the
Belgian guns and lining them up on
the roadside preparatory to sending
them away, possibly to the western
front. AS l passed along | was as
tonished to find how the Germans
were making friends with the natives.
Apparently, they are doing everything
they can to win the confidence of the
Belgians, assisting them at their la
bors and mingling in simple way in
their home life.
Particularly was this true of the
marines who, as I learned, were men
who had been recruited along the
Dutch frontier in Germany and hence
used dialect like that spoken in the
north of Belgium. Here the people
naturally are reticent and distrustful,
but these Germans, with a speech like
their own, have done wonders in a
few days in winning their confidence.
At the frontier Dutch and German
sentries are facing each other Each
is jealousy on guard against the other
and together they present a stiff but
dramatic picture The Dutchman OBJ
viously sympathize with the Belgians
One of their officers told me that the
sight of the Belgians thronging over
the border and surrendering their
arms was enough to move the hard
est heart. Most of them were bag
gard, some were wounded and all were
disconsolate. Immediate measures
were taken to feed the hungry and
provide comfortable quarters for all
in neighboring training field.
Tells of LootIng by Germans.
L 1o1o iri
respecting the atrocity stories I
will say at once that I have no knowl-
edge of such acts, unless looting and
the placing of civilians before attack
ing columns be considered atrociOus.
So far as | know such acts may be
more or less justifable in war and
certainly the Germans committed
them I myself, as | cabled the other
day, was forced. with half dozen
other civilians, to march before Ger
man infantry in the streets Of Malines,
and as ] so marched | saw shops
broken into by soldiers and thorough
ly sacked.
1t may be remembered by readers
of the Daily News that I was the first
correspondent to discover and de-
scribe in detail the destruction of
Termonde. The footing there | did
not see, but credible witnesses told
what | believe to be an incontrovert-
ible story. Moreover, they showed
unmistakable results of wholesale pill
lage.
Atrocities may have occurred in
Termonde, but / found nobody who
claimed to have seen them. Cases Of
alleged wanton and horrible cruelty
have been mentioned over and over
again, but my most Jealous inquiries
failed to verify such reports. Mind
you, / cannot say that the reports
were false. Persons quite as trust
worthy as myself may say that they
are true.
Finds no Proof Of Atrocities.
| only say that l was unable to find
proof of the atrocities, although l
earnestly sought for it. | will say
further that, in my opinion, the atroci-
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