The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1914-09-25
|aOREs Of GERMAN ATROCITIES NOT
Proved, SAYS AMERICAN WRITER

upon the first German invaders. The
inference that the shooting was done
by Belgian civilians may have in.
iiamed the Germans to reprisals.
In that neighborhood four houses
mad been burned and n was still
ablaze as | passed on Wednesday,
Aug. 26.
This town of Merbes.le-C Chateau,
which had been the scene of an unim.
portant skirmish between the Ger
mans and English on the previous
sunday, was riddled with rifle shots,
The small number Of windows intact
showed that the Germans had made a
deliberate assault upon the residents
OF the town. But the inhabitants
themselves admitted that all of the
shooting had been done by a com.
paratively small number of Germans,
and that the firing had not been be-
gun until English soldiers who had
concealed themselves in the houses
had fired first upon the Germans.
News Of Incident Goes Far.
i have emphasized the one fatality
of the noncombatant because the
news of it travelled up and down the
Sambre and across to Hantes- Wiberie
and Soire-sur-Sambre, multiplying as
1t went and developing CHASTITY and in
human details until 1t seemed an un-
answerable reproach to the whole
German empire.
With this one possible exception, l
did not encounter in Nivelles, in
Binche, Buissiere, or Soire-sur-Sam.
bre. or any Of the other towns I
visited, a single incident Of mistreat-
ment or any sort by German officers
or soldiers.
"Bruissiere--particularly the lower
part of the city-had been virtually
destroyed by a cross fire from French
and German artillery. Tops OF brew
cries had been hurled bodily to the
ground, and walls had either disap-
peared or become grotesquely dis
lodged.
e~urgomaster Denies Reports.
Into this town 1870 French killed
and more than a hundred wounded
were brought in a single day. Au-
gust Blairiaux, burgomaster, said that
he knew Of no cases Of German cruel
ties, except distant rumors which he
had learned to discredit. 1t ought to
be said to the credit Of the Belgians
that they have not allowed their bit
terness toward the Germans to carry
them into unfair recrimination.
Robert ]. Thompson, American
consul at Aachen, visited Liege during
and after the capture of the forts. 1t
Is the opinion of Mr.. Thompson that
no outrage was committed by Ger
mans during the several days fighting
there.
There are, of course, reported out
RACES beyond investigation, either on
account Of their vagueness or because
it is impossible to weigh the provoca-
ton. 1t is known, for instance, that
liz natives were killed in Renouchamp,
not far from Ardennes; German SOL
diers say that they were killed be-
cause they fired upon them from the
roofs and windows Of the houses.
Differ on Louvain Incident.
THE history of the absolute de-
struction of the historic city Of Lou
vain with its cathedral and its univer-
sity is by this time well known. The
German version of this Is that the in
under the direction Of the
burgomaster, established themselves
in the church, where they also in
a machine gun. They proceed
ed to greet the Germans with a deadly
fire.
1.-THE Belgians say, on the other
hand, that part of the German army,
mistaking one of their OWE retiring d.
visions for the enemy, opened fire
them, %whereupon, deluded into
thinking this an assault by Belgian
civilians, the Germans RACED the city.
II have not been able to acquire any
direct evidence in regard to these last
two instances, but the explanation gen.
orally credited by disinterested per-
sons is that the Belgians, who had laid
down their arms, according to the bur-
proclamation on the en-
trance Of the enemy, took them up
again when it looked as II the Ger
we're r~etreating from the town,
and opened fire from their windows
upon a retiring German train.
Jarotzsky Tells o%utrages.
"The most authoritative German de-
NAL OF German offense comes from
Mai. Gen. Thaddeus o Jarotzsky,
military governor Of Brussels, who In
me that in numerous cases he
had been received with a p%retense OF
Iriendliness by Belgian civilians, who
later fred upon the German soldiers
rom windows and from between the
tiles. This was done, he said,
after a declaration Of surrender by the
burpomaster and a proclamation warn
the citizens against any show Of
aIn such violations Of the rules OF
war. the general said. he punished the
,ffender by burning the houses from
which the shots we're fired.
Il can only say that in every case
II reported outrage or reprisal which