The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-11-12

In Antwerp and Brussels tIaoDsand~ of Germans lived They were citizens of these places for many years They were not given time to arrange their affairs. They were delivered to the mercy of the mob. Their homes were plundered before a single German soldier arrived in a Belgian city. They were forced to cross the border in a. most pitiable condition. Have we. the inhabitants along the Rhine. no eyes to sec and no ears to hear? Did we not read for many weeks the long long list of those Germans who have been lost due to the cruelties of the Belgian nobs. For weeks f1usba nds sought their wives, their sisters and their children, who suffered frfEhtful- " before ever a German. soldier met a. Belgian on the battlefield Where, may Task, was the spirit of culture :? IS It silent when it. is a question of German women and German children. and as to our wounded, do we not see them in the hospitals heIplesslv crippled with theirkeyes put out by the Belgian mob, and our doctors who were killed while assisting the wound ed? We admire, God knows the bravery of the Belgian army. but these atrocities of the Belgian mob against defenseless women and chill dren and against the wounded and dying arc indeed sad episodes.
 have read the criticism of the de- strucuon of Louvain. The BeIgians mans what they brought about by forcing our disciplined brave troops to this extreme. That 1t should have been I1ouvain that suffered this miser- able fate is regretted by our whole world of culture, burt why the double standard Of morality even in this con necttonf What if the plan of England GTTn0 many with its rich art and architec- tura1 treasures should be buried under the weight of the al1ieS2 Will that be different? It was not necessary for Belg1um to suffer. In Isu0en1bur not a single sparrow lost e feather. Since course than to march through Bel giurn, an offer was made to Belgium to recompense her for whatever dam age was done by the German troops but Belgium declined it. After the fall of hege, the offer was renewed, but Belgium wanted to stand with Eng land and France. would like to ask since our troops have been pictured in such despicable manner through out the world why it is that Brussels has not suffered, why has Ghent been spared, why does order reign in Liege today? Are the troops in one place human and in another place barbar-
 
 Germany. My English mother taught me in my youth the meaning of the word flair" Now ask you Ameri- cans to appeal to your comnnhon sense and determine which side was played
 fair in this matter. Is it on the side which cut the cable to spread decep- ton drought the world or on the side of a peace-1ovfng nation forced to battle for it's very existence. and for the protection of the culture 1t has taken 40 years to build up? We Ger mans do not appeal to sympathy from anyone. We shall defend ourselves or we shall die. We only ask for fair play. We protest against the dup1icity of England and against the playing of the comedy on her part, such as the world has never seen before. The blood which is being spilled in this terrible war cries to Heaven for ven- geance. Culture sadly hides her face but when the name is written in