Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-24
WAR'S BARBARITIES
GERMANS CHARGE TO
BELGTANS' CRUELTY
Newspaper Reporter Says
Teutons Acted Moderately
in Presence of Enemy's
Fnghtful Atrocities.

scbeurmann, a correspondent OF several
German newspapers who accompanies the
German General staff, by the so-called
cruelty with which the Germans are car
ryinE on this war. In all countries that
get their news through English ana
French sources stories of German par
barism are repeated. It Is, therefore
doubly the duty for war correspondent
who can speak of what his own eyes have
seen. to report what he saw and what
he can answer for before the forum oil
historical truth,
IT have spent days in the worst franc
tireur regions Of Belgium and France
NV first impressions OF the horrors OF
war were obtained at Battice, on the road
from Aachen to LieSe where fghting be-
tween franc-treurs and our soldiers went
on for days. Instead OF fourshing VII
lage, with clean houses and neat villas
one sees there today charred ruins
stretching along the highways for a mile
SAW UNFORGETTABLE THINGS,
81 saw things there that I shall remem-
Der as long as / live I passed through
q village that was quite burnt out, where
only few German Landwehr soldiers
were standing guard-no other living
beings visible anywhere. But when
came to the doorway Of house that had
fallen IN / saw III NIldN Ith Pl l''tA'iN
been the livinE-room a whtte-haired
woman with a kitchen knife rakinE in ths
debris | called to her. She did not hear
me Her face was like a gray stone. and
her eyes fixed as in death. She dug as IL
she was expectyz to find something
under the fallen bricks.
I'm A front garden. which had been
scorched by the flames. a woman in a
black dress was crouchng and weeping
| have stood at many an open grave in
the churchvard, but l have never heard
anybody weep like that woman. Tho
sound of 1t will continue to ring in my
cars as one Of the most terrible cxper-
fences of my life for even the petty losses
of property are painful to see. In the
upper story of one house everything had
been destroyed by FIRE but at one place
on the smoke-begrimed wall there hung
the disCoored photograph Of a woman
probably long dead. At one place a
blue-enameled chld's bedsteaa peers ont
of the smoking debris. still filed with its
scorched mattress and pillows. Whoever
has a child at home in its snow-white
bed,
"Ru: a curse and thrice curse upon
those who caused all this misery, For
them there is no punishment in this world
sufficient to atone for their evil deed.
Ard when they now donounce our brave
warriors as the cause Of this desolatiou.
this latter slarder shameful as /, is. does
not weigh much in comparison with what
they actually did. Our German soldiers
and Landwehr men marched into the
country of the enemy with the same order
and discipline that they maintained on
the battle-ground and in army maueuverS.
Wherever we came. We guaranteed to tho
inhabitants security for life and property:
We are Nacins war with the armies Of the
enemy. not with civilians. In Battco the
German proclamation promising the Bel
CLANS peace and the integrity of their
territory was sim seen on the walls OF
the burned houses.
MrRDERED GERMANS AVENGED.
"Now what happened in Battice, Cler-
mont. Herve F1cror snd other Re,gian
places. was. with singular similarity. rs
follows: The Inhabitants lot the Germans
march in received them with crlnsing
friendlireS7, offered them wine in super
fiuous quantities ana then f"ll uDon them
at night. n urs without yiuC-foU mere
self-prcservation demanded it-that every
murdered German was avenged Where
the murderers could he caught they wer"
brought before CDurt-U1 rtial; and r
their guilt Vas evident they were -hDt
or hanged
AN this waa doun In perfect order.
How far the ze't-ronrrol of our troops
extends was proved ~ r-e ny an cHan,p'e
only dav before Yesterday ~ tho en-
trance to the French fortress of Lo0vwv,
tust captured. T saw German soldiers
bringing In a troop of f.anr-t!rcurs. quit"
old fellows, and among them few COM
mon thieves scarreIv I@rond zchoolboy
uEe-all Of them with criminal faces OF
tho hardest tyTo Pity that We did not
photograph rham 30 that tho world wisht
zee what hiieoGs scamPs are killing onr
mem
What did these man doo' demanded
'sT'rGt- Red t'ra=a