The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-25
City Has Been Stricken Dumb by Dominance of
 Foreign Invader
SILENT HOSTILITY
 SHOWN EVERYWHERE
People Won't Sit Beside German Sol dier in Street Car-As Many Ger man Secret Agents as Sol
 diers in Belgium

Brussels, September 5.-(Correspond- ence of the Associated Press)-visitors
 who knew Brussels before the war and who then were struck with it's vitality and the volublity of its cit
 izens now are amazed at the quietude of the place.
 What has brought about the dumb ness Is, in the first place, the knowl- edge that everyone is under constant surveillance, not only by soldiers but
 by secret German agents and that ev- cry chance ord may lead to arrest and probably deporation to a concen- tration camp in Germany, where the mayor of Brussels, M. Max, now is In the street cars, in the stores and on the streets the citizens seldom con- verse even when relatives or close friends are together, and should a stranger address them the reply is usu- ally just plain No" or Yes" or T don't know"
 Fearful of Trap
 On the street cars a passenger will sometimes remark about rumored military sction-for rumors of all
 kinds are current in the city in the absence of local newspapers-at the
 
 his pleasure If the German troops have suffered a slight reverse The others in the car never respond, since many of their compatriots have fallen into the trap and, after giving utterance to their opinions to the sympathetic stranger have been arrested and heay- fly fined or imprisoned, or both. Many men and women immediately change seats should a German soldier take seat next to them in the car. Others get up without word and leave the car at the next stopping place.
 Dumb hostility can be observed ev- anywhere and the Germans, notwith- standing their efforts, seem unable to gain the confidence of the Brussels people.
 There appear to be as many secret German agen ts-some of them Bel gians~-as there are soldiers in Brus- sels. They are encountered every where. In the cafes 1t is declared they listen to every chance remark of the customers they form Into line with the. Belgian applicants for passes at tho official permit office; they mix with the poor people waiting for their sup ply of fcod from the relief commits sions Anything that may be said against the German authorities is cer- the secret agents are linguists who speak French and Flemish and many of the dialects.
 Has Depressing Effect This constant surveillance, with the increasing poverty of the Belgian la boring classes. has a very depressing effect. Hope and conviction that at some future unknown period their country will again be free, enables them to bear patiently the discomfort ing presence of the German troops, but the coming winter is awaited with some trepidation. The poor, despite their habitual thrift have almost reached the end of their resources In consequence of the stoppage of many industries. the number of unemployed is growing rapidly and as a result sav- ings made before the war have been in many cases exhausted.
 On July 3l official figures showed that there were in the whole of Bel gium I24G00 wcrkless, including both sexes. and this number has since been added to. 1n Brussels and its suburbs alone there were just over 8S.000 with
 out work, besides nearly 27,000 wom- en and 42,0C0 children under 16 years old receiving relief. Hundreds of the skilled workers have managed to leave the country to seek work elsewhere or to join the ranks of the army. Most, however, are unable to find the means to secure guides to take them over the Dutch frontier without passes, which are next to impossible to obtain. Recent o1crees Issued by the German goverror general in Brussels have
 made life even more difficult for the laborers who decline to carry out work which might assist the German authorities Prosecution and punish ment are threatened for all workmen who refuse work when it is offered 1 them, while anyone who by means of | relief sustaiDs workman in his re- | fIsal als o renders himself liable to se- we're punishment. In the last week oi 1 August the Belgian National bank was 1 fined S5000 because one of its | clerks paid out $500 to the order of a
 Belgian depositor now refugee In 1 Holland.