Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-10

toned to warfare only against hostile
armies, but not against peaceful m
habitahts. That from the beginning
of their entry into Belgium the German
troops were forced by the native popu-
lation into defensive fight in the in
terest of self-preservation, this ire
futable fact cannot be put out of the
world by any investigation or what
ever commission.
'"The tales of refugees compiled by
the Belgian commission which are rep
resented the result of strictly i'm.
partial Investigators, bear the stamp OF
untrustworthiness. if not of malicious
distortion, on their face. Considering
the circumstances. the commission can
not possibly test the correctness OF
rumorS reported to them, or see the IN
terrelation of the various happenings.
Hence their accusations of the German
army are nothing else but base defa-
nations which are easily disproved by
the documentary evidence appended.
Belgians Accused Of Treachery.
AT Aerschot the fight of the German
troops with the Belgian civilians did
not arise, as the English insinuate,
through an outrage committed by Ger
man officers on the honor of the may
orS family. but was the result OF
premedtated attack, in which the Aers-
chot population treacherouSly murdered
the German chleI-ln -cOn1nldHu Again,
it was not harmless peaceful cltlzehS
who succumbed to German arms AT
Dinant, but assassins who treachefous-
ly attacked German soldiers and thus
caused the troops to take up nSht
which was disastrous for DinaDt. In
Louvain the fight with the civilian pops
ulation did not arise from fugitive
German troops attacking in mistake
their comrades when entering the town,
but il arose because u deluded popuia-
yrh
events, thought they could without DAN
ger do away with German troops that
were retreating to Louvain. Ihose
troops set fire to Louvain. as they dld
to other Belgian towns. only where dire
necessity demanded it. The sketch
showing the destruction of LouValn
plainly demonstrates that the German
troops confircd~themselves to the de-
struction of those quarters where the
civilians offered trcacherouS and muir
derous resistance. 1t was even owing
to German troops that the treasures OF
art not only in Louvain but also IN
other Belgian towns were rescued as
far as rescue was possible. A special
German commission has esta blshed the
fact that German troops extensively
protected works Of art in Belgium.
THE imperial German government is
of opinion that the evidence published
in the appendix proves convincingiy
that the actions of the German troops
against the civilian population were
provoked by the franc tireur war which
was violation of international law,
and that they were justified by military
necessity On the other hand, the i'm
perial German government protests SOL
EMMY and emphatfcally against the
dishonest fight which civilian popu-
lation waged against German soldiers
with the most reprehensible means, and
even more against the attitude of the
Belgian government, which, after the
utter neglect of it's duties, shown-in
it's indulgence of the wild passions of
the population, now is shameless
enough to belle and defame the Ger
man army, in order to eXonerate itself
from it's own heavy guilt