New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-05-13


Hoffman, and "a soldier Of the 1l2,h
Regiment diary No. IN will repay
study In such cases tho obvious in
terost of the soldier is 20 conceal his
mistake. ard "a convenient method Of
doing so is TO raise the cry Of francs
tireurs."
Received with Kindness.
Letters written 10 their homes which
have been found on the bodies OF dead
Germans bear witness IN way that
now sounds pathetic 20 the kindness
with which they were received by the
civilian population. Their evident sur
prise al this reception was due 10 the
stories which had been dinucd into
their ears Of soldiers with their eyes
gouCed out. troaChcrouS murders and
poisoned food. stories which may have
been encouraged by the higher military
authorities ln order 90 impress the
piad Of the troops as well a for the
sake OF juStifylnC the measures which
they took 70 tCrrify the civil rOpula-
ton. If there is any truth in such
stories no attempt has been made 10
establish u. For instance. the Chan
cellor Of the German Empire, IN com
raunication made TO the press on Sep
TENDER and printed IN the "Nord-
deutsche AllCemeine Zeitunc' Of Sep
TENDER 81. said as follows: Belgian
girls gopgCd out the eyes Of the Ger
man wounded. officials Of Belgian
cities have invited Our officers 20 din
ner and shot 40 killed them across the
table Contrary 20 all internaOonal
law. the whole civilian population OF
Belgium was called out, and after hav-
ing az first shown fricndliness, car
ried on in the rear Of our troops terri
bic warfare with concealed weapons.
-. lg nf q H.
diers whom they had quartercd IN their
homes while they were sleeping
No evidence whatever seems 20 have
been adduced 10 prove these tales, and
though there may be cases in which
individual Bclciaus fired on the Ger
mans. the statement that "the whole
civilian population Of Belgium was
called out" IS utterly opposed 10 the
fact
An invading army may be entitled TO
shoot NJ sight a civilian caught rcd
handed. or any one who though not
caught red-handcd is proved guilty on
irouirv. But this was not the prac-
tice followed by the German troops.
They DO not seem 20 have made any
INQUIRY. They seized the civilians OF
The village unfortunately and killed
them. or such Is they selected from
among them. without the least regard
20 guilt or innocence. The mere cry
"CivHsten hanea gcschossen' was
enough 20 hand over q whole village
or district and even outlying places TO
ruthless slaughter.
Instances Of Humanity.
We gladly record the instances
where the evidence shows that human
itv had not wholly disappeared from
some members o. the German army,
o. hot k.o VOC oorr
sible heads Of that organization were
employing them, not ia wal but IN
hatchery. 81 am merely executing or
Gers. and I should be shot # J dld not
execute them said an officer 10 VII
moss at Louvain. A. Rrus sells another
officer say: 81 have no. done one-hun-
dredth part o. what We have been or
dered 10 do by the high German MILL
tary authorities.
Two classes Of murders IN particu-
lar require special mention, because
one Of them is almost new and the
other altogether unprecedented. ne
former is the seizure OF peaceful clu-
zens as so-called hostages. 20 be kept
81. plcdge for the conduct Of the
civil population. or as a means 10 Sc
cure some military advantage, or TO
Compel the payment Of a contribution
the hostages being shot # the condl-
ton imposeO by the arbitrary VIII OF
the invader is not fulfilled. such most
age taking. with the penalty OF death
attached. has now and then happened
the most notable case beng the shoot,
ING Of the Archbishop Of Paris and
some Of ms clergy by the Communards
Of Paris IN 1871. but u IS opposed botn
70 the rules Of war and 20 every prin-
cjple Of Justice and humanity. The
latter kind Of murder is the killing OF
the innocent inhabitants OF a village
because shots have been hred. or are
alleged 10 have been fred, on me
troops bv some one in the village. FOR
this practice no previous example ana
no justification have been or can be
pleaded. Soldiers suppresslng an IN
surrection may have sometimes slain
civilians mingled with insurgents, and
Napoleon's forces IN Spain are sara 10
have now and then killed promiscuous-
lv when irving 70 clear Guerillas out
~ village But in Belgium large
bodies Of men, sometimes including
the burgomaster and the priest were
seized. marched By officers 70 spot
chosen for the purpose and there shot
in cold blood, without any attempt at
trial or even inquiry, under the pre-
tence of inficting punishment upon
the village, though these unhappy VIC
Tins were not even CndIEeu WIN nav
ing themselves committed any wrong
ful act. and though, IN some cases at
least. the village authorities had done
all in their power 90 prevent any mo-
lestation Of tho invading force. such
acts are no part Of war, for innocence
is entitled 20 respect even in war
They are mere murders, just as the
drowning Of the innocent passengers
and crew on a merchant ship is muir
der and not an act OF war
Outrages Systematic.
The explanation seems 10 be that
these excuses were committed In
some cases ordered, IN others allowed
on a system and in pursuance OF a
set purpose That purpose was 10
strike terror into the civil population
and dishearten the Belgian troops, so
as TO crush down resistance and eXtin-
guish the very spirit Of self-defence
The pretext that civilians had hred
upon the invading troops was used 10
Justify not merely the shooting OF IN
dividual francs-tireurs, but the muir
der of large numbers OF innocent
civilians, an act absolutely forbidden
by the rules Of civilized warfare.
In the minds Of Prussian officers
war seems 20 have become sort OF
sacred mission, one Of the highest
functions of the omnipotent State
which is itself as much an army as q
State. Ordinary morality and the or
binary sentiment Of pity vanish in IT'S
presence, superseded by new stand