The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-16


 unlawful declaration of France and iGreat Britain with regard to the Estatus of Morocco, Egypt and Cyprus, in the violation of the rights of neu- tral nations and in tho systematic dis regard of the regulations provided by maritime law.
 fThe preposterous claim of the hostile nations to the right to sub 5ect the entire population of large lcountrieS5 to famine must be stigma tized as a aacriIegdous violation of the rules of warfare No less sacrilegious is the act of the hostile governments in to1eratdng, if not actually inspiring, the unprecedented ed agitation of press which diaseminatee lies and fosters hatred. Most of the excesses to which thousands of innocent and tdefenseIess people have fallen victims are the direct outcome of that agita- ton.
 ."The collection Of evidence, as now publishedf for general information. cannot convey even a. faint idea of the decay which the notions of interna-s tiona1 law have undergone and which i in the course of a few months have destroyed many a hope; 1t may, how ever furnish some facts for the re- flect1pn of those whose Judgment has iremained unbiased as to who is ret sponsible for the collapse of the law of nations and Of the sense of morali- l ty in war brought on by our ene- mics for the purpose of crushing na- lions engaged in the peaceful pursuit iof the blessing of civilization, and as to who has theiright to claim that he is fighting this hotIy-contested strug- gle for the sake of liberty and htl7 manity.
 feThe Austro- Hungarian ministry of foreign afairs has received, since the printing of this collection was com l pleted, a number of further reports of violations of international law
 
 and among them the reports of the IconsuIar officials recently released from Russia These and similar reve- lattons which may come to hand at form of supplements to the Crescent collection.
 sHTne names of number of wit nesses have been withheld at their own special request: they have req sons to fear that the publication of the passions aroused by the war last, to subject them to repr1sals and thus endanger either their interests or those of other persons in hostile nesses has. however, been carefully established by responsible govern ment officials, the names which have, for the time being, been suppressed will be available when their publica- ton will not be liable to entail harm I S1- <s e--S war;
 A ..typical example, of the treat l ment of Austrians. in Belgium is de- scrfbAd in a letter from en Austrian who had lived for fifteen years in Paris and was forced to leave within twenty-four hours. .-Ehe hostility and brutality Of the population Of Brussels towards Ger | mans ana Ausfrians's he writes con- ] q E2rrz g1um, was beyond description. From f Brussels we proceeded to Antwerp where we were arrested by the CardAl Cdv1due on the station platform My poor wife was hurried on with the butt ends of the guards rifles. As she took no heed Of this, she was I struck across both legs with a rifle and was injured. We witnessed most pit1ab1e seenas- A child. nine years was so frightened that it refused to follow the others and clung with both hands to the railtngs at the exit; a sarde ctyique hit it with it's sabre and cut It's left hand off .
 -An Austrian couple; who had own ed restaurant at Antwerp for the I last sixteen years was terribly ill., treated by the mob. The poor wo- man had one Of her eyes pierced with a fork while her husband had two fingers cut off Another Austrian woman was expelled from a mater
 
 only five days old, She had neither, 1 dress nor shirt on her body which. was only covered with a dirty bed sheet It was heart-rending scene yet t did not prevent a garde civique from making fun of her in a, shame I less m1anmer5 1t was such a 'comedy,' i very amusing, indeed"
 With reference to the treatment of Anstro- -Hungarian nationals in France. the chief complaint was innocent women and children in the lconeentEazton camps. A deposition of 1EfGs M. E.. Schreiner, a graduate nurse, pictures conditions in a con- vent at Gara4son to which Austrfans, Hunear1ans and Germans were or Here they were informed that they l were prisoners of war.
 There were altogether about 1000 Ipr1scners,7 declared Miss Schreaner, shazf Of whom were women and children. There was no furniture available and straw was the sole bed- ding Under the probext of safety the existing 1afr1nes were boarded up and holes in the ground were dug by the male prisoners in lieu of other ar engagements. There were no provi- sions made for washing Insuf- ficiency of food and the weather con- ssditions soon brought about serious illness such as dysentery, and in con- sequence or the inadequate 1atr1nes, 1 epfdennics broke out Two women were confined and had to put up with the most atrocious treatment Four people died"
 Other eases cited included the ina Hcious punishment. rough medical at tendance by veterinary surgeon,,' ,,' and the shameless moIestatfon of in termed girls of French soldiers at Stables dsOIonne.
 .sThe young girls.,, according to one of the dispositions, were exposed to criminal assaults by the soldiers In the beginning. they were herded to- gether with the young men and had to share their rooms or stables with them. NIodesty forbids specification of all the acts of indecency towhich we