Arizona republican., 1915-07-19
Expecting the Annexation of Their Country to Ger many and Their Impress ment Into Military Ser vice of That Country
TAKING REFUGE
 ON ENGLISH SOIL
Refugees Joined By Bli- ti2h, French and Rus sians Who Have Escaped the Vigilance of Guards at Military Prisons
GAssocIArED PRESS D1sPArcH1


 PARIS, July 18- Scarcely boat leaves Holland for England these days without its contingent of Belgiaus of military age who have evaded the registrttion of an male Begians cap- able of bearing arms nov required by the German authorities in Belgium Many of them are on their way to England t0 work in the munitions factories, while those who at the be- ginning of the war were called To the colors and on account of the speed with which the invasion of Belgium Was accomplished were unable to. re- spond to the call are eu route 10 join the Belgian army in Flanders ! Among the former there are various groups wearing bits of colored tape il their buttonholes or pinned to their clothing some purple. some green. some yellow, by the representatives of tie British munitions firms who are T. employ them may recognize their men or their women, as the ease may be-fur many of these future workers in the manufacture Of armament are women
 Those who are going for soldiers are generally younger men. in their early twenties for the most part They 
 sobered and saddened by what has passed in their country since last August. They talk together in little groups. in low voices, elancing over their shoulders constantly unable to rId themselves of the fear of that con tiulal surveillance to which they so ,ng have been subject.
 Their talk just now is all of the proposed annexation of Belgium by Germany. which they are convinced is imminent. They claim that this is a new oppressive measure on the part of the invaders-that Belgium once annexed and become thereby an n- tegral part of the German empire. all Pelgians of military age will be called upon to serve in the German army. and on refusal to do so will he treated as German deserters For this reason. they say. every Belgian of military aye now remaining in the stricken country is making desperate efforts to escape before the expected annexation can be proclaimed.
 on each boat, also may be found generally one or more prisoners of var who has escaped from one of the German prison camps. of which a few are not far from the Dutch border.
 
 guage being the same as that of most R5lgians renders their flight through Belgium less difficult But occasion ally there are Englishmen left behind in the first retreat from Belgium and remaining in hiding ever since, or es- caped directly from q military prison. Once in a while there is a Russian The Associated Press correspondent made the journey with two such es- capped Russians, whose story of their flight seemed almost impossible of belief. vet was borne out by the de- tail with which it vas filled. respec- ting the country over which they had made their way
 Both were still in the full uniform of Russian private soldiers which they had neither been able to change nor to disguise during their flight. With their trousers thrust into high boots and the conspicuous. round. khaSi hats perched on the side of their heads. they were unmistakahle as far as they could he seen. They spoke nothing but Russian. Yet they told the Asso-
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