New Britain herald., 1915-01-08
GERMANS MALTRfATfD
 PRIESTS IN BELGIUM
Detailed Allegations Of OutTages
 Issued by British Press Bureau. CLERGY EITHER SHOT OR HANGED
Churches and Religious Houses De- StrOyed or PrOfaned in Almost Every Village and in Many Towns Where Kaiser's Troops Passed.

1 London, Jan. 8, 11:26 A. M.-At the request of the Belgian legation in London the British press bureau today issued detailed allegations, of the mal- treatment of Catholic clergy in Bel gium and the destruction of their in- stitutions by German troops.
 This statement says that churches and religious houses were destroyed or profaned in almost every village and in many towns where the Ger man troops passed. In most cases the edifices were utilized as stables and prisons, and when not placed in safe hiding the sacred vessels were stolen.
 The statement makes the declara- tion that members of the clergy have been exposed to special indignities at the hands of German soldiers.
 Shot Or Hanged.
 In the dioceses of Liege, Namur, Malines and Ghent many priests and others connected with the churches were either shot or hanged Many other priests were carried off to Ger many, where they appear to have been subjected to abominable usage"
 The following specific instances are given in the statement of the press bureau:
 August 21-The priest of Duechen Spanish priest, among group of seventy civilians, were dragged about from place to place all day and mo- tested, insulted and threatened with military execution. They were taken to the church at Campenhout and shut up for the night
 Tortured and Shot
 August 21-The priest of Duechen, an invalid elghty-seven years old, suf- fered from disease, was accused by the Germans of having fired on them He was arrested hoisted on a cannon, tossed into a ditch, tortured and shot.
 "A witness deposes that he saw the priest Gelrode brought into Aershot August "A with three wounded men. The Germans said he was an English spy and took him to the town hall The following day they beat him with rifle butts, and then on the Demer bridge they shot him and cast his body into the river
 Maltreated in Every Way.
 "A priest makes the following de- position:
 August IS, German soldiers swarmed into the village of Schaffen and began to burn and pilIage on the pretense that shots had been fired on them. One hundred and seventy houses were burned and twenty-seven civilians were murdered. The Ger mans maltreated me in every way They erected a gallows on which they said they proposed to hang me. They thrust me into a house which was on fire, but dragged me out again They sent me off and at a distance of 200 yards they began shooting at me. I fell and pretended to be dead, and so escaped
 Continuing, the statement says the commission of inquiry collected evil dence that in the diocese of Malines alone twenty-six priests were killed without cause. Similar atrocities oc- cured in other dioceses. In the Liege diocese ten priests were shot and in the Namur diocese twenty priests were killed The priest of Spontin was first hung up by the feet and then by the hands and pierced with bayonets. In the <ocese of Tournai, a bishop, seventy-four years old, was seized as a hostage and struck by a soldier. Three ecclesi- astics were shot in this diocese.
 At Head of List.
 The statement concludes with these words: Nothing can demonstrate more clearly the tendencies of the Germans in dealing with members of the clerical body than the words of d proclamation posted by the German authorities at Grivegnee, Septen1b Der 6, which says: When hostages are taken the priests, burgomasters and members of the communal admins tration are to be put at the head of the list.
 ACCIDENTALLY KILLS HIMSELF