The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-05-18

army IN Belgium.
II a line. is drawn on a map from
n Belgian frontier to Liege and con
uhueo 10 Charleroi, and a second line
dTaWn from Liege to Malines. a sort
OF inquire resembling an irregular y
VIII De 1t is along this y
that most Of the systematic cas- on
posed 10 lsoiated) Outrages were com
united II the period from August i
to August 80 is taken it will be found
TO cover most Of these organized out
RACES. Termonder and Alost extend.
II Is true, beyond the Y lines. and they
belong to the month of September. |
MURDER, rape, arson and pillage be-
gan from the when the Ger
mana army crossed the frontier. For
the first fortnight of the war the
towns and villages near Liege were
n chlef sufferers. From August 18th
10 the end of the month outrages
spread in the directions OF Charl.roi
and Malines and reach their period
OF greater intensity. There is a Ger
tain significance in the fact hat the
outrages around Liege coincide with
the unexpected resistance of the Bel
Slan army in that district, and that tho
slaughter which reigned from August
10 to the end Of the month is contern-
poraneous with the period when the
German army's need for a Quick pas
sage through Belgium at all costs was
deemed imperative.
Here let a distinction be drawn be-
tween two classes of outrayes.
wide ange of Atrocities.
Individual acts Of brutality-iu-
treatment of civilians, rape, plumber
n the ke-W widely commit
ted. These are more numerous and
more shocking than would be expect
ed in warfare between civilized pow
ers, but they differ rather in extent
- - ltd --- L. IL
in previous though not recent wars.
In ali wars many shocking and
outrageous acts of criminal instincts
whose worst passions were Embossed
by the immunity which the conditions
of warfare afford. Drunkenness. more
over, may turn even a soldier VINO
has no criminal habits into a brute,
who may commit outrages at which
he would himself be shocked in his
sober moments, and there is evidence
that lntOxicatlOn was extremely prev
alent among the German army, both
in Belgium and in France. for plenty
of wine was to be found in the vii
lagos n country houses which were
pillaged. Many of the worst Outrages
appear to have been perpetrated by
men under the influence of drink. Tn
fortunately little seems to ave beer
done to repreSS this source of dan.
, ger.
=, NO precedent IN history.
In the present war, noWeVer-an
this is the graveSt charge against tn.
German army-the evidence Show
that the killing OF non-combatant:
was carried out to an extent for which
I no previous war between nation
I claiming to be civilized (for sucl
: cases as the atrocities perpetrated b.
the Turks on the Bulgarian Chris
tians in 1876, and on the Armenian
| & hrictionC in 1909 and 1905 do NO
belong to that category furnishes an,
e precedent. That this killing was don,
as part of a deliberate plan is clea
from the facts herein before set fortl
II regarding Louvain, Aerschot. Oman
II and other towns. The killing wa
d done under orders in each place. /
0 began at a certain fixed date. Som
OF the officers who carried out tn
d work did it reluctantly, and said the
were obeying directions from thei
Il chiefs. The same remarks apply t
the destruction of property. Hous
$ burning was part of the program; an
villages, even large parts Of a city
were given to the flames as part 9
the terrorizing policy.
,c A Whole Nation F1ees.
Citizens of neutral states who Wis
tied Belgium in December and JAM
, AIRY report that the German authori
h ties do not deny that -non-combatant
were Systematically killed in lars
numbers during the first weeks of tn
Invasion, and this, so far as we know
= and other acts of cruelty, includin
has never been officially denied. If
were denied, the flight IND continue
voluntary exile of thousands of Be
gian refugees would go far to contra
dict a denial, for there is no historic;
~ parallel in modern times for the fligl
of a large part Of a natitn before a
invader
., 1.-THE German government hav
however, sought to justify their S.
v~erities on the grounds of milital
- necessity and have excused them
:. retaliation for cases in which civilian
o. f;red on German troons There M
Ie have been cases in which such firir
occurred, but no proof has ever bee
M given, or to u knowledge, attenp
ed to be given, of such cases, nor
st the stories Of shocking outrages pc
n L.. .---