Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-10-14
WOMAN KEPT PRISONER
BEHIND GEnMhN BARS
Her Only OfYense Was Doing Work
of Humanity Among Dis
treSsed BelgianS.
SERVES HER FULL SENTENCE
Condemned to Exile, but Released
Through Efforts Of Spanish Am
bassador-Sole Aim Of Germans
in Belgium Is to Terrorize People.

PARIS, October 13.-"When one
knows why to live, how to live is of
very little Importance, yet it was
great relief to my nerves to get out
! from behind German prison bars" said
| Madame Carton de WiaIt. wife of tho
| Belgian Minister of Justice, 10 the AS
| sociatcd Prcss-"in spite Of my inter
! est in prison reforms" she added.
Madame do Wharf has for some time
been corresponding member OF the
| New York Prison Association
1T was by no favor that was re-
| leased" she declared: Il had served out
the sentence OF the court-martial. three
and half months Imprisonment, and
| 1t was only on being released that I
learned | was also condemned to exile
They wanted to keep me in Germany.
| but through the efforts of the Spanish
ambassador l was allowed to go to
Switzerland. where my husband joined
me. Everything was arbitrary in the
proceedings against me. and the after
, thought of exile was purely military
! expedient TO keep me out Of my coun-
try.
HER ONLY oFFENSE
WAS HELPING THE HELPLESS
What 1 managed to do, all the
women OF Belgium did as far as their
situation enabled them to do-that was
to help the millions of Belgians who
remained In their country to get news
from fathers. sons and husbands who
have been lighting for many long
months: 1t was an act of elementary
humanity that every man with heart
! must approve. Those who live far
away from the furnace of war per-
haps not always able to comprehend
the situation of the mothers, wives and
children of the occupied regions of
Belgium and Northern France, in
whose minds Is repeated each day since
! the beginning the agonizjng question
! whether a cherished one has not been
killed or wounded. or is not waiting in
J dircst distress a last word from home.
have. with great many others.
! done what l could to alleviate such
! sufferings, especially among the poor
| people. At the same time / took good
! care to prevent any correspondence
! that might concern military operations
themselves.
| when the Belgian government re-
| tired to Antwerp I remained in Brus-
whom was only year old. Being the
| wife of the Belgian Minister of JUS
| tice, l continued to occupy the apart
ments at the ministry that are set
apart for the minister's family.
| The Germans ordered me out, say
ing they required the premises for
! their soldiers. l refused. still con-
siderng Belgium an independent coun-
try. They declared they would send
| soldiers to be quartered there. not
| of the guard occupied the ministry at
| night, and during all that time no
| visitor could gain access to my apart
ments without being challenged, ques-
| toned and showing papers"
Endeavoring to keep up the juvenile
70 fnc ~ Tod in aJtr{t nv 1a>
| introduced by her husband and or
| Eanized after the plan of the Juvenile
| courts of Denver and other American
| cities, Mrs. de Wharf travelled about n
| great deal all through Belgium. Her
activity awakened the suspicious Of
. the kommandatur.
They forced their way into my
apartments. ostensibly seeking evil
| dence of a plot against the German
government" she said. Seeing a waste
paper basket and spending hours in
matching together and FASTING up
! scraps OF torn letters. envelopes and
! other papers. or all they found, the
most compromising in their eyes were
| two priests cossacks. copies of Cardi-
| nal Mercers pastoral letter, papers
containing a speech delivered by Mon
sieur de Wharf in Paris, December 20,
| 1914. and n letter addressed to the
| komma ndatur torn up instead Of be-
| ing delivered.
<NlttT the search L was arrested on
| tho charge of circulating Cardinal Mer-
ciers letter and my husbands speech
and with facilitating the correspond
cnce of Belgian people with their kin
dred In exile through other channels
than by the German post via AK. la
Chapelle. Asked If l wished to be rep
resented by counsel, l refused, saying
l would present my own case as Bel
CLAN advocates do not recognize the
authority of German courts martial
by pleading before them. I was ac-
companied only by the head OF the
order of advocates Of Brussels as n
witness to the proceedings.
CHARGE HER WITH USING
CASSOCNS FOR DISGUISE
During the eighteen hours of close
questioning that endured they charged
me with changing my costume radi-
cally in order to spy upon them: they
declared that the two priests cassocts
found In my apartments were intended
for DISCUSSES. | denied nothing, ex-
planning simply that the cassocks were
gifts intended for priests driven from
their churches and their homes by tho
dcvastatlors Of the German army. I
admitted corresponding with my hus-
band and with helping poor people who
had no facilities to do the same I
told them knew the risk l was taking,
but that l didn't admit their right TO
judge me.
After eighteen hours cross -examin-
alton and considerable deliberation they