New-York tribune., 1916-06-25

have seen the original diaries Of the Ger
man soldiers in the army which devastated
Belgium and Northern France. Things tum-
Bile out Just as they happened hdeous acts,
unedited thoughts. Phillips Brooks once
spoke Of the sensation there would be II the
contents Of our minds were dumped on Boston
Common for people to see. Here rs the soul
Of the German people spilled out into writing.
This Is what Germany was in the year 1914.
This record left by dead men and by capt
ured men Is a very living thing TO me, be-
cause saw these German soldiers at their
work Of burning and torture. Here they have
themselves told Of doing the very things ]
saw them do. We must not miss the point Of
their proof, written and signed by the perpc-
traitors themselves II is the proof Of sys-
tematic massacre, systematic pillage, syste-
matte arson
These diaries, found on the field Of battle,
were brought to the French General staff
along with the arms and equipments Of the
dead and the prisoners. They are written by
the soldiers because of Article 70 Of the
German instruction for Campaign Service,
which states that "these journals of war
serve for information on the general opera
tions, and by bringing together the various
reports Of active fighting they are the basis
for the later defntive histories Of the cam
paigns. They should be kept daily"
No words could be more exactly prophetic.
These diaries will be the basis of all future
histories of the war The keeping Of them is
obligatory for the officers, and seems to be
voluntary on the part of the men, but with a
measure of implied requirement So stern
did some Of the soldiers feel the military re-
qurement to be that they kept on with their
record up to the point of death.
One Flash of Tenderness.
Here is the diary of soldier Of the 4th
Company Of the 10th Battalion Of Light In
fantry Reserves which he was writing at the
moment he was fatally wounded: "Ich bin
verwundet. Behute dich Gott. Kdsse das
Kind Es soil fromm sein," and then the pen
Gil stops forever The writing on that final
page Of all is regular and firm up to the "lch
bin verwundet" Those last four sentences
are each just line long, as if each was
cry. He wrote the word "Kdsse" and could
hardly rally himself. His pencil slips into
three marks without meaning, then he writes
"das Kind" | trust my German readers will
not deny me the use Of this diary. It is the
only one of which have not seen the orig
inal. The Photographic reproduction is my
only evidence Of this flash of tenderness
among thousand acts Of infamy.
The diaries are little black-coyered pocket
copy books Of the sort that women in our
country use for family accounts. They con
tain about one hundred pages. They average
five inches in length and three i'm width. A
few Of the diaries, and those mostly belonging
10 officers. are written in ink. But most Of
them are in pencil occasionally I'm black, but
the large majority in purple.
Many Of the diaries are curt records
Of daily marches and military operations.
The man is too tired to write anything bur
distances. names of places, engagements.
That was what the Great German General
staff had in mind in ordering the practice.
They could not forosee what would slip
through into the record, because in all their
calculations they have always forgotten the
human spirit Once again we are indebted
10 German thoroughness. The causes, the
purposes. the methods Of this war, will not
be in doubt. as i'm other wars OF the past
History will be clear i'm dealing It's judg-
ments. Like the surgeons ray on a foster.
Germany has supplied US with the equipment
/ bv which we read her. So the soldiers have
gone on making their naked records OF
crimes committed and their naive mental
reactions on what they did, till all too late
the German machine forbade further exposure
of the national soul But the faithful peasant
fingers had written what all eternity cannot
annu
A Faithful Human Record.
These booklets stained, bruised. some
times perforated by bayonet or torn by
splinters of shell, the pencllings in haste,
day by day in spite Of fatigue, in spite even
of wounds"-they are the most human docu-
ments of the war.
This privilege of working with the Originate
/ themselves was extended by the Ministry OF
War. The General staff issued a Lassez-
Passer. and gave me an introduction TO the
fine white haired old lieutenant, who is
/ Russian and German scholar. Together we
went word by word over the booklets. was
/ impressed by the kindly, fair-minded attitude
of my co-worker.
"An honest man. he said when we came
to Horak's record. "Un brave soldat," he
declared of the old reservst who protested
against murder. He not trying to make a
case lie had no need to make a case. The
pity Of IL is that the case has been so
thoroughly made by German hands. These
diaries have not been doctored in the small
est detail. There they are, as they were
taken from the body Of the dead man and
the pocket Of the prisoner The room where
We worked is stuffed with the booklets Of
German soldiers Shelves are lined with
the black bound diaries, and the little red
books Of Identification carried by each
soldier. They overflow upon tables. In this
room and suite adjoining sit the official
translators Of the French General STAFF. J
have purposely selected certain Of my exam
: n1as from the official ronorfs Of tho French