El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-07-13
.BELGIANS IN
ENGLAND SORE
Complain .Britons Trying to
Drive Them Out Destitute,
After Brave Stand.

Brussels. Belgium. July 15.-Bel-
gians returning from England complain
Of their treatment by the British gov
eminent and the British public Ac-
cordinE to their statements the lot Of
the 100000 Belgian fugitives on Eng
lish soil is deplorable. They are kept
under police Surveillance and not per-
mitted 10 live in the coast districts or
to change their residence without per
mission Of the authorities
Many OF them find it impossible to
obtain employment. because the Brit
ish workmen object TO their presence
in factories When they ask for work
they are turned away and told to join
the army Of their country in Flanders
and northern France.
Good Treatment ShOrtiSved
When the war began and hundreds Of
thousands of fugitives sought an asy-
lum across the English channel even
the houses Of the best classes We're
opened TO them For a time they re-
ceived liberal aid from all sides and
lived comfortably, but this did not las
long.
The authorities and the public after
a few months became tired Of support
ing them and they were told to 90 10
MOEk- W men LueE lF4tQ 10 earn LnEAE
own living the laborinE classes object
ed to their competition They were
treated as paupers and foreign ~scabs'
and accused OF taking the bread away
from British working men, In many
cases the manufacturers were compelled
to bar them, because strikes were
threatened
In the paper. 'IiIndependence Beige
published in London since Brussels
was occupied by the German troops.
rTrff 4
In a copy received here
Makes BeIgfans' Lives Miserable.
England in her egotism has COM
menced crusade TO drive out the Bel
gian fugitives by making life unbear-
able TO them Our people are accused
Of pressing down British wages and
we are told that 100000 Belgisns OF
military age are living on English
charity, instead OF fighting for their
country and the common cause OF the
allies.
The latter charge is an outright
1alsehood- According TO a recent cen
sus the total number OF Belgian fugi-
tives in England is 250. 900. including
women and children. The men among
them are mostly over so years old
Declare They Fought For Allies
To call our men towards and
'slackers is a brutal SANDER. The
heroes who fought at Liege, at Haze
lem and on the User in the expectation
z
moved down by thousands by the Ger
man machine guns did not belong to
a nation Of towards and they were not
fighting for their own interests. The
belg1ans had nothing TO gain in the
war against Germany. They did NOT
have 10 defend the supremacy OF their
commerce and il was not necessary for
them 10 crush dangerous competitor
Called towards By English.
They had no Interior motives when
they cast their lot with England AMI
France and now. after losing everything
IN the terrible struggle. they are al
most treated like enemies and called
towards by the nation for which they
sacrificed themselves
There are comparatively few Bel
gians Of military age in England To
demand OF them that they should leave
their families 10 starvation and TO
go TO the front is brutal. The Eng
hshmen volunteer knows that his wife
and children viii get ample support
from the government. but the Belgian
can expect no aid for his dear ones
and they may die OF hunger while he
is dying on the battlefield"
In another article "LIndependence
Beige protests against the order OF
the British government which forbfds
the Belgians living in England to fur
nish war material to their own coun-
try Under this order the Belgian gov
eminent is compelled to buy directly
from the British manufacturers. with
out the aid OF middlemen and the Bel
gians are not even permitted TO act
as brokers