New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-02-13

the Direct UnHnhng Rnor Action
Manifested Hundred Ways the German Occupation of Belgium
More Eyewitness Testimony from Mr. Arthur Gleason

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir' The world owes Germany grateful
thanks. She has restored 20 us our belief In
the possibility of remaking the community
We were growing slack. opportunistic and
compromising. We were letting the drift Of
things prevail. Germany has taught us direct
action. She has taken hold Of the world al a
given place at particular moment and made
changes. She has shown that II property
blocks the path Of an inner need property is
! &C be destroyed. In rankly materialistic
rge Germany has dared 70 affirm that 70 ma
terial product is to stand in the way OF the
human spirit. We have been instructed that
changes come gradually. She has martyred
herself TO show that they come swiftly
One afternoon | was present when she be-
lieyed that some thousand houses of plaster
and brick stood between her and spiritual
accomplishment She felt that II she could
place her legions on the seashore OF Calais
and let them look across 70 the Dover chalk
hanks she would free something IN her spirit
The city Of Dixmude stood between her and
the Channel view; sch0ne Aussicht SO in
that one afternoon she put her artillery on
the obstructing town and leyelled IL TO the
ground. saw her bring 20 pass IN few
hours what . less impassioned belief might
have tinkered with for twenty years.
The Germans have learned that they can
change things. If they don't like king they
push him OF the map. If there IS not enough
efficiency i'm a country, they occupy 10 and
establish efficiency. They put their ideas
into practice For idealism as a dream they
have no use. All this Is necessary 10 convert
hopes into execution is the employment oil
science under a united national will.
When we apply the same faith TO cleaning
cut the slums that Germany has used Ia burn
ing up what she considered undesirable
houses in Belgium we shall make swift prog
ness in tenement house reform. ! spent por-
tions of three days in examining her thor
oughness as practised on q city, where she
lad painstakngly. methodically, burned loo
homes. house by house.
I'm the Aiost section she felt there was am
o'ercrowdng Of population, tending toward
congo tiou. so iu one morning saw her scat
ter 10000 people down the roads and over
the meadows 20 fresh ields. II she had been
less drastic she might have said: I've will
20 slowly with this reform We will give
social forces generation TO absorb and
drain out this overplus population" But she
preferred to make righteousness prevail here
and now.
Why not use a little Of that pure drive on
our three-in-a-room problem OF the East Side
and Halstead street and City Wilderness2
Germany believes with intensity that the
life of German soldier is a sacred value
To protect that value she was willing TO lc'
loose massacre on an entire community that
disagreed with her saw her burn q port ion
of town, house by house. WITH the inhsb-
itan's in them. Her reason WAS that Belgian
soldiers had shot German soldiers. She
wanted 70 implant the idea that no Germ IAN
life must be impaired To her thinking IN
was better TO blot out village than 70 have
|. one German grenadieS fail to 1.-Two on, his LIE