The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-05-16
EXTORT BIC FINES
French and BeIgianS Suffer In
der German "kulture."
Severely Punished ii Clocks
Don't Keep Right Time.
BY HENRY WOOD.

/ With the French Armies May L.
/ Germany'5 efforts to "kulturize" the
occupied districts of France and Bel
GUM by the introduction of German
system and organization reached
! such a degree that the civil population
was subjected to fines of the most
extortionate amounts if their watches
and clocks did not agree to within
/ few seconds of the official time as
4 esta bIished by the ''Kommandateur.
I Every new town retaken by the
/ French armies reveals fresh facts re-
garding the almost incredible system
employed by the Germans to Ger
MAMIE the local inhabitants.
/ Officers had the right to stop any
civilian on the street and demand that
| he show his watch. If the hands var
led even to the slightest degree from
the German official time as carried
by the officer. the unfortunate civ
/ ilian was heavily fined.
Enter Homes to Inspect Clocks.
! Officers could also enter private
homes to look at clocks II the latter
did not have enough German system
and organization in their mechanism
TO register the hour as fixed by the
komma ndateur," the unfortunate
house owner was subjected to a fine
I SO severe that it amounted to confis-
cation of property.
+ While the system of fines originally
was ostensibly for the purpose of bring
ing the civil population up TO the Ger
/ man standard of discipline, system
and orgaEiza ton" this pretext has
now been completely abandoned.
Forced as the Germans now are to
realize that they cannot hold indefi-
niteIy the occupied districts of France
and Belgium, the fine system is now
being used for the open purpose of ex-
torting the last penny that the civil
population possesses while they still
have it in their power to enforce the
eXtortion.
/ Millions Month in Fines.
| Some idea of the nature and amount
4 of these fines can be secured from the
/ following eases in towns recently re-
taken by the French
At Guivry. two horses were in some
! mysterious manner injured in a sta
, Bile. For this four inhabitants who
knew nothing about the affair were
found guilty and forced to pay 5000
marks
( At Ugny-Ie-Gay house was burned
/ Nevertheless. they charged that the
! owner had set fire to the structure.
The village a whole was held re-
sponsible and forced to pay 10000
marks.
At the same village a civilian was
heavily fined for driving a horse which
/ the Germans declared was not suffi-
/ GENTLY currycombed. AS a search of
( the mans premises failed to reveal
sufficient money to pay the fine. he
was given fifteen days in prison.
; Failure in every instance to produce
I the amount of cash fined by the Ger
mans is invariably followed either by
/ deportation or long prison sentences.
/ Even Loot Graveyards.
/ At Channy. three prominent citizens
1 were imprisoned An offer was then
4 made to release them upon the SUR
render of a certain amount in munich
! pal bonds. These the three men final
/ ly secured, whereupon the Germans,
/ deciding they wanted the amount de-
manded in cash instead of bonds re-
+ fused to accept the latter and con-
fined the three men in a humid room
/ without fire, light or bedding and
diet of pint of coffee in the morn
ing and piece of bread in the even
ing.
/ The men were kept in this condition
until friends succeeded in raising in
the neighboring villages the sum de-
manded.
/ Up to date five cemeteries have been
/ found at Bray Saint Christophe
: Champion, Amy. Beuraignes and
/ Crapeaumesnu where all of the more
/ promising looking tombs had been
! dyna mited and the collins stripped not
/ only of the metal lining but of any OBJ
/ jects of silver that adorned them. Not
/ in single instance were the bodies
/ ever placed back in the tombs and can
/ only be supposed that the remains
! were scattered to the four winds