Evening star., 1917-09-30
Sees Germans Conduct.


not to me, but in Col Eandeleur's state
ment to the British war offlce-he tells
of car ahead of his where. the men
being threatened with suffoca ton. they
hammered SO madly on the walls of the
car that at last a carpenter was brought
who cut small round hole for air.
Let US see, for a moment, what the
Belgians had q right to expect from
the invading army, considering Belgium
not neutral but enemy territory. Ger
many had subscribed to The Hague
convention. that gentleman's agreement
between nations which was designed
since wars seemed inevitable. to make
for fairness and decency. By article 4e
of that convention, Belgium, as enemy
territory, has this claim:
Claim of Belgium.
Family honor and rights. individual
life. and private property. as we'll as
religious convictions and worship, must
be respected.
Private property may not be con-
fiscated.'
Article 2S
The giving over to pillage of town
or place, even when taken by assault, Is
forbidden.
In sieges and bombardments all nee
essary steps must be taken to spare. as
far as possible, buildings dedicated to
public worship, art. science or charita-
BILE purposes, historic monuments. hos
pitfalls and places where the sick and
wounded are collected. provided they
are not being used at the time for mill
tary purposes
That is what Belgium had a right to
expect. What she has had. in wanton
destruction of cities and of historical
monuments, we know. That is what
France, too, had right to expect, and
what she got that also we know.
Ordered Humanity.
But The Hague convention did more
than order the protection Of cities and
non-combatants: 1t ordered such hu-
manity as was possible toward the
opposing army; it forbade the use of
poison or poisoned weapons. the say
ing that no quarter would be given,
the killing of men who had surren-
projectiles calculated to cause unnec-
essary suffering: it forbade the attack
or bombardment by any means what
ever of undefended towns, villages.
dwellings or buildings
On every one of these counts Ger
many must plead guilty. Every viola
tion of them is one reason why We are
at war.
We are at war today not because the
Crown Prince of Austria was killed in
Serbia. but because the German army
protected its advance with non-com-
Sunk Peaceful Vessels.
We are at war today not because
German submarines sunk battleships.
but because they have sunk and are
sinking peaceful vessels. little fishing
boats. when the fishermen We're labor
ing to get scant livelihood and great
unarmed passenger ships carrying nom
combatants-men. women and children.
~tty
zens of conquered Belgium who died
protecting their women.
We are at war because of that Ger
man order of August "a, 1914, for
frightfulness.
We are at war against the convic-
ton. in German minds. that might is
right. that the end justities any means,
no matter how brutal.
Clean and Humane People.
We are clean and a humane people.
We would not believe these things at
first. \ million and half Belgians
fled to England with the story. We
were sunk at sea. We still felt there
must be some justification. New and
ever new cruelties Of death came from
the German trenches. and we have said:
This is modern war"
But the score is mounting higher
are lost in its inhumanities. fathered
by German skill. 1t was not enough
that men should die. They must die
horribly.
We have never understood. We
have been a people of ideals. confront
ing a nation of Grass materialists. 1t
is time for us to understand. But it is
not time, and never will be time, for
the American people to stoop to the
methods of an enemy which would
"a
protect it's advance by the helpless
forms of old men, of women and of
children.
Were Skeptical at First.
1t is we'll for us to pause for mo-
meut to look back on these things
We were skeptical at first. but time
has shown their truth. for they are
Of piece with the things that have
happened since. They belong with the
With the attacks on London. With
liquid fire.
We are a people of homes. Politics
means little to US: the quarrels of
Europe nothing. But here is an enemy
which has marched over the homes of
a nation and wantonly destroyed them.
Here is an enemy that took the women
and children out of these homes. and
with that pitiful advance guard drove
ahead. Again and again innocent
civilians of both sexes were sacrificed
to protect the invading army"
1t is for the home we are fighting
today Democracy will live, because
the principle of free people Will
never die. Liberty will survive, so
long as the soul is greater than the
body. But the world will go on and
progress only when we have placed
on the Intel of each door in every land
the sign. in blood If 1T must be. that
the covenant of the weak and the TN
protected must be kept.