The courier-index., 1917-12-21

alternate translations in German and
French of such sentences as Hands
up cit is the very first sentence
in the book)
Garry out all the furniture.
81 am thirsty, bring me some
beer, gin rum.
"'You have to supply barrel of
wine and a keg of beer.
How to Threaten Death
If you lie to me ! will have
you shot
LEAD me to the wealthiest in
habitants of this village. | have
orders to requisition several barrels
of wine.
Show us the way to . If
you lead us astray you will be shot
THE quotations and proclamations
printed above show clearly the at
titude of mind of the German mill
tary authorities The policy of fright
fulness had been exalted into
system with every minute detail
worked out in advance. The Ger
man war book, with its cold blood
ed doctrines of the nature of war,
and of the means which may be
employed in prosecuting war, did
its work in the training of the Ger
man military officials. OF this book
it has been said: 1T is the first
time in the history of mankind that
a creed so revolving has been so
deliberately formulated by a great
civilized nation
No Sentiment in War
1.-THE generals gave their sanction
to this policy of frightfulness. Gen.
eral Won Bernhard was quoted in an
interview in the Neue Freje Press of
Vienna as follows: One cannot make
war in a sentimental fashion. The
more pitiless the conduct of the war,
the more humane it is in reality, for
it will run it's course all the sooner.
The war which of all wars is and
must be the most humane in that
which leads to peace with as little
delay as possible
Speaking on August 20, 1914, at
Munster, of the extreme measures
which the Germans had felt obliged
to take against the civil population
of Belgium, General Won Kissing
said: THE innocent must suffer for
the guilty. In the repression
of infamy human lives cannot be
spared and If isolated houses, flour
ishing villages and even entire towns
are annihilated, that is assuredly re-
grettable, but it must not excite ill
timed sentimentality. All this must
not in our eyes weigh as much as
the life of single one of our brave
soldiers-the rigorous accomplish
ment of duty is the emanation of
high kultur, and in that the popu-
lation of the enemy countries can
learn a lesson from our army
WORK on the German People
These ideas, then, were system
atically impressed upon the military
and official classes. 1t was neces-
sary, however, to work upon the
minds of the German people, so that
they might lend themselves to the
inhuman policies advocated by the
military leaders. To do this was
difficult for, as has been shown
above, many of the civilian leaders
of public opinion time and again
expressed their horror of the new
spirit which was animating the mill
tary authorities. The reichstag de-
bates give ample evidence of this,
and the task of the military leaders
would have been still more difficult
If the reichstag had had any real
power.
THE military authorities and those
in sympathy with them have done all
in their power to stimulate a hatred
of other peoples in the minds of the
Germans. A campaign of education
before the war was carried on with
the object of impressing upon the
minds of the Germans the PREACHER
Gus nature of the peoples against
whom the military leaders were
anxious to wage war.
Campaign Of Hatred
Not only were the Germans grad
ually led to believe that it was
necessary to fight defensive war
against INSCRIPTIONS foes but also
that these foes would violate every
precept of humanity, and conse-
quently must be crushed without
mercy. a measure of self defense.
The fruits of this campaign of sus-
picion and hatred became evident
when almost atthe outbreak of the
war many Germans became possess
ed with the belief that the whole
population of Belgium, the first coun-
try to be invaded, had violated every