The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1917-10-03
(Ry Mary Robsrt, Rinshart.l

Is It's Oath!
Perhaps for all of them. Perhaps.
too, because we could not keep out.
We tried. Whatever may have been
our record in the past. it can never
be said of us that we brought this
war on ourselves, or that we failed
to use every honorable method to
keep out of the death grip of Europe.
We have ourselves constructed a
government that is dignifled. just,
slow to wrath. and humane.
Covering Her Tracks.
But for three years past a con-
viction has been growing among us
that one of the nations in the world
war is none Of these things-not
dignified, not just not humane. Had
Germany's cruelties ceased with
Belgium, she might in ltime have
made her case before the world. For
three years in that wretched coun-
try she has been covering her tracks.
But Germany has bungled. She
has disclaimed frightfulness in Bel
gium only to bring it home to the
world at large She has introduced
into warfare such cruelties Of kill
ing, such inhuman methods. such
destruction, such contempt of the
laws of war as have set the world
pale with horror. She has added
hate to the vocabulary Of war, and
hatred Is a ContagiOn.
She has been willing to shoulder
the sinking of women and children
in ,unarmed ships. She is proud of
the invention of poison gases and of
liquid fire. She believes that the
shelling Of unfortified cities and the
use of the submarine against help
less fishing boats will, on her initia-
tive, be accepted by the next Hague
convention as ethical and legal
But she continues to disclaim the
atrocities in Belgium.
Atrocities True.
The atrocities in Belgium are true.
They are matters OF record. Ger
man soldiers themSelves have set
down the details in the diaries their
government gave them. have read
some of those diaries. It is not true
that the German government or
dered assaults on women. But it did
order looting and arson and whole
sale murder.
The result of that order for loot
ing was a mob of drunken men,
whose victims today fill great
graves.
This Is a terrible accusation to
bring against a people. Yet l know
the thing of which 1 speak. During
the first year of the war l went to
that portion of Belgium which re-
mained unconquered. There l saw
men, officers high in the Belgian
army. who had themselves seen that
infamous advance protected by their
own people-old men, women carry
ing children, small girls, sturdy boys
with death behind and death ahead.
Must Face World.
On one count Germany must face
the world, must be tried and
with no possibility of
acquittal. She protected her advance
with noncombatants.
/ have before me on my desk the
original copy of an interview with
Albert. king Of the Belgians, during
the first winter of the war. Much
that was said during that interview
has never been published and will
not be published now. have not
the kings permission, although he
would probably give it. When the
interview was written for publica-
ton we were still a neutral people.
He respected our neutrality, al
though he was hopeful that some
day he could lay the case of Belgium
before the world. 1t is enough to
say that he confirmed the atrocities
out of his intimate knowledge, and
that not the loss OF kingdom but
the tnhuman methods of the in
vaders was the thing that had struck
to the very heart. Here is that in
terview, brought now to the atten-
tion of the American people, lest we
forget. in the tangle of information
al law and the Outcry Of Germany
that we are fighting the allies war,
the real cause of our entrance into
the world conflict.
Interview Unchanged.
The first time King Albert of Bel
gium gave to the world at large mis-
statement as to the conduct Of the
German army in Belgium was on
that January afternoon In 1915 when,
in his own villa at La Panne, he
gave me the following interview.
Later he re-read it carefully. have
not changed a word. He spoke
slowly and carefully, waiting for
my pencil to follow him.
Later on, when his equerry
brought me the interview, officially
he said, This will make
history, madame" so sure was he
that the kings statement would
carry with it not only conviction but
the outraged sympathy of the
American people.
Fearful things have been done,
during the invasion"
the king said. weighing his words
carefully, although it would be un-
fair to condemn the whole German
most humane, but others behaved
very badly. Have you seen the gov
ernment report?"
said had not seen 1t, though I
had heard that a careful investiga-
tion had been made.
Government Cautious.
'"The government was very eau
tious," his majesty said. "The in
vestigation was absolutely impartial
and as accurate as it could be made.
Doubts were cast on all statements
even those of the most dependable
they could be veri-
fed"
They were verifed?"
"Yes; again and again."
by the victims themselves?
Not always. The victims of ex-
treme cruelty do not live to tell of
it, but German soldiers themselves
have told the story. We have had
here at La Panne many hundreds of
journals taken from dead or i'm
prisoned Germans furnishing Ella
borate details of most atrocious acts.
The government is keeping thase
journals. They furnish powerful
and ncontrovertible testimony of
what happened in Belgium when it
was swept over by a brutal army.
That was, Of course, during the in
vasion; such things are not hap
pening now, so far as we know"
He was trying hard to be fair.
We were still neutral I. was to
publish the interview in a neutral
country. He did not wish to in
volve US, to rouse US. He had sent
q delegation to us to tell us the
truth, but we had not realized then
what was happening, and we had