The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-09-25


working, or attempting to work. in
the fields. Their appearance was so
different from that of the usual peas
ant that | spoke to the accompanying
officers about it.
was told. however. that these were
the peasants OF the locality, who
dressed unusually well in that part of
France Later on, in CharleViiie, AT
the lodging of an officer and with
Count Wengersky, who was detailed
to act as sort OF interpreter and
guide to the American relief commits
sion workers. | met the members of
the American relief commission who
were working in Northern France and
who had been brought on special
train for the purpose or seeing me
at ChaTleville.
This Count WeRgersky spoke Eng
lish we'll Having been for a number
of years agent of the Hamburg -Ameri-
can line in London, he was used to
dealing with Americans and was pos
sessed OF more tact than usually falls
to the lot OF the average Prussian Of
ticer We had tea and cakes in these
lodgings, and then some of the Amer
leans drew me aside and told me the
secret of the peculiar looking peas
ants whom / had seen at work in the
fields surrounding Charleville.
1t seems that the Germans had en-
deavored to get volunteers from the
great industrial towns OF Lille, Rou-
J baiX and Tourcoing to work these
fields; that after the posting of the
notices calling for volunteers only
I fourteen had appeared. The Germans
| then gave orders to seize a certain
number of inhabitants and sent them
out to farms in the outlying districts
to engage in agricultural work. The
y a 1prtrarz told that this nT1pr
carried out with the greatest bar
/ baritY: that a man would come home
at night and find that his wife and
! children had disappeared and no one
could tell him where they had gone,
except that the neIghhors could relate
that German non-com missioned Of
/ hcers and file of soldiers had car
ried them off,
| For instance, In house OF a we'll
TODD merchant who had perhaps two
daughters of fifteen and seventeen ana
a man servant. the two daughters and
the servant would be seized and sent
off together to work for. the Germa MS
in some little farmhouse, whose To-
cation was not disclosed to the pa
rents. The Am orleans told me that
this sort of thing was causing such
indignation among the population of
these towns that they feared great
uprising and a consequent slaughter
and burning by the Germans
/ That night at dinner [ spoke to the
4 chancellor about this and told him
that it seemed To me bsolnta}ya out
irageous and that, without consulting
with my government | was prepared
to protest in the name uf humanity
against a continuance of this treat
ment OF the civil population of oc-
Cupied France. The chancellor told
me that he had not known of It, that
il was the result of orders given by
the military. that he would speak to
the emperor about il and that he
hoped to he able to stop further de
portations
| believed that further deportations
were stopped, Twenty thousand or
more who had been taken from their
homes We're not returned until months
afterward. I said in a speech that |
made somewhere in Nav on nv re-
turn TO America that it required the
Joint efforts OF the pope. the king Of
spain and our president to cause the
return OF these people to their homes
and ! then saw that some German
I press agency had come out with the
report that | had made false state
ments about this matter because these
people were not returned to their
MONIES as result of the representa-
tlons OF the pope. the king Of Spain
ana our president, but were sent back
because the Germans had no further
use for them. 1t seems TO me that
TINS denial makes the case rather
worse than before.
4 Al the ehanceilors house in the
; evening we had discussions on the
submarine situation and | had several
long talks with the chancellor alone
in corner OF the room while the
othefs listened to music or set the
mechanical toys In motion. These
discussions, without doubt. were re-
ported TO the emperor either by the
chancellor or by Won Treutler, who
his majesty
GERARD'S REPORT
CONCERNING SUBMARINES
4 l remember one evening WAS
asked the question as to what Amer
ica could do. supposing the almost i'm,
possible that America should resent
the recommencement OF ruthless sub
declare war
] said that nearly all of the great
inventions used in this war had been
mace by Americans; the very s,,h-
marlne which formed the bssis ~
our discussion was an American in
Nention, so were the barbed wire and
tne airpiane. the ironcIad. the tele
P'iNh" anu the telegraph. so neces-
sary to trench warfare. and even that
method OF warfare had been 1rs, Do
veioped on something OF the nrasan,
scale In our Civil war Furtber
believed that, If forced to IT, America
genius could produce some Invention
whiep might have decisive effect in
this war. e'' III
Ny German auditors seemed IN.
cllned 10 believe that there was some
thing IN my contentious Rut tbey
SAID, While possibly you nigh, IN.
vent something In America, willis nns-
sioly you VIII furnish money ana s,n-
plies to the allies. you have M 80,
ana the public sentiment Of vour
: country Is such that you will not y.
! able to raise any army large enough
TO make any Impression" Quite tin.
idly said That possibly IL hostilities
| once broke out with the German.
the Germans might force US nv .the
] commission OF such acts az had
aroused England TO pass a law for
universal military service This prom
! osition of mine was branded by the
. Germans as absolutely Impossible, and
therefore am sure that the adoption
J By the United States Of universal SER