The Carlisle independent., 1917-12-20

tude, however, is to be found in the Hfmperor,s various speeches, and espe- cialiy in his speech to his soldiers on the eve of their departure for China in 1900. On July 27 the kaiser went to Bremerhaven to bid farewell to the German troops. As they were drawn un. ready to embark for China. he ad5 dressed to them a last official message from the fatherland The local news paper reported his speech in full h appeared this advice and admanition from the emperor, the commander in chief of the army. the head of all Ger many:
 Soldiers Told to Be Merclless.
 As soen as you come to blows with the enemy he will be beaten. No mercy will be shown No prisoners will be taken! As the Huns under King At lila. made name for themselves, which is still mighty in traditions and legends today may the name of Ger man be so fixed in China by your deeds. that no Chinese shall ever again dare even to look at German askance. =. l Open the way for Kultur once for all
 Even the imperial councillors seem 10 have been shocked at the emperor's i speech. and efforts were promptly 1 made to suppress the circulation of his exact words. The efforts were only l partly successful \ few weeks later. when the letters from the German sol- l Hers in China were being published. in local German papers. the leading ] socialist newspaper. VorWaefts eX- l cerpted from them reports of atroei- -fes under the title Letters ef the Huns" Many of the leaders in the --tehStas felt very heealy the brutality 's the emperor's speech. The obnoz- ions word Huns" had excited almost universal condemnation. When the reiehstae met in November. the speech was openly discussed. Herr Lieter Of the center (Catholie party). after quot ing The mo mercy" portion of the i speech. added. "There are. alas in Ger many groHpS enough who have regard a The atrocities told in the letters which have been published as the duei- fui response of soldiers so addressed and encouraged" The leader af tine social democrats, Herr Rebel. spoke i even more poiHtediF. Toward the end .s 1we-hour address on tha atrocities committed by the German soldiers in China and on the speech of the em= 1erar, he said:
 If Germany wishes to he the bearer lt civilization to the world. We witt
 a.loW without contradiction. But the .garS and means in which this world ] eltey has been carried on thus far in ] ehieh t has been defined by the em- ] a-Her are nat ta= our opinion. ] he way to preserve the world position i if Germany. to gain for Germany the ] respect of the world"
 The consequences of the emperor's ! speech Bebel apHy described:
 By il the signal was given. g8rbed in the highest authority of the German i empire which must have most WeightY 1 consequences, not only for the troops who went to China but also for those rho stayed at home. An expedition 1 of revenge so bafbarOus as this has ! never occurred in the last hundred l years and not often in history; at ..a@f. Heta,ug worse than this has hap paaed in history either done by the
 aas b8 he Vandals. by Genghfs Khan. by Tamerlane. or even bE TtIIy ] when he sacked Maedeburg.
 Atrocities in China.
 These atrocities iH China or @Let-erz ! af -he HHns1 eauaaaaI t8 be published
 sz#a Earwaees~ fae several wears and
 aesi inrarmitte1tlE in tle debates
 e HaiHhstag as Late s 1ga5. Al @ tHaa tae socialist Herr Eunart.
 -uaz The procedure iH a Hrfal of
 a Hs had been aa v.e-ia .a rha ! HaH-oH5 summer. asaa shat Ha had l offered t5 prove That German soldiers 5a China }aa enga1aI ta=ranfau and eHasa. raEa-r-- t5s uaa3er. niIaee. sF=iaH ra eHr az H-eH as rape and
 Ela. abuses of tt.a worst k.ud. had j occurred en avery large scale and that @rmau soldiers had participated in ! -G m He had not been given an 0p- aaruaitv to prove his allegations. but 1 had heen sentenced eo prison for three months for assailing the honor of the ''rhole German army" The out ra reousness of this sentence was made clear by the revelations. made in the re5chsag shortly afterwards, of simi- ' lar atrocities committed by German officials and soldiers in Africa in the l campaign against the Hereros.
 These ideas which have come to control the minds Of the military class, are best shown in the German War Book" f"Krieesbrauch i'm Land krieee) published in 1902 The tone of this authoritative book may he l judged from the following extracts:
 Teachings of German War Book.
 "But since the tendency of thought in the last century was dominated es- sentially by humanitarian considera- tfons which not infrequently degene- rated into sentimentality and fiabby emotion (Sentlmentalltat und weich- l Hcher Gefuhlschwarmerei), there have not been wanting attempts to influ- | n