The Pulaskian., 1917-12-28

>-~>-~-~-->~~~-~~~-"~~~~~- -~>-~~~~~-~-~~~-~~e~~e~ of the second peace conference at The Hague, 1907, pledged themselves to the following:
 Article L. No general penalty, pe- euniary or otherwise, shall be inflicted upon the population on account of the acts of individuals for which they can not be regarded as Jointly and several ly responsible"
 Article LII. Acquisitions in kind and services shall not be demanded from municipalities or inhabitants ex- cept for the needs of the army of oc- cupation. They shall be in proportion to the resources of the country. and of such q nature as not to involve the in- habitants in the obligation of taking part In military operations against their own country"
 The German authorities have yiolat- ed these articles from the very begin ming. As soon as they invaded Bel gium, heavy fines were laid upon indI- yidual communities as reprisals for some act against the German army or it's regulations which was committed within their boundaries. In "An Ap- peal to Truth" Cardinal Mereier cites the following cases:
 "MalineS, a worlSing-class town. without resources, has had a fine of 10000 marks inflicted on 1t because the burgomaster did not inform the military authority of journey which the cardinal, deprived of the use of his motorcar, had been obliged to make on foot. In fact, upon the flimsiest pretexts heavy fines are inflicted on communes. The commune of Puers was subjected to fine of 5000 marks because a telegraph wire was broken, although the inquiry showed that 1t had given way through wear"
 MerciIess Exactions.
 In addition to such arbitrary, sporadic exactions, in December, 1914, the Germans demanded 40,000,O00 francs ($S,000000), a month to be paid by the Belgian provinces jointly.
 Concerning this enormous imposition Cardinal Mercier says, in the Appeal to Truth :"
 "Now, in December, 1914, Belgium was devastated. Contributions of war imposed on the towns and innumerable acquisitions in kind had exhausted her. The greater part of the factories were idle, and in those which were still at work, raw materials were, contrary to all law, being freely communicated.
 Tt was on this impoverished Bel gium, living on foreign charity, that contribution of nearly 500,0O0,0O0 francs was imposed.'
 The German military rules have also made the families responsible for acts committed by or charged against mem- bers as Is shown in the following ex- amples, which are quoted from the Appeal to Truth, cited above:
 'The Belgian government have sent orders to reJoin the army to the mi litiamen of several classes. All those who receive these orders are strictly forbidden to act upon them. In case of disobedience the family of the militiaman will be held equally responsible"
 Punishment "Without Mercy"
 The commander in chief of the Ger man army in Belgium posted procla- nation declaring:
 "The villages where acts of hostility shall be committed by the inhabitants against our troops will be burned.
 For all destruction of roads, rail- ways, bridges, etc. the villages in the neighborhood of the destruction will be held responsible.
 .'The punishments announced above will be carried out severely and with out mercy. The whole community will be held responsible. Hostages will be taken in large numbers. The heaviest war taxes will be levied" At the end of the Appeal to Truth" Cardinal Mercier says:
 "But we cannot say all here, nor quote all.
 If, however, our readers wish for the proof of the accusations |. we shall be glad to furnish them. There is not In our letter, nor In the four annexes Ito the Appeal to Truth, one allegation of which we have not the proofs in our records"