The Washington times., 1917-09-25

bers of the American Relief Commits
sion who were working in northern
France and who had been brought on
a special train fer the purpose of
seeing me at CharIevi:le.
Spoke Good English.
This Count Wengersky spoke Eng
lish well. Having been for a num-
Der of years agent OF the Hamburg
American line in London, he was used
to dealing with Americans and was
possessed OF more tact than usually
falls to the lot of the average Prus-
sian officer. We had tea and cakes
in these lodgings, and then some
of the Americans drew me aside and
told me sthe secret of the peculiar
looking peasants whom 1 had seen
at work in the fields surrounding
Charleyille.
II seems that the Germans had en-
deavored to get volunteers from the
great Industrial towns of Lille, Rou-
baix. and .Tourcoing to work these
fields; that after the posting of the
notices calling for volunteers only
fourteen had appeared. The Germans
then gave orders to seize a certain
out to farms in the outlying districts
to engage in agricultural work. The
Americans told me that this order
was carried out with the greatest
barbarity; that a man would come
home at night and find that his wife
or children had disappeared and no
one could tell him where they had
gone, except that the neighbors could
relate that German noncommissioned
officers and a file OF soldiers had car
ried them of.
For instance, in a house OF a we'll
to-do merchant, who had perhaps two
daughters OF fifteen and seventeen
and a man servant, the two daugh-
ters and the servant would be seized
and sent of together to work for the
Germans in some little farm house,
whose location was not disclosed to
the parents. The Americans told me
that this sort OF thing was causing
such Indignation among the popula-
tion of these towns that they feared
a great uprising and a consequent
slaughter and burning by the Ger
mans.
Spoke to Chancellor.
That night at dinner l spoke to the
chancellor about this and told him
lldA II ~ NC dDSolNANAg JUL
rageous. and that. without consulting
with my Government, l was prepared
to protest in the name OF humanity
against a continuance OF this treat
ment Of the civil population of occu-
pied France. The chancellor told me
that he had not known OF il, 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 be able to stop further. deporta-
tions.
l believe that further deportations
were stopped. Twenty thousand or
more who had been taken from their
homes were not returned until months
afterward. l said in a speech that
l made somewhere in May on my re-
turn TO America that IL required the
Joint efforts OF the Pope, the King OF
Spain, and our President to cause the
return Of shese people to their homes;
and l then saw that some German
press agency had come out with the
report that l had made false state
ments about this matter because
these people were not returned
to their homes as a result of the
representations OF the Pope, the King
Of Spain and our President, but were
sent back because the Germans had
no further use for them. 1t seems to
me that this denial makes the case
rather worse than before.
At the chancelIor's house in the
evening we had discussion on the sub
marine situation. and l had several
long talks with the chancellor alone
in a corner OF the room, while the
others listened to music or set the
mechanical toys in motion. These dis
cussions. without doubt, were re
ported TO the Emperor either by the
chancellor or by Won Treutler, who
at that time was high in favor with
his majesty.
Was Asked QuestIOn.
remember one evening was asked
the question as to what America
could do, supposing the almost impOs
sibIe, that America should resent the
recommencement Of ruthless subma-
rine warfare by the Germans and de-
clare war.
/ said that nearly all OF the great
inventions used in this war had been
made by Americans: the very sub
marine which formed the basis OF
our discussion was an American in
vention: so were the bsrbed wire and
the airplane. the Ironclad. the tele-
phone and the telegraph, so neces-
sary TO trench warfare, and even that