Imperial Valley press., 1917-05-16
GERMAN EXTORT|ONS
ARE REACHING LIMIT
Bv Henry Wood

'kulturize" the occupied districts o
y France and Belgium by the introduc
: tion of German System and organiza
ton" reached such degree that tn
: civil population was subjected to fine
of the most extortionate amounts !
their watches and clocks did not agre'
to within few seconds of the Off
cIal time as established by the "kom
niandateur.
Every new town retaken by the
i French armies reveals fresh fact:
regarding the almost incredible sys
tam employed by the Germans t,
"Germanize" the local inhabitants.
Officers had the right to stop any
civilian on the street and demand that
he show his watch. If the hands va
RED even to the slightest degree from
the German official time" as carried
by the officer. the unfortunate civil
ian was heavily fined.
Officers could also enter private
houses to look at clocks. If the lat
te. did not have enough German syS-
tom and organization" in their mech
anism to register the hour as fixed
b. the 'Kommandateur," the unfor-
tunate house owner was subjected to
a fine so severe that it amounted to
confiscation of property.
While the system of fines original
~ was ostensibly for the purpose OF
bringing the civil population up to
the German standard of discipline,
system and organization this pre-
text has now been completely aban-
doned.
Forced as the Germans now are to
realize that they cannot hold indefi-
ritely the occupied districts of France
and Belgium, the fine system is now
being used for the open purpose o.
eNtorting the last penny that the civil
population possesses while they still
kcve it in their power to enforce the
extortion.
At Brussels alone the fines now
being imposed are declared to amount
tc millions Of francs every month.
Some idea of the nature and amount
Of these fines can be secured from
the following cases in towns recent
J. retaken by the French:
At Guivry two horses were in some
mysterious manner injured in a sta
lie. For this four inhabitants who
knew nothing about the affair were
found guilty and forced to pay 5000
marks.
At Ugny-le-Gay house was burned
down by the Germans themselves.
Nevertheless, they charged that the
owner had set fire to the structure.
The village as a whole was held re-
sponsible and forced to pay 10000
marks.
At the same village a civilian was
heavily fined for driving horse which
tie Germans declared was not suffl-
GENTLY currycombed. AS search o.
the mans premises failed to reveal
sufficient money to pay the fine, he
was given fifteen days in prison.
Failure in every instance to produce
the amount of cash fined by the Ger
rams is invariably followed either By
deportation or long prison sentences.
At Channy, three prominent citi-
zens were imprisoned. An offer was
then made to release them upon the
surrender of certain amount in mu-
nIcipal bonds. These the three men
finally secured, where1pon the Ger
mans, deciding they wanted the
amount demanded in cash instead OF
bonds, refused to accept the latter,
and confined the three men in hu-
n i'd room without fire, light or bed
ding and a diet of pint of coffee
in the morning and a piece Of bread
in the evening.
The men were kept in this condition
until friends succeeded in raising in
the neighboring villages the sum de-
n,anded
Up TO date five cemeteries have
been found at Bray Saint Christophe
Champion, Amy, Beuraignes and
Crapeaumesnil where all of the NOR
rcmising looking tombs had been dy-
namited and the coffins stripped, noI
only of the metal lining, but Of any
objects of silver that adorned them
Not in a single instance were the bod
les ever placed back in the tombs aHC
it can only be supposed that the re
rains were scattered to the fou
winds.