The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-01-23

the morning, 4 Wll0le ulSJflcI OF the
town was invested by the troops Of oc-
cupation. To each house was distrib
uted printed notice, of which we give
herein an exact reproduction, preserT-
ing the style and spelling (See docu- /
ment, above.)
The inhabitants so warned were to
hold themselves ready TO depart an
hour and a half after the distribution
of the proclamation
Each family, drawn up outside the
house, was examined by an officer, who
pointed out haphazard the persons who
We're to go. No words can express the
barbarity of this proceeding nor de-
scribe the heartrending scenes which
occurred; young men and girls took
haSty farewell of their parents-a fare
well hurried by the German soldiers
who We're executing the infamous task
-rejoined the group Of those who were
going, and found themselves in the
middle Of the street, surrounded by
other soldiers with fixed bayonets.'
Tears Of despair on the part Of
parents and children so ruthlessly
separated did not soften the hearts of
the brutal Germans. Sometimes, how
ever, more kind-hearted officer WELD
ed to too great despair and did not
choose all the persons whom he should
by the terms of his instructions
have separated
Herded Like Cattle.
"'These girls and lads were taken
in street cars to factories, where they
were numbered and labeled like cattle
and grouped to form conveys. In these
factories, they remained i, "A or 3G
hours until a train was ready to re-
move them
1.-The deportation began with the
villages of Roncy, Halluin, etc, then
Tourcoing and Roubaix. In the towns
the Germans proceeded by districts
In all about $4,000 persons are said
to have been carried off up to the pres
| ent. This monsuous operation has
taken eight to ten days to accomplish.
1t is feared, unfortunately, that it may
begin again soon.
THE reason given by the German
| authorities is a humanitarian 90 one.
! They have put forward the following
| pretexts: provisioning is going to
! break down in the large towns in the
north and their suburbs, whereas in
the Ardennes the feeding is easy and
cheap
1T is known from the young mer
and girls, since sent back to theil
| families for reasons of health, that il
the department Of the Ardennes the
victims are lodged in terrible man
ner, in disgraceful promiscuity; they
are compelled to work in the fields.
is unnecessary to say that the inhabi
tants OF our towns are not trained t,
such work. Tie Germans pay then
$50 m. But there are complaints G
insufficient food
"BaFbarity of Slave Drivers"
"'They were very badly received il
the Ardcnnes. The Germans had toll
the Ardennais that these We're "volun
teers" who were coming to work, an
the Ardennais proceeded to receiv
them with many insults, which onl
ceased when the forcible deportatio
of which they We're the victims becam
known
"'Feeling ran especially high in on
towns. Never has so iniquitous
measure been carried out. The Gel
mans have shown all the barbarity {
slave drivers
1.-The families so scattered are
! despair and the morale of the who
. | population is grayely affected. Boy
of fourteen, schoolboys in knicke
bocllcIs, young girls of fifteen to 81,
ten have been carried off, and the d
spairiug protests Of their parents failc
TO touch the hearts of the German Of
GERS, CT rather execuGoners.'
One last detail: The persons 5
; deported are allowed to write hon
once a month; that is to say, even le
! often than military prisoners
E Such are the declarations which V
S have collected and which. without COZ
{ mentary, confirm in an even NO
striking way the facts which we to,
I the liberty of laying before you.
= eve do not wish here to enter in
i the question Of provisioning in the
y vaded districts; others, better qua
p fed than ourselves, give you, as Y
Il know, frequent information. 1t
Il enough for Us TO describe in a fl
S words the situation from this aspeC
i Entire Population in Misery.
t! THE provisioning is very Difficult
food, apart from that supplied by t
4 Spanish-American committee, is We
0 scarce and terribly dear. F.. PeoI
k are hungry and the provisioning is
n adequate by at least half; our POI
n lation is suffering constant privatio
re and is growing noticeably weaker. L
t. death rate, too, has increased cons
&c erably.
Sometimes inhabitants of the
vaded territories speak with a note
Encouragement, crying apparent
1t We are forsaken by everyone V