The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-01-11
People in Territory Over
run by Huns Suffer Many
Losses From Soldiers.
WORKS OF ART
ARE DESTROYED
Wealth and Treasure Stolen,
Men and Girls Driven to
Germany and Slavery.
Warrington Bureau
The Pensacola Journal
BY GEORGE H. MANNING.

0I oEOnSG MA Nc.
Washington. d. C., Jan. 1O-The
Releian people in the territory overru4
ny the Germans continue to he abused.
harrassed and 20 suffer severely At the
hands Of the iron-handed and 'kul-
lured" German oppressor
Not content with destroying their
work Of art. stealing their wealth
and treasure and driving their men
and girls into Germany t" onderg ,
conditions of slavery. the Germans are
now taking from the long suffering
h,r brave and patriotic BeIgians the
feW meaGre necessities IF life they
stu. possess.
Information leaking into the UniteI
Nta'e from Belgium through Holland
and given out today hv an oliiccial Of
TN" Belgian pfficiaI Infornatiou Ser
Nico shows that the BelgiauS have re
Gently been robbed of their COWS. milk
and eggs. articles which We're alreadv
so scarce i'm Belgium that they were
reserved for children and lnvaIids.
These necessities Of life were taken
/ from them by large bodies Of ,ierma n
| troops on their way To- the Flanders
front.
These outraEcs followed seizures nN
the Germans through Imperial cdjct ut
| all the WoolCN mattrs sses ana cushions
I shoes. tobacco, clothing and copper.
I brass and bronze cooking utensils
owned, high priced and sorely needed
! Icy the poor Eelgian&.
! Heavy fines aud imprisonments
were announced by the Germans for
: compliance by the Rclgians with
these outrageous demands. ON oc-
. tober 18Th \ German edict ordered that
: "a declaration should he made of all
shoes. such as walking shoes, ball
shoes and slippers of all kinds" only
/ wooden shoes were excluded. Two
( weeks, later four out of five Of these
declared articles We're To b" delivered
to the Germans. In the meantime.
| wool was seized all around tn" country.
The inhabitants had to give an kinds
Of wool. pure or mixed, incIuo1ns
mattress es and cushions
They had to he replaced by bags sf
sea grass According to TWO private
letters from differ MT sources, dated
at Brussels. AZ the end of November.
1917. received just now at the Relgian
legation, only one change Of clothing
had been left to the Belgians by the
German authorities.
The Kitchens did not escape the re
qiIisitinns and rapacitY of the Germans.
| The glory nf the Belgian housewives,
the huge pans ana kettles Of red or
yellow copper. always polished and
kept in a brilliant state Of ceanli =
ness had TO go to Germany with tn"
bright jars and jugs of milkma ids "a
! picturesque feature of Brussels st1 Get &.
Nearly every conceivable brass, cop
! per and bronze object which enters
I into the construction or furnishing Of
a house has been requIsitionpd
Those dismal cdicts invariably end
with a threat of the most terrific pen
altjes for those who fail by the de-
! livery Of often minor articles \ fine
of 10000 Marks and one year impris-
oHment for holding back mats, 10000
, Marks and three years imprisonment
for hiding wool, %. 000 marks ard twe
Years Imprisonment for not declarin.,
shoes, 10000 marks for not delivering
all the tobacco that one happens n
| own. eto., were threa tened as penal
ties.