The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-12-23
FRANCE DEVASTATED
ST. Mhiel Sector People Four Years
on Relief Measures.

Montpelier, Dec. 19.-Drained OF
food stripped bare OF all material
wealth, with her towns and villages
wrecked and their populations scat
tered, Northern France, even in her
liberation, presents a picture OF de-
VISITATION the completeness of which
Is impossible to imagine. A fair idea,
however. Of how the people of the
famous ST. Mihiel sector were kept for
four years by the Commission for Re-
4 lief in Belgium, of the condition in
which the Germans left the country.
and OF the imperative need for Ameri-
ca to keep sending without any let-up
food and assistance of every sort to
the people of the liberated districts,
can be gathered from report recent
I ly made to Washington by DR.. Charles
I \. Leach, a representative OF the
Commission for Relief in the St
Mihiel sector. This was one OF the
most difficult and inaccessible places
the Commission for Relief in Belgium
had been called upon to operate in.
The sector Of St Mihie had in
peace times population OF 25.0O0. At
I the time of the evacuation by the Ger
mans. the total population of the en-.
tire district numbered about 1000
Every male between the ages Of II
and 40 years was taken with the Ger
mans in their retreat.
st. Mihlel itself, the principal town
Of the sector. and before the war
about 5000 inhabitants; in March.
1918, this number hcl dropped to
1920 and the present population is
not more than 1900 The remaining
800 civilians left in the sector are
scattered about here and there, the
town of Vigneulles. for instance. hav.
ing only ten civilians left al the
time of the evacuation.
The Commission for Relief in Bel.
GUM kept these people from starva.
ton during the German occupation by
means Of food brought into the coun-
try from outside. The daily ration
issued by the relief commission was
about tworhirds OF the normal
amount. 1t being intended to make up
the deficiency with food grown inside
the sector. For the past two years,
however. the Germans, while not in
terfering with the distribution of food
brought IN by the relief commission.
have confscated all indigenous food
products, and the civilian population
was forced to subsist upon the relief
commission ration
All the cattle in the sector was re-
Questioned by the enemy during the
second year OF the war. the owners
being paid one fourth of the value OF
the animals. For the past two years
the Germans have condscated or re-
Questioned all poultry, potatoes. veg
etables and fruit Even the daily nine
; ounces of potatoes with which the
Germans had guaranteed to supply
each civilian, was not forthcoming
during the last two years. Potatoes
were supplied to the civilians fol
seed. but before the plants had reach
ed their full size, they were stolen by
, the German soldiers. Dr. Leach VISITED
Nigneulles some time after the eyacu
j. alton. and found the ten remaining
citizens living on relief commission
: goods, the only stocks on hand being
about 400 pounds OF -four There, az
everywhere, the Germans hal carried
off with them ali available food stuffs
and not a head OF cattle, not singl,
fowl. was to be found.
The coniscation OF metals--all OH
iocis Of copper, nickel. tin or alumni
mum was carried on with characters
&c thorou aaness, the Germans remoy
ing everything that could be used
from the copper and brass fittings an,
bearings in the looms of the textil
mills, down to the nickel appoint
ments in the bathrooms of privat
homes. The report says:
The seizure OF metals was carrie
on in a wholesale manner. and at tn
time OF the offensive in the ST. MIlit
sector, the requisitioning was accoI
panied by a great deal of unnecessar
destruction OF property"
During May of this year, the nhab
tants were forced to give up all ma
tresses OF wool and hair. the reQuis
tioning order o. The commandant n
Winding the Inhabitants that the
will be severely punished II they d
not give over the articles in que
ton
Later the Quartermaster Cener
confscated all kinds of paper, whe
her fresh or written upon, printed
cut. including account books. boxc
paper sacks, cards, toilet paper al
so forth
An announcement made by the col
mandant in June stated that the II
habilants we're allowed for the tin
being to keen clothing and lin,
which was serving for their person
use. II was forbidden at the san
time. however, to sell c'othing al
any one who tried to raise litt
money by selling any extra cloth
he might be fortunate enough
possess ran the risk of having all d
clothing end linen IN his possessi
connscated
When q became evident to the CT
mans that they were going to lose {
sector. they started removing and ,
ne furniture and works of a
In ST. Mihiol the officers had TAX
over a large building for an office
cub IN which they had collected.
ing their occupation some of the
est furniture In the town All Of Il
which they were unable to remove