The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-10-21
THE DAILY GRMAN EIE
. From the IT, S. Committee on Public Information

/ r. 20 Haa
Washington, D. c., Oct. 19.AAn AS
ISOLATED Press dispatch from London
some time ago reported that there
was current in Amsterdam a rumor to
the effect that soldiers of the Forty
second American division had killed
$50 German prisoners near Rheims on
July Is, in retaliation for alleged loss
es sustained by our troops in action
| VOLTS Bureau, which is German
press bureau, endorsed the story as
given "on .credita5le authority" ant
it was featured in the German news
papers. >
Our war department has made ar
official investigation Of the charge
| Testimony has been obtained from 3S
officers who were in command OF oul
troops in the, action Of July Is. nc
! German prisoners were killed by
American soldiers there nor were
tany mistreated. "On the contrary,
the war department finds, ''thc prison
ers were we'll treated; the wounded
cared for and carefully transport, to
the rear, and the prisoners givn food
drink and cigarettes, In at least one
case a wounded prisoner was. carried
while one of our wounded officers
walked
1t is obviously wise policy on the
part of our military authorities to en-
courage the German soldiers to SUI
render. TO that end, the allies have
been scrupulously kind in their treat.
ment Of German prisoners, aud they
have carried word Of this kindness ia
the German lines in every possible
way. 1t is equally obvious that the
German military authorities wish 10
make their men fight to the death.
And it is for this purpose that such
stories as the above are, invented by
German agents and circulated in Ger
many.
Moreover, it has become increasing
,ly evident~of late that it is not mere
ly stories of American atrocities that
are being invented by German agents.
They are inventing also stories Of
German atrocities andSI circulating
them in this country. Such stories
are frequently suspicious in their or
igin and easily disproved. When they
are discredited, they have the effct
of discrditing also the record of Ger
they, are not discredited, they act as
man atrocities in Belgium. When
they are not discredited, they act as
sort of counterfeit "frightfulness."
They worry the relatives of soldiers
and Red Cross nurses who are exposed
to the alleged brhtalities. They also
lead to a popular demand for repris-
ais against the German. troops. And
with the German morale breaking
down, it is no fanciful to assume that
the German military authorities
would welcome reprisals, and encour-
age the demand for them by means of
these fake atrocity stories, In order to
make it difficult for the German sol
der to surrender in the coming bat
ties as he has been surrendering re.
Gently K ~
This appears to be the explanation
of various forged stories of German
atrocities that are appearing in Amer
can newspapers. A paper in Auburn,
Nebraska, published such a story un-
der the heading, Tongue Cut Out by
Huns; American Doctor Sends Mes
sage to Family Written under Stamp
on Envelope" An investigation dis
covered that the doctors family had
not received any message of the sort.
The story has been started by an an
onynlous telephone message that pre-
tended to come from the family but
came from some unidentified liar
who was furthering the German cam
paign. il III ~, r.
A similar story in a California pa
per declared that. a similar message
had been received by the sweetheart
Of an American soldier who was dying
i1| German hospital He had sent
her his watch as souvenir from his
death bed. Concealed in the; watch
was a message to say that his tongue
had been cut out and that she would
never see him again. The story prov.
ed on investigation to lie fake.
K What appears\ to be a forged letter
from an American soldiers mother is
circulating in Iowa, Nebraska and Col
Dorado newspapers. 1t alleges that ne
has been returned>to her without ears,
nose, or arms; that he saw two Red
Cross nurses similarly mutilated by
the Germans, and that the Germans
"cut prisoners eyes out and then
stand and laugh at them -
"A Trenton, N. j., newspaper rectnt-
ly published news item from the
Philadelphia Inquirer to the effect
that there were in Holyoke, Mass,
'tw enty-three little Belgian girls,
ranging image from six to ten years. y
all Of whom has 'either one or both
hantis amputated at the wrist, the
worn, not of German soldiers but OF
German officers" Inquiry at Holyoke
found no mutilated Belgian girls
there. There have been no Belgian
girls brought to Holyoke, either mu.
tilated or otherwise. This sort OF
story has the added advantage, from
the German point of ciew. that by dis
pFoving il, one casts a doubt on, all
the proved and well-authenticated cas-.
es OF German atrocities committed on
Belgian girls during the early days
LOT the war.
AS result ~ the campaign to de
ceive and inflame and confuse the
American people. with fake atrocity
stories, the military intelligence
branch Of our war department. has
sent the following letter to newspa
pers that have been imposed upon:
f"Atrocity stories are daily banded
around army camps abroad, they gain
cderence through circulation: and FIRE
quently they are communicated to
this country in news dispatches, or