The Cordova daily times., 1918-02-06


threatened them, ] give my word Of
honor to remit to his majesty the
Emperor William, should the war
come to an end without intentional
damage being caused to my residence
or to these two communes, the neces-
sary sum to complete the amount Of
100000 francs imposed by you upon
SisSonne.
AS a sovereign prince, wish TO
deal in this matter with the sovereign
who, during Is years, called me his
friend and has decorated me with the
Order of the knight of the Black
Eagle.
MY conscience and my dignity
place me above fear. as also my per-
sonal will shall elevate me above re-
greet; but should you destroy the
Chateau de Marchais. which is one Of
the centers of universal science and
| charity, should You reserve to this
archaeological and historical gem the
treatment you have given to the ca
thedral of Relms-when no reprehen-
slble action has been committed there
the whole world will judge be
tween you and myself.
Il tender to your excelleucy the ex-
preston of my high regard.
ALBERT, Sovereign Prince of Mon
AGO"
Deportations and Forced Labor.
Until the present war the whole civ
lized world has boosted of its advance
In humanity. This advance has been
marked In many fields. and in none
| had greater progress been made than
! In the protection to be given to the
| private citizen in an invaded country.
/ As far back as 1863, In the "Instruc-
tiQns for the Government of Armies
Of the United States in the Field"
| the United States declared:
"23. Private citizens are no longer
murdered ensiayed, or carried of to
/ distant parts, and the inOffensive in
| divldual Is az little disturbed in his
private relations as the commander
Of the hostile troops can afford to
grant in the OverruIlng demands of q
vigorous war.
"24. The almost universal rule in
remote times was, and continues to be
with barbarous armies, that the pri-
vate individual of the hostile country
Is destined 10 suffer every priyatiOn
of liberty and protection, and every
disruption Of family ties. Protection
was, and still is with unciviltzed peo-
pie the exception
Reversion to Barbarism.
These declarations were made in the
midst of our Civil war-one of the
worlds fercest conflicts. a half-cen.
tury later. after more than so years
of progress, the German goyernmen!
has gone back to the methods USED
by "barbarous armies and "unciv
lllzed people" It has deliberately
adopted the policy of deporting mer
and women, boys and girls, and o
forcing them to work for their. cap
tors; 1t has even compelled them tt
make arms and munitions for u.s.
against their allies and their own fiesl
and blood.
No other act of the German govern
ment has aroused such horror and de
testation throughout the civilized
world. Thousands of helpless mel
and women, boys and girls, have beer
enslaved. Families have been broker
up. Girls have been carried off Il
work-Or wOrSe-in a strange land
and their relatives have not known
where they have been taken, or wha
their fate has been.
This system of forced labor and de
p0rtation embraced the whole of Bel
GUM, Poland and the occupied lands
Of France.
WhItIock's Story Of Horrors.
In less moving phrases, but in dead
ly confederation, the continuation OF
the report of Minister Whltlock says
THE rage, the terror, and despair
excited by this measure all over Bel
GUM were beyond anything we haC
witnessed since the day the Germans
poured into Brussels. The delegate:
OF the commission for relief In Bel
qium, returning to Brussels, told the
ioSt distressing stories of the scenes
f cruelty and sorrow attending the
seizures. And daily, hourly almost
since that time appalling stories have
been related by Belgians coming tC
the legation. 1t is impossible for us
to verify them, first because 1t Is nee
essary for us to exercise all possible
tact In dealing with the subject al
all, and secondly because there is nc
means of communication between the
OccupatiOns-Geblet and the Etappen
Geblet. Transportation everywhere
In Belgium Is difficult, the vicinal
railways scarcely operating any more
because of the lack of oil, while all
the horses have been taken. The peo-
pie who are forced to go from one
village to another must do SO on foot
or In vans drawn by the few miser-
nble horses that are left. The wagons
of the hreweries, the one institution
that the Germans have scrupuIOusly
respected are hauled by oxen.
One of FouIest Deeds in History.