Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-05-14
The Truth About Belgium
BY BRAND WHITLOCK

thunder and lightning, keep STILL!
And indeed the storm quiets down a
little. German discipline triumphs,
the enemy is vanquished!"
Could any psychologist give a bet
ter description of the state of mind OF
those soldiers? One almost has
sympathy for poor Moenckeberg; not
bad as to heart at all, but young, SEN
timental, imaginative, far from home
and writing for the papers.
One is not quite sure whether it is
the Place de la Station or the Place
du Peuple, that Moenckeberg is writ
ing about; perhaps he is not quite
sure himself. But one concludes
that it must have been the Place de
la Station.
Oberleutnant Telemann, in his de-
position, is more matter of fact; less
literary: Out in the Place, mean
WHILE" he says. there was a terri
BILE exciteme (ein tolles Durchein-
ander)-the horses were frightened
and ran away in all directions, and
the soldiers were crying: Die Fran
zosen sind da! Die Highlander sind
da!' ,"
The White Book
At any rate, Moenckeberg's story is
now a classic, since it has received Of
fetal recognition, and is published by
the government as evidence of what
occurred at Louvain and of why the
army had to do what it did there.
For the Germans had an investiga-
ton; a commission was appointed
to examine into the matter, to take
evidence, and it reported that it was
all the fault of the Belgians, and that
the German army was in no wise to
blame. The witnesses were all Ger
man soldiers, and a few officers. No
Belgians and no neutrals were allow
ed to follow the progress of the hear
ing. Certain Belgians, among them
the notables of the City of Louvain,
volunteered to appear and testify,
but their testimony was for the most
part refused, and that which was
given does not appear in the Ger
man White Book, which is the official
document on the subject. The in
quiry was conducted, or in part con-
Quoted, by a German Feldkriegsger-
ichtsrat, DR.. Ivers. He seems to have
been kind of judge advocate. His
conclusions, of course, were that the
Germans were in no wise to blame for
what occurred at Louvain, and that
they were wholly justified in doing
what they did.
The Germans had been eager to
have Gibson, Bulle, Poisette and
Blount testify to the effect that while
at Louvain they had seen Belgian civ
ilians shooting from the windows.
would not consent to Gibson's testi-
flying unless the American govern
ment desired it, and the American
government did not desire it. There
upon Pousette and Bulle declined to
testify. Their testimony, in any event,
according to our rules of evidence,
could have thablished no other fact
than that three days after the TRACE
dy began there was still shooting in
the streets at Louvain. They could
not have been certain as to who shot,
and for all they knew the Belgian
theory that German soldiers had been
placed in empty houses to shoot from
upper windows in order to impress
the representatives of neutral powers
with the viciousness of the Belgians,
was just as valid as the German
claim.
One morning, during the progress
Of the hearing, a German officer ap-
peared at the legation. He was large,
portly, dressed in the lurid gray
green uniform, wore a heavy sword,
and thick professional spectacles.
Under his arm he bore an enormous
portfolio that might have contained,
could he have found it, enough evil
dence to convict seven million Bel
gians. He entered, clicked his heels,
placed his hand to his helmet, bow
ed stiffly, and without more ado seat
ed himself at my desk, opened his
portfolio, spread it over before him,
and, in short, told us to begin testify
ing. | looked at the man in amaze
ment; 1 do not know just what con-
fused notions of his power and au-
thority were ebullient in his skull.
But | finally convinced him that he
was laboring under some misappre-
hension, and ultimately he went
away, pausing only for rather petu-
liant salute. I do not know whether
this man was DR.. Ivers or not. 1t
would be too bold a confession of the
weakness of my own character to say
that I wish it were, for reading the
other day of DR.. Ivers this mans
physiognomy came to my mind-the
thick neck, the heavy jowls, the up
standing, stiff, cropped hair, the
myopic spectacles-and the manner.
I know that the ad hominem argu-
ment is a fallacy, and repugenant
weapon besides, but it is not wholly
uninteresting in this connection to
note that Feldkriegsgericht lvers
has since been tried and convicted
before the criminal courts of Berlin
on a charge of having used his legal
functions for the purpose of extort-
ing money from the mother of man
then serving in the army, whose wife
was suing him for divorce, that for
this he has been sent to prison, and
that in sentencing him the judge
who presided at the trial said that
from the evidence it had been shown
that the accused Ivers was without
moral sense or judgment.
The investigation, however, seems
not to have been always hearing in
the ordinary sense of the word. The
Notwithstanding evidently had a
rogatory commission, for he went
h @va