The Adair County news., 1918-05-15

CONSIDERATION. HdcKageS must De sep
arately made up for each person and
must bear an address legibly written
and firmly affixed. This address must
contain the surname and the Christian
name and the number of the identity
card.
ut is absolutely necessary that each
person should, in his own interest, pro-
vide himself with eating and drink
ing utensils, as well as with a wooden
blanket, good shoes, and body linen.
Everyone must carry his identity card
on his person. Anyone attempting to
evade transportation will be punished
without mercy"
"ETAPPEN-KONIMANDANTUR
Uille, April, 1860
Belgian Address to French President.
ITO Monsieur Raymond Poincare,
President Of the French Republic,
Paris.
"Sir: We have the honor to ex-
press again our most sincere graft
tude to you for your most kind recep-
ton, a few days ago, of the deputa-
ton which went with feelings Of legit-
innate emotion to inform you of the
deportation Of lads and girls, which
the German authorities have just car
ried out In the invaded districts.
1--WE have collected some details on
the subject from the lips of an honor
able and trustworthy person, who sue
ceeded in leaving Tourcoing about ten
days ago; we think it our duty to
bring these details to your notice by
reproducing textually the declarations
which have been made to us:
These depOrtatiOns began towards
Easter. The Germans announced that
the inhabitants of ROubaix, TOurcOing,
Lille, etc., were going to be transport
ed into French districts where their
provisioning would be easier
AT night, at about two o'clock in
the morning, a whele district of the
town was invested by the troops of oc-
cupatiOn. To each hose was distrib-
uted printed notice, of which we give
herein an exact reproduction, preserv-
ing the style and spelling (See docu-
ment, abOve.)
""The inhabitants so warned were to
hold themselves ready to depart an
hour and half after the distribution
of the proclamation
"'Each family, drawn up outside the
house, was examined by an officer, who
pointed out haphazard the persons who
were to go. No words can express the
barbarity of this proceeding nor de-
scribe the heartrending scenes which
occurred; young men and girls took
hasty farewell of their parents-a fare
well hurried by the German soldiers
who were executing the infamous task
-rejOined the group of those who were
going, and found themselves in the
middle of the street, surrounded by
other soldiers with fixed bayonets.'
"'Tears of despair on the part Of
parents and children so ruthlesSly
separated did not soften the hearts of
the brutal Germans. Sometimes, how
ever, a more kind-hearted officer yield
ed to too great despair and did not
choose all the persons whom he should
by the terms of his Instructions
have separated
Herded Like Cattle.
"'These girls and lads were taken
in street cars to factories, where they
were numbered and labeled like cattle
and grouped to form conveys. In these
factories, they remained II, "a or SO
hours until train was ready to re-
move them
1.-THE deportation began with the
villages of ROncy, Halluin, etc, then
TOurcOing and ROubaix. In the towns
the Germans proceeded by Districts
SIN all about $4,000 persons are said
to have been carried off up to the pres
ent. This monstrOus operation has
taken eight to ten days to accomplish.
1t is feared, unfortunately, that it may
begin again soon.
1.-The reason given by the German
authorities is humanitarian (O one.
They have put forward the following
pretexts: provisioning is going to
break down in the large towns in the
north and their suburbs, whereas in
the Ardennes the feeding is easy and
cheap
ait is known from the young men
and girls, since sent back to their
families for reasons of health, that in
the department of the Ardennes the
victims are lodged in a terrible man.
ner, in disgraceful prOmiscuity they
are compelled to work in the fields. 1t
is unnecessary to say that the inhabi-
tants of our towns are not trained to
such work. The Germans pay them
1.5O IL. But there are complaints of
insufficient food
"8arharity of Slave Drivers"
"'They were very badly received in
the Ardennes. The Germans had told
the Ardennais that these were "volun-
teers" who were coming to work, and
the Ardennais proceeded to receive
them with many insults, which only
ceased when the forcible deportation
of which they were the victims became
known
Feeling ran especially high in our
towns. Never has so iniquitous a
measure been carried out. The Ger
mans have shown all the barbarity Of