The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-03-11
THE I He'll M4JNNISH CHARACTER OF
TODAY REVEALED BY MAN WHO
SPENT nine. YEARS IN MIDST
Cruelty Deception Lack of Humor Inconsistency arbary Are
Common Traits Of the Creature Created by M
s> German Military Policies

taught and sing songs of hate in the
schools. AT Wertheims. the big de-
)artment store in Eerlin, the show
windows are given over every Christ
mas scenes constructed with child
1 rens' toys. Since the beginning OF
The war, instead of Santa Claus driv
/ ing his team OF reindeer, or Christmas
:rees loaded with good things, the two
principal scenes have been a toy
sUomarine sinking passenger ship
and a Zeppelin dropping bombs on
London. This is the sort Of training
the German child receives from the
cradle up. They regard hatred of their
enemies as a great force to weld the
country together, for one must either
hate or fear. 1t would be ludicrous
were it not so profoundly sad, for il
reveals the mental makeup which
enabled the Germans to perform such
acts as the invasion of Belgium with
all its accompanying atrocities; the
sinking OF the LUSlTANEA; the ex-
ecution OF Nurse Cavell and Captain
Fryatt; and finally the horrors OF the
prison camp at Wittenberg!
What Happened at Wittenberu.
"You know what happened at Wit
tenberg, for the report of our embassy
has been published, but you can hard
ly imagine the horror of it ALL Typhus
set in and the German doctor and his
staff promptly deserted. leaving a
handful Of English doctors, who were
summoned from other camps, to fight
the terrible disease alone. The bar
est medical supplies were denied
them; they were cut off from all con-
tact or connection with the out side
world, except that their food was sent
in by a runway. believe there were
camp, Russians, Englishmen, French
something like 5000 prisoners in the
and Servians the half dozen English
doctors had to attend to all these
men, washing the dying and hurying
the dead. In the ned all but two Of
the doctors and the greater part OF
the men had died.. cannot and will
not describe the scenes of that awful
camp. This was to my mind one if
not the greatest, OF the many terrible
'blots DIN the war which the Germans
are responsible. That German doctor
Will some day have to answer before
a greater Tribunal than we can es-
tablish here, but let us not forget
these things when we consider what
part we are to take in the war. .'
Some German Traits.
And now let me tell you something
about the German traits and charac-
teristics OF which I have already
spoken. Consider their inconsistency
I have told you Of their wholly incon-
sistent attitude towards the submar-
inc controversy, how when the tables
We're turned, their opint of view turn
ed also. Take again the so-called
British blockade. Ask German
what he thinks of it and he will re-
ply 1t is not only illegal but sheer
cruelty and sinhumanity; England is
starving our women and children!"
ASK the same man five minutes later
how Germany is managing to hold
out economically have done it, so
| know-and he will reply: 'tMagni-.
ficently: they talk about starvation
but Germany cannot be starved; we
are as strong today as at the begin.
ming of the war and each succeeding
harvest will see us through" " u
And now / come to that one trait
in the German character which we
cannot possibly forgive and which
must be downed 10y force of arms for
ever, for it has no place in the march
of civilizations speak of German
cruelty. There have been so many
phases of that cruelty that one shld.
ders to think of them-not the recog-
nized cruelty of lawful battle and that
is terrible enough; not the cruelty OF
wounds and agony and death on the
battlefields and bleeding hearts at
home, which are all part of the trap.
pings of war, this terrible war which
tGernnany has let loose on the world;
but the unnecessary cruelty, the wan.
ton cruelty, perpetrated by human
beings capable of gloating over the
suffering Of their victims, tking joy
in hearing their shrieks for mercy, not
content, with mere destruction but de.
string to add torture to that destruc.
ton. ..
Il will not so into the submarine
cruelty for that you know already
from published accounts, although we
turn away with horror when we hear
Of submarine commanders taking the
occupants of life boats on the decks
OF their submarines, throwing over.
board from the life boats the food,
water, sails and oars; filling the water
casks with salt water in order to point
the hideousness Of their joke, and
then, after closing the hatch, sudden.
ly submergins, leaving those wretched
sailors laundering in stormy sea,
one hundred and fifty miles from land,
with no refuge at hand but that gut.
ted life boat! This submergence trick
lis no idle tale, it has been done re-.
peatedly. >, .s- ~,
But i want to read to you one or
two Of the kind OF letters we used to
receive at our embassy in Berlin from
German soldiers during the early
part of the war, before they had come
hardened to the terrible tasks to
which they were driven by the Ger.
manfighting machine. Some of these
letters have been published, but you
may not have seen them and they
should be brought home to every man
and woman in the country.
ts Translation. \
\ REPORT OF AN EYE WITNESS
OF THE SLAUGHTER OF Ism OOO