The Cordova daily times., 1918-02-14

lleu FFance. II was an enforced ops l to see something of German practice in the treatment of a con quered people, part of whom Nhe French and the inhabitants of the Bel gan provinces of East and West FInn- ders) were under the direct control of the German general staff and the sev- eral German armies of the west and part, the inhabitants of the seven other Belgian provinces. under the quasi civil government of Governor General Von Bissing. I did not enter the occu- pied territories until June, 1915, and so, of course, saw none of the actual in. Vasion and oVerrunning of the land I | saw only the graves of the massacred and the ruins of their towns. But saw through the long. hard months i much too much for my peace of mind | of how the Germans treated the un. | fortunates under their control after the l occupation.
 Destruction Complete.
 "As chief representative for the com. l mission, It was my duty to cover this | whole territory repeatedly in long mo- l tor Journeys In company with the Ger | man officer assigned for my protection and for the protection of the German | army against any too much seeing. AS I had opportunity also to cover most of Belgium in repeated trips from Brus. sels into the various provinces. I nee. essarIly had opportunity 10 compare the destruction wrought in the two re. gions.
 could understand why certain towns and villages along the Mouse ana along the lines of the French and Eng fish retreat were badly shot tO pieces There had been fighting in these towns and the artillery of first one side and then the other had worked their havoc among the houses of the inhabitants But there were many towns In which there had been no fighting and yet all too many of these towns also were in ruins. It was not ruin by. Shells. but ruin by fire and explosions. These were the famous punished towns
 Either q citizen or perhaps two of ! three citizens had fired from a window on the invaders-or were alleged tC have, ThereupOn block, or two or 1 three blocks, or half the town was l methodically and effectively burned or ! blown to pieces. There are many of these punished towns In occnpieG
 France. And between these towns anG along the rOadways are innumerablf isolated single farmhouses that are aIsC in ruins. It Is not claimed that there
 was any sniping from these farm. houses. They were just destroyed along the way-and by the way, one may say. When the roll of destroyed vii. i lages and destroyed farmhouses in oc l cupied France Is made known, the world will be shocked again by this eyi. dence of German thoroughness.
 Found Neutrality Impossible.
 But the horrible methods of that deportation were such that we, al
 though trying to hold steadfast to & rigorous neutrality, could not but pro ] test Mir. Gerard, our ambassador tc l Berlin, happened at the very time of 1 this protest to make a visit to the l great headquarters in the west and the
 matter was brought to the attention | Of certain high officers at headquarters on the very day of Mir Gerard's visit and in his hearing. So that he added his own protest to that of Mir. Poland our director at the time, and further deportatiOnS were stopped. But a ter. rible mischief had already been done
 Husbands and fathers had been taken | from their families without a word of gOOd-by; sons and daughters on whom perhaps aged parents relied for sup port were taken without pity or appar. ent thought of the terrible cOnse- quences. The great deportations of Belgium have shocked the world. But these lesser depOrtati0ns-that is. lesser in extent, but not less brutal in their carrying Out-are hardly known
 Germany Must Be Civilized.
 Il went into Belgium and occupied France neutral and I maintained while there SteadfaStIy neutral be- havior. But I came out no neutral. l cannot conceive that any American en. loving an experience similar to mine could have come out d neutral, He would come out, as I came. with the ineradicable conviction that a peopl or government which can do what the Germans did and are doing in Belgium and France today must not be allowed. if there is power on earth to prevent if. to do this a moment longer than can be helped. And they must not be aI- lowed ever to do ii again
 "I went in also hater of war, and I came out more ardent hater of war. But also, came out with the ineradic- able conviction, again, that the only way in which Germany under it's pres ent rule and in it's present state of mind can be kept from doing what it has done is by force of arms. It can not be prevented by appeal, concessic. or treaties. Hence, ardently as I hone that all war may cease, I hope that this war may not cease until Germany realizes that the civilized world simply