Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1918-01-17
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One inteEestl lhg result or 2fhe depor-.
tations remains to be noted, a result
that once more places in relief the
German capacity for ,blundeI'ing. al
most as great as4the Gcrmun capacity
for cruelty. Until the deportations
were begun there was no intense ha-
tired on the part of the lower classes,
t. e.. The wnrkingmen and the peasants.
The old Germans of the Landsturm
had been quartered in Flemish homes;
they and the Inmates spoke nearly the
same language; they got along fairly
we'll: they helped the women with the
work, the poor and the humble having
none of those hatreds of patriotism
that are among the privileges of the
upper classes. 1t is conceivable that
the Flemish population might have
existed under German rule; it was
Teutonic in its origin and&anti-French
always. But now the Germans have
changed all that.
"They have dealt q mortal blow to
any prospect they may ever have had
of being tolerated by the population
OF Flanders; in tearing away from
nearly every humble home in the land
husband and father or son and
brother they have lighted fire of
hatred that will never go out; they
have brought home to every heart in
the land. in Il way that will impress
Its horror indelibly on the memory of
three generations. a. realization of
what German methods mean. not. as
with the early atrocities, in the heat
OF passion and the first lust of war,
but by one of those deeds that make
one despair of the future of the hu-
man race, a deed coldly planned. studi-
ously matured, and deliberately and
systematically executed, deed so
cruel that German soldiers are said
to have wept in it's execution, and so
monstrous that even German officers
are now said to be ashamed.
"WHITLOCK."
Mr.. Hoover's Conclusions.
Mr.. HOover's mature conclusions on
the German practices in Belgium,
which he wrote for the pamphlet is
sued by the committee on public in
formation. reinforce the detailed evil
dence already presented:
September, 1917.
I have been often called upon for
statement Of my observation of Ger
man rule in Belgium and northern
France.
I have neither the desire nor the
adequate pen to picture the scenes
which have heated my blood through
the two and a half years that I have
spent in work for the relief of these
100000 people.
The sight of the destroyed homes
and cities, the widowed and father
less, the destitute, the physical misery
of people but partially nourished at
best, the deportation of men by tens
Of thousands to slavery in German
mines and factories, the execution of
men and women for paltry effusions
Of their loyalty to their country, the
sacking of every resource through
financial robbery, the battening of
armies on the slender produce of the
country. the. denudation of the country
Of cattle, horses, and textiles; all these
things we had to witness, dumb to
help other than by protest and sympa-
thy. during this long. and terrible time,
and still these. are not the events Of
battle heat, but the effects of a grind
Ing heel Of race demanding the mas,
tesshlp Of the world