Williams news., 1918-01-24
WRITTEN RECORD
 OF ATROCITIES
Diaries of German Soldiers Tell of Murder and PiIIage in
 Belgian Cities.
CALLED "DlSGRACE TO ARMY"
No Discrimination Made Between h. nocent and Guilty-lnfants Shot in Dead Mothers Arms-Tes-
 timony of Brand Whitlock.

timony of Brand WhitIock.
 Very naany Geen,an soldiers aUho haue been taken prisoner had kept diaries, and these have been confs- cated by the captors. Many hGue been published, frequently aOith foc- sinaize reproductions to guarantee their authenticity. The foIlowiag ertracts, with the testimony of Brand Whitzock, are made public by tue committee on public infornaation tt Washington:
 Aug. 23. Our men came back and said that at the point where the valley joined the Mouse we could not get any further, as the villagers were shooting at us from every house. We shot the whole lot-16 of them. They were drawn up in three ranks; the same shot did for three at time.
 .. The men had already shown their brutal instincts;
 'aThe sight of the bodies of all the inhabitants who had been shot was fndescribable. Every house in the whole village was destroyed. We dragged the villagers one after an other out of the most unlikely corners. The men were shot as well as the women and children who were in the convent, since shots had been fired from the convent windows; and we burnt it afterwards.
 tsThe inhabitants might have es- capped the penalty by handing over the 000
 ''The inhabitants fired on our men again. The division took drastic steps to stop this, the villages being burnt and the inhabitants being shot. The pretty little village of Cue d'Ossus, however, was apparently set on fire without cause. A cyclist fell off his machine and his rife went off. He immediately said he had been shot at. All the inhabitants were burnt in the houses. hope there will be no | more such horrors.
 "Disarace to Our Army"
 "At Leppe apparently 200 men were | shot. There must have been some in- | nocent men among them. In future we shall have to hold an inquiry as to their guilt instead of shooting | them.
 "In the evening we marched to Maubert-Fontaine. Just as we were having our meal the alarm was sound ed-everyone is very jumpy. September 8. Still at Rethel, on guard over prisoners. The houses are charming inside. The middle class in France has magnificent furniture. | We found stylish pieces everywhere and beautiful silk, but in what a state Good God! Every bit of | furniture broken, mirrors smashed. The Vandals themselves could not have done more damage. This place is a disgrace to our army. The in- habitants who fled could not have ex- pected, of course, that all their goods would have been left intact after so many troops had passed. But the col umn commanders are responsible for the greater part of the damage, as they could have prevented the footing and destruction. The damage amounts to millions of marks; even the safes have been attacked.
 ''In a solicitors house, in which, as luck would have it, all was in excel lent taste, including a collection of old lace and Eastern works of art, everything was smashed to bits.
 'T could not resist taking a little memento myself here and there. :. .. . One house was particularly elegant, everything in the best taste. The hall was of light oak; I found a splendid raincoat under the staircase and a camera for Felix" (From the diary of an officer in the One Hundred Seventy-eighth regiment, Twelfth Sax on corps.)
 But his horror apparently was not shared by the German commander in chief, as is evident from the follow ing: <: s.. T. "Order.
 ''To the People of Liege.
 'The population of Andenne, after making a display of peaceful inten- tions toward our troops, attacked them in the most treacherous manner. With my authorization, the general com manding these troops has reduced the town to ashes and has had no persons shot.
 ''I bring this fact to the knowledge of the people of Liege in order that they may know what fate to expect should they adopt similar attitude.
 GENERAL VON BUELOW." |