Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-12-24
:: The Truth About Belgium =:
BY BRAND WHITLOCK


covering. the piece of the loaf of
bread that remained, everything.
No matter" said one: tomorrow
we shall not care 70 eat"
They had TO be at WaYre at
o'clock and from all these communes,
in order to reach the place in time,
they must start early and be an hour
or two on the road. There We're no
vehicles; they had to walk. carry
ing their luggage. AT O'Clock the
interminable and lamentable process
sion began on all those roads. in the
bitter cold. in the biting wind, for
nature. almost as cruel as man, was
full of menace. Most of the men
would not let their families so with
them; the way was long and their
presence would only make the part
ing harder. And so they trudged
along. alone or in groups, walking in
heavy silence over those well-known
roads OF happy memories. But there
were some women who were not 10
be deferred. and they dragged them
selves along behind, weeping.
The town of WaVre--a pretty place,
or a place that was pretty before the
Germans burned so many OF ITS
houses-was all gray and shiverlng
that morning. 1t was surrounded by
troops and the professions, entering
BY all the roads, took the narrow
streets that led them to the Place
iu Marche. the square of old houses
whose facades blackened by fire and
pierced by bullets in the earlier days
Of the invasion. stood gaunt and lr-
Eesolute in the wind. The Germans
had barred all the streets; access to
the square was forbidden to all but
the men, and the crowd pressed
against the barriers. The men were
parked like animals, according TO
their communes, and stood waiting
with hanging heads, powerless, hui
inflated. From time TO time one
cried a name, some word of encour-
agement-already good-bys and fare
wells.
Then began the work of separation,
of selecting those who were to go.
A thousand at a time the men were
marched into a school where the
sIavers sat. To get there the groups
followed a street along the Dyle; At
one which in happier times the ar
lists used TO paint. That morning
at the windows of all the houses
there were faces of anguish--women
children, old men, in tears. There
were even people on the roofs looking
down on the sad cortege that passed
along, their eyes seeking out IA
ther or a husband. a son. a brother
or a lover. They waited for hours
there in the square before being
marched to the school.
u observed them" a man from one
OF the villages told me, L knew
many of them. / saw many faces
had suddenly grown pale. They
walked with firm steps, but they
were ashen white. 1 felt that NIX
iety had stopped the blood in their
veins They were the married len,
those who had just left their wives
and their children and were wonder
ing whether they would see them
socn again. whether IT would re a
married men walked holding their
heads high. something Of defiance in
their glance"
As they draw near to the school
they looked up, suddenly attentive.
There WIS a sound that swelled,
lighted up. Yes, il was La Bra
bauconne" those inside the school
were singing. There at the end OF
the courtyard was a group Of men
who had been marked for deporta-
tion. Il was they who were singing,
as loud as they could, Belgian ana
French hymns. When they saw the
others coming. they cried out:
Don't sing. don't sign. They held
themselves erect, full OF courage,
pride and manly will. There was
not a complaint. When one OF the
men saw a friend go by. he asked
him TO inform his family, TO tell
them that he had been taken, and
then he resumed his defiant song.
The men from each commune were
first taken into a room where a
doctor examined those who had pro-
vided themselves with physicians
certificates stating that they were
unfit for work. This German phy-
stefan was indulgent. almost gener-
Gus: now and then he pronounced
alterations: but there was a second
room and here the fate of each man
was decided bruskly. mechanically,
i'm a few seconds and without APP
peal. IL all depended on which one
of the two words was pronounced by
the German officer. those two banal
words that had suddenly acquired
new and appalling significance; one
of them set him at liberty, the other
doomed him to slavery.
There were several men in uni
form, the administrator. the civil
commissioner, and some officers with
the rigid. infleXible, arbitrary rule
of military authority which tolerates
no discussion. The burgomaster, an
alderman and the secretary of the
commune were there. too, authorized
to assist at the examination of their
constituents, but. there was nothing
they could do. The officers would
not listen to any of their appeals.
The decisions were made by two
officers. one on each side of the
room: they examined the men rapid
ly, beginning with the young lads
between seventeen and twenty-five
years. They glanced at the card
Of identity which told who the man
was, gave his trade if he had one,
or his civil position; the officers
looked him over rapidly, as dealers
might examine a horse, testing his
capacity. They asked but one ques-
ton: "'Were YOU a chOmeur?" and
then the memorable decision. that
one of the two words which was
fatal. The man was lost. his fate
of a single man, and in less than
ten seconds
To leave the hall they had to pass
through a door which had been di-
vided by barrier of wood into two
narrow ways. Two soldiers guarded
this barrier. The corridor to the LEFT
led to a hall where those who were
to be sent to Germany. those On
whom had been pronounced thai laco-
mic word links. had &c pass. Those
who passed to the right went out
this right-hand corridor led TO an
open window before which there was
/ a table; on the ground outside there
hv a non-commiSsioned officer. who
stamped a seal on the card of iden-
tity stating that they were set free:
was announcer Ndble. anu the man SET
free sprang on the table inside.
through the open window to the table
outside and so on to the ground. 1t
| looked as though he was running
away. In his breast there was the
vast. the selfish relief. and then his
heart would close again at the
thought OF the others who had not
been So lucky. In the large hall the
examination went on all day-linKs,
rechtS. links. rechts.
At the end OF little street not far
from the school crowd had gather
ed. a crowd that grew larger as the
day advanced: the anxiety had been
too great; they could not wait. The
women had come from all the VIII
. IaEes-motherS. wives. sweetheart
they buttonhoIed everybody who