The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-09-05
$466,OOO,
ExaCted From
Belgium
By Germany

Paris, Sept 5-Germany has exact
ed war contributions from Belgium
during the first four years of the war
amounting to total of 5000 900
This is in addition to the vast amount
of machinery, materials and men TAX
en- from Belgium to sustain Germany.
In this fifth year of war it is inter-
esting to review the financial activi-
ties" of the Germans in Belgium since
that fateful day in Belgium's history,
August 20, 1914, when the German
hordes entered Brussels
During that month, as the Germans
armies were hacking their way
through the little kingdom, numerous
towns and cities were fined" and war
contributions were levied from each
province as the Germans progressed
southweastward
The first move of the German staff
when entering a town was to proceed
to the City Hall and announce to the
Burgomaster that for resisting the ad-
vance Of the Emperor Williams ar
mics, his city or town has been fined
so many thousand or million francs,
as the case might be. When the Bur-
gomaster would demonstrate, Uhlans
and Deaths Head Hussars would
covert innocently in City Hall Square
or the Burgomaster would be taken
prisoner
In one instance in the Province Of
Liege the German commander of the
company entering the town informed
the Burgomaster that war contribu-
ton of 100000 francs would have to
be forthcoming within two hours. The
Burgomaster demurred. Never in the
history of the little town had there
been so much money in the city
treasury. At the present moment,
there was only little over three
thousand francs in the strong box.
well, we'll take that" calmly re-
sponded the German.
More than 20O,OOO,OOO francs were
thus levied between August and No
vember, 1914.
Then Field Marshal Baron Won der
Goltz-Pasha decreed that Belgium
would have to pay monthly contri-
button of 4O,O00,OOO francs during one
year and it would not be increased
and that it would not be renewed.
The Pashs decree, however proved
to be but another scrap of paper.
In November 1915, Baron Won Bis
sing called upon the councils of the
nine Belgian provinces to meet and
informed them that the promise Of
his predecessor had been made in
good faith but with the implied con-
dition that war would be ended with
in the year and that he saw no alter.
native but than to renew the month
ly contribution of 100000 francs
for another year.
On the Goth of November, 1916, in.
stead of abolishing the onerous tax
on Belgium, Won Kissing decided that,
owing to the duration Of the war, the
increase in prices-high cost of liv-
ing-he would have to increase the
monthly payments to 50,0000OO0
francs. He added ominously, TEN.
porarily."
1t proved to be so, indeed for, on
the 21st of May, 1917, the contribu-
ton was further raised to 60000,000
francs.
: The flow of francs into the Golfers
of the War Lord" was too small to
satisfy the gargantuan appetites Of
the military men however and on the
18th of September, 1916, they "seized"
430,0O0,000 million marks, constitut-
ing all the deposits in German bills
of the Banque Rationale and the So
ciete Generate de Belgique, the two
largest banks in Belgium. When one
OF the Directors of the Societe Gen.
erale refused to divulge that part Of
the combination of the vaults which
he alone knew and without which
the vaults could not be opened, the
Germans said that they would blaw
them open with high explosives, The
director rather than have the vaults
of the institution wrecked decided to
acquiesce. Thus what will probably
go down as the greatest burglary of
modern times was perpetrated
LITTLE DRINKING