Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1918-10-17


his teeth examined before he went.
The work had to do for him was
nothing of a serious character and did
not occupy more than twenty minutes
One of his yalets Stood by to give me
| any assistance l might need, but left
the room when was through.
"Have you been reading in the pa.
pers, Davis" the kaiser asked when we
were alone, show our soldiers have
been treated by the BelgiansT
/ said l had not had chance to
read the papers that morning."
swell, you must certainly read them
They've been gouging out the eyes OF
our wounded and mutilating my men
horribly! They call it modern, civil
liked warfare. That's savagery!
hope your president is taking notice
of these atrocities"
OF course I was in no position to
contradict the kaiser's assertions, as
| was not in possession of any of the
facts, but / learned afterward that
four American newspaper correspond
ents had secured Germany from one
end of the country to the other in an
effort to run down these reports. They
left no rumor uninvestigated, no mat
ter how far they had to travel to YER
ify it. When they had finally exhaust
ed every clue and followed every lead
they had not found a single case to
justify the charge the kaiser had made
against the Belgians and which, of
course, the inspired German press con-
tinued to report from day to day.
The object of these lies was to JUS
tify the outrages which the Germans
were committing in their plan to ter
rorize the inhabitants of the countries
they were overrunning. According to
reports the activities of franc-tireurs
in the occupied territories were met
by the Germans with the most bar
barrie punishments, crucifxion and
similar atrocities being very common.
Undoubtedly the kaiser was aware of
what his soldiers were doing, and to
defend their conduct he lent ready
ear TO the unfounded charges made
against the Belgians.
81 have already framed a message
which 1 intend sending TO your presi-
dent regarding the use of dumdum
bullets by the Belgians and French"
the kaiser went on. ave have ample
proof to establish this charge not only
in the character of the wounds suffered
by my soldiers but in the shape of I'M
used cartridges which we found in the
captured forts"
Strangely enough, the kaiser sent
off his protest to President Wilson
about the same day that President
Poincare forwarded a similar protest
based upon the use of dumdum bullets
by the Germans.
Regarding the violation of Belglum's
neutrality, the kaiser was able to Of
fer no reasonable argument. The fact
that he was willing to pay Belgium for
permission to allow his armies to go
through that country was apparently
sufficient justification in his eyes for
taking by force what Belgium refused
to sell.
"How foolish of Belgium to have re-
sisted usl' he declared, in this con-
nection. Had they consented to let
lis walk through we would have paid
for everything-everything! Not
hair of their heads would have been
touched and Belgium today would be
in the same happy financial condition
that Luxembourg is"
inf
ferred to Belgium again, and the Kali
ser alleged that Japan had violated
the neutrality of China when she sent
troops through Chinese territory to
seize Kiao-Chau.
at is all right for the allies to do
these things" he commented sarcas-
tically, "but when Germany does them
England rises up in righteous indig-
nation. The hypocritesl Why, we
found papers in Brussels which
showed conclusively that England and
Belgium had a secret agreement by
which in the event of war with Ger
many England was to be permitted to
occupy Belgiuml We've got those pa
pers in Berlin. We could have no
more positive proof against them. The
Belgians were simply England's tools J.
Some of the arguments the kaiser
raised in his discussions with me re-
garding the war were so weak and
untenable that. one might well doubt
his sincerity In urging them, but l
shall give them for what they are
worth.
sThey refer to us as the Huns ]" the
kaiser observed bitterly. "If your
people could see what the Russians
have done in the Bukowina and east
ern Prussia they would know then
who are the real Hunsl They de-
stroyed everything they could lay
their hands on. In one OF my shoot
ing lodges which the Cossacks entered
they even knocked ont the teeth of the
boars' heads which hung on the walls ]
With knives they cut out the covers of
my chairs. They had special fire
bombs which they threw on peaceful
villages. These bombs had been con-
structed in peace times and were de-