The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-12-13

published by special arrangement
with the Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.
Copyright, 1918. by Brand Nhiuock,
under the title Memories Of Belgium
Under the German Occupation All
rights reserved copyrighted lE Great
Britain, Canada and Australia All
rights reserved for France ReElum,
Holland, Italy, Spain, Russia % the
Scandinavian countries
As ia the depressing business az iook-
Ing over my notes and 90 reading menu
oranda that were furnished me al the
time. ] live over again those terrible
days Of the autumn , WINTER or lsle
with their darkness their bitter
cold and their hourly J8}e of horror, !
wonder how we ever lived through them
all.
The pitiless and inSeUSate cruelty, the
brutal indifference to all human rights
and human dignity that characterized
this restoration Of human slavery IN
our time. the violence to eSErN moral
sentiment and the strain upon the sym
pathies imposed by the ruthless deeds
that marked IL, mad those DAYS IN
many ways the saddest that Belgium
up to that time had endured
There were no words for II then;
there are none now. ! could only write
TO my government that II was enough
to cause one TO despair OF the future
Of the human race, and ! found words
weak and inadequate 70 the expression
OF all ] felt, all ! suffered, ana Knew
something like shame that | could write
calmly Of it at all in the cold and formal
terms OF al official report.
Better. ! often thought, yield to the
constant and lmporiunate temptation
70 cry out against tt in some not ana
sudden tiash OF rage ana ~AluiEh"'ld'
to have don with the too polite eN-
n~ngatnuS pf 6iDlpmRpN' 10 call things.
for once in the world ny thelt flsht
names-wheu meant slavery. 10 say
slavery, instead OF d~eporLatlqhs btl
we were stll officially neutral, we, u'
America, and IN any position OF puolt
responsibility one must THINK OF many
things at a time. And there was az,
ways the relief work to which had
chung, that those poor WrQuged people
might at least have their dairy bread,
that the brave httle race that haa mao
the eXcruClatjng and immortal honor
20 stand in history as the symbol OF the
g I3sh + , OF ' iina %r@n Ebi m1SP' b m,f' c aTo
quered so long before and in which 1t
had felt Itself 50 secure
The policy. OF carrying OIL mo sIdN-
cry the people OF "A conquered TERRITORY
which IN our s~tupenaous HIuSloh We
could associate with no other hatlolallE
organized people since lhhlhlilu IhN
emerged from the IonH darkness OF me
middle ages, was Chaiacl'IlStlt "I Ihe
military chiefs Who celebrated thelF &C
cession to u~ndlsputed power IN IerlohIly
by its inauguration. ana they carried
Il out amid the alna2emrnt ana horror
Of the civilized world win bfulaI &C
compartments that affirmed the 's,-
senttallN savage Qualities oi tRe!i creed
And that no htdeous detail WlEht be
wanting. with a lace OF brass th'y JUS
tilted It by hNpocrlsles that We're as
revolving as the acts they sought 10 eN-
cuse.
The account 81 the work OF thost
gray press gangs IN any one OF lht
lovely little villages OF FLANDERS or SRA
bant might have served as a resume
Of what went on everywhere, II H. were
not for the fact that the sllght dltfer'
ence in detail ana method, marhlhs tht
varied taste and the Nirtuosily IN cruel'
~ Of those in command OF me various
localities, throws a FLOOD OF Ight OF
the essentially irresponsible nature OF
the whole German organization,
T,vinp pTetense.
'o
The earlier prctenSc tnat they were
taking only those mon who were Twins
in idieness on the charity OF their an
sent government was abandoned ever
as soon as the excuse was put tnrth
il is perhaps well that II was since
that position was as untenahio undel
international law and the code OF nl"ral'
professed by every nation that mao Z