The daily Alaskan., 1918-02-27


 the German general staff and the sev- eral German armies of the west, and part the inhabitants Of the seven other Belgian provinces, under the quasi civil government of Governor General von BiSSin=. did not en.er the occu- pied territories until June, 1915, and so, of course, saw none of the actual in- vaSiOn and oyerrunnlug of the land. I saw only the graves of the massaCred and the ruins of their towns. But SAW through the long, hard months much too much for my peace of mind of how the Germans treated the un- fOrtunateS under their control after the occupation. ..l..
 Destruction Complete.
 As chief representative for the com mission, II was my duty to cover this whole territory repeatedly in long mo. tor Journeys in company with the Ger man officer assigned for my protection and for the protection Of the German army against any too much seeing. As I had opportunity also to cover most of Belgium In repeated trips from Brus- Sels into the various provinces, I nee essarily had opportunity to compare the destruction wrought in the two re- gionS.
 "I could understand why certain towns and villages along the Mouse and along the lines of the French and Eng, fish retreat were badly shot to pieces There had been fighting ln these towns and the artillery of first one side and then the other had worked their havoc among the houses of the inhabitants But there were many towns In which there had been no fighting and yet all too many of these towns also were h ruins. It was not ruin by shells, but ruin by fire and explosions. These were the famous punished towns. Either a citizen or perhaps two or three citizens had fired from window on the invaderS-Or were alleged to have. ThereupOn q block, or two oI three blocks, or half the town was methOdiCally and effectively burned oI blown 10 pieces. There are many of these punished towns In occupied France. And between these towns and along the roadways are innumerable isOlated single farmhouses that are alsc in ruins. It Is not claimed that there was any Sniping from these farm. houses They were just destroyed along the way-and by the way, one may say. When the roll of destroyed VII. lages and destroyed fOrmhouses In oe cupied France Is made known, the world will be shocked again by this evi. dence of German thorOughneSs.
 Found Neutrality Impossible.
 "But the horrible methods of that deportation were such that we, al. though trying 10 hold Steadfast to rigorous neutrality, could not but pro test. Mir. Gerard, our ambassador to Berlin, happened at the very time of this protest to make visit to the great headquarters In the west and the matter was brought to the attention of certain high officers at headquarters on the very day of Mir GCrNrd's visit and in his hearing. So that he added his own protest to that of Mir. Poland, our director at the time, and further deportatlons were stopped. But ter rible mischief had already been done. Husbands md fathers h%d been taken from their families without q word of good-by; sons ard I@~.rL ..-"s oil whom perhaps aged parents relied for sup. port were taken withou. pity or appar- ent thought of the terrible cOnse- QuenceS. The great deportationS of Belgium have shocked the world. But these lesser depOrtGtlOns-that is. lesser In extent, but not less brutal in their carrying out-Hre hardly known.
 Germany Must Be Civilized.
 "I went into Belgium and occupied France neutral and I maintained while there steadfastly neutral be- hRvlOr. But l came out no neutral. I cannot conceive that any American en- toying an experience similar to mine could have come out q neutral. He would come out, as I came, with the ineradlcable conviction that people or q government which can do what the Germans did-Nnd are doing in Belgium and France today must not be allowed, if there is power on earth to prevent 1t, to do this moment longer than can be helped. And they must not be al- lowed ever to do It again.
 'T went in also a hater of war, and I came out a more ardent hater of war. But, also, came out with the ineradlc- able conviction, again, that the only way in which Germany under Its pres ent rule md in its present state of mind can be kept from doing what It has done Is by force of arms. It can