Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1918-08-22

u. Q. WaIcott, member Of the
United Stntes food administration, and
during the time America was feeding
the civilian populations OF Belgium,
Serbia and northern France IN assist
ant Of Mr. Hoover In these invaded
countries, has pictured In a graphic
way the conditions he found among
the people II was his duty to help.
After describing the terrible condI.
lions In Poland In 1919, the millions
that were dying Of starvation. the
hundreds Of thousands Of defenseless
people TINT had been ruthIessly cut
down by the sword Of the German con-
querort he says: .s1as.fs
In that Situation. the German COM
mnnder issued proclamation. Every
able-bodIed Pole was hidden TO Ger
many 70 work. II nny refused. let no
other Pole give him to eat, not so
much as mouthful. under penalty Of
German military law
This rs the choice the German gov
ernment gives to the conquered Pole.
to the husband and father Of a starv-
Ing family: Leave your family or die
or survive us the case may be. Leave
your country which Is destroyed. to
work In Germany for Its further de-
structIon. II you are obstinate. we
shall see that you surely starve. -
Staying with his folk. he Is doomed
and they are not saved; the father and
husband can do nothing for them. he
only adds TO their risk and suffering.
Leaving them. he will be cut of from
his family, they may never hear from
him again nor he from them. Ger
mnny Will set him 10 work that a Ger
man workman may be released to fight
against his own land and people. He
shall be lodged In barracks. behind
barbcd wire entanglements,, under
armed guard. He shall sleep on the
bare ground with Single thin blan.
ket. He shall be scantily fed and his
earnings shall be taken from him to
pay for his food. --.-~sss-~--
That Is the choice which the Ger
man government offers to proud,
sensitive, higll-strung people. Death
or slavery.
When q Pole gave me that proclama-
ton. I was boiling. But had to re
strain myself. was practically the
onl$ foreign civilian in the country
and / wanted to get food to the people,
That was what was there for and ]
must not for any cause jcopardize the
undertaking. l asked Governor Gen
ernl Won Beseler "Can this be true?'
"Renlly. l cannot say" he replied.
II have signed SO many proclamations
ask General Won Krles."
So asked General Won Krles. "Gen-
eral, this is civilized people. Can
this be trueY
.Yes," he said. ut Is true"-with an
air OF adding, Why notf
I dared not trust myself to speak
turned to 20. "wait," he said. And
he explained to me how Germany
official Germany, regards the state Of
subject peoples.
II is hard for us to imagine such q
condition In America as Mr.. walcott
has described us existing In Hun-rid.
den Poland, and yet that Is just what
would exist should our boys, and the
boys Of our allies, now fighting In
France fail to defeat the soldiers OF
this murder empire. This fair coun
try Of ours would be made into Ger
man province; our people you'd be
the slaves Of the Junkers Of Germany
subject to the beastly whims Of the
officers Of the German army. In NJ
war In which America hns ever en-
gagged have the stakes been so greai
as In this present conflict. Should we
by any chance, lose; should the Hun
by any chance, win; our liberties, ou
happiness, everything Americans holt
door xpot,ld ha Lost