The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-08-31

The treatment of children during the German
occuration was very terrible Little tots of foul
and i've, and children on up to the ages OF thlr'
teen and fourteen, were forced to work all gay
for their enslavers. They were taken into ti'e
fields at FIVE lin the morning and were not az
lowed to come back until seven in the evening
During all that time they were given only one
meal Their tasks were to dig potatoes CUT
away the barbed-wire entanglements ana pick NY
unexpIoded Shells After the Germans went AWAY
there was no milk TO be got because all the COWS
had been either killed or driven away. In one
district there were 500 children who existed lor
months without single drop OF milk met ohe
little girl whohad been kept for 20 days on Il ue'
consisting of nothing but bread ana SOUP 'ie
latter being watery and scarcely at all nouflsh
ing.
The destruction of the schoolhouses has MADE
IL impossible for the young children to gain any
education 1t is no strange thing to encounter
bow or girl of eleven who can neither read nor
write In their hideous thoroughness, the yer
mans destroyed books, pencils. desks ana all MOI
thing was left After the American relief work
ers came into the devastated regions they estaD
ished schools and built little wooden buildings
IN which to carry on the work.
AT one school they told story OF ilttie
girl who was brought in with the other children
to learn tosr AS soon as she discovered an
ntsessa,s e@khe4 corners she Immediately
cot into ii ana clrled up in utter enjoyment ana
relaxation She could not be persuaded to get
out of that chair. The teacher inquired why sne
was SO pleased with the chair and learned that
the household In which the child lived had not
boosted single chair since the first invasion o.
the Germans.
The separation of the children from their par
ents is another very tragic occurrence. In the
months and years before they are reunited the
children grow and change so that they are not
recognizable to their parents when they meet
again Some of them, to be sure, wear on d
chain about their necks little gold baptismai
gifts on which their names are inscribed. But
this Is exceptional. 1t is one of the confessed
schemes Of the Germans to divide and scatter
families as much as possible.
NV heart bleeds for the children of Francei
on. that they should suffer this unmerted abuse
and trbulationl
The deportation of young girls has been sys-
tematicaly practiced German officer comes
to the front door Of house and orders the entire
family to assemble outside on the door step. Then
he picks at random number of the younger
women of the family. II will take you and
you and your he says, indicating the
chosen ones with his forefnger. AT this sum-
mons they must leave their homes at once. They
are not allowed to pack their belongings nor to
carry much baggage. They are permitted only
bO HUGH US tASJ Soh N"AAS "AoPpNN - :" N-"NN
kerchief
After they are taken into Germany they are
put to work cultivating the fields. doing the
hardest and most mental kind of labor. They
are forced to live with the soldiers, and are
rudely treated by them They can send no word
to their families and /. is almost as though they
were dead
The relief work II the invaded districts has
been tireless. Great credit Is due to the Amer.
lean committee for devastated France, organic.
by Miss Anne Morgan. Over 1000 children have
been turned over to this committee to be cared
for One Of its most useful works has been in
assisting the stricken people to leave their homes
so long as there is danger from the Germans in
the vicinity. Pitifu stories told of the flight
of these people One old woman refused to be
separated from her goat In transit, and would
only consent to go when she could be assured
that another goat could be got in case her Own
was lost.
France has been hard-tried. but she is not
broken Never has the morale of the French
people been more mistaken than it is today
France hafls with Joy the arrival Of the An,eri
cans 1t Is most fitting that these great siste
republics shoulm be fighting side by side in this
hour Of stress. Victory will be won; f is in
evitablel But an the pain, the woe and the uD
necessary degradation that have followed in the
wake of the INVADERS VIII the world ever for
get these? Can the bitter memors ever be
effaced?