Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-09-13

got food over the seas TO them. Won
Kissing had very little TO do with
that; he had not greatly helped it,
save as he confirmed and enlarged
the former guarantees, ana at that
time he did not seem even to under
stand il. Indeed while he was abb
sent in Berlin and being interviewed
his staff officers were preparing a
statement to lay before him so that
he might know. what the "ravitaille-
ment" consisted OF. and what was
being done by IL.
He had printed notices stating
that industry should be resumed.
and the interview stated that il had
been resumed: but there was no in
dustry' ia the country: The Ger
mans indeed were having all the
machinery taken out of the factories
and sent To Germany. There could
be no imports because of the block
AIDE, and nothing could be exported
unless il went TO Germany. Indus
try was literally impossible because
there were no raw materials. Forty
thousand men working i'm the gun
factories at Liege had refused TO
worS; the mines had been seized by
the German authorities because they
wanted the coal. Belgium in fact
had tacitly declared a general strike
as a protest against German aggres-
sion.
As for agriculture. Belgium was
all eady the most densely populated
country in the world, and the most
intensely and scientifically cultivat-
ed: there was nothing that Won
Kissing or anyone could teach the
Belgians in that department. The
seeds that were being used were
sent by the American commission.
They were planted by the patient
peasants in their fields and. after
the order of nature, spring had
come. these seeds were bursting, UNI
conscious that an elderly German
general of cavalry was the cause of
the phenomenon. The sap was pulls
ing in the trees! nature, in her au-
gust Indifference TO forms of gov
eminent and the quarrels of men,
was serenely carrying on her mys-
ferrous. processes.
The Germans were cutting down
the trees, denuding the forests, US
ing the wood to make roads for
cannons and covers for trenches and
stocks for rifles. The boughs of
the fir trees served; they made, it
was said, an excellent. camouflage.
The Germans had taken much of the
live stock in the country, most of
the fine horses and the fine breeds
of dogs, and sent them to Germany.
We we're all relieved, and, if it
we're word with place any more
in this world. / should add that
we were happy, in the receipt of
telegram from Mr. Hoover bearing
the good news that there was
enough food to last until August 10.
We were not happy long, however,
for when, the explanatory letter
that follows all kilograms arrived
il informed US that August . was
placed as a period when the 'ravi-
taillement" would come TO an end,
unless the Germans should yield to
a demand about to be made by the
English government, that the forth
coming harvest in Belgium be not
seized by the Germans. We all felt
like applying TO the countess OF our
acquaintance whose chateau near
Brussels had been requisitioned and
transformed into a hospital for neu-
rasthenic German officers, just out
Of the trenches. %
But then there was d dispatch
from Washington, with touching
letter the Belgian minister there. M.
Havenith. had handed Mr.. Bryan,
expressing the gratitude of the Bel
gian government to the American
minister at Brussels, and a group
of women from Laecken had come
in tears to present to me one OF
the flour sacks that had brought
them wheat from America. a flour
sack in which. with their own
hands. they had embroidered eX-
pressions Of their appreciation. And
SO. some way would have TO be
found TO save the crop to the Bel
zisus who had planted 1T.
Published by special arrangement
with the Mcclure Newspaper Syn
dicate. Copyright, LIS, by Brand
whitlock. under the title Memories
OF Belgium Under thu German Oc-
cupa ton, All rights reserved
Copyrighted ih Great Britain. Can
ada, and Australia. All rights re-
served for france. Belgium, Hol-
land Italy, Spain. Russia and. the
scandinavian cOuntries.)