Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-10-22

noble old church OF st. Martin and
broken most Of the windows, but SO
far no great ruin has been made and
the town is still standing with these
wounds. and hope the enemy will de-
slst from this useless brutality. which
is only harmful to noncombatants. az
the British have no soldiers in the city
and all their men are beyond II and
around IT,
Most OF the inhabitants speak only
Flemish. but had a conversation with
one man who speaks good French. I
have heard many passionate things SAID
by people who have undergone four
years OF oppression under German rule,
but never have I seen 80 much fire or
passion as was in this mans eyes or
heard a voice so vibrant with It.
He tried to check his emotion. but
at eeery sentence his voice rose ard
thrilled, and he made "a TERRIBLE denuncl-
alton OF the German race as he had
seen It in Courtrai
1t was the same story as In other
towns of France ana Belgium. Court
raj had been robbed Of all its copper
and all Its wool down to the mat
tresses of the beds. and the enemy had
loaded it with acquisitions and fines and
destroyed all its Industrial machinery
for cloth making. They did not take
all the machines away. They took
hammers and broke them 10 bits. -
German Ofneer. Arrogant
German officers were arrogant and
brutal 10 people even who had received
them with courtesy, hiding their hatred
and coerclnr themselves TO scrupulous
politcness They robbed houses Of their
furniture and valuableS. They seized
ford Gent for the citizens by the inter-
national relief committee. They were
abomnable with women
The last commandant OF Courtrai was
Won Richthofen. father Of the famous
German aviator. and he was a hard man
and kept the city under iron rule. "But
that, thank God, Is finished now." said
my inf ,rmant. As he spoke monst rous
shell came overhead, but he took no
notice cf II. and sad:
"All that Is fialsled We are safe
from the eneny's evil ways at last"
confess that I was not so sure Of IL.
hearing those bcasty crashes in Cour.
trail
found ore old English lady in the
city, or rather an Irish lady. named
| Miss Mary Cunningham. She is over
seventy and has lived in Courtrai for
! twelve years, at first in well-to-do cir
cumstanccs. her father being a flaN spin
ner. but afterward she was obliged to
| earn her living by teaching French and
English to Flemish pupils.
Even that failed her after a while
because English and French did not
seem much good to people surrounded
by Germans SO Miss Cunningham is
poor and now lives in tiny house OPP
posite the ca .hedral with cooking stove
In her par,cr aud lot much TO cook or
1t, poor soul. But she received MS as a
great lady OF the old sch,ol with tn;
most beautiful dignity, undisturbed by
the noises without. oninous CRASHES
close at hand and sounds OF breaking
glass. She made only one remark SHOW
ing that she noticed these things
DO you mind shutting the d1or?'
she said. II don't like those bombs
! coming in
| noticed the bombs. as she called tht
I German shells had already broken th'
| front part OF her little parlor. and sh,
was very close TO the danger point o.
! h"stiie shell fire. ranged by the belfrI
Of Courtra!. She did not say mucl
| about the war except when she spoke Of
| the Germans as highway robbers. bu
| her mind went back TO ireland and ole
| friends there and her old people.
Her grandmother was a Mis- Kim
Minis. sister OF President Wilson's great.
grandmother She told us that as Il pass.
ing Thought but ! was startled by her
words and thought how queer Il was
| tliat ! sould be sitting with Pres dent
, Wilson's cousin in little front parloi
Of Courtrai. with the Germans not far
away and under shcllHre.
Courtrai was sinister vest terday. and
| hated the sight of the women ant
children there still IN grave danger. They
were going TO their cellars again as
! loft. aud the streets were nearly empt,
and not soul passed through III.
public gardens. where the trees shet
many OF their leaves, so that the ground
Is carpetcd with red foliage