American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-03-19

only One-tenth. Thus it was but a
few days until great suffering came.
The American Relief association was
promptly organized, but the first two
ships to be sent were torpedoed. Be-
fore relief came 200 babies in Brussels
alone died of starvation. Soup stations
we're established thousands standing
in line for hours, to get little bit of
soup made of scraps of almost every
thing Only those who were actual
ly starving were served. Mrs. Clark
who was one of those assisting in CIV
ing out the soup, told of one little girl
whom she had watched from away
down the line, waiting with all the pa
tience she could command, her turn.
When she was at the head of the line
she was picked up, placed on scales
and weighed, and as kindly as pos
sible told that she had not lost any
weight and could not be served-the
soup was only for the starving. The
little child fell in a faint, and Mrs
Clark and other women divided their
scant portion. Such was the penalty
imposed on the helpless because the
valiant Belgians had dared to defend
the neutrality of their country.
At a town of 5000 about ten miles
from Brussels, the men had been no
titled that they must go to Germany
to work in munition factories. They
refused to make munitions to kill their
own people. Thereupon they were
told they would be starved until they
submitted. Realizing what this meant.
they counseled with their wives. The
women answered by singing the Mar
seilles and the Belgian national air.
A close guard was put around the
town and no food was allowed to en-
ter. One man, who had seen one of
his babies die from starvation, and
another on the verge of starvation,
braved the danger and slipped through
the guard at night, came into Brussels
and notified Brand Whitlock, the
American ambassador. Herbert Hoov-
er. who was in London at the time,
was notified. He made a demand on
Won Bissing, who had been appointed
governor general of Belgium, to with
draw the guard, threatening if he did
not do so, to withdraw the American
Relief commission and let the German
soldiers see the starving women and
children as they marched to the front.
and become demoralized in doing so.
This was the sixth day, and forty ba-
bies had perished before the guard
was withdrawn. In the meantime, the
other baby of the man who had brought
the news to Brussels, had died The
mother. frantic with grief, attempted
30, oh, = oh, Io I'd 70 RrA har
husband, and was bayoneted by SOL
dier on either side. When the hus
band returned his entire family was
wiped out.
AS an incident of the reign of ter
ror that the Germans spread, Mrs.
Clark spoke of the situation of the
little colony of American and English
people who remained in Brussels for
more than a year without news of the
progress of the war, aside from what
was gained from the circulation of a
German-printed paper of Amsterdam.
Finally" she said, I'VE bribed a
Belgian to slip through the line and
bring us a single copy of an English
paper from Holland. That penny
sheet cost us $26, and you can imagine
how it was pessed from hand to hand.
first through the American colony,
then the English and finally to the
Belgians. But at last the Germans
got wind of the presence of this paper
and instituted a house-to-house search
for tiny own house among the rest.
In the house of Belgian doctor they
finally found one scrap of it, bearing
the date. That unfortunate physician
was fined $1,000 and sent to Jail in a
German dungeon for a year and later
the same penalty was visited on his
wife, an invalid. Their cook, who
had cut out a cartoon of the kaiser,
was sentenced to six months impri-
sonment and a fine of $500. None Of
them we're ever heard of again, and
they all doubtless died under their
sentences. That is what it means to
brave the anger of the huns
The greatest crime committed, the
7 speaker said, was against the girls and
( young women, thousands of whom
were sent into Germany and have
never been heard from since. On the
body of a wounded German officer was
found a requisitiOn for light haired
girl of 16" to be his orderly. You
understand what this means, said the
speaker. An orderly takes care of
an officers bedroom and looks after
| his comfort.
The war will last five years, the
speaker said and will take the boys
in our high schools before it is over.
Germany says it will last ten years.
We must stand behind that army, and
supply its every need. The reason
Germany has been able to do what she
has is because of the loyalty of the
German people. There is not an idle
plot of ground in all Germany. Every
lawn and park has been converted IN
to a garden. The flat roofs Of build
ings have been covered with earth
and planted. The old men, women and
children form the second army, an
army behind the army, and Americans
must do the same if they hope TO win.
I've