Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-12-07

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woman. She was content with the
greater task of rearing her family, or
derihg her house, outstanding her frugal
resources, and diseharging her daily
duties with the strength of calm re-
pose. Bat the kaiser aud Ruppreeht.
and the rest of our War Lords, these
great super-men had set their minds
upon scheme of welt-politiek, and she,
and thousands more like her, were made
to die in ignomiIS and anguish.
God! 1t made my blood boil when I
later found her body reverently wrap
ped in blanket, with a handkerchief
over her face.
"She did not answer my knock quick
enough, SIR" the sergeant who shot
her explained to me. "We Germans
must teach these swine-hounds that it
is death to keep Us waiting" and with
ii salute that betof eped at once respect
fer my rank, snd unalloyed pleasure
with himself, he staggered off, typi-
cal product of our Devil s culture, which
has transformed us Germans, made In
the image of God, into machines Of
destruction.
But that household was only one of
the victims of our Bavarian fury that
day. "We must shoot these women
and children" heard an officer say,
"we must make an end of them.''
Before | could ask him for an expla-
ratiCn, my attention was claimed by
voice calling out, "Mereyi Mercyi"
aud turning | saw an old man being
half dragged half-pushed by the butt
end of the rifles of two Bavarians, in-
to a barn--a barn from which already
smoke was issuing, and which, two
minutes later, when the old man had
been forced inside, was ablaze with
fire. can hear the old mans screams
now. They ring in my ears at this
moment. He was burnt alive!
At The Bayonet Point.
But even that does not exhaust the
story of Rupprecht's "thoroughness"
that day. One family had taken re-
fuge in the cellar of house. The troop
ers raised the trap door, fired on the
helpless victims covering beneath, and
then set light to the house. One work.
man was driven at the bayonet-point
up the stairs of his house into garrett
at the top, and then the soldiers set
light to the building.
Another victim, one M. Leganty, an
old man of 78, incapable of resistance,
was shot through the jaw, and died in
agonies.
But why prolong the tale!
He'll, let loose in Belgium! Those are
the only words / find to indicate the
fruits of "frightfulness sso thar saw
before my eyes. And For tAe men re-
sponsible can He'll itself afford 'pnni.
shmentq Will not its warders say in
the words of the great Shakespeare
D
y "What scourge for perjury
Can this dark monarchy afford, false
Clarence9"
Aye, what seourge for the perjurer,
who deceived Europe into false Sc
curity and then sprang on her, armed
to the teeth, sprang at her like an as
sassin-to use an assassin's weapon
against her!
Needless to say, l found no echo OF
these reflections either in Prince Rup-
precht or the other Officers of the staff
and when the hideous work OF thu
dreadful day concluded we sat down
to recherche dinner at the village inn.
His Highness was in right good spir-
its. The chef, who had been constrain-
ed to cook the dinner on penalty of
death, had seen his mother killed that
afternoon. The landlord, whose daugh-
ter had been first outraged and then
killed, had been warned not to let his
private grief interfere with tno ptopar-
alton of the feast that had been spread
that night for Rupprecht sy the very
hands Of the men whose dearest and
nearest had been butchered.
What matter that's
What mattered the blackened coun-
tryside, whose buildings still blazed,
whose maddened cattle lay dead in the
streets, side by side with the men and
women Rupprecht's soldiers had slaugh-
tered, while up and down there wander
ed, as yet unslain by the drunken, re-
yelling privates of his force, poor half
demented wretches, mad-mad beyond
hope of recovery, mad from the stress
of the awful CHASTITY sights and sounds
that they had seen9
Cut Them Down Like Grass.
But Rupprecht was N high feather.
"We have taught these people a les
son at last" he said, draining his COB
let of champagne. cone or two more
punishments like these will bring home
to them the folly and wickedness of OPP
posing us further They will seen ac-
cept the Pax Germanica. and he arose
frem his seat, glass in hand, to propose
the toast, drunk with vociferous en-
thusiasm, Deutschland uber Allies"
"We must be more wary next time,
gentlemen" the Prince proceeded. Our
gains today have been ineommensurate
with the losses we have sustained. Our
next duty is, to give lesson to the dogs
of Villette. 1t will prove tough nut
unless we are careful. We cannot en-
velop it except at an enormous cost,
and if we advance and rush upon it
from the high road our men will be
subjected to cross-fire. But it seems
that there is good road leading thru
the woods on to the back of the viilags
from whence we could take the Bel
gians in the rear and cut them down
like glass" and with chucklc, elo-