The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1918-02-28

Ny conscience and my disnity
place me above fear. 90 also my, per
sonal viii shall elevate me above re-
gret; but should you destroy the
Chateau de Marchais, which IN ONE Of
the centers Of universal science and
charity. should you reserve to- this
archaeological and historical gem the
treatment you have given to the ca
thedral Of Reims-when no reprehen-
hble action has been committed there
tho whole world will judge be-
tween you and myself.
II tender to your excellency the ex-
preston Of my high regard.
ALBERT. Sovereign Prince Of Mon.
AGO."
peportatIons and Forced Labor.
Until the present war the whole CIV
ilized world has boasted Of It's advance
In humanity. This advance has been
marked In many fields. and In none
had greater progress been made than
In the protection to be given to the
private citizen In an invaded country.
AS far back as 1853. In the "Instruc-
tions for the Government Of Armies
OF the United States In the Field"
the United States declared:
"23. Private citizens are no longer
murdered, enslnved. or carried of to
distant parts. and the inofrensive in
dividual Is as little disturbed in his
private relations as the commander
OF the hostile troops can afford to
grant in the overruling demands Of a
vigorous war.
"24. The almost universal rule In
remote times was, and continues to be
with barbarous armies. that the pri-
vnte individual Of the hostile country
Is destined to suffer every privation
Of liberty and protection, and every
disruption Of family ties. Protection
was, and still Is with uncivilized peo-
pie. the exception"
RsversIon TO Barbarism.
These declarations were made In the
midst Of our Civil war-one Of the
worlds f1ercest conflicts. A half-cen-
fury later, after more than 80 years
Of progress, the German government
has gone back to the methods used
by "barbarous armies" and "unciv-
ilized people" It has deliberately
adopted the policy Of deporting men
and women, boys and girls. and Of
forcing them to work for their cap
tors: 1t has even compelled them to
make arms and munitions for use
against their allies and their own flesh
and blood.
No other act Of the German govern
ment has aroused such horror and de-
testation throughout the civilized
world. Thousands of helpless men
and women, boys and girls. have been
enslaved. Families have been broken
up. Girls have been carried of tc
work-or worse-ln a strange land
and their relatives have not known
where they have been taken. or what
their fate has been.
This system Of forced labor and de.
portation embraced the whole of Bel
gium. Poland and the occupied lands
OF France.
whItioek's Story Of Horrors. i
In less moving phrases, but In dead
Iy corrObOratiOn. the continuation O.
the report Of Minister Whitlock says:
'"The rage. the terror, and despair
excited by this measure all over Bel.
GUM were beyond anything we had
witnessed since the day the Germans
poured into Brussels. The delegates
Of the commission for relief In Bel
gium. returning to Brussels. told the
most distressing stories Of the scenes
Of cruelty and sorrow attending the
seizures. And daily. hourly almost,
since that time appalling stories have
been related by Belgians coming to
the legation. 1t is impossible for US
to verify them. first because it Is nee
essary for US to exercise all possible
tact In dealing with the subject at
all. and secondly because there Is NO
means Of communication between the
OccupatiOhs-Gebiet and the Etappen-
Gebiet. Transportation everywhere
in Belgium Is difficult, the vicinal
railways scarcely operating any more
because Of the lack OF oil, while all
the horses have been taken. The peo-
pie who are forced to 60 from one
village to another must do SO on foot
or In vans drawn by the few miser-
able horses that are left. The wagons
Of the breweries. the one institution
that the Germans have scrupulOusly
respected, are hauled by oxen.
One Of Fouiest Deeds In History.
"The well-known tendency Of sensa.
tonal reports to exaggerate them
selves. especially In time of war, and
In a situation like that existing here,
with no newspapers to serve as daily
clearing house for all the rumors that
are as avidly believed as they are
eagerly repeated. should of course be
considered; but even II q modlcum Of
all that Is told Is true there still re-
mains enough to stamp his deeds as
one Of the fOulest that history records.
II am constantly In receipt Of re-
pt rts from all over Belgium that tend
to bear out the stories one constantly
hears Of brutality and cruelty. A mum.
Der of men se II back to Mons ara