The Washington herald., 1918-03-17
By JOHN LLOYD BALDERsroN.

Syndicateg
London. Feb. 10, (by mail).-There
Is one newspaper in the world that
has an aerial supplement. Copies Of
the supplement dribble down from
the skies. the paper itself issues
from the bowels of the earth. Ger
man secret agents and soldiers rush
about frantiealIy all over Belgium,
l-but they are able neither to arrest
The editors and printers OF La
LAore Belgique"-"Free Belgium.
nor to stop its circulation, nor to
prevent the aerial supplements"
thrown down by allied aerOplanes
from reaching thousands Of un-
daunted Belgians who brave the
savage penalty imposed IL they are
caught with Q copy.
The outside world heard from
time to time of the existence Of
Free Belgium" and other patriotic
papers somehow produced under
the very noses Of the Germans. /
am able TO give a more complete
account of the Belgian secret press,
and OF the method Of writing, print
ing and distributing those organs
which have so helped to maintain
the spirit Of Belgium. Everything
written here has been carefully
gone over by a Belgian authority
himself concerned with the secret
press. 50 this story contains moth
ing that can help the enemy In his
ridiculous, but tireless and brutal
efforts to extirpate the brave little
papers that hold him up to ridicule
and contempt.
Regularly Irregular.
Free Belgium" first appeared on
February /, 1915, and it has been
coming out ever since. The aerial
supplement" mostly written by con-
tEtoutors to the paper who have
; smuggled themselves across the
frontier and reached allied coun-
tries, has been dropped by airInen
at intervals for eighteen months,
Both the paper itself and the sup
plement appear regularly irregu-
larry" as the title page Of Free
Belgium" announces.
The German government now de-
clares that any allied aviator drop
ping propaganda matter in occu-
pied or German territory will be
shot as q spy IL caught. Savage
sentences OF imprisonment have al
ready been imposed on airmen for
scattering pamphlets, instead or
bombs, which the enemy fear less.
These threats. I am assured, Will
not put an end to the aerial sup
plement." just as the death penalty
would fail to deter the editors in
Belgium from continuing their dar-
ing enterprise.
When an allied plane scattered
the dreaded leaflets over the Ant
werp and st. Nicholas region, Ger
man cavalry patrols were sent out,
and the UhIans for days searched
the countryside. picking up stray
copies, arresting all the peasants
whom they suspected might have
found one. Nevertheless patriots
got some. they were reproduced by
typewriting or mimeograph process
and circulated over the country.
On another occasion the airmen
yolpIaned down over Brussels and
showered crowds in the Grande
Place and near the Porte de Nsmur.
Brussels, with aerial supplements
of Free Belgium
But the romance OF Free Belgium"
is in the paper itself. written, printed
and distributed in Belgium, and not
in the air supplement. The latter is
comparatively easy to circulate. But
to publish a newspaper for three years
in a small country under military oc-
cupation without getting caught,
when every day hOrdes Of secret
agents have been hunting for you,
and when a standing reward Of $4,000
has been offered for information lead
ing 70 the arrest of any one concerned
I'm the enterprise, would appear i'm
possible II It had not been accom-
plished.
Something like ten thousand copies
are distributed through Belgium How
is II done? Where is the paper print
edt Who writes for Il? The answers
TO all these questions cannot be given
in detail until after the war.
The circulation department has its
troubles. On one occasion Free Bel
gium" appeared very late. 1t con-
tained the following editorial: '"The
present number is delayed in publica-
ton. The reason is that we had to
reprint II. La Libre BelS.que en-
countered the enemy. 1t threw itself
into the water. to escape by swim.
ming, and was drowned"
Reader Dies OF Rage.
Free Belgium appears on the day
OF publication laid out on the desks of
all the high German officials in the
country. 1t Is especially a point Of
honor to introduce a copy into the Of
fee Of the governor general The late
Won Bissing, the Belgians say, died Of
rage, because he found the paper reg
ularly on his desk. often with savage
cartoons OF himself staring at him
from the first page, and all his
searches and traps were of no avail.
The system Of circulation minimizes
the chances OF treachery or indis-
cretion. Three or four Of the big
men at the top-and IL many Belgians
know their names, the secret has
never been betrayed-take several
l thousand copies each after the paper
leaves the printing press, which, Free
Belgium announces. is situated in
an automobile" These are subdivided
into packets Of few hundred each.
and sent over the country. one packet
10 each locality, concealed in the
market baskets OF peasants or art
fully sewn inside clothes.
when the packet reaches the local
agent. he in turn divides 1t into small
er packages, which are distributed to
the subscribers by his assistants. Each
~ tba thousands Of subscribers knows
the name of the man who SUPPLIES
him. but no names Of "men higher
nm" Patriots who circulate a few
COPIES each know the local distribut-
ing agent, whose Identity is a secret
rom the subscribers, but they do not
know the name Of the man who sends
this big bundle Of papers to, the To-
cal agent The local agen., and he
alone In each locality. knows who
one Of these men Is. And, so careful
Nv q the scheme worked out. that 1t