Evening star., 1918-02-03

Special Correspondence of The Star.
lie HAyRE, France, January 90, 1915.
n TOP. thief!
The French. Italian. Belgian and
~ Rumanian governments want the
~ facts to be known the world over.
In north Italy today. as previously in
Belgium. north France and Rumania- the
Germans are robbing private houses.
shops, factories. museums and churches
When they gut a church or museum the
>pretext is to send the precious objects
to Germany for safekeepins-" For the
remainder, it is barefaced thieving, with
out pretext. and the one great pre-occu-
patton is to sell the swag quickly.
, The Italian authorities give out inforna-
ton that 1.-The imperial governments have
sent to Austrian and German state mu-
seums choice of the stolen old masters,
but have turned over to department
called the Office of war booty all the
vast mass of plunder which, according to
experts, is not of particular artistic in
terest to the German and Austrian public.
Troop trains on their return trips. more
or less empty. are loaded to the limit
with Italian agricultural machines, factory
machinery and produce. artistic and old
furniture. often priceless: the massive
silver table services Of which north Italian
families are proud. rare tapestries,
rugs carpets. clocks. bric-a-brac. jewelry.
stocks bonds and other contents of fire
proof safes and bureau drawers of a
population that fled for its life.
In each great German city the Office OF
war booty has its warehouses and auction
hyr
special card) are organized for rich Ger
man families at which bargains are made.
very quietly, by private sale. and 1mmed1-
ately after. If desired. so Fer cent can be
borrowed by the private purchaser on the
price of the object pledged with a similar
convenient Office for loans in case the
money be applied to German war bonds.
This secures the swag to the lucky Ger
man family in a handsome manner. while
furnishing patriotic preteNt for its ac-
QUESTION.
Men have grown rich at the auction
sales. The German newspapers are full of
advertisements OF resellerS. and these lat
ter even carry their business into adjoin-
ing neutral countries by confidential cir
culars offering furs. laces, silks, art OBJ
tects and artistic furniture rugs. tapes
tries, etc, at prices which constitute the
opportunity of lifetime" In neutral
lands this business fiourished Now, they
say, it languishes. notably in Switzerland.
where it seems to be reported nothing
doing Evidently. north Italy is close to
Il
pang to the most hardened. 1T might be
the turn of my own household goods to-
morrow
All of which, of course. is barefaced
felony and impudent defiance of The
Hague conventions. to which Germany
and Austria-Hungary had set their seal
and solemn oath.
1t is not war. 1t is wholesale bur
glary.
And let them not pretend that Ger
many is forced to such proceedings
by the growing tension of hostilities.
From the first days when they set
foot in Belgium and north France. the
German armies systematically plundered
private houses
able stays at Compiegne. SO that the
evidence. the photographs. the people
and their tales of woe are familiar to
me. We are not concerned with poor
peasants now, but with the former
rich.
When the German armies. rushing
down on Paris. before the victory of the
Marne, held Compiegne and surround
ing cities for a short time, they had no
idea that they could be forced to re-
treat They were sure of victory The
retreat came like a thunderclap. No
time remained to cart off household fur
niture. They left entire French cities
full of beautiful and valuable goods be-
hind them At Senlis they blew up the
main street. in rage and spite. At
Choisy -au-Bac they burned the sum-
mer-villa town entirely. But at Com
piegne. where only a few regiments re-
manned. with numerous staff digni-
taries. II was sufficient hustling to get
4he wagon trains out of the palace
seourtyard-where their precious con-
tents had been guarded under those
same staff eyes,
So. the rich mansions and villas of
Compiegnef give US an object lesson of