The Colorado statesman., 1918-01-12
aimed TO make
POLAND DESERT
German System ReCkoned on
Starvation of People to Pro-
mote Imperial Ends.
vow KRIES REVEALED PLOT
Country, After Population Had Been
systematically Done to Death, Was
to Be Restocked by Settlers
From Germany.

The ericHt Of human misery IN
Poland caused By the German oc-
cupdti0H uds as great as that in Bel
gium and France The entire heart
lessnesS which characterized the kdi-
ser'S high officers is ,OeH shown in a
statement By Mr. Vernon Kellogg.
prepared for a pamphlet issued By
the committee on public informd-
tion. which we copv
The systematic exploitation Of hn-
man misery by the German authorities
In Poland followed the general plan
laid down by the kaisor's orders. In
order to prove the Identity Of proceed
ure II will he enough Ia present the
detailed report prepared specially for II
pamphlet issued by the committee on
public information and written 10y Mr.
Frederic C. Wulcott A fuller and in
some VS. more touching treatment
is give in his article. devastated
Poland in the National Geographic
Magazine for May, 1917.
september, 1917.
"POand-Russian Poland-iS per-
ishing. And the German high com
mand. imbued with the Prussian sys
TEN, is coolly reckoning on the neces-
sites Of starving people to promote
its imperial ends.
West Poland. which has been Prus-
sian territory more than II hundred
years, is Il disappointment to Ger
many its people obstinately remain
Poles This time they propose swifter
measures. In two or three years, by
grace of starvation and frightfulness
they calculate East Poland will be
thoroughly made over into Il German
province.
"In the great IIindenburg drive one
year ago. the country was completely
devastated by the rctreating RUSSIAN
nrmy and the oncoming Germans. A
million people We're driven from their
homes Half of them perished by the
roadside. For miles and miles, when
saw the country, the way was Uttered
with mudsoaked garments and bones
picked clean by the crows-though the
larger bones had been gathered by the
thrifty Germans to be ground into fer
tilizcr.
Deliberate Policy of Starvation.
"Warsaw, which had not been de-
stroycd-Once proud city of n million
people-was utterly stricken. Poor
folks by thousands lined the streets,
leaning against the buildings, Shivering
in snow and rain, too weak to lift Il
hand, dying of cold and hunger. Though
the rich gave all they had, and the
poor shared their last crust, they were
starving there in the streets In droveS
"In the stricken city, the German gov
crnOr of Warsaw issued proclama
ton All able-bodled Poles were bid
den to go to Germany to work. If any
refused. let no other Pole give him to
eat, not so much us mouthful, under
penalty of German military law
at was more than the mind could
grasp. To the husband and father of
broken families, the high command
gave this decree: Leave your families
to starve; If you stay, we shall see that
YOU do starvc-ths to n high-strung
sensitive, highly organized people, this
from the authorities of II nation pro
Tossing civilization and religion to mil
lions of fellow Christians captive and
starving.
General Won Kries, the governor,
was kind enough to explain. Candidly,
they preferred not quite so much star
vation; 1t might get on the nerves of
the German soldiers. But, starvation
being present it must work for Ger
man purpose. Taking advantage of
this wretchedness, the working men of
Poland were to be removed the coun-
try was to be restocked with Germans.
1t was country Germany needed-rich
alluvlal soil--better suited to German
expansion than distant possessions. If
the Poland that was had to perish, so
much the better for Germany.
To Make Poland German Province.
'Remove the men, let the young and
weak die, graft German stock on the
women. See how simple It is: with n
crafty smile, General Won Kries CON
cluded, by and by we must give back
freedom to Poland Very good; it will
renppear as Il German province
"Sowly, L came to realize that this
monstrous, incredible thing was the
Prussan system, deliberately chosen
by the circle around the all-hghest,
and kneaded into the German people
TIL il became part of their mind.
German people are material for
building the state-of no other account.
1 Ink Up Telephone With Wireless.