The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1918-02-28

missing every day; but bring US the evil
dence. we must have evidence. We
are only too willing to put an end to
the brazen deeds of the German agents,
but the rascals are too willy
when | asked for protection against
acts of violence, the official told US that
there was not much that could be done
in such cases and that the best thing to
do was to disappear secretely and live
quietly in some place as not to attract
the attention of the German spies.
For" continued the police official,
the only reason why the German gov
eminent is in such dread of the desert
ers is because they are mercilessly tell
ing the outside world of all the crimes
of the German rulers. | can only ad-
wise you to be cautious. The German
secret service is ready to commit any
outrages.'
1--WE left-my friend with the irten-
ton of leaving Rotterdam the next eve
ming and going to Delfzye in Northern
Holland. When we were not block
away from the police headquarters we
noticed that we were being followed by
the same fellow who had some DAYS be-
fore demanded that my friend drop his
newspaper articles.
The next day we went out to make
preparations for my friends departure
in the evening. In Beurs Plein, large
square in front of the Rotterdam Stock
Exchange, we separated. | went to
the Dittmar News Bureau. located IN
the square, and my friend went directly
to the nearby railroad station to get a
ticket for the night train for Delfzyl
We were to meet in half an hour in the
waiting room of the Rotterdamsch
Nieuwsblad, opposite the station, in
order to discuss-the latest occurrences
with the publisher and editor of that
newspaper.
Il waited in vain. ! never saw my
friend-Richard Herzog, that was his
name, and he came from Chemnitz.
The criminals were swifter than he.
Afterwards his parents told a cores
pondent of the Dittmar News Bureau
that he had been executed at Vessel on
the Dutch-German border"
The writer, whose real name, by the
way, is no. Berton and who is at pres
ent in Chicago tells how the German
government frequently obtains possess
ion of deserters through trumping up
evidence purporting to show that they
/ have committed ordinary crimes in
Germany and thus having them ex-
| tradited as common criminals. OF
course, the Dutch government tries to
see that the men it delivers to the
kaiser's minions are tried only for the
ofenses with which they are charged
but Its efforts are generally in VAN.
A typical case is described as follows by
the deserter author:
The man whose extradition from
Holland was demanded by the German
government was accused Of house
breaking and similar crimes and he was
delivered up by the Dutch authorities.
His trial took place in Dresden. The
Netherlands officers protested IN ad-
vance against his being put on trial for
desertion. as he had been extradited
solely on a charge of robbery. and
consequently, could only be tried on
that charge. The day of the trial
came and the accused young man had
to be acquitted on the charge of bur
Plary because of lack Of evidence. -
What now?
/ Under a law enacted during the
war the government only had to give
the discharged man thlrty-six hours to
leave the country. OF course it was
impossible for the destitute and perse-
cuted man to travel from Dresden to
the Dutch border over railroads in war
conditions in that space of time. Fur
/ thermore, the bloodhounds were close
on his heels.
The unfortunate man had just pass
ed the Altenessen Station when his
36-hour period of grace expired. He
was arrested for desertion and four
DAYS later, without further tormalities
and defended by nobody, he was shot
at Cologne victim of the brutal
tyranny of class government. Ger
man culture had triumphed.
After asserting that during Doctor
VonKuhlmann' S stay at The Hague the
German spies became so brazen that
they maintained agents at the railroad
stations to meet the incoming trains
and to hold up and question all young
men who looked like Germans, and that
this practice was only stopped because
of the protest of the Dutch railroad
officials.
According to a report received in
Washington February 2, the Dutch
government has requested the German
government to take no action against
Minister, pending an investigation by
{ the Dutch autboritiao of +bo ob,-o.,