The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-01-29

only get It. SO | left Brussels one |
about 8 clock and started on |
foot for Louvain During the day | |
saw several bodies of German troops. !
and had to take to my heels Once | |
hid behind haystack to let German |
soldiers 90 by. But most Of the troops |
saw were artillery batteries, and they |
were not particularly dangerous to me- |
Near Louvain | met Belgians fleeing
horror-stricken from the ruins and !
think it was then, for almost the first
time, that l realized what German dom
nation meant.
:" cannot bear TO describe Louvain.
1t was horrible. The place had been
simply blotted from the face Of the
earth. There was hardly enough shelter
left for a straf dog. | saw scores Of
new-made graves Of Belgians who had
been executed by the Germans, and III
some eases | found embers Of what
had once been q house still glowing
where a recent atrocity had been coin
mitted. The next morning | returned
to Brussels.
by this time, had come to realize
that the Germans were waging war as
il had been fought thousand wears
ago; that no Que had any rights in the
eyes Of either their soldiers or their
high command, and that the individual
soldier was being deliberately encour-
aged III his acts Of frightfulness. 1t 5
q wonder TO me now that ! escaped
through il all. Tor as | look back upon
| il | had hardly one chance in Il thou
and. From now on, YOU can believe,
F! | hid from every grav-coated soldier |
! saw.
. Aside from the brutality and greed
| that have been displayed throughout
| Belgium by the Kaiser 5 forces, what
| impressed me most was the absolute
arrogance Of the conquerors. 1t is a
foretasto OF what the world could ex-
/ pect if Germany won. One of the or
! dcrs issued in the carly DAYS Of the
! occupation was that a civilian had to
get off the sidewalk % feet ahead Of a
! German soldier or officer and not re
| turn until the German was 90 feet
away. Posters with rules and recula-
tions established by the German high
command literally placarded the con
quered territory. One Of thesa | remem-
Der announced that all Belgians accused
by German soldiers Of disorder or any
other crime (from the German point of
view would be considered guilty with
out more ado.
Miss Burleigh told Of how she had
walked from Brussels through the Ger
man lines 10 Mons, where She visited
a German hospital in which We're Il
wounded British soldiers They wer,
the hHat English troops she had seen
she said. The Belgian nurse in char9,
permitted ter to talk with them.
ihcre were 10 wounded Germans
! Ill the same ward, sand Miss Burlelgh
and aiter had VISITED the Iommle
/, they informed the commanding genera
ol m suspicious appearance. | had t
leave Mons IN the night, ami when
+ got back 70 Brussels found that tae,
0 nau sent OUT orders Tor my arrest VI
. Belgian friends learned that they ha
my description, - changed my tie,
4 a. the. say, aad hnaIlN escaped to o.
/ tend Just httofe the Germans capture
4 thaf place.
* MISS BurIel@h spent several month
+ DONG war reilet work IN Holland las
+ wear, and Twas there that She saw IL
/. !,'ot5aeanol>'' "'FA Oh 'ne Germans
e ~ giEi'-
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