Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1919-03-26
HEROIC BELCIANS
DEFIED GERMANS
Kept Underground Railway to
Holland Working All
Through War.
SECRET SYSTEM never idle
Scores Of Patriots Shot or Imprisoned
by Huns in Attempt 10 Smash Bel
gian Organization - Die
Rather Than Tell.

Parls.-Stories of heroism, patriot
ism and devotion of Belgians during
the German occupation are continually
coming to the surface of the miasmal
pool of intrigue, treachery and selfish
ness which the Germans left behind in
Belgium.
How two men gave up their lives and
two went to prison for period which
would have lasted 20 years had the
Germans been victorious, that the man
higher up" might live and continue
managing the underground organiza-
ton which was sending valuable in
formation out of occupied country has
now been related by Adolphe Buyl, the
man whose life was saved by their sac
rifice.
Struggled Fighters Out of Belgium.
Late In 1914 the Germans had not
organized the Dutch frontier with that
murderous efficiency which sent to
their graves many young Belgians at
tempting to cross into Holland. Buyl
had access to the seals of the munich
pality and every evening in various
out-of-the-way Gales, 20, 80, sometimes
as many as so young men would as
semble, reaching the place singly and
by devious ways. Passports and iden-
tification blanks were there, and the
young men would emerge from the
cafes supplied with proper, or rather
improper. Identification and make their
way into Holland and thence join the
Belgian army battling on the User.
More than 1000 men We're sent out
between October, 1914, and February,
1915.
Then the Germans became aware of
the leak, and the frontier was hermet
ically, electrically sealed and the work
became more dangerous and difficult.
Guides had to be provided-generally
smugglers of gasoline and other COM
modities across the Dutch border-who
for a consideration averaging so francs
for each man would pilot them across
the frontier. Rubber gloves and wire
cutters were necessary tools of their
trade, and many German sentry was
found by his relief with knife deeply
sunk in his throat and lying alongside
break in the wire fence.
At no time were there fewer than
100 men engaged in the work. All
were volunteers DESTROYS of serving
their country, even at the risk of be-
ing stood against the wall and shot,
and as q matter of fact, many of them
were.
Died Rather Than Tell.
The first member of the organiza-
ton to be taken by the Germans was
PHILIPPE Baucq, whose arrest was 81
multaneous with that of Edith Cavel',
the English nurse, whose execution by
Germans sent a thrill of horre-
throughout the world. Baueq was shot
on October IL, 1915, with the brave
English nurse.
Baucq was succeeded as Buy{'s
rfght-hand mar by another man named
Dubois. On June /, 1916, Dub@s,
with 60 others, was arrested and hp-
prisoned at Hasselt. The Germans
boosted that they had smashed the Bel
gian organization which had evaaed
them for tive years. Dubois and three
others We're shot and sentences aggre-
eating 900 years were imposed upon
the others.
Both BaTfcq and Dubois knew that
Alderman Buyl was head of the organ
ization and both took their orders
from him For days before the exc
cution the Germans eEdeavored by Of
fering to spare their dives to induce
them to Genounce their leader, but
they refused and We're shot. Never
theless the work went on.