The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-12-23
IEst0nnlcnt Three.

confirmed by responsible British aU- thorities who were in q position to know what the Captain was doing during the two years or SC he was a prisoner aui a fugitive in Germany
 This method of getting spies into Germany was more freely resorted to by the French than by the British or BelSianS, and they certainly found 1t successful enough to be kept up. We were often warned of the iucIu- sion of these men in parties of pris- oners, and when rescues were sue cessful We did not object to the men going back to the Germans.
 Rerresstve in the extreme were the measures taken by the Germans during the period extending from February Of last year down to the signing of the armistice
 The enemy realized then that the years of suffering borne patiently by the Belgians were bearing fruit, and that those people wei quietly pre- paring for the day when their re- yeuge would come as the German hold on BelEiun relaxed. It was in the hope of ecuntering this move lnent bs- es ablishlng a greater reign of terror throughout the occupied territory that the Germans took the course they did
 When il was decided to evacuate occupied towns or villages. the order was given that the residents were not to appear in the streets until they got special permission from the German authorities. and as no food was pro Tided for them this meant that the people were left to starve.
 In the same way, when German troops were being massed in Belgium before the great attack Of March 2lst, the civilians were ordered on February End to remain in doors during certain periods of the day periods selected for the passage of the troops All of the soldiers sent through Brussels were new men. who had been in garrison in different parts of Germany, with the exception CE a Toy. -l tS made up 0f men who had been called back to the army after being discharged in couse- quenee of wounds sustained earlier in the war.
 l mixed very freely with the Ger man soldiers at that time, for, though had many close slaves when help ing Allied prisoners to escape my Belgian nationality was never ques- toned, and no one identified me with the man whose association with es- "aDing prisoners had led to the of fer of q reward for his capture. I found that the Germans were very desuondent about the outlook
 One man said to me, "It is folly We are being sent to death. The Allies are too strong for Us. We cannot hope to prevail"
 German officers at that time were hardly less pessimistic, but some Of them counted on catching the British napnIng. One officer Of the German Army with whom I talked when he came to see me in Brussels in March Cf last year about the bHIeting of fresh troops was q Major W an AL5atian, and a relative of French officer.
 The AaJor was typiCaIly German and had the fixed idea that his reIa- tive had brought disgrace on tha nam hy ling against Germany When I suggested to him that the world was sie2l Of the war the Major rep-iad-
 "yes. but 1t will soon end. The British are going to be surprised and beaten badly, Then we can deal with the degenerate French. As for the Americans, they don't count. Tna British are certain that the talk of an offensive from our side is bluff, and they will be blufed badly, for they are not taking precautions.'
 That was typical of the thought of the German officers at that time and I fancy that the Germans must have tried at one time to make the British really believe that their talk e an ofer#ivc was bluff in order to lulI the British and French into false security
 German Nerves.
 CerTnan nervousness lest the Allies should learn of what was going on behind the lines became more intense every day, and by the summer of last year the German auth critics sui fered very badly from nerves. It was known or suspected that aircraft were landing trained intelligence officers, and it was known also that escaping prisoners were taking back very val UahIe infOrma ton. Therefore, the guards got instructions that they were to fire at once on any prison CTS Attempting to escape in the streets of Brussels. even though it was well known that crowds of innocent peo- pie were in the streets to see these prisoners pass through. The Ger man reply to this point was that peo- pie had no right to be in the streets and that. if they appeared there they must take the consequences.
 Regulations relating to aircraft beca me more stringent, and German aeropIanes were required to answer signals from the anti-aircraft gun stations around Brussels. AeropIanes passing over the city were fired on unless they observed the instructions issued to them, and it was a com mon occurrence 10 -nd the guns sud- denly open fire on apparently inno- cent aeropianes overhead. Showers of shrapneI fell in the streets on such occasions, and many innocent pass ers-by were badly injured. The Germans gave them scant sympathy, saying that if they wished to escape such dangers they should either main indoors or appeal to the Brit ish and French to stop sending spies by aeroplane.
 Outside Brussels, as I have already stated, the practice was not only to fire on prisoners attempting to es cape, but where rescue was suspected to kill the prisoners rather than let