El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-01-03
GERMANY WILL
Be BLED WHITE
A Town for a Town, a Dol
lar for a Dollar, Is Urged
AS Proper Payment.
BY c. L. McCluer Stevens
(Famous War Correspondent n
Magazine COntributOr.)

I by u L. MGAAuEE aLENEmAH
/ (Famous War Correspondent and
Magazine COnfributOr.)
London, Eng, Jan 3.-Like Attila's
hordes OF barbarians. the modern
= Huns have made Of the countries they
have invaded a desert
! They have destroyed cities. wrecked
priceless monuments and works Of
/ art, desponed churches and cathe-
drals. looted factories, flooded mines,
carried away machinery. robbed alike
the mansion and the cottage. blown
up farmhouses and granaries, left no
plow nor reaper unbroken, chopped
down or "ringed- every fruit tree in
the districts out Of which they have
I been driven. torn down and grubbed
Up the vineyards. poisoned and defiled
the wells. and committed many other
similar denominations TOO numerous to
For all these things they have now
got to pay-fun measure and running
overt
There are some things. Of course,
that are irreparable. But in more ma
terial matters she can be forced to
make restitution and reparation-
A Town For A Town.
The allies first watchword must be
"a town for a town"
Let Us take a concerto instance
Louvain viii DO as well as any other
Before the war 81 was a prosperous
place, with a population Of about 49,
, 600. Il possessed many choice public
buildings, including its town hail, one
Of the finest on the continent. and the
church OF st. Gertrude. both OF the
18th century, and a university founded
in 1926, and attended by about 1OOJ
STUDENT
Today where Louvain was IS a heap
OF charred ruins. The Germans took
possession OF the place towards the
middle OF August, 1914, and. on the
usual pretence-the alleged firing on
their troops by the civilian inhabit-
ants of the toWn-they proceeded sys-
tematically TO destroy It
Every House Destroyed.
Incendiaries were accompanied IN
many instances by soldiers carrying
rifles, who shot down the inhabitants
fleeing from their burning dwellings.
All day long on Wednesday, august
IS, the work OF massacre. fire and
destruction went on. By noon on the
day following not a single house IN
the place was left standing.
Precise information is not available
as TO the actual number Of dwellings
Louvain contained, but, on the basis
Of five Inhabitants per house, the
number would be approximately 5000
Say these cost TO build $1,000 apiece
on an average very low estimate
and We arrive at the sum OF $9,0eo,QOO.
Let Us further suppose that each
house contained on an average no
more than $3.50 worth OF furniture;
this would make an addition TO the bill
OF s2,25O.00o Add. say s1250,o 900, the
value OF the public buildings de-
strowed and we get the very respect
able total OF s12,0oo.000.
Make HaIIbronn Pay.
This sum should be made a specific
levy on some German town OF equal
size, say Hailbronn. in Wurtemburg. a
flourishing place, and one as yet un-
touched by the war. a fine OF this
magnitude would no doubt sit heav-
lily on the shoulders Of the Durghers
there, but It would at least serve TO
bring home to them the culpability OF
their compatriots. It might also con-
cefvabIy serve 10 bring into perman-
ent disrepute the Prussian military
caste who caused to be perpetrated
the crime for which they would have
to pay-a contamination devoutly 70
be wished
And as whit Louvain, so with Aer-
schOt, Namur (Where the Germans
themselves admitted having destroyed
property worth S5,0oO. O00l- Dinant,
Tamines (where between GOO and zoo
cold biood). Termonde, Malines. and
many other Belgian towns where sys-
tematic incendiarism was practiced
IN each case a German town OF ap-
proximately equal size should be Sc
lected and compelled to make good
the damage
A similar plan, too. would, OF
course be adopted In regard to the
French towns Wilfully set on fire,
blown up, or otherwise destroyed,
either wholly or in part, when such
destruction can be proved to be due 70
acts not recognized as those rendered
necessary by, or pertaining to. Ordin-
airy warfare. Cologne. for example.
might well be made to pay for St
Quentin, Essen for Douai, Frankfort
for Laon, and so on right down the
Levy For Levy.
Even this. however. viii not dis
charge Germany's debt There is the
question OF the money eindemnities."
town for \ town might with
advantage be adopted. Brus-
sells, for example, was fined"
the enormous sum OF 100000 pounds.
This sum. presumably, went into the
German war chest. But 1t would DO
no harm II Dresden. say, we're made
to refund the amount
The total Of these money indemni-
test is estimated TO amount to not less
than $3.50, 900. 0o0-quite n respectable
total, even II Il IS divided amongst
such wealthy centers Of population
as. say, Hamburg. Munich, Lresdens
Bremen. Stettin. and the rest.
Lists should be made OF all the
farmhouses and isolated villages and
hamlets looted and destroyed by the
Huns, and payment TO make good the
damage should be exacted down to
the uttermost farthing from the peas
ant farmers and small landowners OF
the German empire.
COuld Take Goods.
Payment in this particular case
need not necessarily be made In
money. There are cattle and pigs still
left in Germany. and there are fertile
grass lands IN plenty on which fresh
herds can be reared, and fields from
which bounteous crops can be har-
vested. These can be requisitioned
in part until such time as Germany's
thefts have been made good.
In the same way. after the devas-
lated French and Belgian towns and
villages have been rebuilt, either by
German labor or money, or both COM
bined, as may be afterwards deter
mined, they must be refurnished, and