Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1919-07-17
THRIFTY DuTCHMEN TURNED INTO
THIEvINC DESPERAD0ES BY war
Genuine Shock Has Come to Those Who Old Days ADMIRED nous
trious HoIander Whose Only Occupation Now IS IN
Deeds Of Daring and Robbery-country Is
! Now Paradise for Thieves.

learned to keep his hand on his wal
let pocket and his fingers firmly
around the end of stout cane when
ever he ventures out into the street
or along country path, once Hol-
lands delight and the safest prone
made in the wide world.
Daring Highway Robberies.
The "kwajongems," who used to
stand in proper awe of the well.
dressed man or woman in the public
thoroughfares of the city, now openly
and brazenly snatch at watch chains
ladies' bags or pocket books that are
carried in the hands by the ladies
Nine times in ten the culprit manages
to make u clean getaway in the crowd
Of sympathetic ruffians, who gather
quickly at the first sign of disorder
in the street.
Children sent to the stores by theil
mothers are often the victims of the
thieves, who take away their pennies
and market baskets on the way to the
expectant housewives very often &c
astray and ultimately reach the dens
of the underworld, now real menace
in the economic and civic life of the
Netherlands.
The same spirit of disregard of the
conventions that obtains throughout
the country. as far as the rights OF
others is concerned. obtains in the ma
tons parliament-the Stnaten Gen
eraal Ultra -bOlShevistic members oc'
cupy seats in the lower chamber and
openly advocate doctrines which. u
year before the war began In 1914,
would not have been listened to by any
self-rcspecting Dutchnan. The self-re
specting Dutchman must listen tt
these doctrines now, for they are
preached on every street corner, from
the forums and from the platform OF
the governing body. whenever the
radical wing gets n chance to give
voice to its sentiments.
Blocked at the Frontier.
The government does everything hui
manly possible to prevent the influx OF
the radical element from Germany
and every day dozens of would-be in
truders, be they bolSheviSt or Sparti'
Gus. nre turned back at the frontier
with the admOn!tion to go East. But
many slip through, with the result
that this formerly quiet. orderly land
Is fast being poisoned by the seed Of
violence that has been planted in Its
fertile soil from the very day that the
one-time kaiser entered the country as
Il refugee and the 0ne-time crown
prince took up his involuntary abode
ON the Island OF Wieringen.
There is enough Of the regular army
left to prevent any serious concerted
movement by the forces of the NAL
contents. especially as they are not
organized and no leader has yet put
in an appearance. The police In the
various districts, too, still observe the
street discipline of the pre-war days
although they have not been very sue
ccssfu IN stamping out the lawless
ness that is everywhere evident, they
are, at least, holding the unruly eie
ment in check and, to certain de-
gree holding it in awe Of municipal
authority.
The principal hope Of the better
educated class of Hollanders lies In
an early restoration of the regular
channels of food importation.
Now Land of Unrest.
Just now the Hollander is anything
but tractable. He will drop his ham.
mer, his shovel. his hoe or his chrrn.
ing handle at the drop of a hat OF
the whisper of labor agitator. He
imagineS that he is the under dog OF
every man who possesses nickel
more than he does.
From a land of calm, peaceful,
seething quiet, Holland has changed
into land Of unrest. 1t oozes out of
the very ground at every step one
takes. Lack of grains keeps the griSt
mills idle, which consequently fail to
provide work for those who might be
induced to take up the broken strands
of their tasks and don the snow white
of the miller for the blue of the sol
der
Stagnation in shipping, owing to the
restrictions placed upon the country
by the allies, has had it's natural eff
feet upon Hollands inland waterways
commerce. with the result that thou
sands of men who were employed
along the numerous canals, both as
boatmen and tow drivers, before the
war, now find their vocations gone.
This is another important industry
which, if it could resume its normal
proportions, would greatly reduce the
number of the unemployed
Over everything. however, looms the
one large fact that the formerly cor
rect Hollander could so readily be
changed into man with criminal in
stincts and to such an extent as to
make the entire country, practically,
& burglars paradise.
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