The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-01-23
Belgium Under the German Heel
BY BRAND wHITLock.

~ ~ NJ VT TTTWTW TTTTTTTVTW II UTTV
forced 1t on the world, was more hide
Gus than II had ever been. As the old
emperor Francis Josef said, in the last
SAD hours OF his tragic life;
Der krieg hat gar NIGHTS %elegantes
mehr tThere is nothing elegant about
war any more
| was always sorry that | had not
sent that p"resumptuous telegram to
Washington in these first nights Of the
wAr-how long Z II seemed! | might
have had the petty human satisfaction
O. being on record, Of posing as a vim
dicated prophet, OF saying II told you
SO. strange that many in my own
country had not seen It! But then,
they had not seen Germans, modern,
lmpcrialistiC suDeT-GeTmans They
knew only the old kind Of the Sunday
afternoon beer garden, the long pipe
and the band playing sentimental
waltzes. No sentimental waltz now,
hut another tune to dance to.
No one who knew war as we had
come to- know It, could wish his Coun-
try to go to war AZ long as there was
an honorable way OF avoiding It,. And
yet; much as ! loathed war myself
had come 10 realize that there was a
peace TAR more loathSome, and that was
a peace brought by acqulescence in a
mQnstrous. hideous injustice.
We were coming to realize what this
modern Germany was, what ruin and
havoc II would create in the world If it
was allowed to go unhindered on its
way. And h fact that In tina process
II would naturally destroy itself, was
not sufficient reason for letting ii first
destroy the structure that mankind had
been so long in rearing.
1t was deeper than the atrocities;
these things, though never on such "A
broad and scientifically organized scale.
had been done before; Germany, I'm her
development in hat respect, was pass
ing through the stone age. One could
imagine some ultimate, sophisticated
German, two centuries hence. sadly
shaking his head and saying: "Oh, yes.
our torefathers did brutal things when
our empire was being founded" But
the great difficulty was that the ulti-
mate German could never exist at this
rate, because the principle upon which
such character Is based was not only
wholly lacking but derided and denied.
Your democracy, your idea of lib
crty' BAH said a German officer to me
one day and another remarked, with
more mildness:
1t doesn't suit US; We have another
way Of looking at things"
Precisely; and that way Of looking az
things deprived them Of that moral
discipline, that inner subjective re-
stratnt independent Of all external
sanctions, which deters men from do
ing certain evil things. That subtle
sense which we define and recognize as
honor, however imperfeCtly We may
live up to 1t, seemed to be unknown TO
them. ~
There are things a fellow can not
DO. says a character In one of Kip
llns's stories; IL Is a sentiment that
Germans did not seem to understand
there was nothing a German fellow
could not do, provided ne could say to
himself that II was for the Vaterland,
and nrnNidAd ton hn had tho rlt.aIool
force to prevent others from interfer-
Ing with his doing It.
What was worse, he could prepare
to do II by all sorts Of pious hypocrisies
so as to throw those whom 1t would
injure off their guard. and afterward
deny having done it at all, When he
wished to invade Belgium he could say
that French aviators had thrown
bombs OF Nuremberg; when he wished
to sack and destroy Louvain. he could
say that the civilians had fired on him
when he wished to use a~sphyxiating
gas, he could say that the French Were
using 1t; when he wished to divide and
annex Belgium, he could pretend to fly
TO the relief of the prosecuted Elem
ings, when he wished to restore slav-
cry, he could bewail the sad condition
OF the Belgian unemployed.
The thing that violated the whole
character OF modern Germany and set
at naught and Cancelled all its other
qualities, was the subtle and implicit
tie-the lie OF the French airplanes over
Nuremberg; the lie of alliance Of Bel
GUM with France or England; the lie
OF the franC-tireurs. the lie of the 80
philosophers about Louvain; the lie Of
lsphyxiating gas. the lie that was ever
ready and available in any emergency.
he lie was far worse than the gas,
which poisoned first of all those who
invented 1t and stopped to its use.
The rise Of the Prussian state over
that old Germany. the blond, gentle
and dreamy Germany VI idealism and
humanitarianism, celebrated by Mad
m de Stael so long ago, was predict
ed by Edgar Quinet, the French his
torian, in 1891, but the danger to civil
izatton was neutraliSed by France until
1871. 1t was not realized by England
until 1914, and in 1916 America had
'ot yet realized 1t,
We Wonder What to Do.
| spent the whole of that hex day,
Saturday. at the legation, waiting for
| word fIom Washington, and in the
meantime sorting out and picking UP
| papers, preparing to go. Sunday came,
| and we waited all day at the Orangerie,
our villa outside Brussels, where II was
still SO peaceful, the great park all in
he white solitude of the crisp snow,
At tea time Nillalobar arrived, and
| NNtl btlblV llV "a oluhCh a WIN
could read in his face the news he had
y.uuhut, The president had broken off
diplomatic relations; he had Il from
Laucken, who had sent for him to tell
him and had shown him the Reuter- and
Wolff dispatches. The marquis had
hardly spoken the words before Rud,
dock arrived with Gregory. just bach
from Holland,
res. SAID Gregory, in his business.
like way, the president has recalled
ue,ard and given Bernstorff his pass
ports"
We sat there in what for the momen
was futile discussion Of the event
wondering what we should do with tn,
relief work.
The next morning | drove with IN,
Wite to the legation through the bleal
deserted streets, no one was abroad
save that at the Kings stables on tn
boulevard, in the fog, scores OF peopl
were gathered to watch the seizure o
horses, a great roundup was in prog
ress under guard of gray uhlans. sit
ting on their horses. with long lance
and Soiled guidons.
At the legation | heard that Won dc
Lancken had gone to Berlin. but | wen
to see Won Moltke, He WAS very gray,
Laucken would not be back until Thurs
day, but he had left word saying tina
he hoped to see me then, Ito shah
hands They were all depressed d
lnt nollllNhA utpdl Uncut luttiNlN llt
had had no notion that the prestder
would act SO deCistveiy, They wei
under no illusions as to what a rul
ture in diplomatic relations must lea
, to; Won Moltke said, it would soon
! war. He could not understand VIII
: America so misunderstood German,
Won Moltke translated the president
/ address for me from the German tel
: into French and We talked a while hi
! to no purpose, since neither Of us kne
: anything as yet officially. | told hi,
, OF my wish to 60 out by Swit1erlan,
! but he was not sure, he said. hat "
! might not have to so with the Berlt
embassy,
!, MY legation / said, lis not
: branch of the embassy at Berlin"
; An morning long the legation Wa
crowded with callers and the callel
1 continued all that afternoon, askir
for news-Blarcas, my Argentine co
7. league, and Burgpmaster Lemonnie
/, Nillalohar was in and out, and towai
Z evening Mr.. Gregory came with \
Francqul Nj. tranquil wished the
=. r. b to remain and 10 continue |
work, and even as we talked a tel
a gram came from London, asking tn
: to the Belgian people tn.
n the relief work would go on, And thu
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