New-York tribune., 1919-05-05
L ind KSEaii1leland
Is / Packed With
German Loot
y. S. Officers Invoice Svs-
tenn Reveals Much Al
lied Property Taken
in France and Belgium
Ely Wilbur Forrest
Neao York Triov,se

Neec Yorlc Tri6vne
Special Cable Service
Copyright, 1919. New York Tribune Inc)
COBLENZ, May AT the very
moment German peace plenipoten-
tlarles are about to peruse the peace
treaty at Versailles evidence is flowing
into the office Of Colonel Hunt, Amer
lean civil governor here, which places
the delegates and the nation they rep
resent in the category of their fourth
century ancestors.
On April II Colonel Hunt issued an
order that all Germans must produce
an invoice OF property in the Ameri-
can occupied area which came from
countries occupied by the Germans
during the war. The invoices, which
are prepared under the direction of
American officers in all towns and
cities in the American occupied area,
show the scope of systematized thiev-
cry carried on by the Germans in
Northern France Belgium, Rumania
and other territories.
Confessions come from almost every
Rhineland factory. One at Wittlich
contains 150 articles OF machinery still
bearing the name on the plates show
ing that their origin is Liege or
Brussels. One tobacco merchant con-
fessed to the possession OF three bales
of Belgian tobacco. Franco Belgian
farm implements and garden tools
are scattered thickly throughout the
area, and even wearing apparel now on
the backs of German "hausfraus," in
many cases, has been invoiced.
To attempt a description of small
portion of these invoices would fill col
umns. In most cases the possessors
announce that these are Allied articles
bought from firm in Berlin which
operated under the auspices of the
German War Ministry in collecting
loot in the occupied areas and then
listing it and selling it throughout
Germany.
History shows that the Germanic
tribes of the fourth century acted
mildly in comparison with the present
day Teutons The Teutons of the
fourth century merely demanded and
received Rome's supply of purple
cloth, pepper, spices. beads, trinklets
and articles Of gaudy personal adorn-
mcnt and gastronomic delights. The
present day Gcrmanic tribes overran
Allied territory and took everything in
sight in systematic attempt to ruin
the territory industrially.
The stolen property already un-
earthed through Colonel Hunts invoice
system is conservatively estimated to
be worth hundreds of thousands of
dollars. This refers to the small sec
tlon of the Rhineland occupied by the
American troops. Similar reports come
from the French area.
An outstanding example of Teuton
loot was discovered in the Locus dive
works near Frankfort, where the
French carefully photograI he'd hun
dreds of modern dye making machines
illustrating how the Germans at
tempted to ruin French competition in
this line by appropriating French ma
the labels of which are still
French.
In view of the new American policy
TO reimburse the Germans for all prop
erty damaged during the American oc-
cupatlon and for ali acquisitions in the
American area, these involce,-confes
sions now flooding the civil governors
offlce--otfer fine idea of the differ
ence in character between TWO national
ities.
The situation becomes all the more
amazing in view Of the hundreds of
letters now passing through our mill
tary censorship from Teutons request
ing the. resumption Of business rela-
tons with Allied and American firms.
Many letters como from the very firms
using stolen Franco Belgian machinery
and asking markets for their wares in
tlstrcts the German amy and the Ger
man government made every effort to
destroy lndustrially and economically.